Computer GameBackground Early computers used punch cards to load programs and data into computers. The software was a stack of cards, each card one line of a program. Data input were cards on the top of the stack. Eventually, then the entire thing fed into a card reader. The reader read the stack, processed the data, … Continue reading "Computer Game"
Repo LoansRepo loans are a type of loan, typically from one bank to another, with a very short term for repayment. One day repo loans are common. Despite the name, “repo loans” have nothing to do with repossessions. Background Repo loans came about after the US finally chartered a single, all-powerful central bank in December 1913. … Continue reading "Repo Loans"
PasteurizationFrench scientist Louis Pasteur disproved the theory of spontaneous generation, the idea that certain organisms are ever-present in nature. For example, early scientists believed fleas came from dust and maggots from dead meat absent anything else. Pasteur theorized and later proved that all organisms come from something else, that nothing exists in a vacuum. He … Continue reading "Pasteurization"
Electric Arc FurnaceElectric arc furnaces are giant pots that melt steel. They enable the recycling of scrap steel. Recycled steel both costs far less than creating steel from raw materials and has a lower environmental impact. The process involves three-phase electrodes which create an arc that reaches about 3000°C (5400°F). Frenchman Paul Héroult (co-inventor of aluminum smelting) … Continue reading "Electric Arc Furnace"
VideoconferencingVideoconferencing is well over 50 years old. Today, it is fast and virtually free over the Internet. However, aside from extremely formal or informal events, videoconferencing has largely failed to catch on. Background AT&T introduced videoconference at the 1964 World’s Fair. People in New York waited in line to walk into a booth and spend … Continue reading "Videoconferencing"
Commercial Business Computer (EDVAC/UNIVAC)Mauchly and Eckert, inventors of the ENIAC, set out to create a commercial computer. They worked with government officials who needed fast computing, including military and census officials. Eventually, their employer, the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Engineering announced an intent to keep all patents produced by faculty. Henceforth, the two promptly resigned and … Continue reading "Commercial Business Computer (EDVAC/UNIVAC)"
Integrated Circuits (Microchips)In early electronic computers, each circuit involved a vacuum tube. They were large, relatively slow, and consumed a lot of power. Shockley, Brattain, and Bardeen created the semiconductor. Their circuits eliminated the need for vacuum tubes. Kilby and Noyce discovered that semiconducting material held burned-in semiconductor circuits. Their printed circuits worked like the much larger … Continue reading "Integrated Circuits (Microchips)"
JukeboxThe Jukebox is an automated coin-operated music player which plays individual songs. The differentiating factor of the Jukebox from a simple coin-operated record player is the ability of an automated machine to replace live music in a restaurant or bar. Background Louis Glass and William Arnold modified Edison’s record players to operate by coins. These … Continue reading "Jukebox"
BraCommunist spitfire Ida Rosenthal came from a line of Jewish intellectuals in what was then Russia and is now Belarus. She returned from college an outspoken communist revolutionary and with a boyfriend, William. Threatened with jail, the army, or both they fled to the US in 1905 and married in 1906. Ida, who was 4′ … Continue reading "Bra"
Long-Term MortgagesMortgages are loans to purchase a property. The word derives from the French “mort” and meant death pledge with the obligation ending when the loan was paid off or the property repossessed. Background The Dutch have the earliest mortgages. Originally in the Netherlands, people saved money and purchased their house for cash. However, starting in … Continue reading "Long-Term Mortgages"
- Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Value Innovation
An introduction to the core of blue ocean strategy Blue Ocean Strategy is a strategic framework and the name of a bestselling 2005 book written by Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne published by Harvard Business Review. The book is based on a series of articles published in Harvard Business Review starting in the 1990s. This … Continue reading "Blue Ocean Strategy Basics – Value Innovation"
Float GlassBefore float glass (also called flat glass), each piece of glass was individually poured and polished. This was a time consuming and expensive process that left the contours of glass uneven. Pilkington invented a method of floating the glass in a bath or iron tin, leaving both sides of glass perfectly smooth. Float glass took … Continue reading "Float Glass"
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"
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)Relational databases simplify the storage and retrieval of related information. For example, rather than storing the state a person lives in a relational database might store a number to a single list of all states. Significantly, this reduces overall storage needs and makes indexing and searching significantly easier and subsequently faster. Edgar Codd, working at … Continue reading "Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)"
Diesel EnginesUses engines use compression to increase engine power. That increases engine power and reduces fuel costs. Diesel is French though studied engineering in Germany. After graduating he returned to Paris and opened an early modern refrigeration factory, patenting several innovations. He eventually left and, barred from the industry, turned his attention to engines. In 1893, … Continue reading "Diesel Engines"