July/August 2009

Amazon Taps Its Inner Apple

By introducing the Kindle, Jeff Bezos is emulating Steve Jobs -- and taking him on.
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Behind the Rebranding Campaign of Wal-Mart’s Scarlet Woman

Nearly three years after being fired by Wal-Mart, marketer Julie Roehm faces her toughest rebranding campaign ever.
Why the Microgrid Could Be the Answer to Our Energy Crisis

Why small-scale, local power -- the microgrid -- could be the answer to our energy crisis. And why the big utilities are fighting it with all they've got.
Gavin Newsom Wants to Be Governor of California. Would You Hire Him?

The controversial mayor of San Francisco wants to upgrade to the governor's mansion. Would you hire this pretty face to run the world's eighth-largest economy?
Close-Up on Hollywood's Creature Teacher

Visual-effects guru Alex Alvarez builds the film industry's hottest new talents, one geek at a time.
Why America Is Addicted to Olive Garden

Technology, savvy brand management, and a little bit of soul have made $6.7 billion Darden Restaurants the world's biggest casual-dining operation -- and it's still growing, even in tough times.
The Darden Menu

Fast Company Recommended Events July + August 2009

Conferences and events you don't want to miss.
Watch: Harry Potter 6

Accio ticket sales! The Hogwarts crew returns with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 15. So far, the films' grosses have been stunningly consistent. Here's how other major franchises compare.
Drill: The U.S. Oil Industry Turns 150

Before 1859, America had no oil business. August 28 marks the 150th anniversary of its first commercial well. Today, the U.S. is the world's third-biggest oil producer and largest consumer. Join us for a tour of this gas-guzzling nation.

Robots Help Trains Stay on the Rails

Union Pacific's wheel-defect detection system
Humanscale's Desktop Air Purifier Promises a Cone of Clean Air

Few of us want to live in a bubble, but how about working inside a cone of clean air?
More Creative Shops Are Commercializing Their Own Product Lines

With major advertisers cutting costs, creative shops are increasingly commercializing their own product ideas.
A Tour of America's First Zero-Impact, Supergreen "Living Building"
Patagonia’s Founder on Why There’s “No Such Thing as Sustainability”

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard may be pessimistic about the earth's future, but he's determined to keep fighting. An exclusive interview.
Boomtown: The Real Money Behind Virtual Goods

Virtual goods, such as avatars and Facebook gifts, are attracting major brands, celebrities, and venture capital. The money is real.
Why Walgreens Is Building Its Own Universal Health-Care System

Walgreens, the $59 billion drugstore giant, is building its own universal health-care system, with more than 700 retail and corporate clinics.
One Lesson From the Crisis: It's Time to Create Your Own Economy

Why one lesson of this economic crisis may be that we have to change how we measure growth, production, and success.

Little-Known Redbox Proves the Power of In-Between Technology

Why Redbox is the biggest movie-rental company you've never heard of. Its secret: the power of in-between technology
Why Your Gut Is More Ethical Than Your Brain

If you've ever been part of a discussion on ethics, in school or elsewhere, chances are you didn't spend much time talking about your feelings.
Three Lessons in "Rational" Prices Raising Ethical Questions
Why Overhead Isn’t Evil in the Non-Profit World

Overhead is seen as the devil of the not-for-profit world. Here's why that conventional wisdom is wrong.
Not So Fast: Summer Movies We're Afraid to See

It's official: You can make anything into a movie.
How Xerox Tapped the Power of Reuse

Listening to the cacophony of calls for green business, green jobs, and green economies, you'd think that everyone now is for a green future.
Nature's 10 Simple Rules for Business Survival

Letter from the Editor: Endless Energy

When staff writer Anya Kamenetz and her husband, an engineer at Google, went on their honeymoon, they set aside a week to volunteer at an AIDS hospice in Pune, India. The hospice, it turned out, desperately wanted its own Web site.

Update
Fast Deals
Some of the 50 Most Innovative Companies we cited in March have found one another as intriguing as we did. We named Pure Digital Technologies, maker of the supersimple Flip digital video recorders, No. 7; that month, Cisco Systems (No. 5) bought the company for $590 million in stock.