Kindle vs. iPad?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/technology/anticipated-amazon-tablet-to-take-aim-at-apple-ipad.html

With the tablet market being overshadowed by the Apple iPad, many companies have lost hope in building a competitive tablet. Motorola and Samsung have both put out opposing products, but they have fallen significantly short. Amazon just released the plans to the colored Kindle, which many think may stand up to the iPad. Analysts are not as positive towards this new tablet. Some pointed out the statistic that some companies took three months to ship the same amount as Apple does in three days. This statistic, although daunting to some, has not seemed to faze the officials from Kindle. The first generation of Kindle was released at a poor time in the holiday season, but still sold out of stock for five months. Some expect that if released at a more strategic time, the Kindle can have a large potential.

This is important to the industry, because many analysts think that this vastly differing strategy from Apple may have a strong outcome. When asked to comment, Apple denied to make a statement about their new found competition. This could bring a huge battle of hardware and software to the table in the near future.

What are some examples of ethics challenges that industry players have experienced?

As the computer software and hardware industry continues to develop and grow many ethics challenges have come up and had to be dealt with. For example one that sticks out to me as very important is the issue of dealing with the legality of free music downloading and streaming from the Internet. New services such as Spotify, MOG, and Rdio are being introduced to the public and deliver free music streaming online as well as music play integration through social websites such as facebook. This type of website has dramatically hurt the music industry and some say that it should be either taken down or become a pay for music service such as itunes is. I feel that with the current trend in regards to the music industries decline of profits, it is necessary to have these websites charge for their service and some of the revenues to be given back to the studios and artists. This would allow both sides to win as both the website and the music industry would be gaining revenue and becoming more profitable.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/23/tech/web/facebook-music/index.html

Which companies stand out in regards to CSR?

Most companies now are putting a focus on Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR, which is the idea that businesses must be concerned about not just their owners but the welfare of society as well. CSR includes a company’s charity and social work along with their responsibility to costumers, investors, and employees. CSR can also include how environmentally conscious a company is. Many computer hardware and software companies are doing their part to keep up with CSR. A few that stand out are Dell and Adobe.

Adobe has a program called Adobe Youth Voices as apart of the Adobe Foundation that’s “designed to provide underserved youth with the critical skills they need to become active and engaged members of their communities and the world at large.” Adobe also has an annual community action week and this past year over 800 Adobe employees worked in their local communities during community action week. Adobe is committed to environmental stability as well even being ranked #7 on Newsweek’s list of Greenest Companies in the U.S in 2010.

Dell has crated a global contest called the Dell Social Innovation Competition. It was founded in 2007 at the University of Texas and Dell began sponsoring in 2008. The competition looks for students who can come up with an idea that can solve a problem and improve their community. The grand prize is $50,000 in seed money to invest in the idea. Dell also has a youth program called YouthConnect that focuses on helping the underserved gain access to technology to increase learning opportunities around the world.

Sources:

1. http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/dell-difference.aspx

2. http://www.adobe.com/corporateresponsibility/

IBM’s Smarter Planet Campaign Leads Industry in CSR

“IBM’s Smarter Planet vision is driven by three I’s—instrumentation, interconnectedness, and intelligence. It shows a way for industries, infrastructures, processes, cities, and entire societies to be more productive, efficient and responsive…” (http://www.ibm.com/ibm100/us/en/icons/smarterplanet/). IBM first announced its “Smarter Planet Campaign in 2008. Although many companies within the industry such as Sony and Dell work hard to give back to their communities and promote a strong sense of cooperate responsibility within their companies, IBM has chosen to take a slightly different approach.

While generous charitable contributions and the implementation of socially responsible business practices are important and worthwhile, IBM believes that more can be done to improve our businesses, communities and our world. Their Smarter Planet Campaign is a unique CSR approach that focuses on the idea of teaching others how to overcome challenges and problems, so that they too will be able to contribute positively to their communities. Through this campaign IBM uses its own advanced technologies and innovative techniques to address some of the world’s most complex and challenging issues. IBM believes that by showing others how to be more productive, efficient and repsosponsive, our communities will be better equipped to handle the problems facing them. “Smarter Planet has became the overarching framework for IBM’s growth strategy, but the philosophy undergirding it – the application of human intelligence and well-designed technology to address the world’s toughest challenges has been a part of IBM’s DNA since its beginning”- Stephen Jordan, bclc.chamberpost.com

Ethical Issues: HP's Mishaps

The competition in the Computer Hardware and Software is rather intense due to the existence of the high level of completion, thus, many ethical issues may arise within organisations and between rival firms. Unethical events have an impact on all its stakeholders, which is why organisations are required to have an ethical code.

In order to maintain an ethical stance, an organisation is required to have their ethical ideas integrated with their vision, and it seems like HP has lost this vision along the way of its’ success which has resulted in certain consequences. Stacy Cowley, the Tech Editor claims that HP has always tried to copy other firms when it came down to obtaining a Strategic Vision. The merging of Compaq and HP in 2001 did not meet the expectations of the stakeholders and did not result in major positive outcomes as the customers were not satisfied by the quality of products that were being manufactured and being presented to them. Apart from this, HP was consumed in many scandals from having their strategies being leaked out to the press beforehand. In order to resolve this issue, HP hired personal investigators who decided to manipulate telephone companies and harass them in order to reveal who the person was. Although this did not raise red flags at the time, it did create unrest amongst many. The hiring of Leo Apothekar to be the CEO of HP further upset the stakeholders as it was shocking to see that a person, who had failed a previous firm, would be appointed to manage an organisation like HP.

