Research desk
We publish when the sources are ready, not to fill a quota. The records below are additions to the launch archive.
2000 · Business
Netflix’s founders say they proposed a sale during a 2000 meeting. A former Blockbuster chief later said there were no serious acquisition talks, making the disagreement part of the record.
2008 · Business
Microsoft offered $31 per share in 2008. Yahoo rejected the proposal, Microsoft raised its price, and the talks ended without a deal; later Yahoo transactions are not clean comparisons.
2001 · Investing
The stock’s reported quarterly range fell roughly 93.5% from a 2000 high to a 2001 low while the company was still losing money. Survival was possible, never obvious.
1975 · Ideas & Inventions
Steven Sasson’s black-and-white prototype was real. So was Kodak’s later digital work; the honest story is a difficult business transition, not an invention simply hidden in a cupboard.
1985 · Everyday Life
Taste tests favored the reformulation, but they did not measure the attachment people felt to the original. Coca-Cola reversed course quickly and later treated the episode as a lesson in brand meaning.
1973 · Technology
PARC combined a mouse, network, bitmap display, and graphical interface in one research system. Thousands were built, but the Alto itself was not sold commercially.
1993 · Technology
The MessagePad anticipated later handheld devices but launched late, struggled with handwriting recognition, and was discontinued in 1998. Its ARM connection became an important legacy.
1942 · Ideas & Inventions
Their 1942 patent described a way to make radio control harder to detect or jam. Recognition of its importance arrived much later than the invention.
