Do any big corporations make products you respect?

[thermodynamic]

And did they get big because they made a good product, or because they found the right marketing opportunity?

The pukes love to claim that working hard and making a good product will make one a success; but in our society it appears that it's actually any sleazy way you can get your slop to market first is how you win the game.

* Burger King et al = slop
* Microsoft = mega slop!
* Auto makers = depends on the maker, and I sure as hell would avoid GM and related brands. Also, Oldsmobile said a few years back they were going out of business. People as a result bought their mobile junkheaps in droves, probably just to stock up on the car knowing they were going out of business. What happened? Just one year later, Oldsmobile has a self-congratulating advert proclaiming how great their sales were and said nothing about their attempt at shutting down the year before. :puke: Isn't this misleading the consumers? Where was the outrage?
* banks and credit cards = thieves they all are, best to be taken advantage of...
* most food products = unhealthy slop (looking at "Mexican" goods today; El Paso brand products are just plain worthless with no nutritional value, even worthless in fiber. Ortega's counterparts, as far as shells and mixes go, were far healthier (fewer calories & fat, with fiber content). Definitely read those little white standout labels that liberals fought hard to get onto packages.
* television = slop, naturally

[Ellen Forradalom]

1. APPLE makes my most excellent iBook

and my husband's beloved iPod.

[billbuckhead]

5. And my G4 iMac

German and Japanese cars, Dutch beer, Japanese TV's......almost any brand for all 3

[parasim]

6. Yeah, Apple...

I've been using Apple products since my Macintosh SE in '86 all they way up to the most recent purchase, an iSight video camera.

Apple is the only huge corporation that constantly puts out, in my opinion, excellent products. and the packaging is just beautiful.

Well, except for maybe a stint in the early to mid 90's before Jobs came back. During that time they were just misguided.

[newyawker99]

35. Hi parasim!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[KCDem]

2. I don't know much about them,

but I have high respect for vibrator companies. :evilgrin:

[ForrestGump]

34. I don't

They're putting we males out of business!

I'm calling for a picket line - boycott!

American thingies are being forsaken in favor of 'personal massagers'! It's a crime!

[leftist_rebel1569]

3. Playstation 2

I love that thing. But, it's made by Sony, a megaloginormous corporation...

[dpbrown]

4. Apple makes my iMac

Apple makes my iPod.
Apple makes my wife's iBook.
Apple makes my email client.
Apple made my wife's picture album from her digital photos.
Apple makes my Internet browser.
Apple makes the iTunes Music Store that my wife likes so much.
Apple's CEO only donates money to Democrats.

[thermodynamic]

10. Why is everybody saying Apple?

Apple stole the GUI concept and mouse from Xerox. That doesn't put them very high on my list, but there's more...

I also believe that if Apple had found and exploited the resources Microsoft had taken advantage of and became the monopoly, Apple would be just as aggressive. I think Steve Jobs even admitted to something like that once... (and it makes sense too, Apple's had a history of exploiting school systems - they got to that niche market first, ahem - and their overall high prices in exchange for lesser technology doesn't exactly help them look like a company worth supporting either. And then any MacOS prior to X was incredibly unstable and yes, I've had to use it in the past, several times.)

Don't believe me? My PC system with a 2.7GHz CPU with 1GB of RAM and 200GB HD, DVD+RW drive, top of the line nvidia 4600 video and top notch sound had cost me $600 ($720 before the HD rebate). How much does a similarly equipped top of the line Mac w/dual 1.25 GHz G4 CPU cost? (and dual 1.25GHz does NOT mean 2.5GHz, the apps have to be made to run in an SMP system) $1700 for the base model and then even more for any upgrades I'd want (the ATi Radeon 9000 is slow, outdated (and inexpensive) junk, 256MB RAM is a joke for the price, and only a 80GB HD?! Forget them!). Sorry, but Apple claims it makes a razor-thin profit at THOSE prices? Sorry, but I think they're snookering you lot... :-(

Oh yeah, I just went to Macmall - this is too hilarious. The blasted website tried to place 14 cookies on my system at one time. Then it wanted to place 6 more on top of the original 14. I also noticed how hefty their so-called "installation fees" were for those "free" upgrades they promised for the top model in question. The "free" RAM upgrade just happens to cost the price of the installation and knowing what it takes to install RAM, $40 is way overpriced for that service (note their name-brand RAM costs a bit more and, oddly enough, there's no tick option for them to install it for that delightful $40 fee...). What a bunch of crooks they are!!

