Here on New Releases Monday, the latest from some oldtimers and a comeback bid
And the hits just keep on coming:
* Microsoft reported that Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista has been released to manufacturing, along with Windows server 2008. The eagerly awaited SP1 is intended to address a slew of complaints, including stability, file transfer times, device compatibility and a number of issues of interest to IT departments. Don’t get too wound up yet if you’re a current Vista owner, though. The update is headed first to equipment manufacturers, and won’t be available for download until mid-March.
* Intel announced it had managed to cram a record 2 billion transistors onto its quad-core Itanium chip, meant for high-end servers, supercomputers and such.
* Kodak says it’s come up with a tiny, five-megapixel sensor that should greatly improve the video quality of camera phones. The technology a 2- to 4-times improvement in light sensitivity and supports full 720p video at 30 frames per second.
* The Industry Standard, until its flame out one of the shooting stars among tech magazines during the boom times, is back, in a fashion. This time it’s online only and will try to distinguish itself by actively involving readers in a prediction market.
Digital camera technology has replaced a century of chemical-based film technology in a short decade. Left behind are millions of cameras that share a common mechanical standard…the 35mm film cassette.
The leading film companies…Kodak and Fuji…abandoned their previous business models. The camera was no longer a means of selling film. The camera became the focal point (excuse the pun) of sales.
Selling cameras at cost was a proven sales strategy pioneered by the safety razor business. Sell the razor at cost and make your money selling the blades.
The core technology of the film companies…layered chemical emulsion…was now considered obsolete. Search the term “digital camera” and you’ll find a proliferation of companies now competing, successfully, with the former leaders of the camera industry.
Capturing images for storage on a computer is based on a common technology that provides no clear differentiation between the digital cameras offered. The amount of storage becomes the price point where a four megabit image capture can be accomplished with a device costing about $150.00. Competition is driving that price point down while the four megabit standard has almost doubled to eight megabit.
Let’s revisit the first paragraph:
What if a company developed a mechanical means of using the 35mm cassette to capture and store digital images? That would provide a means of reviving the razor blade strategy and open a market targeting professional photographers.
Demographics of the professional photographers would include my experience and preference. I have a 20 year history with a film based Olympus OM2N system complete with additional equipment that outperforms the digital Sony DSC-H5 that replaced it.
Offer me a way to use a 35mm cassette to shoot digitally with my Olympus and watch me reach for my checkbook.
It can’t be that hard to develop a 35mm cassette that would allow film based cameras to capture digital images. The market is there. It’s a premium market where cost is not a factor. The technology exits. It’s a mechanical problem to be solved.
Send me an email when you figure it out.
I’ll read it on my cell phone.