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Showing posts with label Appliances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Appliances. Show all posts
Tea bag sales
Tea bag sales now dominate the market and offer improved blends and convenience, including “onecup” bags. Despite this, a restyled and electronically more sophisticated Teasmade remains in production today. Swan also produces a model where the kettle and pot are hidden behind a panel that can accommodate a family photograph. The U.S. Chef’s Choice Company also produces the TeaMate, an appliance that looks similar to a coffee percolator. Based on the samovar method, it steams the tealeaves and then introduces boiled water to create a concentrate that is blended with the rest of the water.
Tea Makers
Given the British preference for a cup of tea with breakfast, it is hardly surprising that automatic tea makers appeared there. The earliest example was patented by Frank Clarke, a Birmingham gunsmith, in 1902. It operated through springs and levers connected to an alarm clock. When set it would ignite a match by running it across emery paper, thus lighting a spirit lamp that would heat the kettle above it.
The Goblin Company, which was well known for its vacuum cleaners, produced the first electric machine in 1933, the Goblin Teasmade. Designed by Brenner Thornton, it was also linked to an alarm clock but had a special kettle that could be set to boil before the alarm went off. The boiling water decanted into the teapot, which sat on a stand.
The weight of the water slightly tipped the teapot, engaging a switch that lit a bedside lamp attached to the machine. Despite folktales of scalded sleepers who had forgotten to replace the teapot, the Teasmade gradually became relatively popular.
Meanwhile, the tea bag was introduced in America. Designed by Thomas Sullivan in New York, its intended use was for sampling tea. It went into commercial production for caterers and had become a popular domestic item by the 1930s. The New York–based Tetley introduced tea bags into Britain in 1953.
The Goblin Company, which was well known for its vacuum cleaners, produced the first electric machine in 1933, the Goblin Teasmade. Designed by Brenner Thornton, it was also linked to an alarm clock but had a special kettle that could be set to boil before the alarm went off. The boiling water decanted into the teapot, which sat on a stand.
The weight of the water slightly tipped the teapot, engaging a switch that lit a bedside lamp attached to the machine. Despite folktales of scalded sleepers who had forgotten to replace the teapot, the Teasmade gradually became relatively popular.
Meanwhile, the tea bag was introduced in America. Designed by Thomas Sullivan in New York, its intended use was for sampling tea. It went into commercial production for caterers and had become a popular domestic item by the 1930s. The New York–based Tetley introduced tea bags into Britain in 1953.
Refrigerators
A refrigerator is an artificially cooled cabinet for storage of perishable foods. Cooling occurs when the refrigerant, preferably a substance with a low boiling point, is forced to change from a liquid to a gas by the application of pressure or heat. As the liquid evaporates, it draws heat from its surroundings, thus chilling food. The gas is then caused to reliquify either by being passed outside the
cabinet to a condenser, where it is able to expand and give off heat to the surrounding air, or by gravity. This cycle operates continuously. The basic principles of both methods of refrigeration— compression and (heat) absorption—were established in the nineteenth century and applied in commercial contexts such as brewing and shipment of meat. Refrigerators on a smaller scale, suitable for household use, did not appear until the early twentieth century.
Before domestic refrigerators became available, for many households the only way to keep food cool was by storing it in a naturally cool place, such as a cellar or a larder. A more effective method was to pack blocks of ice around food. Ice became more widespread as a commercial commodity in Europe, Canada, and the United States during the nineteenth century. By 1900, department stores were stocking ice boxes, which were well-insulated wooden cabinets with one compartment for ice, another for food, and a tray to collect water when the ice began to melt. 1930s Electrolux electric refrigerator, sold in Britain through the General Electric Company .
cabinet to a condenser, where it is able to expand and give off heat to the surrounding air, or by gravity. This cycle operates continuously. The basic principles of both methods of refrigeration— compression and (heat) absorption—were established in the nineteenth century and applied in commercial contexts such as brewing and shipment of meat. Refrigerators on a smaller scale, suitable for household use, did not appear until the early twentieth century.
Before domestic refrigerators became available, for many households the only way to keep food cool was by storing it in a naturally cool place, such as a cellar or a larder. A more effective method was to pack blocks of ice around food. Ice became more widespread as a commercial commodity in Europe, Canada, and the United States during the nineteenth century. By 1900, department stores were stocking ice boxes, which were well-insulated wooden cabinets with one compartment for ice, another for food, and a tray to collect water when the ice began to melt. 1930s Electrolux electric refrigerator, sold in Britain through the General Electric Company .