This was not the only event that astounded the public. The fact that HP invested large amounts of money in the research and development of its’ table ‘Pam’ and then have it pulled out of the market after 6 weeks  due to the completion of Apple, displeased many.

So, the replication of a product and the issues of having crucial information leaked to the public are matters of great ethical issues in the Computer Hardware and Software industries. Also, some products of Apple and HP are said to have ‘glitches’, where the device has to be replaced once it stops functioning. This is a way of perhaps manipulating consumers by making them keep buying new products launched by these brand names.

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2011/09/22/t_hp_apotheker_mistakes.cnnmoney/

An Unwanted Consistency?

http://img.ibtimes.com/www/articles/20110918/215803_apple-building-global-security-force-after-iphone-5-loss.htm

Apple, one of the top computer software companies out today, recently moved towards an increase in securing prototype samples. The iPhone 5 model was recently “misplaced” at a bar in San Francisco. This misplacement is not new to Apple, as the iPhone 4 also was misplaced a few months before its planned release. This consistency of lost prototypes has driven Apple to start a new program to protect any prerelease models. The iPhone 4 incident ended up with a leak that was bought off for five thousand dollars. This new security sector is expected to monitor where the devices are at all time to prevent a similar outcome. The company has also proposed that location regulations be put in place. Some even think that Apple may prevent any prototype holder to be in possession of the device on a complete 24/7 basis. This scare in hardware misplacement has truly become a factor of the industry and should promise to be a hot discussion topic in weeks to come.

Supply and Demand of the Computer Software

The supply and demand of the computer software market has increased in both respects exponentially over the past decade. With more and more innovative technologies coming onto the market there have become more opportunities for suppliers to find market niches. For example the article I picked to illustrate this is one about the newly created iPad and how it is becoming a device that is replacing textbooks in many high schools across the country. This new software that allows the textbook to become electronic and put onto the iPad is one that is still being developed and has no foreseeable ceiling in the near future. Many other things such as the textbook are put into electronic form: books in general are being revolutionized by devices such as the Nook and the Kindle. With this trend continuing I feel the market for this sector is going to continue growing and be something that will definitely be very profitable.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Many-US-schools-adding-iPads-apf-1245885050.html?x=0&.v=2

What are the basic economics if the computer hardware and software industries? How do they make and spend money?

“If economic growth feeds on knowledge and innovation, current advances stem largely from the computer industry, a force of innovation devoted chiefly to the generation and use of knowledge.” – George Gilder

The computer hardware and software industry is constantly changing and updating at a pace that can completely innovate the computer industry itself as well as dramatically change other industries with its constant updates in technology. Since technology directly relates to computers and their software, innovations in technology can completely shift the computer software and hardware industries because computers are a form of technology. Technology is a major factor in what can change the supply and demand of almost any product. It’s important for computer software and hardware companies to keep up with technological advances and trends to become (and stay) profitable. If a commuter company fails to keep up with advances in their industry then their whole company struggles and they lose money. Computer software and hardware companies spend money on research to keep up with changing technologies as well as advertising, production costs and employee wages, among other things.

source: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/ComputerIndustry.html

Windows 8 opens doors to new chipmakers

Current Events and its Impacts

The Computer Hardware and Software Industry are all about tablets and software programs that are compatible with the tablets. The latest change presented by Microsoft is the fact that Windows 8 will be coming to tablets, which means that the Intel is coming to an end. Microsoft has created a buzz by allowing Windows to run on chips rather than on Intel’s processor. Windows 8 will be now be able to run on both, chips and Intel processors, created by the ARM-based semiconductors.

 

These chipsets are growing in popularity due to technological innovations and the production of smart-phones and tablets. Why are they so good? The ARM chips are known for their long-lasting battery life and connectivity. This innovation creates new opportunities for ARM-chipmakers like QualComm, Texas Instruments and Nvidia who will be able to cater to the needs of Microsoft.

The production of these new chipsets may have negative impacts on Intel as there may be a decrease in demand for their processors. However, Intel is taking advantage of this competition by further developing the idea of chipsets and now producing new 3-D chip designs.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/16/technology/windows_8_chipmakers/index.htm

Driving Revenue Growth Within The Industry: Microsoft Unveils a Radically Redesigned Windows 8

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/13/technology/microsoft_build_windows_8/index.htm

This article on the upcoming release of Windows 8 by Microsoft directly relates to the drive of revenue growth within the computer hardware and software industry. The article elaborates on the functions of the new Windows 8 software and more importantly, how it will rival demand and sales of its leading competitor Apple. As technology becomes more and more advanced consumers are constantly demanding increased efficiency as well as new, innovate forms of computer software and hardware. Producers within the industry face the unique challenge of not only physically producing their desired amount of units, but must also race against both the clock and their competitors to creatively implement the latest technology within their software.

Manufactures such as Apple have had tremendous success accomplishing this goal with products such as the IPad, resulting in record-breaking sales (http://money.cnn.com) and in turn tremendous profits. Microsoft feels confident that their new software, Windows 8, combines the “full PC experience and the on the go tablet-like experience” that consumers are currently looking for. Microsoft claims their newest release will rival the recent success of Apple’s “tablet” products, as Apple currently does not have a product on the market that is able to provide the unique experience Microsoft describes as so notable and in demand by consumers. If Windows 8 truly preforms as described and demonstrated by Microsoft, it may shift the currently high demand curve for Apple products and bring millions of sales back to Microsoft.