In Reply To:
My god are you mis-informed or what?
My first years in a bike shop were when I was less than 5 years old. Both my parents worked there, so it was sorta my day care. I grew up with bikes. From about 1986 to about 1995 I was the service manager of a bike shop. Those were the years that Shimano went from a fishing reel company to the industry leader they are today. Add that to my many years of racing and riding experience and add the countless bikes and component groups I've owned, and I think it's safe to say I've seen it all (or close to it). Misinformed? Not hardly.
You are right SunTour was the first with index shifting, though if you want to get technical a Sturmey Archer three speed hub was really the first. And technically the Helicomatic was the first cassette hub. Technicalities aside, Shimano took those vague ideas and made them what they are today.
Sure, I can enjoy Campy for the wonderful jewelry it is today. The stuff is beautiful, and it works great too, but when I look at it, I have a hard time not seeing the real innovators that the stuff is copied from. Have you ever wondered how great your Campy stuff would be if they had nobody to copy from? Since I assume you're not using Super Record or Nuovo Record, I think you owe Shimano some gratitude.
My original rant was to simply say that Shimano is the innovator, and Campy is the copier. Now you've tried to insult me by saying I'm misinformed. But if I'm misinformed, perhaps you can prove me wrong by giving some examples of ideas Campy has come up with on their own since the quick release skewer way back in 1927. Good luck with that challenge.