RCA (Radio Corporation of America )
The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was formed in 1919 to acquire the assets of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America. It was initially owned by corporate investors, including General Electric and Westinghouse, and became an independent company in 1932. Since 1988, RCA 1960s, to develop a videodisc format. Three rival video disc formats were announced in 1975, all play only and nonrecordable, and appeared on the market a few years later. RCA’s Selectavision system, launched in 1978, was competitively priced but unattractive to consumers in comparison with recordable videocassette systems. After five years, when it ceased Selectavision production, RCA had sold half a million players and 10 million discs, but had spent $300 million on research and development and lost approximately the same amount on production.
Perhaps not surprisingly, following the commercial disaster of Selectavision, RCA ceased to be an independent company in 1986 when it was taken over by General Electric. Less predictably, little more than a year later, General Electric sold off not only RCA, but also its own consumer electronics operations, to the French electronics multinational Thomson Grand Public. The enlarged company was renamed Thomson Consumer Electronics. Ironically, Thomson began life as the French subsidiary of the U.S. Thomson-Houston Electric Company, which merged with Edison Electric Light Company to form General Electric in 1892. This completed a series of prestigious acquisitions by Thomson in the 1980s, which include the German companies SABA and Telefunken and the British company Ferguson. Under new ownership, RCA began to flourish again. It reached a major milestone in 1989 when its 50 millionth color television set came off the assembly line at its plant in Bloomington, Indiana, which is the world’s largest television assembly plant.
In 1993, Thomson became a founding member of the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance, an international body formed to agree on global standards. A year later, the RCA Digital Satellite System introduced digital satellite television broadcasting in the United States. The parent company, Thomson Consumer Electronics, was renamed Thomson Multimedia in 1995 to signal its growing interest in digital home-entertainment products. Moreover, in 1998, it made equity holdings available to four companies that were considered to be suitable partners for new digital developments. These companies, with an aggregate 25 percent shareholding, are Microsoft, DirecTV, Alcatel, and NEC.
Perhaps not surprisingly, following the commercial disaster of Selectavision, RCA ceased to be an independent company in 1986 when it was taken over by General Electric. Less predictably, little more than a year later, General Electric sold off not only RCA, but also its own consumer electronics operations, to the French electronics multinational Thomson Grand Public. The enlarged company was renamed Thomson Consumer Electronics. Ironically, Thomson began life as the French subsidiary of the U.S. Thomson-Houston Electric Company, which merged with Edison Electric Light Company to form General Electric in 1892. This completed a series of prestigious acquisitions by Thomson in the 1980s, which include the German companies SABA and Telefunken and the British company Ferguson. Under new ownership, RCA began to flourish again. It reached a major milestone in 1989 when its 50 millionth color television set came off the assembly line at its plant in Bloomington, Indiana, which is the world’s largest television assembly plant.
In 1993, Thomson became a founding member of the Digital HDTV Grand Alliance, an international body formed to agree on global standards. A year later, the RCA Digital Satellite System introduced digital satellite television broadcasting in the United States. The parent company, Thomson Consumer Electronics, was renamed Thomson Multimedia in 1995 to signal its growing interest in digital home-entertainment products. Moreover, in 1998, it made equity holdings available to four companies that were considered to be suitable partners for new digital developments. These companies, with an aggregate 25 percent shareholding, are Microsoft, DirecTV, Alcatel, and NEC.
Morphy Richards
The British company Morphy Richards was founded in 1936 as a manufacturer of electric irons. It soon became a successful manufacturer of a range of small electrical appliances, such as kettles, toasters, and hair dryers. Its success has been based on the functional design, affordability, and reliability of its products. While not notable as a world innovator, the company has been responsible for introducing new technical advances to the British market. Examples of this include steam irons and pop-up toasters. The Morphy Richards streamlined toaster of 1956 was one of the most popular British models, coming in either a chrome or a yellow enameled body. Its PA75 model, also available in chrome or yellow enamel, was equally successful. Morphy Richards expanded into consumer electronics in 1982, launching into the portable radio and audio market. It became part of the Glen Dimplex Group in 1985. In the 1990s, sales benefited from the introduction of matching lines of small appliances in deep colors. Today, Morphy Richards is the leading British manufacturer of small electrical appliances and has market shares of about 33 percent for kettles and 25 percent for toasters. The audio division has grown to include telecommunications products.
