What's happening to Kodak is sad. They used to be an innovative and responsible high-tech company, one of the first. Not only did they market delightful consumer products, they produced first-rate scientific material.

As an astronomy major, I learned about a number of Kodak products that were essential to the development of my field, particularly specialized emulsions and optically flat photographic glass plates, film processing chemistry, and narrow band optical filters.

In spite of modern advances in detector technology, these products were essential to the discipline because they allowed direct comparison of imagery and photometry acquired decades earlier with data collected yesterday. In this way, subtle observational artifacts introduced by new detector technologies, or present in the older ones, could be eliminated from consideration when comparing old and recent images and spectra.

Kodak must have sold these products at a loss, because I am certain limited sales to the astronomical community could not have covered the rigorous quality control costs required to ensure consistency in these materials. They did this as a loss-leader, not because it was profitable, or even good PR, but because it was right. They will be missed.