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Factors affecting Key Skills Achievements in Further Education Essay
Variables influencing Key Skills Achievements in Further Education - Essay Example During the most recent years the consideration is paid...
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Marketing Simulation Essay Example Essay Example
Marketing Simulation Essay Example Paper Marketing Simulation Essay Introduction Orange experienced a very successful campaign and grew more profitable over the six quarters throughtout the Market Simulation. In terms of market share in comparison to the competition, we placed fourth holding 12 percent market share. We initially targeted the Mercedes market, and later developed products aimed at the Traveler and Workhorse clientele. In terms of profitability, we suffered a loss moving from Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, which is typical of most early-stage companies. However, each quarter thereafter we were able to maintain a profit, ending with $18,270,122 gross profit and $15,232,910 operating profit. Our six computer models are the driving factor behind such success. These models include The Motherboard, Babyboard 2. 0, Horseboard, Superboard, Toddlerboard, and The Ponyboard. The Superboard, out of all the models, was our most profitable device with $6,303,840 in profit. We also embarked on a major expansion endeavor, spreading our brand originally from Chicago to Pa ris, Shanghai, and Sao Paulo. Our knowledgeable sales force comprised of 60 individuals, coupled with our extensive advertising and competitive pricing allowed Orange to rise to the top. By the end of the Marketplace Simulation, Orange was in first place for cumulative total performance, accounting for a variety of business disciplines that contributed to our success. While we placed third in the simulation in terms of overall financial performance, we placed first overall for market performance and marketing effectiveness. Brand Design: Over the course of the six quarters, we made varying adjustments to our brands in order to keep up with the ever-changing competitive markets. Marketing Simulation Essay Body Paragraphs In Quarter 2, we decided to enter the Mercedes market with The Motherboard computer. Specifically, this brand was designed to be the top of the line product that suited all the most important needs of Mercedes. Some of these needs included a fast and powerful processor, the ability to link with other computers, and a machine that is capable of multitasking (Fig 1. 1). We figured that starting out in the highest-end market would be beneficial to creating a good name for our company, and then we would be able to trickle down throughout the other brandstarget market segments. Our results from Quarter 2 showed that we were successful with The Motherboard, as we possessed 46 percent of the market share for Mercedes. In Quarter 3, we introduced The Babyboard to the Traveler market segment. We designed our product to match the best-suited brand for Traveler, which was SwifTechââ¬â¢s Quickfly. We were slow to expand from our original two brands, and lost some of our momentum with our Quar ter 4 decisions. When we got our results, we realized that we needed to introduce more brands in order to keep up with the highly competitive markets. Quarter 5 marked our first Quarter quarter of rapid expansion. We introduced an additional product lines to Mercedes and Traveler, and created our first unit product for Workhorse. The new product lines for Mercedes and Traveler, The Superboard and The Toddlerboard respectively, were the higher quality versions of the The Motherboard and the The Babyboard. They , which were enhanced with all of the necessities and priced slightly higher than the original lines. Our initial brand for Workhorse was the The Horseboard, and it possessed the most basic features at the lowest price, to appeal to a consumer who was looking for something simple to use. We continued the trend of making two slightly varied products for each market segment in Quarter 6 when we introduced the The Ponyboard to supplement a slightly lower-end product than the The H orseboard. Sales Design Strategy: The sales design strategy of Orange was based primarily on the customerââ¬â¢s (Workhorse, Mercedes and Traveler) needs and wants. This consisted of the top eight preferences in either a laptop or a desktop, and the top six segments of applications. Additionally, each of the target marketââ¬â¢s priceprices willing to pay is are shown in (Fig 1. 2). Initially, Orange felt it was most appropriate to choose to target the Mercedes market in Chicago. This allowed for The Motherboard to be produced, which led to 46 percent% domination in only the Mercedes market. Unfortunately overall Orange only had a 12 percent% overall market share, and felt it was necessary to expand into the portable laptop industry of Traveler with The Babyboard 2. 