For computers, I'd have to say Commodore Amiga.

[stanwyck]

13. I work for a digital imaging company

and if you're not working on a MAC, please don't send us your files.

[paper chase guy]

24. why?

photoshop works exactly the same on windows as mac, as do most such programs. Usually the only things different are a few interface touches.

[stanwyck]

26. The rips

the MAC files rip more easily. Output devices -- indigo, heidelberg, fugi, Xerox -- were designed with MACs in mind. Also, the people who use MACs are generally people with better graphic skills -- we don't run into issues like missing supports, fonts, no bleed or crops. Of course, there are exceptions. But most graphics professionals use MACs.The non-MAC users are generally corporate folks who are trying to create graphics files. And, the programs DO NOT work the same across platforms.(Again, it's the rip) Unfortunately, non-MAC users generally are penalized with prepress services which are required to get their files to the presses. And, please, whatever you do, don't use Publisher. Ever.

[paper chase guy]

29. it seems mostly like you are distinguishing the users...

and not the actual programs.

What do you mean by rips, specifically? Not sure I'm following you, there.

I've only experience with moving photoshop between platforms, and it has been flawless. Maybe other programs don't have as good compatibility as Adobe, but that really comes down to the individual company doing a crappy port. If you've got any examples I'm genuinely interested in hearing it, I'm not a professional and am always trying to expand my knowledge.

[stanwyck]

31. No, it's more than the users...

Sorry to be too cryptic, paper chase guy. I hope I don't sound too much like a propeller head now: A RIP is a "Raster Image Processor," a computer that interprets the image on a computer screen and rasterizes it into a series of dots that ultimately ends up on either film separations or printing plates.

[paper chase guy]

25. as far as hardware goes, i've never really been impressed...

with apple stuff 100%. They've had some interesting, successful ideas (I actually like the lamp imac, the screen it comes with is very nice, and they really drove case design to a higher level with the g3) as well as some failures (namely the puck mouse, that tiny keyboard was more than a wee bit annoying but i've gotten used to it on the g3 systems i've used in the past.)

The cpu is also a nice piece of hardware from a design standpoint (I know a guy who's a motorola asm freak), but the difficulty they've had with ramping up speeds curbs it quite a bit.

As far as the OS goes, I agree they were really lacking up until OSX in recent years. I really like OSX though, and if they ever made an x86 version I'd be there in a heartbeat. It's definitely a good thing they took so much time with it, it was a much needed upgrade.

I see the main reason apple is rightly popular is its uniformity. Computers are pretty scary things and the mac tends to put a simple, friendly, uniform face on all of it and that really tends to grab and hold customer trust.

For people who deal with computers on a lower level or wider basis the sacrifices made to create this (cost, lack of flexibility in hardware) don't seem worth it. Also there's the issue of a small software library... There are some programs that are great at what they do, but not a lot of them.

I don't mean to say this in a snide way, there's nothing wrong with that, I like my ford truck because it's simple and it doesn't break down... if it ever did I wouldn't know what to do but tow it to the mechanic.

That all being said, if anyone who is a newbie to computers asks me what to get, and they don't mind paying a little extra more, I usually recommend an imac.

[stanwyck]

32. Back to you, my Commodore Amigo.

It's funny you invoke the name of Xerox in this discussion, thermodynamic...refresh my memory, where are they now in either the SOHO computer market OR the desktop publishing market? LOL. Besides, there were some proprietary engineering and CAD systems using mouse technology way before Xerox.I don't think a company as consistently innovative as Apple is dependent upon stodgy Xerox.

And like so many PC/Windows fanatics, you love to spew megahertz statistics as if that were the true measure of a computer's value.

It really boils down to the user experience, doesn't it? I've worked in mixed Mac and PC environments all my adult life and I've made this observation: the Mac pod is self-sufficient. Their computers never break. And when they do, they are somehow able to right their own canoes. The PCs on the other hand require a legion of IT geeks to navigate the maze of cryptic protocols and secret handshakes that lie just beneath the surface.

I'm quite convinced that if it were not for Apple's delicious GUI, you PC pilots would still be using DOS...and happy with it.

