Digital Silence

"The Digital Silence - How Kodak invented the future and then hid it" tells the tragic corporate irony of Eastman Kodak. In 1975, a Kodak engineer named Steven Sasson invented the first digital camera. It was the size of a toaster and took 0.01-megapixel images. When he showed it to executives, they said: "That's cute-but don't tell anyone about it." Business journalist Robert Dean explains why. Kodak made its money on film and developing chemicals (the "razor and blade" model). A camera that didn't need film was a threat to their existence. They suppressed the technology for decades to protect their monopoly. "The Digital Silence" describes the slow-motion car crash that followed. When competitors finally released digital cameras, Kodak couldn't catch up. The company that captured the 20th century filed for bankruptcy in 2012. A masterclass in the "Innovator's Dilemma" and the danger of fearing your own invention.