0, and opened a plant in Paris. By Quarter 3, the market size had reached 10,000 customers, which allowed for expansion in the cities of Shanghai and Sao Paulo, and the last target market of Workhorse. The generous r ebates were attractive to the target audience, and allowed for the introduction of The Horseboard, The Superboard, and The Toddlerboard. By Quarter 6, a total of 60 sales people had been employed, and due to the overall low prices of the products, as well as the rebates, Orange gained a 2 percent% market share. Financial Performance: Throughout these first phases of our company, Orange has created a positive financial pattern. While we implemented an aggressive growth strategy and expanded our empire internationally, we kept our costs to a minimum. Naturally, we started Quarter 2 with a deficit due to startup costs. Unlike most companies, our costs were controlled however, and we were only behind by just over $12,000. As advertising has always been a core competency of our company, we spent a total of $109,471 developing and promoting our first batch of advertising. The leasing costs and office spaces were kept to a minimum in the first two quarters as well, since we were only opera ting out of one location. As we moved into the Quarter 3, we expanded internationally and our rental costs increased. However, our sales skyrocketed as well. We had begun to turn a profit, and were in the black by $1,155,328. In Quarter 4, we continued the pattern of financial growth, and maintained an increase in sales. Again, we were fiscally conservative and attempted to keep costs to a minimum (Fig. 1. 3). An important component of Orangeââ¬â¢s financial history is the profitability of each brand we sell (Fig 1. 4). Our first line, The Motherboard, dedicated to the top-tier consumer, introduced us to the marketplace. We turned a profit of $922,344 throughout all six quarters. This is a modest percentage of our empire, yet it accounts for the beginnings of our financial gain. Our most profitable brand, The Superboard, generated $6,303,840. We invested a lot of time and capital in the creation of this line, and it paid off. The ToddlerbBoard, HorsebBoard, and PonybBoard were al l profitable as well, with over one million made from each. Financially, only one of our lines performed less well than we had hoped. Our second line, The Babyboard 2. 0 only generated $452,198. Unfortunately, we were unable to sell a high number of these units, and the cost of goods sold was very high in comparison. In the end, each of our brands was able to generate profits. Our conservative fiscal policy allowed enough room for growth without spending more than we could handle. Finally, our revenues continued in a positive direction throughout every quarter, and we are confident the future will play out in the same way (Fig 1. 5). Competition: In the computer market, competition is very fierce. Thus, our company had to constantly position itself to be able to compete with the other companies in the market. To this end, we opened our first sales office in Chicago, hoping that our knowledge of the American marketplace would aid us in capturing a large initial market share. This pla n was successful and put us near the top in overall performance in the computer market. From this point, our company decided that in order to continue our success, we needed to examine the competition to find out what we were doing right, what we were doing wrong, and how we could improve. This plan enabled us to better understand what customers wanted without having to invest heavily into producing prototypes, because we were able to utilize other companyââ¬â¢s products and sales numbers as though they were test products. Our first major interaction with our competition came in Quarter 4our fourth Quarter of operation. We introduced our The Babyboard product for the Traveler segment in our third QuarterQuarter 3 of operation. We made the mistake however, of not considering the Traveler segmentââ¬â¢s desire for the computer to be fun to use. We discovered this issue by examining our competitorââ¬â¢s products and finding that all competitors that were more successful than us had included games with their product. Despite the increased costs of production and the cost of redesigning our brand, profits for the The Babyboard nearly doubled the next qQuarter (Fig. 1. 