BroadcastingDavid Sarnoff David Sarnoff is the father of broadcasting. Sarnoff was a Jewish immigrant who became his family’s breadwinner at age 15. He worked as a Morse Code operator, rising up the ranks to become a supervisor. Eventually, he transitioned to radio to transmit messages over long distances. Early radio technology was for point-to-point communications, … Continue reading "Broadcasting"
Digital Video Recorder (DVR)Digital Video Recorders (DVR’s) record digitally, to disk or flash memory, rather than analog recording to tape. This allows end-users to quickly fast-forward, rewind, and jump to a section of a recording rather than slowly searching. Tivo and ReplayTV both launched DVR’s at the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show. As they did with videotapes, broadcasters and … Continue reading "Digital Video Recorder (DVR)"
Controlled Drug DeliveryControlled drug delivery is a simpler and more convenient way to slowly release drugs than taking low-dose pills or injections at frequent intervals. Additionally, it also lowers the risk of incorrect dosage. Zaffaroni invented controlled (slow) release drugs, mimicking the way the body releases hormones. Eventually, he created many pharma companies that went on to … Continue reading "Controlled Drug Delivery"
Portable VentilatorVentilators breathe for people when they cannot breathe on their own. John Emerson was a physician focused on breathing devices who developed the first mass produced iron lung. Building on Emerson’s work, Bird developed the portable ventilator and, later, created a company, Bird Corp., to commercialize it. Bird Corp. created a home ventilator in 1965, … Continue reading "Portable Ventilator"
Color Photography1908 James MaxwellSergey Prokudin-Gorsky Scottish physicist James Maxwell laid the groundwork for color photography. Eventually, Russian Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky perfected the technique using three exposures through a red, green, and blue filter. Recombining each exposure into one print accurately portrays color. This method, combining red, green, and blue, remains the foundation of how color is reproduced … Continue reading "Color Photography"
Automatic Tomato HarvesterGrain and corn harvesters date back to the 1800s. However, grain and corn are relatively easy to harvest. Grain harvesting involves little more than cutting tall grass whereas ears of corn are large, strong, and similarly shaped. Tomatoes Interestingly, tomatoes were not common food until the 1800s. Early colonialists brought the tomato plant to Europe … Continue reading "Automatic Tomato Harvester"
- Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Buyer Experience Cycle
Put yourself in the shoes of your buyer The Buyer Experience Cycle (BEC) is a superficially short and often overlooked blue ocean exercise. In the books, tutorials, and even the tool itself, the BEC is always coupled with the Buyer Utility Map though they’re separate parts of the exercise. In short, the BEC is a … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Buyer Experience Cycle"
Cotton GinWhitney’s innovation vastly lowered the price of cotton. Before Whitney’s cotton gin, producing cotton was economically inefficient because of the enormous cost to separate cotton from seeds. After the innovation, cotton became a profitable crop. Background Coming of age during the Revolutionary War, Whitney made a nail company, at the age of 15. Later, he … Continue reading "Cotton Gin"
Management ConsultingIn 1886, Arthur D. Little, of MIT, founded the first management consulting company. Despite a 2002 bankruptcy, it still exists today. Little consulting tended to focus more on technology than management or strategy. Booz started his firm in 1914, focused on management. In 1933, Bower, a Harvard lawyer and MBA, went to work for McKinsey’s … Continue reading "Management Consulting"
Microwave OvenPercy Spencer is a self-taught engineer who did not finish even primary school. He self-taught himself math, science, and electrical engineering while standing guard on ships in the Navy. Before, during, and after WWII, Spencer worked on top-secret magnetrons, the high-powered electrical devices at the heart of a RADAR system. One day he noticed that … Continue reading "Microwave Oven"
Mass-Scale DesalinationReverse osmosis enables large-scale desalination of seawater, efficiently transforming it into drinking water. People have been trying to desalinate seawater into drinking water for millennia. Firstly, Aristotle and other ancient Greeks unsuccessfully attempted to desalinate seawater. Eventually, by the 16th century, ship-based evaporation desalination systems created potable water. In time, by 1955, the first multi-stage … Continue reading "Mass-Scale Desalination"
SecuritizationSecuritization enables income streams of pooled loans, reducing overall risk to lenders. This spreads the risk of both prepayments and defaults, lowering the cost of credit. Background Denmark created pooled mortgages, called covered bonds, in 1850. Switzerland followed in 1930. In 1970 US government pseudo-agency Ginnie Mae (GNMA) created the first securitized pool of home … Continue reading "Securitization"
LinuxLinux is a stable and secure operating system. The operating system is open-source and free. However, there are many companies that sell support for Linux, and maintenance is typically the source for most of the cost comes of maintaining an operating system. Background Limited to 16 concurrent users at his school’s computer, Linus wanted a … Continue reading "Linux"
Portland Cement1843 Joseph AspdinWilliam AspdinWilliam Beverley Portland cement is modern cement. It’s admittedly dull — unless being used on dilapidated ships by mobsters for shoes — but extremely useful with more mainstream uses. Portland cement is used to make buildings, stadiums, stairs, sidewalks, foundations, and shares the unfortunate honor of being the enabler of brutalist architecture. … Continue reading "Portland Cement"
Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Chips (CMOS)The magical ability to power your mobile phone, tablet, and computer comes from a CMOS chip. These chips require minuscule amounts of power compared to other types of computer chips. They are as small or smaller than other types of chips. However, despite these advantages, it took decades for the technology to gain traction. Fairchild … Continue reading "Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Chips (CMOS)"