See also
Blenders/Juicers; Frying Pans; Glen Dimplex; Hair dryers; Irons; Kettles; Sandwich Toasters;
Toasters; Trouser Presses.
See also
Blenders/Juicers; Frying Pans; Glen Dimplex; Hair dryers; Irons; Kettles; Sandwich Toasters;
Toasters; Trouser Presses.
'Buying a Dishwasher' Tip
When buying a dishwasher, remember what you are paying for:
NOISE... basically.
Recently I purchased a new dishwasher. I went with a Frigidaire
because it was discontinued and therefor, drastically reduced (to $179.00). It frankly cost more to have it installed, but that's another story :)It's a nice looking dishwasher, it's stainless steel and matches the rest of the kitchen appliances,
AND most importantly, cleans dishes well, without a lot of dishwashing detergent.
It has some kind of hyper-efficient cleaning mechanism that most dishwashers have now-a-days.
So is there any downside? Well... noise.
It's pretty loud when it runs. Let's put it this way- my husband joked that he's glad that our son is not a baby anymore, because the dishwasher would wake him up. That's a little exaggerated,
but not completely off the mark.
So the tip for today sounds a lot like the Blender Tip I gave recently,
Yet different...
1. When buying Dishwashers AS WELL AS Blenders-
DO NOT go with a brand you have NEVER heard of,
you just don't start a 'dishwasher manufacturing business',
it must grow and develop-
go with a name you've heard of- like Frigidaire, Whirlpool, Maytag, etc.
2. Think about noise level:
Most dishwashers clean dishes well;
at this point, in 2010, you're paying for a
lack of noise.
Ours is a little noisy, but you get used to it.
And it's still not as loud as that cheap inexpensive blender I bought!
On the other hand, an Electrolux dishwasher is SILENT,
and it's price tag reflects that.
It's your choice- go with what your lifestyle needs!
Happy HouseHolds!
Yet different...
1. When buying Dishwashers AS WELL AS Blenders-
DO NOT go with a brand you have NEVER heard of,
you just don't start a 'dishwasher manufacturing business',
it must grow and develop-
go with a name you've heard of- like Frigidaire, Whirlpool, Maytag, etc.
2. Think about noise level:
Most dishwashers clean dishes well;
at this point, in 2010, you're paying for a
lack of noise.
Ours is a little noisy, but you get used to it.
And it's still not as loud as that cheap inexpensive blender I bought!
On the other hand, an Electrolux dishwasher is SILENT,
and it's price tag reflects that.
It's your choice- go with what your lifestyle needs!
Happy HouseHolds!
Dyson Appliances
James Dyson, the founder of Dyson Appliances, is a British industrial designer and entrepreneur who studied at the Royal College of Art in London. His early product designs include the Ballbarrow, a wheelbarrow made more maneuverable by substituting a ball for the front wheel. He is best known for the Dual Cyclone line of bagless vacuum cleaners that he designs and manufactures.
Based on his observations that traditional vacuum cleaners become less effective as the pores of their dust bags become clogged with dust, he set about designing a new kind of vacuum cleaner. Dyson’s dual cyclone system uses centrifugal force to separate the heavier dust particles from the air, thereby maintaining a clean airstream and full suction. In 1979, he made an industrial version of the cyclone cleaner for the Ballbarrow factory. It took five years of further development and more than 5,000 discarded prototypes to create the world’s first bagless cyclonic vacuum cleaner, the G-Force, which Dyson patented in 1984. Another nine years were to pass before Dyson began to reap the commercial potential of his invention.
Dyson tried to interest existing vacuum cleaner manufacturers in his patent with little success. He managed to negotiate licenses with a Japanese company and an American one. Production went ahead in Japan, but the American company, Amway, pulled out. Dyson then discovered that Amway was producing a cyclone cleaner, purportedly of its own design. In 1987, he sued Amway for patent infringement, a case that took five years to be settled in Dyson’s favor. During that period, he relied on the income from the Japanese license to meet his legal costs and pay the patent renewal fees. With the court case won, Dyson was able to set up Dyson Appliances at a factory in Wiltshire, in the south of England, to mass-produce his designs.