6). We also looked to our competition to determine our expansion plans. We realized immediately that with such fierce competition, the first mover advantage would be crucial. Thus, we expanded as quickly as possible by opening sales offices in every possible location. We also handled competition by expanding into every market segment, eventually offering a product for all segments of the market. Our company felt that this strategy would ensure that even if the competition would overtake us in one area, we would be able to survive on the strength of our other products while we figured out how to react. This strategy ultimately served our company well, as we were the top overall performer in the computer market. Conclusion The results of the past six quarters have clearly shown that Orange has m et its primary goals and exceeded expectations, becoming one of the most consistent and profitable companies in the industry. By using a conservative fiscal policy as well as an aggressive and competitive expansionary policy, we have seen Orange grow and become a stable company that is definitely worthy of further investment. To put it into a more detailed perspective, the way we dealt with competition, brand management, sales strategy, and our financials, was what brought us to the top and remains the reason we plan on becoming even more profitable in the near future. By starting in the Mercedes market, we were able to establish ourselves early as a company that promotes high-end, top quality products. This made it extremely easy in the future to expand to the other brands such as Traveler and Workhorse, since we were already best known for our superior products, that we have constantly updated to satisfy the ever changing consumer demands. By using this strategy, we were eventuall y able to generate enough revenue to expand to four different areas of the world, making our brands even better known and reaping most of the first mover advantages. However, this idea alone was not sufficient to achieve the revenues that we experienced over the past few quarters. Additionally, we knew that for our company to be profitable, we needed to get our name out there. This is why our strategy was to hire a large amount of sales people in each country, and invest a large sum of our operating capital in advertisements that would appeal to the wants and needs of specific target markets. Though we have experienced relative success the past six quarters that have propelled us to the top of the industry in overall performance, we are owhere near complacent. With the competition so fierce and the landscape of the technological environment constantly changing, we feel that we are prepared to respond to any competitive and technological pressures that we might have to face in the fu ture. Our company has been the model company in terms of consistency and financial growth and we feel as though our results so far have proven that Orange is a safe investment that will provide lucrative returns in the future. Figure 1. 1 Figure 1. 2 Figure 1. 3 Figure 1. 4 Fig 1. 5 Fig 1. 6 We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Simulation Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Simulation Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Simulation Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Low Birth Weight essays
Low Birth Weight essays The cost of LBW deliveries is also staggering. Henderson (1994) hypothesized that $285 million in hospital charges in the United States could be saved if prenatal care was utilized to prevent low birth weight. These moneys could be channeled into prevention and care programs for high risk women if the number of LBW delivered could be reduced. This could profoundly affect low-income women, who are at great risk for delivering low-birth-weight babies because they do not receive adequate prenatal care. In addition to the cost of caring for LBW babies after delivery through neonatal intensive care, there is also an immeasurable cost to the quality of life. Many low-birth-weight and preterm babies suffer from developmental problems, retardation, or both, which can influence clinical and educational outcomes. Hack et al. (1995) reported that infants and children who were born with LBW have higher incident rates of neuro-sensory, cognitive, neuropsychological, behavioral and social, academic, and health problems. Each problem is compounded by the others to make growing up very According to the Centers for Disease Control statistics, LBW births continue to be a preventable national problem. During the past decade, the overall number of pregnancies in the United States dropped 7 %. There were 6.28 million U.S. pregnancies in 1999 compared to 6.78 million overall pregnancies in 1990. The 1999 total pregnancy count includes about 3.96 million live births, 1.31 million induced abortions, and 1 million fetal losses from miscarriages and stillbirths. During the same time from 1990 to 1999, there was a 9-percent decline in the birth rate (based on births per 1000 women) and a 22-percent drop in the abortion rate. Overall statistics recorded a 12 percent decline in the However, for teens and minority women, the numbers are strikingly disproportionate. The 1999 pregnan...