By the way, I can't recall...back when Windows was first introduced, why were there GUI-hungry PC users literally lined around the block waiting to make their PCs look like Macs?

I've always thought the difference between Windows and Mac is like the difference between a transvestite and a real woman...at a distance they look pretty much the same, but when you get close enough, the differences become apparent...

[dpbrown]

40. Because you asked

If you were just baiting for an Apple bashing rant, don't you think you should have said so?

Please save us from all your FUD drivel on PARC, and computers that can only do half as much costing three-quarters as much. Oh, and get over cookies at some unrelated site.

[On the Road]

7. Compared to European Companies,

American companies are good on service, convenience, and understanding the customer.

Many of the defects you mention are actually because the company pays attention to what its customers want, and the average customer does not necessarily have good taste. Excellent providers are always out there, but the ones that last are the ones that give the people what they want at the price they want.

Price is important. Most airline flights, for example, are uncomfortable and inconvenient, but time after time, customers opt for lower price over higher service. Airlines are just adapting.

[ReadTomPaine]

8. Regarding Automobile Companies..

Let’s not forget, in this era of the mega merger…

GM owns Lotus, Saab, Opel, Subaru, Vauxhall, Holden, Fiat and Isuzu

Fiat (Under partial GM ownership) owns Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia & Maserati

Ford owns Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Mazda and Volvo

VW owns Audi, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini & Skoda

[stanwyck]

9. Apple and Adobe

make innovative products; that's why they're successful.Neutrogena, Ponds, and John Freida make excellent health/beauty products at reasonable prices (could all be owned by the same company). Levi Strauss makes durable clothing that's not expensive. Bird's Eye makes soups (found in the frozen food section) which are delicious, low-fat, and full of crunchy (not soggy!) vegetables. Just don't buy a Hoover Floormate...chances are, right out of the box, it won't work. I haven't had good luck with home appliances. I'm not sure much testing is being done before these products are thrown onto shelves.

[thermodynamic]

14. Adobe?

Good products, yes. No argument there.

Also so blasted expensive that if they lowered their price even 50%, they'd get a lot MORE customers. $700 for a flipping computer paint program when all the competition sells for $200 (usually $100 or less) and is, for virtually every situation, just about as good? What makes Photoshop so special, I'll admit I'm not an expert on the product, though I used it once and it's got some unique filters and effects, but they surely are not worth $700... (no competitive upgrade from what I recall either...)

Adobe Premiere is a great product, but it's $700 also. And, oddly enough, they kept out enough useful features just so their $500 After-Effects product becomes a product to consider. This I do know because I got Premiere with my Pinnacle DV500+ card and it lacked the one filter I wanted. (And MainActor costs 1/7th of the price and does many of the things I need, though not all...)

Is Adobe maintaining an image? Or are they keeping prices needlessly inflated? I don't get it.

[paper chase guy]

23. photoshop really is the best image editing program out there...

by a good mile. There's some other good stuff out there that can come somewhat close, but it's a professional standard for a reason. It manages to keep evolving into a more deep, complex form yet stay cohesive.

I had no idea of the depth of ridiculous things that were possible with the program until after having used it for a year or so.

Illustrator is also great, but I've only barely learned how to use it, and most of what I can do with it is also possible in photoshop (drawing bezier curves)

[stanwyck]

28. Our graphic artists

have been using Photoshop for years and are still learning. That's how good it is. If only the people who had created the fake yellowcake Iraq/uranium documents had used Photoshop, the Bush Admin. wouldn't be in the mess they're in now. Obviously, Bush and allies are not MAC/Adobe users. No surprise there.

[stanwyck]

27. My husband works for Adobe

so, of course, I had to mention Adobe. I'll definitely pass your comments, and Paper Chase Guy's, along to him; he loves to know real feedback. By the way, if you're a Quark user, you need to get familiar with InDesign. (daughter in an expensive college -- need that stock to go up!)

[paper chase guy]

30. lol :)

cool! I really do love photoshop, I've remarked to my girlfriend that I'd love to marry it, which she isn't so happy about. It seems like Adobe is really concerned about customer feedback, and most importantly, responding to it effectively. I wish more development houses worked like they did.

[stanwyck]

33. Photoshop too expensive? Try Photoshop Elements.

Those of us in the graphic arts biz laugh and laugh whenever anyone complains about the cost of Adobe Photoshop...you must understand that Photoshop and a beefed-up Mac replaced proprietary million-dollar retouching systems practically overnight.