The Dual Cyclone line, more effective at removing finer dust particles than the G-Force, began with an upright model in 1993, soon followed by a cylinder (canister) version. All Dyson cleaners feature a transparent plastic dust container and cylinder models have a unique “stair hugging” shape. The classic Dyson colors are gray and yellow, but variations have been introduced to differentiate new models—for example, the use of purple casing for a high-efficiency filter. The de Stijl models are a stylistic tribute to the Dutch design movement of that name. Another Dyson first is the Recyclone, the first vacuum cleaner to be made by taking plastic waste from the manufacturing process and recycling it. At the end of the twentieth century, Dyson began working on the development of a robotic vacuum cleaner.
Dyson Appliances quickly achieved great commercial success in Britain, in spite of its products being at the higher end of the price range. In 1996, Dyson sold 400,000 vacuum cleaners, taking cumulative sales income above the £1 billion mark. The company now accounts for half of the British vacuum cleaner market by value. As exports only represent about 15 percent of sales, there is considerable foreign growth potential.
Based on his observations that traditional vacuum cleaners become less effective as the pores of their dust bags become clogged with dust, he set about designing a new kind of vacuum cleaner. Dyson’s dual cyclone system uses centrifugal force to separate the heavier dust particles from the air, thereby maintaining a clean airstream and full suction. In 1979, he made an industrial version of the cyclone cleaner for the Ballbarrow factory. It took five years of further development and more than 5,000 discarded prototypes to create the world’s first bagless cyclonic vacuum cleaner, the G-Force, which Dyson patented in 1984. Another nine years were to pass before Dyson began to reap the commercial potential of his invention.
Dyson tried to interest existing vacuum cleaner manufacturers in his patent with little success. He managed to negotiate licenses with a Japanese company and an American one. Production went ahead in Japan, but the American company, Amway, pulled out. Dyson then discovered that Amway was producing a cyclone cleaner, purportedly of its own design. In 1987, he sued Amway for patent infringement, a case that took five years to be settled in Dyson’s favor. During that period, he relied on the income from the Japanese license to meet his legal costs and pay the patent renewal fees. With the court case won, Dyson was able to set up Dyson Appliances at a factory in Wiltshire, in the south of England, to mass-produce his designs.
The Dual Cyclone line, more effective at removing finer dust particles than the G-Force, began with an upright model in 1993, soon followed by a cylinder (canister) version. All Dyson cleaners feature a transparent plastic dust container and cylinder models have a unique “stair hugging” shape. The classic Dyson colors are gray and yellow, but variations have been introduced to differentiate new models—for example, the use of purple casing for a high-efficiency filter. The de Stijl models are a stylistic tribute to the Dutch design movement of that name. Another Dyson first is the Recyclone, the first vacuum cleaner to be made by taking plastic waste from the manufacturing process and recycling it. At the end of the twentieth century, Dyson began working on the development of a robotic vacuum cleaner.
Dyson Appliances quickly achieved great commercial success in Britain, in spite of its products being at the higher end of the price range. In 1996, Dyson sold 400,000 vacuum cleaners, taking cumulative sales income above the £1 billion mark. The company now accounts for half of the British vacuum cleaner market by value. As exports only represent about 15 percent of sales, there is considerable foreign growth potential.
Don't 'Go Discount' on Blenders
You live, You learn.
Case in Point: this blender, pictured on the left.
I have, believe it or not, never bought a blender before last week. We got one as a wedding present and I've been using it for the last 12 years.
The blender we got was a nice one, but not a 'ridiculously-priced gizmo that that blends, dices and tells you the time of day'. It was a blender, and it lasted 12 years. So, since I have no experience with buying blenders, I figured-
'A blender is a blender.'
And that's not quite true. The blender to the left was on sale at Target for $13.99. What did I learn?
DO NOT buy a blender that is $13.99.
It is SO LOUD, it deafens the ears. It even scared my 6-year-old son, and he doesn't really 'get scared' anymore. I'm not mentioning the brand name (which I'd never heard of- another red flag), (I think you can read it on the front of the blender), because they didn't do anything wrong- they are selling a very, cheap, blender;
It's just that I found out it is not worth saving a few dollars to go cheap on a blender.
It is worth a few more dollars to get a nice blender, that isn't CRAZY LOUD,
and rattles,
and scares small children.
So, I went back to Target and got an Oster 12-Speed Blender, that even crushes ice for smoothies...
in seconds... silently,
for $37.99.
You know what? Just about ALL the blenders at Target were between $30 and $40 dollars.
This is probably a good price range to look in when buying a blender :)
Once again- You Live. You Learn.
Enough Said.