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Assessing Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1
Assessing Culture - Essay Example The four types of organizational culture developed are collaborate (clan), control (hierarchy), compete (market), and create (adhocracy). They have varying characteristics in terms of operation, which correlates with different qualities and features of the organizationââ¬â¢s environment. Assessing the culture and subcultures of an organization provides the designers and planners of the workplace with a foundation on which they can structure an environment that supports its expression and function. The role of culture in the educational sector is to determine the effectiveness of institutions within the sector (Carroll, 2010). An appropriate, unique, and strong culture accomplishes several things for the institution. First, it reduces uncertainty of institutional performance through the creation of a common way of interpreting issues and events. Second, it creates a sense of order, where members awareness of expectations placed on them is high. Third, it creates a sense of continuity. Fourth, it provides a unity of commitment and a common identity. Finally, it provides vision for the future behind which, the company can rally. The first step in implementing meaningful change and making the best of organizational culture as an asset to be leveraged in support of the institutionââ¬â¢s goals is in diagnosing its present cultural condition. This can be achieved through conducting analysis such as PESTLE and SWOT to gauge the current positioning of the institution. CNCS is a federal agency, which helps over five million Americans to improve the lives of fellow citizens through serving them. The corporation works hand-in-hand with local partners to tap into the can-do spirit and ingenuity of the American people in tackling pressing challenges that face the nation. This is done through investment in thousands of faith-based as well as nonprofit groups geared towards making a difference across the country. The aim of the
Friday, February 7, 2020
Managing Communication in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1
Managing Communication in Business - Essay Example Organizational communication is very important as for a business to precede and expand, the management should have strong communication ties with its employees. Non-verbal communication is a category of communication that plays a crucial role in terms of organizational communication. In this paper, all kinds of non-verbal communication are described that can affect organizational communication. Along with the description of forms of non-verbal communication, the factors such as gender, age and culture are also analyzed in the paper. After description of all the forms of non-verbal communication, a conclusion is given. The conclusion summarizes the whole essay in a short form. Kinesics can be explained as body movements (Pelachaud, et. al 1996). There are many kinds of bodily movements such as making use of emblematic signs through hands or fingers, making use of hands or legs to stress on or illustrate something, by regulating spoken or listened words and sentences, expression of feelings through bodily movements and gestures and by making use of some adapter to indicate towards a meaningful situation (Depaulo 1992). Body movements are employed in many ways to communicate non-verbally (Argyle 1988). Making use of emblems, adapters, illustrating, adjusting and revealing feelings and gestures, all come in kinesics. In an organizational setting, people make use of kinesics to communicate and by repetitive usage of some bodily movements; people identify them (Burgoon, et.al 1996). For different cultures, people make use of different emblems for the same message. For example, for admitting to some suggestion, many people make use of bowing the head a little, while others can make use of hands to indicate, ââ¬Å"Yesâ⬠(Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey 1988). Through body movements, people can communicate their feelings and expressions (Harbridge 1998). In case, a person is tense, he/she can move back and forth that is a clear sign of
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Elections and Media Essay Example for Free
Elections and Media Essay The most influential part of American society is the media. Because of it, people have been witness to numerous historical events such as inaugurations, assassinations, and acts of terrorism. We would not have been informed if it had not been for the excessive coverage from the television; however, at the same time, the television has been a continuous barrier within the political world because it emphasizes materialistic items and meaningless ideas rather than the important tasks at hand that can affect an entire nation. The media has an arguable hold on the politics of this nation. As told in Source C, by Menand, many attribute Kennedys victory in the close election of 1960 to the presentation he made in two televised debates in the final months of his campaign; however, the people who listened to the debates on the radio, and did not see televised images, believed it was a draw between Nixon and Kennedy. The majority who watched the debates on the television thought that Kennedy had a crisper image than the badly postured