Photoshop is clearly a professional-grade product, but remember that Adobe makes a darn good consumer-level product called Photoshop Elements. It's relatively new...you should check it out.

[DS1]

43. I hardly ever use the built in filters

In fact, I don't own any third-party filters, I just don't find a need for them at all.

It's the brilliant tools PS provides that make it so great, the healing brush, cloning, masking, airbrushing with a Wacom tablet is friggin great!, color correction, etc, etc.

[DS1]

41. deleted by me

.

[DS1]

42. oh hell yeah

Been using it for 6 years, and am ~still~ learning newer/better ways to do things.

[ginantonic40]

11. There's a few

Ford makes a hellava pickup truck
Sears makes some damn good washers and dryers - at least they did twenty five years ago when we bought ours
Stihl and Honda make some good power equipment
Carhart makes quality work clothes
I like Dewalt power tools
North Face makes superior tents and sleeping bags

I'm sure there's a few more out there.

[gyopsy]

12. Jansport Backpacks

Their expensive but quality and they have a lifetime warranty.

Also, I love Coca-cola even if they are a faceless, evil corperation. Soda will always be my favorite drink.

[TheBigGuy]

15. I like my Saturn.

a more or less reliable car. And its got great hadeling and suspension..(borrowed from Opel).

[DemoTex]

16. ICOM and Yaesu: Ham radio equipment

Saab: Damn good car.
Subaru: "
Folbot: Fine kayaks (OK, they are not a BIG company; but they are good!)
Sage and Shimano: Bullet-proof fishing equipment.
USGS: Topo maps.
Timex: Good watches for the price.

[BiggJawn]

19. I like both of those, and Ten-Tec and Elecraft, too.

And Ten-Tec is an American company!
I love my Pegasus!
Trek bicycles, Lance rides one, and I could ride the same one, too (for about 5 kilobucks!)

[mseltzer]

17. I'm alive

Pharmaceuticals.

[newyawker99]

37. Hi mseltzer!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[FloridaJudy]

45. Pfizer and Ortho

I've got my beefs with Pharmaceutical companies, but these folks seem to be more ethical than others. Pfizer not only makes terrific medications (not just Viagra, but possibly the best antibiotic on the market - Zithromax - and a great anti-depressant with a low side-effect-profile - Zoloft) but they also provide generous free samples to clinics that serve the uninsured Working Poor like my own. The Pfizer reps not only keep my sample cabinet stocked, but they also give me oodles of patient education materials that *don't* just advertize their latest product. Their CEO also took the lowest raise of any drug company this year.

Ortho is the only drug company committing serious research money to contraception. They've made a killing on the contraceptive patch, but they've also sold their drugs at cost to struggling Public Health Departments like mine. Like Pfizer, Ortho also gives us lots of free samples and patient education pamphlets that are relatively free of bias.

These people aren't stupid. They know that given a choice, I'll prescribe the Pfizer or Ortho product, just because they've been generous to my patients. There's nothing wrong with doing well by doing good, as the old Tom Lehrer song goes.

[Rabrrrrrr]

18. Norelco shavers

Craftsmen tools
Black and decker tools
John Deere tractors (do they ever die? I don't think they do)
Sony make smostly some pretty damn fine stuff
Parker Pens
Calvin Kline clothing
Maxell tapes and CD-Rs
Arm and Hammer
Seventh Generation (they're not GM-sized, but they're getting to be pretty big)
Fossil Watches
Mercedes Benz
Bose


But, for the most part, if you want quality, you gotta pay for it. it's partly how quickly you get your slop to market, but partly also American's selfish greed that let's us say "Well, this will break in a year, but it's cheap, so when it breaks, I'll throw it away and buy a new one then".

I discovered ten years or so ago that, when buying something, I uy quality. Spend the money, get something good. And there are a number of corporations who really do still make good stuff.

