LESSON 4: WIDGET PRODUCTION:
Producing More, Using Less

Alexander Graham Bell

  1. telephone
  2. inability to communicate orally over long distances
  3. communicate with others more quickly than with letters and over long distances
  4. People could talk over longer distances.
  5. production of telephones and telephone parts, telephone service repair people

Henry Ford

  1. the assembly line
  2. how to produce more cars in less time and at a lower price
  3. invented a moving belt so that employees could build cars one piece at a time instead of one car at a time which allowed workers to focus on doing one task more efficiently (division of labor)
  4. More cars produced at lower costs.
  5. gas stations, car mechanics car dealerships, production of car parts

John Deere

  1. self polishing cast steel plow
  2. to increase the efficiency of plowing crops for farmers so they didn't have to stop every few feet
  3. using a plow with a curved blade that automatically lifted and turned soiled
  4. Farmers were able to plow more crops in less time so they could increase their output.
  5. production of more steel, dealerships for selling plows

Eli Whitney

  1. the cotton gin
  2. Plantation workers had a time consuming job of separating the seeds from the cotton by hand.
  3. Cotton was cleaned faster using less workers by using a wooden box that spun cotton around a drum and picked out waste with wire hooks.
  4. improved quality of clothing and an increased amount of cotton produced in less time and therefore farmers received higher profits
  5. sewing machines, garment manufacturers

Elijah McCoy

  1. automatic oil cup
  2. Trains had to stop periodically to oil the parts of the locomotive.
  3. A lubricating cup was created so that oil would automatically drip onto the parts of the train.
  4. Passengers and goods got to their destination in less time.
  5. modified wheels, more sophisticated parts

Grace Murray Hopper

  1. the computer compiler
  2. Programmers had to write lengthy instructions in binary code for every new piece of software which was time consuming and created many mistakes.
  3. A new program was written which freed software developers from having to write repetitive binary code.
  4. The computer compiler saved time and errors.
  5. software development, computer tapes, computer discs, personal computers

Tim Berners-Lee

  1. the world wide web,
  2. The tools of the internet made it difficult to find information and only text (no pictures or videos) was available.
  3. The world wide web made it possible for anyone to use the internet.
  4. People could collect and contribute information easier and more efficiently.
  5. web page programmers, web page designers

Jacob Rabinow

  1. the automated scanning machine, "Reading Machine"
  2. time consuming to sort printed materials by hand
  3. The machine could sort and process written materials such as mail in less time using fewer workers.
  4. People could receive printed information, such as mail, quicker and more efficiently because it was processed at a faster rate.
  5. manufacturers of reading, sorting, and processing machines, support services

Bette Nesmith Graham

  1. liquid paper
  2. Carbon-film ribbons in electric typewriters made a mess when trying to erase mistakes.
  3. covered and disguised typing mistakes with a white water based liquid
  4. Typists were able to produce neater and clearer documents in less time.
  5. manufacturers of white out and colored white out

Write a generalization about the impact these inventions had on productivity and what this means for consumers and producers. Answer