Nixon. This evidence supports the fact that the television makes the voters focus on the image of the candidate rather than ideals and their intellectual responses to the questions at hand. In the 1960 election, the television had won the nation away from sound to images. It is not fair to other candidates because the other candidates could be better off running the country than a person who was won over by materialistic views. Television may make a candidate appear one way, but when they are in office they become two-faced, thus promoting the fact that more and more candidates are pursuing images more than issues. An example of this can bee seen in Source B, by Hart and Triece, where it states that Bill Clinton showed his boxers on MTV because he believed that was what the audience was looking for in order to support him as president. The media, mainly television, has the ability to control the way a nation can think as well as the way a nation can vote. Television is like any other form of entertainment. It has the job of telling the citizens what they want to hear, rather than being honest and telling the truth. That is why there is not one single news broadcasting station that will voice both liberal and conservative views. As told by Ted Koppel in Source F, networks influence the nation by cropping and pulling out the best parts of events in the presidential election that make their political party stand out from the rest. This is a reason why so many elections are full of slandering because each broadcast network tries to dig up information from the past or present to use against a candidate. For instance, during George Bushs election in 2000, the press dug up information about his daughters at college and their partying ways. This was a way to try and sabotage his chances of presidency, and it almost worked. The nation started to view him as an unworthy candidate, but that information had no relevance on his ability to be president. Fortunately it did not affect Bush winning the election, although it is still being seen today. The media continuously shoots down the major issues at hand and puts the focus on non-important ideas. Television has a way of being intimate with people and making them feel like they are getting valuable information, but what they do not know is that they are not getting the facts and information from direct sources, furthering the question of who can the American people trust to get accurate information. The inaccurate information can be the deciding factor between who a new voter will vote for, which in return can affect the outcome of an election or presidential term. A prime example of this can be seen in Source E, by Ranney. In this article, it states that President Lyndon Johnson was supporting the fact that the war in Vietnam could and would be won. At that time the nation believed him; however, when the news network took it upon them to see if Johnson was true to his word, they came back with the reciprocal of what Johnson stated. CBS news network reported that Vietnam was a bloody scene and there was no military victory in the future. Can you guess who the public believed? Of course the media! Basically in a single second, all of the citizens contradicted their previous beliefs, based by Johnson, and supported the facts brought in by CBS. This further upholds the idea that television and other forms of entertainment have stolen the idea of self thought and independent opinions. It somewhat contradicts freedom of speech and belief because what we are hearing is what the media itself picked out, rather than our own intelligence. Unfortunately due to this hold the television has over us, Johnson was overwhelmingly fought against, and he decided to end the army and navy bombardment in Vietnam, as well as not run for another term. The media had beaten him, and there was no way to stop it. In conclusion, all sources of entertainment, such as television, have altered the ways Americans think and view politics. The television has a power over the people by showing the bad sides of each candidate in an election rather than what good they have done for our society. By focusing on the negativity and worthless aspects of politics, television can be considered a prominent problem against politics in the United States. Once the nation wants to decide to support self-opinions, there will never be a presidential election or event that will not be decided by television.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Using Love to Justify Sex in A Very Short Story Essay -- Very Short St
