Kodak and their yellow and red packaging were ubiquitous and recognizable during the glory days of film. Kodak had always been on the cutting edge of innovation and technology, and in fact in 1975 a Kodak engineer Steve Sasson invented the digital camera.
But with bankruptcy last year and the many miscalculations along the way, Kodak never seemed able to catch up.
In a New York Times article today: At Kodak,
Clinging to a Future Beyond Film, they talk to the new CEO Jeff Clarke about what his plans are to turn around the company.
Essentially, he intends to use technology that scientists and engineers at Kodak developed in the past that were never used to take the company in a new direction.
In the New York Times article Clarke says:
“I’m mining the history of this company for its underlying technologies. We’ll never be able to prosecute the value of our intellectual property with Kodak-branded sales.”
So what is Kodak, and Clarke’s idea to change the company around? He sees innovations of theirs like nanoparticle wonder inks, cheap sensors that detect whether meat or medicines have spoiled, and cheaper touch screen tech for smartphones will change their destiny.
Is Kodak back? It might be, but it certainly isn’t going to be the formidable film giant they once were. However, I hope they can turn the company around to provide the tech sector with useful technology from Kodak scientists that were just sitting around unused.
To read more about digital photography and film, check out my article on the impermanence of digital photography here.
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