[LincolnMcGrath]

20. Kraft foods

Coffee
General Foods International Coffees
Gevalia
Maxim
Maxwell House
Sanka
Starbucks*
Yuban

Frozen Treats
Mr. Freeze
Kool-Aid Slushies

Powdered Soft Drinks
Country Time
Crystal Light
Kool-Aid
Tang

Ready-to-Drink
Capri Sun*
Country Time
Crystal Light
Kool-Aid Bursts
Tang
Total Balance


Convenient Meals

Bacon
Oscar Mayer
Louis Rich

Cold Cuts
Oscar Mayer
Louis Rich


Dinner Kits
Stove Top Oven Classics
Taco Bell*

Frozen Pizza
California Pizza Kitchen*
DiGiorno
Jack's
Tombstone

Hot Dogs
Oscar Mayer


Lunch Combinations
Lunchables


Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
Kraft
Kraft Easy Mac
Velveeta

Meat Alternatives
Boca

Meat Snacks
Tombstone

Pastas and Sauces
DiGiorno


Cheese

Cold Pack Cheese
Woody's

Cottage Cheese
Breakstone's
Knudsen
Light n' Lively

Cream Cheese
Philadelphia
Temp-tee

Grated Cheese
Kraft

Natural Cheese
Athenos
Churny
Cracker Barrel
DiGiorno
Handi-Snacks
Harvest Moon
Hoffman's
Kraft
Polly-O

Process Cheese Loaves
Kraft Deluxe
Old English
Velveeta

Process Cheese Sauce
Cheez Whiz

Process Cheese Slices
Kraft Deli Deluxe
Kraft Free Singles
Kraft Singles
Kraft 2% Milk Singles
Velveeta

Process Cheese Spread
Easy Cheese


Grocery

Baking Chocolate/Coconut
Baker's

Baking Powder
Calumet

Barbecue Sauce
Bull's-Eye
Kraft

Breakfast Beverage
Postum

Coating Mix
Shake ‘n Bake
Oven Fry

Condiments
Grey Poupon
Kraft
Sauceworks

Cooked Cereal
Cream of Wheat

Cereal Bars
Nabisco


Dips
Kraft

Dog Biscuits
Milk-Bone


Dry Packaged Desserts
Dream Whip
D-Zerta
Jell-O
Minute

Energy Bars
Balance
Oasis Bars

Fruit Preservatives
Ever Fresh

Frozen Whipped Topping
Cool Whip

Ice Cream Topping
Kraft

Margarine
Parkay (Puerto Rico only)

Pasta Salads
Kraft

Pectins
Certo
Sure-Jell

Pickles/Sauerkraut
Claussen

Pie Crusts
Honey Maid
Nilla
Oreo

Ready-to-Eat Cereals
Post
Alpha-Bits
Banana Nut Crunch
Blueberry Morning
Cinna-Cluster Raisin Bran
Cranberry Almond Crunch
Frosted Shredded Wheat
Fruit & Fibre
Golden Crisp
Grape-Nuts
Great Grains
Honey Bunches of Oats
Honeycomb
Nabisco (Puerto Rico only)
Natural Bran Flakes
Oreo O's
Pebbles*
Raisin Bran
Shredded Wheat
Shredded Wheat ‘n Bran
Spoon Size Shredded Wheat
Toasties
Waffle Crisp
100% Bran

Rice
Minute

Salad Dressings
Good Seasons
Kraft
Seven Seas

Sour Cream
Breakstone's
Knudsen

Spoonable Dressing
Kraft Mayo
Miracle Whip

Steak Sauce, Marinade, Worcestershire
A. 1.


Stuffing Mix
Stove Top

Toaster Pastries
Kool Stuf

Yogurt
Breyers*
Jell-O
Light n' Lively


Snacks

Cookies
Barnum's Animals
Biscos
Café Creme
Cameo
Chips Ahoy!
Crispin (Puerto Rico only)
Dad's
Danish (Puerto Rico only)
Famous Chocolate Wafers
Family Favorites
Old Fashioned
Ginger Snaps
Hony Bran (Puerto Rico only)
Konitos (Puerto Rico only)
Lorna Doone
Mallomars
Marshmallow Twirls
Nabisco (Puerto Rico only)
National Arrowroot
Newtons
Nilla
Nutter Butter
Oreo
Peak Freans
Pecan Passion
Pecanz
Pinwheels
SnackWell's
Social Tea
Stella D'oro
Sweetie Pie (Puerto Rico only)
Teddy Grahams
Wild Thornberry's*