Using Love to Justify Sex in A Very Short Story à At first glance unusually normal, at second glance unusually striking, the title "A Very Short Story" reveals Hemingway's perception of a perhaps unforgotten war experience. Man went to war. He met woman. They spent many nights together. They considered marriage. He went home without her. She moved on. He moved on. The end. The story, the relation of events, is indeed short. This is not eternal spiritual love; instead, this is the animalistic, barbaric sexual act- sex and love for the sole purpose and convenience of sex itself. Then it is over. à The story begins on "ONE HOT evening in Padua" (Hemingway, 65), "hot" relating to passionate feelings, and "evening" as the perfect time for an affair. The reader can deduct from the reference to Padua, a city in northeast Italy, that perhaps the character is at war, and in fact, this is confirmed in the fourth paragraph with a reference of an "armistice" (65). The main character himself is referred to as "he", though, knowing the author's biographical history, and presence in the war, "Hemingway" is a presumable substitution. "They" (65), his war buddies, "carried him up onto the roof", they carried him because he was injured, but also, as "the others went down and took the bottles with them", very likely intoxicated. There, he and the female figure, "Luz" meet, she "sat on the bed", and "was cool and fresh in the hot night". Immediately, alcohol, guy and girl, a rather convenient bed, and a "hot" night left alone on the rooftop combine, forming a passionate love affair. à So, who is this Luz? Well, apparently, as she was "on night duty" (65), and she was the one who "prepared him for the operating table", she is a... ...ncoln Park." (66). à Man went to war. He met woman. They spent many nights together. They considered marriage. He went home without her. She moved on. He moved on. The end. à It is a short story, and it is a simple one. Simple attraction of the opposite sexes. Simple sex. Simple break up. Simple recovery. Without the talk of marriage, it resembles any animal mating ritual on the Discovery Channel. à Interesting that the story ends with the onslaught of gonorrhea, as the cycle is continued, and thus, the simple recovery transforms magically to painful consequences. Perhaps, in Hemingway's own life, the simple recovery of losing a mistress after the war transforms and somehow contributes partly to his own suicide many years later. à Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. "A Very Short Story." In Our Time. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1925.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Computer History and Development Essay
The dictionary defines a computer as an electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program. Primarily created to compute; however, modern day computers do much more today: supermarket scanners calculate consumers groceries bill, while keeping track of store inventory; computerized telephone switching centers play traffic cop to millions of calls, keeping lines of communication untangled; and automatic teller machines letââ¬â¢s banking transactions to be conducted from virtually anywhere in the world. Technology has been around for a centuries; growing rapidly year by year. One of the most important items Technology has produced is computers. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer also known as ENIAC was regarded as the first general purpose electronic computer. What came before the ENIAC; well, there is the abacas which some consider the first computer. Created over 5000 years ago in Asia and is still in use today. Using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack, users are allowed to make computations. In early times, the abaca was used to keep trading transactions; until, this became obsolete with the introduction of pencil and paper. Within the next twelve centuries emerged a significant advancement in computer technology. The year was 1642, when Blaise Pascal, the 18 year-old son of a French tax collector, invented the numerical wheel calculator, also known as the ââ¬Å"Pascaline. â⬠Pascaline was a brass rectangular box that used eight movable dials to add sums up to eight figures long. This device was great and became popular in Europe; the only drawback was the limits to addition (Pascalââ¬â¢s calculator, 2010, para. ). Another event that epitomizes the Pascaline machine came from an inventor by the name of Gottfried Wilhem von Leibniz; a German mathematician and philosopher in the 1600ââ¬â¢s. Gottfried Wilhem von Leibniz added to Pascline by creating a machine that could also multiply. Like its predecessor, Leibnizââ¬â¢s mechanical multiplier worked by a system of gears and dials. Original notes and drawings from the Pascline machine were used to help refine his machine. The core of the machine was its stepped-drum gear design. However, mechanical calculators did not gain widespread use until the early 1800ââ¬â¢s. Shortly after, a Frenchman, Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar invented a machine that could perform the four basic arithmetic functions. The arithometer, Colmarââ¬â¢s mechanical calculator, presented a more practical approach to computing because it could add, subtract, multiply and divide. The arithometer was widely used up until the First World War. Although later inventors refined Colmarââ¬â¢s calculator, together with fellow inventors Pascal and Leibniz, he helped define the age of mechanical computation. The real beginnings of computers that we use today came in the late 1700ââ¬â¢s, thanks to Charles Babbage with the invention of the Analytical Engine. Babbage machine was a steam powered machine; although, it was never constructed it outlined basic elements of a modern general computer. Several more inventors added to machines that were out in the late 1800ââ¬â¢s to help pave the way for the first generation of computers (1945-1956) (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 4). Wars had a great deal in the advancement of modern computers; the Second World War governments sought out to develop computers to