Kodak actually invented digital photographic technology. The Eikonix Digitizer was developed in the mid 1980’s. It was Photoshop’s father. And the ATEX Messaging system was early e-mail. I know. I was there.
And then they failed to carry the technology through to the consumer digital camera stage or digital storage stage.
Absolutely right. But the company became dominated by business-school dopes whose only background was in marketing. They kept offering new formats for which there was no need, like Instamatic, Disk, and APS, and cranked out junky cameras instead of the serious pro gear they once made.
The fate of Kodak reminds me of the near-death experience at Apple when visionary perfectionist Steve Jobs was replaced by a dope from Pepsi.
Yeah, and the Chinese invented gunpowder and paper. That gave them fireworks. When westerners got their hands on it we got canons and books.
Kodak has great R&D and their digital products are top rate. So what happened?
I heard from someone within the company that Kodak knew there would be a transition from film to digital and planned strategically for it. The problem was it happened much sooner and faster than they planned - by about five years.
I was following digital at the time and it shocked me how quickly it became dominant.
But, even so, Kodak should have moved faster once the revolution took hold. Perhaps it was their size, maybe an IBM-like problem. Perhaps a problem with pensions and making big changes quick.