The Power of Waste

Can being wasteful be a good thing? Judas didn’t think so when Mary dumped a jar of Shalom No. 5 over Jesus’ feet.

Question: Go back to 1969. Did you buy a Honeywell Kitchen Computer?

No, you didn’t — because not a single one sold.

By 1969, computers had been around for several years as room-size mainframe machines used only by businesses and governments. But that year, the first PC for home use was offered in the Neiman Marcus catalog. It was a stand-up model with a built-in countertop called the Honeywell Kitchen Computer, and it was listed for $10,600. That was a lot of money in those days, when you could still get a new car for $2,000. The Kitchen Computer was aimed at housewives and was intended to be used for recipe management. That was the only home use for computing power, other than checkbook balancing, that the Honeywell engineers could think of. Not surprisingly, not a single Kitchen Computer sold.

But, as we all know, computers have since moved out of just the business world into our homes, as well as into our pockets and purses, and we’ve found new ways to use them.

Some of this change...