Kodak close to declaring bankruptcy
 

It's is perhaps the end of an era, a technology that has been
essential for for a few generations has reached the point where
lower and better technologies are replacing it.

http://mashable.com/2012/01/04/kodak-bankruptcy/

Kodak saw this coming better than most and invested
a huge amount of resources developing technology for the
digital imaging age over the last 30 years. As the end draws
nearer it is joining the ranks of buggy whip manufacturers
and new england woollen mills.

w..

Kodak close to declaring bankruptcy
 

Helen wrote:

Sadly, Kodak didn't keep up with the times so perhaps they will file
for a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Kodak does have many patents which are
worth a billion dollars each.

They have a lot of the early digital patents that are now close to timing out.
The interesting thing is they saw it coming and and actually tried to redirect
the company by developing early technology and products using digital
for still and moving imaging they were for whatever reason not able
to create a viable company around that, in part because they had the
imaging technology but lacked manufacturing and and the ability to
create product lines.

w..

Kodak close to declaring bankruptcy
 

Walter Banks wrote:

They have a lot of the early digital patents that are now close to timing out.
The interesting thing is they saw it coming and and actually tried to redirect
the company by developing early technology and products using digital
for still and moving imaging they were for whatever reason not able
to create a viable company around that, in part because they had the
imaging technology but lacked manufacturing and and the ability to
create product lines.

Kodak's product suffered from R&D that was too good, and marketing that wasn't
good enough.

For example, when VHS and BETA (before SuperBeta and SuperVHS) were king,
Kodak came out 8mm video. It was not sold successfully and died out. Years
later an incompatible 8mm system became popular, but Kodak got nothing from it.

They pioneered digital processing stations where you could scan in your
picture, manipulate it on a computer and then print it out. This was
to go hand in hand with the PhotoCD, but neither the PhotoCD nor their
units (based on SUN workstations) took off.

Eventually the technology caught up with them but by that time, their
machines were long since forgotten.

They produced "prosumer" digital cameras, with short battery life, high
quality lenses and sensors but at prices too high for anyone to buy.
Professional customers were not interested in their fixed lenses (albeit
high quality German ones) and consumers were not interested in high prices,
lenses better than the sensors, and battery life of an hour on a charge
in standby mode.

In short great technology in products that just did not provide what the
consumer wanted. With such a high corporate overhead that they could
not afford to make products in small numbers and allow them to evolve
into hits.

If Steve Jobs had the ability to take existing technology and figure out
how to combine and package it in a way that consumers wanted, Kodak had
the opposite, they took new technology and made products consumers did not
want.

Hopefully they will sell off their patents, trade secrets and formulae for
black and white film and paper to a small company which is able to use them.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM
My high blood pressure medicine reduces my midichlorian count. :-(

Kodak close to declaring bankruptcy
 

On Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:31:51 -0500, Walter Banks wrote:
: It's is perhaps the end of an era, a technology that has been
: essential for for a few generations has reached the point where
: lower and better technologies are replacing it.
:
: http://mashable.com/2012/01/04/kodak-bankruptcy/
:
: Kodak saw this coming better than most and invested
: a huge amount of resources developing technology for the
: digital imaging age over the last 30 years. As the end draws
: nearer it is joining the ranks of buggy whip manufacturers
: and new england woollen mills.

And most amazingly, to an old geezer like me: Kodak's demise will hardly be
noticed in the "real" world. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Bob

Kodak close to declaring bankruptcy
 

"Geoffrey S. Mendelson" wrote:

Walter Banks wrote:

They have a lot of the early digital patents that are now close to timing out.
The interesting thing is they saw it coming and and actually tried to redirect
the company by developing early technology and products using digital
for still and moving imaging they were for whatever reason not able
to create a viable company around that, in part because they had the
imaging technology but lacked manufacturing and and the ability to
create product lines.

Kodak's product suffered from R&D that was too good, and marketing that wasn't
good enough.

For example, when VHS and BETA (before SuperBeta and SuperVHS) were king,
Kodak came out 8mm video. It was not sold successfully and died out. Years
later an incompatible 8mm system became popular, but Kodak got nothing from it.

They pioneered digital processing stations where you could scan in your
picture, manipulate it on a computer and then print it out. This was
to go hand in hand with the PhotoCD, but neither the PhotoCD nor their
units (based on SUN workstations) took off.

Eventually the technology caught up with them but by that time, their
machines were long since forgotten.

They produced "prosumer" digital cameras, with short battery life, high
quality lenses and sensors but at prices too high for anyone to buy.
Professional customers were not interested in their fixed lenses (albeit
high quality German ones) and consumers were not interested in high prices,
lenses better than the sensors, and battery life of an hour on a charge
in standby mode.

In short great technology in products that just did not provide what the
consumer wanted. With such a high corporate overhead that they could
not afford to make products in small numbers and allow them to evolve
into hits.

If Steve Jobs had the ability to take existing technology and figure out
how to combine and package it in a way that consumers wanted, Kodak had
the opposite, they took new technology and made products consumers did not
want.

Hopefully they will sell off their patents, trade secrets and formulae for
black and white film and paper to a small company which is able to use them.

Kodak had a business model problem when they started to introduce
new technology. When Kodak sold a low cost film camera they now had a
customer that continued to buy film, when they sold a digital camera
it was a single sale. The low cost camera sale made money even if
was sold as a break even sale.

w..

Kodak close to declaring bankruptcy
 

Walter Banks wrote:

new technology. When Kodak sold a low cost film camera they now had a
customer that continued to buy film, when they sold a digital camera
it was a single sale. The low cost camera sale made money even if
was sold as a break even sale.

It was much better than that. Kodak made money on almost every camera sold.
Everyone who bought a camera, bought film, and most of them bought Kodak.

Maybe not every roll, but I doubt there were many cameras outside of the
Soviet Union and the PRC that took standard film and never had one.

For a while there various film companies were selling memory cards as
"digital film", but it never took off. I think the only people they deluded
into believing that people would buy them like film were their shareholders.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM
My high blood pressure medicine reduces my midichlorian count. :-(