A German company offers self cooling beer kegs since last year. I bought two of those myself for a birthday party which worked very well (45 min to cool down a 5 gallon keg to perfect drinking temp). Clever technology - check it out:
They used to provide one bavarian brewery (Tucherbrau - btw excellent beer)exclusively for quite some time but I think they started to bring it to the market already.
No clue about business
on
TiVo Will Die
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Sure markets are changing, products are changing, pricing changes everything changes. The secret of a successful company is that it will adapt: develop new products, make them cheaper, have new services, partner with other companies. The author implies that TIVO will stay mostly as it is now and the world is changing. If Ford would still build the T-Model, well...
TIVO is in a favourable position. They have a lot of know how (also in the way of providing services, which is important), their brand is strong (almost used as synonym for PVR) and may have asignificantinstalled base (not sure about this). As every start-up pioneering a new market they have now to keep up with the fact that there will be competition from established players, change in distribution models etc. That's quite normal, it's a challenge. But it's by no means a sure death. (Of course, it might be more profitable to sell to another player, but this is not a death!)
But sure, I bet many people were convinced of "Microsoft will die because IBM is going to do PC operating systems now (OS2)" too.
There is a lot of funny stuff in it, I like this one most:
For example, if you write informally to ask us about using one or more images that you saw on the CPRR.org website and ask what the request will cost, while not specifying a price limit, you are thereby requesting and authorizing us to fill your order at a price consistent with the Use Fee Schedule and the terms and conditions of this User Agreement, and to let you know the total amount due for the license by sending you an electronic invoice which you are obligated to pay.
Next time somebody asks for my $/hour I charge big time!
The concept itself is kind of intriguing - for quite some people(like myself) it would be really cool to save the time and hassle of trying on clothes in real shops.
However, it is really difficult to realize. You need inexpensive ways of getting 3D-Data of customers bodies (even data about the "consistency" and "elasticity" of certain parts). And, as many people pointed out, you need far better information about the clothes than just an (often inacurrate) size. The software part for modelling and rendering ist not too difficult.
Slashdot Mirror
A German company offers self cooling beer kegs since last year. I bought two of those myself for a birthday party which worked very well (45 min to cool down a 5 gallon keg to perfect drinking temp).
Clever technology - check it out:
Coolsystem
They used to provide one bavarian brewery (Tucherbrau - btw excellent beer)exclusively for quite some time but I think they started to bring it to the market already.
Sure markets are changing, products are changing, pricing changes everything changes. The secret of a successful company is that it will adapt: develop new products, make them cheaper, have new services, partner with other companies. The author implies that TIVO will stay mostly as it is now and the world is changing. If Ford would still build the T-Model, well...
TIVO is in a favourable position. They have a lot of know how (also in the way of providing services, which is important), their brand is strong (almost used as synonym for PVR) and may have asignificantinstalled base (not sure about this). As every start-up pioneering a new market they have now to keep up with the fact that there will be competition from established players, change in distribution models etc. That's quite normal, it's a challenge. But it's by no means a sure death. (Of course, it might be more profitable to sell to another player, but this is not a death!)
But sure, I bet many people were convinced of "Microsoft will die because IBM is going to do PC operating systems now (OS2)" too.
Now I see why they want to build the next one on the moon. No parts lost in space, just collect and reassemble...
There is a lot of funny stuff in it, I like this one most:
For example, if you write informally to ask us about using one or more images that you saw on the CPRR.org website and ask what the request will cost, while not specifying a price limit, you are thereby requesting and authorizing us to fill your order at a price consistent with the Use Fee Schedule and the terms and conditions of this User Agreement, and to let you know the total amount due for the license by sending you an electronic invoice which you are obligated to pay.
Next time somebody asks for my $/hour I charge big time!
The concept itself is kind of intriguing - for quite some people(like myself) it would be really cool to save the time and hassle of trying on clothes in real shops.
However, it is really difficult to realize. You need inexpensive ways of getting 3D-Data of customers bodies (even data about the "consistency" and "elasticity" of certain parts). And, as many people pointed out, you need far better information about the clothes than just an (often inacurrate) size. The software part for modelling and rendering ist not too difficult.
Miralab at Geneve University has done some cool work in this field:
http://www.miralab.unige.ch
I think they had some cooperation with a larger clothes retailer in Europe on such a project but don't know about the current status.