Crackers
Air Crisps
Better Cheddars
Cheese Nips
Club Social (Puerto Rico only)
Crown Pilot
Doo Dad
Flavor Crisps
Harvest Crisps
Honey Maid
Nabisco Grahams
Nabs
Premium
Ritz
Royal Lunch
SnackWell's
Stoned Wheat Thins
Sportz (Puerto Rico only)
Sultana (Puerto Rico only)
Triscuit
Uneeda
Wheatsworth
Wheat Thins
Zwieback

Ice Cream Cones
Comet Cups

Packaged Food Combinations
Handi-Snacks
Lunchables

Refrigerated Ready-to-Eat Desserts
Jell-O
Handi-Snacks

Snack Nuts
Corn Nuts
PB Crisps
Planters

Sugar Confectionery
Altoids
Callard & Bowser
CremeSavers
Jet-Puffed
Kraft Caramels
Life Savers
Milka L'il Scoops
Nabisco Fun Fruits
Terry's
Tobler
Toblerone
Trolli

[Nikia]

46. Your kidding, right?

Alright, some of their food products are decent. I'm speaking as the competition so my opinion might be biased, but they are continously making at least several of their products cheaper both in price and quality. They have name recognition so in smaller grocery stores, they are the best brand of whatever your buying. There is better stuff out there though.

[leftyandproud]

21. yes...

the computer I'm using...
the keyboard I type on...
the desk my computer is on...
the phone next to the desk..
the phone sevice I get for $24.99 a month
the internet service I get for $19.99 a month
the carpet my socks are sitting on...
the corporation that made my socks (hanes)
the TV blaring in the other room (RCA)
the RCA remote control I bought at circuit city..
circuit city for selling me my remote control..
circuit city for selling me my nintendo game system
nintendo for selling me the game system
20 3rd party software developers for making the games for my nintendo game system..
taco bell for selling me the tacos I ate lat night (.69 cents each--not bad)
steak n shake, for selling me the steak n egg bagels I am going to bet in 20 minutes
starbucks, for selling me the $1.80 large coffee I will be buying in approximately 45 minutes..
Ford, for selling me the car I will be driving to get these things..
AT&T for giving me the cell phone I will be carrying with me as I eat my breakfast and talk on my cell phone..
Motorolla, for giving me the pager with the page that I got as I was driving home from starbucks, talking on my at&t cell phone..
CNN...for the generic basic news I will be watching when I arrive at work at $6:59 am today..
gateway, for providing my work computer...

etc etc etc


DAMN! I guess this makes me a corporate, capitalist WHORE!
gotta admit...I kinda like it!

[JohnKleeb]

22. I guess thats ok

As long you dont approve of them stealing money from their workers and since you are a Kucinichite like me I can tell so.

[philosophie_en_rose]

36. Target, Ben and Jerry's

[stanwyck]

38. Just got back from Target!

My favorite store. Clean, well-organized, with well-designed, inexpensive products. It's the anti-WalMart. And, of course, I love Ben and Jerry's. Not just for the delicious ice cream, but also for their politics. Good choices, philosophie en rose.

[SOteric]

39. Just off the top of my head: Global

makes some of the best knives in the world. I know a brilliant, well-respected blademaster who cannot keep up with his forge requests. Even he cannot create a knife like an upper-end Global.

[DS1]

44. I learned to respect Motorola two-way radios in Hawaii

Exceedingly tough (I seen them fall off the roofs of cars at 50 mph) and excellent quality.

GE makes good light bulbs :shrug:

[FloridaJudy]

47. Citrasolve

I don't know if that is made by a big company (I can only buy it at my local health food store) but if there's ANYTHING that stuff can't clean, you might as well throw it out.

I've used it on everything from baked-on crud in my oven to rusty bicycle chains to fingerprints on my keyboard. About the only thing it doesn't work on is ink stains on fabric.

And it makes your house smell like a lemon meringue pie.

[ChemEng]

48. Not too many.....

But on the other hand, there aren't too many that I despise. McDonalds is just not a place I go to eat lunch, ditto for Taco Bell, BK, etc.

Whole Foods comes to mind as a great place to shop (in Houston)!!

[sam sarrha]

49. VIAGRA

:bounce: :toast: :party: :toast: :loveya:

[zekeson]

50. Maytag

They make a quality product, have decent service. A few years back the new CEO wanted to move corporate headquarters from small town Iowa to Chicago. Doing so would've killed the small town. The board asked him to leave, the company remains in small town Iowa.

They fought unionization hard in the 40's, but isn't too bad to its employees now days - for a multinatinal.