Sad History

[amellice]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/b...d=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=1

 

[Rick A]

Sad indeed, my uncle worked for EK, as did his wife and several of my cousins.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Depressing.

 

[bsdunek]

Sadly, it's happened to other companies, and will continue to happen. What's happening at Bell Labs now? They invented the transistor.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Absentee mgt is not a good sign.

 

[mnemosyne]

Sorry, but I am not a NY Times subscriber. Could someone give a hint what the talk is about?

 

[amellice]

Sorry, but I am not a NY Times subscriber. Could someone give a hint what the talk is about?

you don't have to, I'm not. It's a video about Kodak going down

It's just heart breaking when you hear that guy saying that they are producing food instead of film because food won't be replace by digital camera so depressing

 

[Sirius Glass]

Kodak was imploding when I worked there. Sad.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Salsa? In Kodak Park? And people are smiling?

Nice job, Perez...



Ken

 

[DREW WILEY]

Serve them virtual digital food and see if they're satisfied !

 

[Nodda Duma]

Sadly, it's happened to other companies, and will continue to happen. What's happening at Bell Labs now? They invented the transistor.

Bell Labs is the R&D arm of Lucent technologies. They are huge today, with many research facilities spread around the world. They have continued to contribute significantly to advancement in technology since the invention of the transistor: Laser, CCD, C and C++ programming language, Wireless LAN. They recently changed their focus to information technology development, adjusting to the needs of current times. ENTIRELY opposite of what happened to Kodak.

 

[RattyMouse]

“We’ll never be able to prosecute the value of our intellectual property with Kodak-branded sales,” he [Kodak's CEO] said in an office in the same tower where George Eastman once looked out on his global tech empire.

Someone tell Fujifilm this. They need to be told what they do every day can't in fact be done.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

I had the same thought.

It follows on similar pronouncements that we're getting out of b&w paper production because that's no longer a viable market. Since then several new, updated, and/or previously extinct b&w papers have successfully come to market.

Not to mention that we're dropping all E-6 film because there is no longer any demand. Since then a resurrected film company is attempting to reestablish production of color film. Their first product, chosen presumably because it has the best chance to succeed? An ISO 100 E-6 film.

If one simply doesn't want to do something, one can for sure find gazillions of reasons to justify not doing it.

Ken

 

[RattyMouse]

I had the same thought.

It follows on similar pronouncements that we're getting out of b&w paper production because that's no longer a viable market. Since then several new, updated, and/or previously extinct b&w papers have successfully come to market.

Not to mention that we're dropping all E-6 film because there is no longer any demand. Since then a resurrected film company is attempting to reestablish production of color film. Their first product, chosen presumably because it has the best chance to succeed? An ISO 100 E-6 film.

If one simply doesn't want to do something, one can for sure find gazillions of reasons to justify not doing it.

Ken

Well, it's clear from that article that photography related business at Kodak today has zero future. There isn't a shred of optimism in the text that indicates that there are any thoughts to a sustained future. Just keep that factory going until it can be repurposed.

 

[chip j]

I wish we could at least have shipped Kodak to China.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Even with a so-called digital camera, the photo still has to be "developed". You have to turn on your desktop computer outfit, go through the program menus, and output to the inkjet. IF the inkjet ink hasn't dried up, run out of a color, and forces the owner to go buy another 30 or 40 dollar ink cartridge. SCREW THAT!

I started off using the scans on the CDs and printing with a photo stink-jet ink and the best photographic paper. I printed a small number of photographs and had to buy more ink. The replacement ink was more than $60! I found a 4"x5" color enlarger with the lenses and drum print dryer locally at a decent price and never looked back.

 

[benjiboy]

The Rolleiflex factory is also being liquidated, the World changes, it's one of the only constant things in life, they both failed to anticipate both technological and market changes.

 

[mnemosyne]

Bell Labs is the R&D arm of Lucent technologies. They are huge today, with many research facilities spread around the world. They have continued to contribute significantly to advancement in technology since the invention of the transistor: Laser, CCD, C and C++ programming language, Wireless LAN. They recently changed their focus to information technology development, adjusting to the needs of current times. ENTIRELY opposite of what happened to Kodak.

It's funny that you mention Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies as the "entire opposite of what happened to Kodak". You are aware that Lucent Technologies hast ceased to exist almost ten years ago? That in fact they were so highly successful at "adjusting to the needs of current times" that after piling up billions of $$ in losses and axing 130,000 of their workforce and enjoying a near-death experience they saved their ass only by "merging" with Alcatel? That was in 2006 and all the beautiful inventions by Bell Labs couldn't do anything to prevent it. Lucent Technologies does not exist anymore. Unlike EK, which is still around as an independent company, although admittedly far from healthy.

 

[cmacd123]

Most interesting quote to me was that they have 300 people producing film, which may also include their Touch screen sensor product, which is apparently made from exposing (in a pattern) and developing a special purpose B&W Film.

This puts them in the same league as the downsized ILFORD these days. I wonder how many staff make film at Foma?

The other article on Kodak the other day mentioned that the same staff moves from Job to Job doing all the positions involved with making and packaging film, (a change from the days of the "silver curtain where no one knew all the steps it would seem)

 

[Nodda Duma]

It's funny that you mention Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies as the "entire opposite of what happened to Kodak". You are aware that Lucent Technologies hast ceased to exist almost ten years ago? That in fact they were so highly successful at "adjusting to the needs of current times" that after piling up billions of $$ in losses and axing 130,000 of their workforce and enjoying a near-death experience they saved their ass only by "merging" with Alcatel? That was in 2006 and all the beautiful inventions by Bell Labs couldn't do anything to prevent it. Lucent Technologies does not exist anymore. Unlike EK, which is still around as an independent company, although admittedly far from healthy.

Yeah yeah potatoe potato different name same people. If you want to be nitpicky go ahead.

Either way they didn't die off after the invention of the transistor as was implied in the post I replied to.

 

[Christopher Walrath]

Alas, the Great Yellow Father has taken the knife and it is red with the blood of its enemies. He will die a good death. The death of a warrior.

Seen this one coming down the tracks for years now. Surprised the old mini locomotives are still chugging the film around the plant or whatever 21st century equivalent there may be. The King is dead. Long live the King!

 

[mnemosyne]

Yeah yeah potatoe potato different name same people. If you want to be nitpicky go ahead.

I don't think it's "nitpicky" to point out that 130,000 axed jobs are not a success story.

 

[Nodda Duma]

130,000 jobs axed when they employed 25k at their peak? Impressive!

Since the government doesn't care about American jobs, it's more politically correct to discuss research dollars, which have consistently remained upwards of $3B or so.

 

[mnemosyne]

130,000 jobs axed when they employed 25k at their peak? Impressive!
.

I am talking about 130,000 jobs lost at Lucent, not their research department.
You compared (the success of) a research facility (Bell Labs)) to (the success of) a company (EK), which is an unfair comparison to do in the first place. If you want to compare apples to apples, compare Bell Labs to Kodak research. Both very succesful and highly regarded in R&D, with robably neither of them responsible for the demise of their parent companies.

If you want to compare oranges to oranges, at least compare the business side of the operations (LU the company to EK the company). Given the entire different
markets and industries both companies operate in, I do not think this makes a lot of sense, but it was you who started with unfair comparisons.

 

[M6F6E6]

secrecy???

Sorry, but I am not a NY Times subscriber. Could someone give a hint what the talk is about?

Yeah, give your mates a bit of an idea if they should waste time and internet download about a story you post with no explanation please!