Thinking of Kodak, we can remember razor blades and Apples. Soon after it began in 1880, Kodak told us, “You press the button and we do the rest.” Making home photography simple, they just…
An Apple's Patent
This apple has bites rather than bytes but like its namesake it was patented and took years to develop. When its U.S. patent expired in 2008, it had generated close to $6 million for the University of…
Innovation and (Steve) Jobs
From the iPhone and iPod to a…thermostat? At a Silicone Valley start-up, a former Apple design leader has switched his focus to diminishing carbon emissions, decreasing electric bills, and moder…
Steve Jobs Quotes
“I’m one of those people who think that Thomas Edison and the light bulb changed the world a lot more than Karl Marx ever did.” (From Insanely Great, p. 26) “It’s not the…
Naming Matters
Combine something enjoyable like a strawberry with a color that connects to high tech. Then add the one letter that has a “reliable” sound in most languages and what do you get? Blackberry…
Steve Jobs and Joseph Schumpeter
Henry Ford once said that consumers would have requested “a better horse” if he had asked them what to produce. Similarly, Steve Jobs told a reporter, “It’s not the consumers&#…
Apple vs. Amazon in the Fight Over Gaga
From a guest blogger, Frances Bird, AP econ student: Lady Gaga, America’s current pop queen sensation, is being used to boost Amazon sales, if not permanently, then temporarily. Amazon is using …
Brand Matters
Not so long ago, an apple was just a piece of fruit and a “google’ (actually spelled googol) was 10 raised to the 100th power. Mention apple today and most of us think of iPhones and iMacs…
Apple's Patents
An ibike? A solar-powered iPhone? Or maybe an iKey? During 2010, Apple received 563 patents. In addition to the iBike, a solar-powered iPhone, and an iKey, Apple’s patents included a wand …
Made in China?
True or false? Is Apple’s iPhone made in China? The answer is true and false. True. According to U.S. trade statistics, the iPhone is made in China. Consequently, the iPhone is recorded as a min…