February 5, 2025
Pono [poh-noh] (Hawaiian for ‘proper’ or ‘righteousness’) was a portable digital media player and music download service for high-resolution audio. It was developed by musician Neil Young and his company PonoMusic, which raised money for development and initial production through a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter. Production and shipments to backers started in 2014, and shipments to the general public began in the first quarter of 2015.
Pono’s stated goal to present songs ‘as they first sound during studio recording sessions,’ using ‘high-resolution’ 24-bit 192kHz audio instead of ‘the compressed audio inferiority that MP3s offer’ received mixed reactions, with some describing Pono as a competitor to similar music services such as HDtracks, but others doubting its potential for success. Pono was discontinued in 2017, and alternative plans were later abandoned.
read more »
Posted in Art, Money, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
December 9, 2024
SpinLaunch is a spaceflight technology development company working on mass accelerator technology to move payloads to space.[3] As of September 2022, the company has raised US$150 million in funding, with investors including Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures, Airbus Ventures, ATW Partners, Catapult Ventures, Lauder Partners, John Doerr, and the Byers Family.
SpinLaunch’s projected cost per kg of payload is approximately $1,250 – $2,500. This projection is significantly less expensive than SpaceX’s current price per kg of payload on the Falcon 9 of $6,000. SpaceX’s projected cost per kg on Starship, however, is less than $1,000 per kg. What real costs and prices for either SpinLaunch or Starship remains to be seen.
read more »
Posted in Money, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
July 28, 2022
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the Gary Fisher, LeMond Racing Cycles, Klein, and Villiger Bikes brand names.
With its headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trek bicycles are marketed through 1,700 independently owned bicycle shops across North America, subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, South Africa, as well as distributors in 90 countries worldwide. Most Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the U.S. in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, and China.
read more »
Posted in Games, Money |
Leave a Comment »
November 16, 2020
Hipgnosis Songs Fund is a British Guernsey-registered music IP investment and song management company founded in 2018 by Canadian–American music industry executive and entrepreneur Merck Mercuriadis and co-founded by Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers, Mercuriadis’ former client.
Focused on songs and associated musical intellectual property rights, it was founded on the premise that hit songs are long-term predictable assets unaffected by economic cycles that will increase in value as the worldwide music streaming market grows. In addition to acquiring songs and songwriter catalogues, the company manages the playlist, cover, interpolation, and synchronization revenues of its IP.
read more »
Posted in Art, Money |
Leave a Comment »
October 9, 2020
Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) is the largest distributor of bicycle parts and accessories in the bicycle industry. The Minnestota-based company owns nineteen brands including Salsa, Surly, and All-City. QBP is also the exclusive U.S. distributor of Lazer Helmets, a Belgian manufacturer of high performance bicycle and snow helmets, and through its Q-Active division, the company distributes products to independent ski, run and outdoor retailers.
Founded by Steve Flagg and Mary Henrickson in 1981, QBP operated from a small office in St. Paul and got its start in mountain bikes. QBP also specialized in importing hard-to-find mountain-bike parts from suppliers in Japan.
read more »
Posted in Money, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
October 7, 2020
Speedwell Ironworks was an ironworks in Speedwell Village, on Speedwell Avenue (part of U.S. Route 202), just north of downtown Morristown, in Morris County, New Jersey where Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse first demonstrated their electric telegraph.
Speedwell Ironworks also provided most of the machinery for the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The site is still open to the public, and has seven buildings on display. The site, now named Historical Speedwell, is a historic site of the Morris County Park Commission and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974, preserving seven buildings read more »
Posted in Technology |
Leave a Comment »
August 11, 2020
Off-White (stylized as OFF-WHITE c/o VIRGIL ABLOH) is an Italian luxury fashion label founded by American designer Virgil Abloh. The label has collaborated with Nike, Levi, Jimmy Choo, IKEA and Évian. In 2019, José Neves, owner of Farfetch, an online luxury fashion retail platform, purchased New Guards Group, the parent organization of Off-White for US$675 million.
The company was first founded as ‘PYREX VISION’ by Virgil Abloh in the Italian city of Milan in 2012. The name was abandoned after coming under criticism for printing ‘PYREX 23’ on the classic Ralph Lauren rugby flannel silhouette, and reselling them for a premium $550 price tag. Abloh then rebranded the company as Off-White, which he describes as ‘the grey area between black and white as the color off-white’ to the fashion world.
read more »
Posted in Art, Money |
Leave a Comment »
April 28, 2019
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company.
Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal, the corporation’s purpose is to expand the secondary mortgage market by securitizing mortgage loans in the form of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), allowing lenders to reinvest their assets into more lending and in effect increasing the number of lenders in the mortgage market by reducing the reliance on locally based savings and loan associations (or ‘thrifts’).
read more »
Posted in Money, Politics |
Leave a Comment »
February 19, 2019
Enchroma lenses are glasses designed to improve and modify some aspects of color vision deficiency for color blind people. Glass scientist Dr. Donald McPherson invented Enchroma glasses by accident. He originally invented this type of lens to protect surgeons during laser operations. In 2002 at the Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Santa Cruz, California McPherson lent a pair to a friend who was color blind. His friend saw colors he had never seen before.
McPherson started studying color blindness, and with Andrew Schmeder founded the company EnChroma Inc. in 2010 to sell glasses that compensate for color vision deficiency. Enchroma glasses target people with difficulties in distinguishing reds and greens. The first pair of commercial glasses were released in 2012.
read more »
Posted in Health, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
January 8, 2019
Impossible Foods Inc. is a company that develops plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy products. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company aims to give people the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without the negative health and environmental impacts associated with livestock products.
The company researches animal products at the molecular level, then selects specific proteins and nutrients from plants to recreate the experience of meats and dairy products. Its signature product, the Impossible Burger, was launched in 2016.
read more »
Posted in Food, Health, Money |
Leave a Comment »
July 13, 2017
Herman Miller, Inc., based in Zeeland, Michigan, is a major American manufacturer of office furniture, equipment and home furnishings. It is notable as one of the first companies to produce modern furniture and, under the guidance of Design Director George Nelson, is likely the most prolific and influential producer of furniture of the modernist style. Among classic Herman Miller products are the Equa chair, Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, and the Eames Lounge Chair.
Herman Miller is credited with the invention of the office cubicle (originally known as the ‘Action Office II’) in 1968 under then-director of research Robert Propst. Herman Miller holds a unique position among furniture manufacturers for having cultivated the talents of a large number of modernist designers, producing a significant number of pieces that are now considered icons of industrial design.
read more »
Posted in Art, Money, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
January 19, 2017
Jorg Gray is a California-based brand of men’s and women’s watches. They are best known as the favored watch of U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. Secret Service. Jorg Gray was established as a watch line in 1998 by Logomark, Inc. based in Tustin, California. Originally Jorg Gray timepieces were manufactured as a high end promotional item for corporations and federal agencies. Jorg Gray became a retail only brand in 2009. The company has since expanded their line and launched a women’s collection in late 2013. There are currently over 250 authorized dealers the U.S. and the brand can be found in retail stores in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and South America.
President Obama received his original JG6500, the ‘official’ model of the Secret Service in 2007 as a birthday gift from his security team and has been documented wearing it. Shortly thereafter Jorg Gray created a commemorative edition of the timepiece. Each watch comes with an individualized serial number and an inscription, laser engraved on the case back. Other government agencies around the world, including the London Metropolitan Police, now also wear watches made by Jorg Gray.
Posted in Money, Politics, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
The Daily Omnivore 