Centives

Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console was introduced in 2002 into a market that was dominated by Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s GameCube. Today it has become the top selling console. Four years later Microsoft released its Zune media player to compete against Apple’s iPod, hoping to replicate the Xbox’s success. Yet the players never caught on and were discontinued in 2011. What explains the differing outcomes of the two products? Todd Bishop reports on a talk given by Robbie Bach that highlights:

• The Xbox challenged the existing norms at the time and envisioned a new future of downloadable games by adding a hard drive into the console. This was well before either Sony or Nintendo had contemplated such a move, and it paid off. In contrast the Zune tried to follow Apple’s lead and failed to catch on.
• The Xbox’s marketing strategy appealed to a wide range of gamers. Zune’s marketing strategy targeted niche customers and ultimately failed to spread the Zune message.
• With the Xbox Microsoft found willing partners in game publishers such as EA to support the console. Music publishers were never keen on supporting Zune.
• The Xbox was able to take advantage of mistakes made by Sony in its transition to the PlayStation 3. The Zune was never given that chance since Apple rarely makes any mistakes.

To read more about what intrapreneurship means, what failure Bach considers to be the “most painful thing in [his] life”, as well as why Bill Gates thought that the Xbox needed a modem and much more click here.

Source: GeekWire

How does the FBI determine who its most wanted fugitives are? Daniel Nasaw took a look at the history of the list:

• The ten people on the list are not ranked in any particular order.
• The FBI only puts people on the list if the trail has gone cold and it believes that the public could aid in the capture of the fugitive. Of the 495 people who have made the list 465 have been captured.
• Other criteria for being on the list include having a federal warrant out for an arrest, being deemed a threat to society, and being worth a $100,000 reward.
• The top 10 list has mirrored the interests of the FBI. Up until the 70s violent anti-Vietnam war protesters dominated the list. In the 90s it was terrorists. In the 00s it has been child pornographers and pedophiles.
• Individuals are removed from the list if they are captured, die, or are no longer considered a menace to society.
• It can take a long time to replace somebody on the list. 11 months passed between the death of Osama bin Laden and the selection of his replacement.

To find out exactly how many of the most wanted have been captured through tips from the public, who currently makes up the list, why the FBI doesn’t put people on the list unless the trail has gone cold, the specific bureaucratic processes for adding somebody to the list, and who was deemed threatning enough to replace Osama bin Laden, click here.

Source: BBC

Shawarma places across the United States are seeing a surge in demand. But what is Shawarma? And why is it suddenly so popular?

• Shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish of meat prepared over a period of 24 hours served in a pita.
• In Avengers, Iron Man endorses it as a food that he’s never had but would like to try, saying that there is a place that he knows. At one point in the movie the superheroes take him up on the offer.
• Shawarma has seen a surge in interest on Google and Twitter. Jon Stewart also gave it a mention.
• Shawarma joints are appreciative of the increased interest.

To read more about the proper way to prepare Shawarma, the relationship between food and culture, and the best place to get it in Boston, click here.

Source: Boston Herald

Rachel Swaby took a look at the history of ketchup. Some of the fascinating finds include:

• The original ketchup was a type of fish paste made of anchovies.
• After a while people started experimenting with mushroom, walnut, grape and oyster ketchups among others.
• Part of the appeal of ketchup is the high amount of salt and vinegar – these acted as a preservative and ensured that ketchup could stay on shelves a long time – crucial in the time before refrigerators.
• In the 1960s mechanical harvesters which were more likely to bruise tomatoes became the norm. In response to this scientists at Heinz developed a tomato with a thick skin and more meat so that it could stand up to the harvester.
• Heinz tomato plants used to produce 22 tons of tomatoes per acre. Now they produce more than double that.
• There are just four hours between a tomato being plucked and it being turned into a tomato paste.
• A ‘spice pack’ is added to ketchup to add flavour.

To read about the 6000 test tomato seeds that could go on to form the basis of your next bottle of tomato ketchup, when exactly tomatoes became the most popular form of ketchup, why tomato ketchup used to be coloured brown, why Heinz developed plants that stay ripe longer, and how the six billion seeds are distributed by Heinz each year click here.

Source: Gizmodo

Researchers took a look at the relationship between work commute and health. Bill Briggs reported on some of the findings:

• Those who have a longer commute weigh more and have a higher blood pressure.
• This is possibly because they don’t have as much time to exercise.
• Other potential explanations include less time for sleep, and snacking on fast food.
• Every 10-mile increase in your commute increases your BMI by 0.17 units.

To read more details about the study, why you should honk at the person in front of you, and why more driving is likely to lead to higher stress levels, click here.

Source: Life Inc.