Interesting list of clients that TEMPO has. <G> A friend of mine saw an article today in the Philadelphia Daily News about Kodak and the picture CD. I couldn't find the article at their web site, so I searched at Business Wire's site, as they (and the AP) were credited with the article. I did finally find it and part of it is posted below.
** It should be mentioned that when I did a search for "Kodak" at the Business Wire site, a link to today's TSIG press release was included in the search results! **
dailynews.yahoo.com
Wednesday February 10 1:09 AM ET
Kodak Puts Snapshots on Picture CD
By BEN DOBBIN Associated Press Writer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Aside from computer and photo hobbyists, are there enough ordinary folks willing to fork out an extra $9 a roll for the novelty of having a photofinishing store computerize their traditional snapshots?
That's the key question Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK - news) faces as it puts the finishing touches on its new product in its effort to profit from digital photography.
Using Picture CD, amateur shutterbugs will be able to have their photos stored on CD-ROM. In a few weeks, Picture CDs will begin popping up at national chains such as Kmart Corp., Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG - news), CVS Corp. (NYSE:CVS - news) and Target Stores. By this summer, they will be available at more than 40,000 retail stores nationwide.
Kodak developed the Picture CD along with computer chip giant Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) as part of a drive to expand mainstream photography to the Internet. The Picture CD uses software by Adobe Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:ADBE - news)
In recent test-markets in Indianapolis and Salt Lake City, Kodak said the compact discs were bought by about 5 percent of consumers - a higher percentage than expected.
''I would be really surprised if this doesn't take off,'' said Audrey Debije, 29, a college instructor who was picking up film at a Moto Photo store in Kodak's hometown on Tuesday.
''It could be a real benefit when members of families live clear across the country from each other and you don't see each other that often.''
Another customer, Karl Neubauer, doesn't anticipate much demand among ''average Americans'' for a few more years, at least until costs come down.
''Already, developing film can be expensive, so I think it's going to take a while before CDs are widely used,'' said Neubauer, a sculptor. ''I like photos to be tangible. Not that I'm a technophobe, but in a way I'd like to keep it simple.''
At least initially, traditional prints, which cost roughly $5 to $8 per roll, must be purchased along with CDs. The CD orders take about two days to fill.
The CDs are simpler to use than the floppy disks that Kodak and other photo companies now sell, which require consumers to load their own software onto their computer. While the CDs are slightly more expensive, their images are sharper.
Photos on CD could be stored in digital albums, manipulated to adjust color, clarity and brightness, or dropped into newsletters and personalized birthday cards. |