exploit potential strategic importance. Therefore, in 1941 a German engineer Konrad Zuse had developed the Z3. The Z3 was created to design airplanes and missiles (Computer History Museum ââ¬â Timeline of Computer History, 2010, para. 3). Another computer that was created for war times was the ENIAC, first commissioned for the use in World War II, but not completed until one year after the war had ended. It was installed at the University of Pennsylvania, with a partnership alongside the U. S. government, its 40 separate eight-foot-high racks and 18,000 vacuum tubes were intended to help calculate ballistic trajectories. There was also 70,000 resistors and more than 4 million soldered joints; truly a massive piece of machinery that consumed around 160 kilowatts of electrical power. This is enough energy to dim the lights in an entire section of Philadelphia. This computer was a major development with speeds 1000 times faster than the current Mark I. For the next 40 years John von Neumann along with the University of Pennsylvania team kept on initiating new concepts into the computer design. With the combined genius of all the personnel they continued with new products such as the central processing unit (CPU) and also the UNIVAC. The Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) became one of the first commercially available computers to take advantage of the CPU. This helped out the U. S. Census bureau. First generation computers were characterized by the fact that operating instructions were made-to-order for the specific task for which the computers were to be used. Computers had different binary-coded program called a machine language that told it how to operate. This made the computer difficult to program and limited its versatility and speed. Other distinctive features of first generation computers were the use of vacuum tubes, which were known for their breathtaking size, and magnetic drums for data storage (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 10). The second generation of computers, from 1956-1963, began the age of smaller computers. With the invention of the transistor in 1948, bulky vacuum tube in televisions, radios and computers were all replaced. The transistor became available in a working computer in 1956, and the size of computers has been shrinking ever since (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 13). Along with smaller computers the transistors paved the way for faster, more reliable and more energy-efficient products; thanks in part to the advances made to the magnetic-core memory. The first to take advantage of this new found technology was the early supercomputer, from IBM and LARC. These supercomputers were in demand by atomic scientist because the enormous amount of data that these computers could handle. By 1965, most big business processed financial information using second generation computers. With the second generation computer came new career opportunities such as programmer, analyst, and computer systems expert. Although, transistors was and improvement over the vacuum tube, they still generated a lot of heat, which damaged sensitive internal parts of the computer; the quartz rock eliminated this problem (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 16). Third generation computers (1964-1971) began with Engineer Jack Kilby, with Texas Instruments, developing the IC (Integrated Circuit) in the mid 1900ââ¬â¢s. The IC combined three components onto a small silicon disc, which was mad from the quartz. Later on scientist were able to fit even more electronic components onto a single chip, called a semiconductor. As a result, computers became smaller as more components were fitted on these chips. The third generation computer gave birth to the operating system. This allowed machines to run different programs all at once with a central program that coordinated and monitored the computerââ¬â¢s memory (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 16). With the fourth generation of computerââ¬â¢s (1971-2000) only thing to do was to go down in size. There were three major chips that helped with computer downsizing the LSI, VLSI, and ULSI. Large scale integration (LSI) could fit hundreds of components onto one chip. Very large integration (VLSI) could fit hundreds of thousands of components onto one chip. Ultra-large scale integration (ULSI) could fit millions of components onto chips (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 17). The size and prices of computers went down due to the fact, that so much was able to be put into an a area about half the size of a U. S. dime. Intel, which was founded in 1968, developed the Intel 4004 chip in 1971, which would become standard in everyday house hold items such as microwaves, television sets and automobiles. With such condensed power allowed for a new market, everyday people. Computers were no longer just developed exclusively for large business or government contracts. It was the late 1900ââ¬â¢s, when computer manufacturers sought to bring computers to a more general consumer. These smaller and sleek computers came with a more user-friendly software packages such as word processing and spreadsheet programs. Early company who took advantage of selling these more user friendly computers was Commodore, Radio Shack, and Apple Computers. In 1981, IBM launched its personal computer for multi-purpose use in the home, office, and schools. IBM made the personal computer even more affordable and the numbers increased rapidly within the next year. Personal computer usage more than doubled, going from 2 million in 1981 to 5. 5 million in 1982. Fast forward 10 years later, there are 65 million PCââ¬â¢s owned by general consumers. With the introduction of Human Computer Interface (HCI), users could now control the screen cursor using a mouse mimicking one hands movement instead of typing every instruction. Smaller computers became more powerful, especially in the workplace, were they could be linked together to share memory space, software, and communicate with each other. This was achieved using telephone lines or direct wiring called a Local Area Network (LAN) (LaMorte, C & Lilly J, 2010, para. 20). The fifth generation of computers (Present and Beyond) is a generation that is in the works of some great advancements in computer technology with the utilization of computer chips. One of the major components of a computer is the chip; these are conducted of semiconductor materials and semiconductors that eventually wear out. A semiconductor is a material that is typically made of silicon and germanium; both of them are neither a good conductor of electricity nor a good insulator. These materials are then fixed to create an excess or lack of electrons (Semiconductor, 2010, para. 2). Integrated circuits grow old and die or are discontinued. This process can happen in many ways; modern chips as used in computers have millions of transistors printed on a small chip of silicon no bigger than a fingernail. Each microscopically transistor is connected to the others, on the surface of the chip, with even smaller aluminum or copper wires. Over the years, the thermal stress of turning the computer on and off can cause tiny cracks in the wires. As the computer warms up the wires can part and cause the computer to stop working. Even a few seconds of off-time can cool the system enough to allow the wires to re-connect, so your computer may work just fine for a few minutes, or hours, then after it warms up, it may fail, letting it cool off can bring it back to life for a few minutes or more (Computer Freezes and Crashes, 2010, para. 16). Of course, some chips are much more inclined to failure than others. The competition tries to gain an advantage on the market by building cheaper or faster chips; cheaper and faster means hotter and shorter-lived parts. Better quality equals higher prices; when the price goes up and nobody buys the products. Low quality products die of old age too early and they get a bad names, this causes products to not be sold. Most modern computers are constructed from the cheapest parts available. With this information being known, Intel, one of the best chip manufactures, designs their parts to be very vigorous and endure heat and malfunction. Intel was founded on July 18, 968, as Integrated Electronics Corporation. Intel Corporation is a worldwide semiconductor chip maker corporation based in Santa Clara, California, and is the worldââ¬â¢s largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. They invented the series x86 microprocessors; these processors are found in most personal computers (Intel, 2010, para. 20). Intel along with other competing companies is predicting no more mouse or keyboards by 2020. Right now with Intel-developed sensor and brain waves scientist are hoping they can find ways to harness brain waves to operate computers. This all would be done of course with consumerââ¬â¢s permission. Scientists believe that consumers would want the freedom gained by using the implant. The idea may be far-fetched now but 20 years ago tell a person that it would become almost necessary to carry a computer around; that idea would have been rebutted. Look around now, people cannot leave a computer or computer device home or even in a vehicle without feeling like something is missing, an almost naked feeling. Scientists believe that consumers will grow tired of dependence of computer interface. Whether itââ¬â¢s fishing out accessories or even just using the hands to interact, Scientists think consumers would prefer to manipulate various devices with their brains. Currently a research team from Intel is working on decoding human brain activity. The team has used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI), these are machines that determine blood flow changes in certain areas of the brain based on what word or image the consumer is thinking of. This idea sounds farfetched but almost two years ago, scientist in the U. S. and japan announced that a monkeyââ¬â¢s brain was used to control a humanoid robot. Scientist and the Intel team are currently working on getting to a point where it is possible to mentally type words by thinking about letters (Intel Chips in brains will control computers by 2020, 2010, para. 4). The story of the computer is amazing; to see how far technology has come is almost unreal. Evolving from the first computer the ENAIC, a huge machine that had thousands of tubes everywhere; computers are now small enough to be placed in a brief case for on the go use. Furthermore, with the everyday advancement of technology it wonââ¬â¢t be long before farfetched ideas become a reality.
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