Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 16

Technology - Essay Example People spend most of their time with virtual people in the internet more than they do with those they know in real life. This makes them less relevant in the society as they end up being loners. Children spend most of their time playing video games instead of socializing with other children as those of the past did (Miller, 2013). Several events could not have occurred without the existence of the internet. Using emails to send and receive electronic mails, for instance, would not have been possible without the occurrence of the internet. Facebook and other social networks, which help subscribers keep in touch with friends, would not have existed without the internet. Skype, for instance, enables people to physically talk to each other, no matter the distance. This would not be possible before the internet age since one would have to travel to where the other person is to see them. Miller, P. (2013, May 1). I’m still here: back online after a year without the internet. Retrieved from The Verge:

Japanese history - The Meiji Restoration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Japanese history - The Meiji Restoration - Essay Example These Samurai were motivated by the current state of the country including threat of encroachment from foreigners and emergent domestic problems. They adopted the fukoku-kyohei slogan (â€Å"Wealthy country and strong arms†) and pursued after creating a nation-state that could stand equal among the Western powers. The new government, as deduced from the 1868 Charter Oath, sought to dismantle the aged feudal regime (Devine, 51). In mid-1870s, restoration leaders, acting under the Emperor’s name, faced such steep opposition in carrying out the restoration changes. SaigÃ…  Takamori lead the famous disgruntled samurai in rebelling against the government which were later, with great difficulty, repressed by the formed army and in 1880’s, peasants who had grown distrustful of the newly formed regiment, joined in the revolts bringing it to its peak. This turmoil was halfway dissolved by s call from a Rights movement that was gaining popularity although it was mainly influenced by liberal western ideas. They advocated the formation of a constitutionally-based government with deliberative assemblies (Devine, 54). In 1881, the government responded by issuing a statement that promised a constitution by year 1890 and in 1886, constitution formation started after the formation of a cabinet system in 1885. By year 1889, a constitution was promulgated to the people as a gift from Meiji Social and economic changes were concurrent with the political changes that were already taking place during this era. Agriculture was the primary drive for the economy of Japan (Schirokauer, Lurie, and Gay). However, the Meiji government was working towards industrialization and hence directed developments in communications, transportation and strategic industries. Railroads were built, telegraphs linking all the main cities and private sectors received government support thru funds and European-like banking system. They relied on and heavily promoted western technology and

Microsoft Versus Apple Compare And Contrast Computer Science Essay

Microsoft Versus Apple Compare And Contrast Computer Science Essay Business strategy is a direction, vision and objectives in terms of projects, in order to configure the total recourses that invest into the projects base on the markets needs and challenging of other competitors. After all, a scorecard will be use to evaluate the overall performance and the next step can be draw out base on the evaluation. The evaluation is about the suitability, feasibility and finally acceptability. Different company may have same or different policies on a same situation depends which way they comfort with. In this paper, Microsoft and Apple business strategy will be compare and contrast. Innovation is a radical or revolutionary change on doing an ordinary thing and makes it think out of the box. The process include from invention to application. Innovation can be value added if the invention is successful since the revenue and the stock market price of certain company will be increase significantly due to the uniqueness of the products. But the innovation also bare the risk of lost, this in because in the RD process, a lot capital been invested and may not produce the return so fast or even not at all if the innovation is failed. This paper include how innovative Apple and Microsoft is and how the technology invented by them help to push the world into the next level. 1.2 Purposes/ Objectives The first objective of this paper is to study about the business strategy between the Microsoft and Apple. The second is to study about the innovation of both company and their contributions to the technology world. As an engineer, one must be able to catch up the technology trends, make their own judgment about the incident and be innovative enough to foresee the future of the technology world. By studying history of companies, one can learn how others success and the lessons from others fails. 1.3 Scope The sample population of our research was 100 students from Multimedia University Cyberjaya. These 100 students were come from different faculty which included students from Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology, Faculty of Management, Faculty of Creative Multimedia and last but not least FOSEE. 1.4 Methods Sources Two methods are used to complete this research. The primary data are collected through the questionnaire and the online researches. A thorough comparison and categorization will be performed in the second phase research. The second phase research result will be used to provide sufficient empirical evidence and to ground truth our findings from the preliminary research. The questionnaire is as per attached in the appendices. 2.0 Literature Review Apple Background Apple Inc. is a multinational corporation which based in Cupertino, California. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak in 1st of April 1976. By Apple to shifted itself from the computer industry to the information technology industry the coverage of business become wider, it includes computers and mobile hardware (desktop and laptop personal computers, servers, iPhone, iPod), software (Mac OS X, iLife, iWork suits) and further to the online services (Mobile me services). For more than 34 years, Apple experienced from the rise to the golden age then fall back to serious lose and climb back to the current worlds leading technology company status. For the Apple community the most important, most powerful person ever is the current CEO which is the co founder Steve Jobs. He founded the company in 1976 and get fired by the CEO that hired by him in 1985, then he back on 1997 after the acquisition of NeXT Computer which is the new company that founded by Steve been layoff by Apple. In 1997 after Steve become the interim CEO of Apple, Michael Dell founder of Dell Computers said that What would I do? I would shut the company down and then give back the money to the shareholders, in front of the crowd of several thousand IT executives.[1] After more than ten years which is now, Apple worth more than 4 times of the Dells market value.[2][3] It is not difficult to spot whether Steve Jobs in Apple campus, just look for the handicapped space in front of the Apple campus entrance. Because it is usually for him to park at there and sometime occupied both handicapped car lot. If describe the Apple as big ship, the Steve will be an erratic and temperamental captain. But this captain is capable to foresee and fulfill what the end users wishes and setting the trend in innovation and style. Moreover, Steve Jobs been award as most valuable CEO by Barrons, The Wall Street Journal and CEO of the Decade by Fortune magazine.[4][5] Microsoft Background Microsoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops wide range of software products, gamming hardware products, online services etc. But Microsoft main business and most profitable products are selling the software products such as operating system, office suits. In 1975, Microsoft was founded by two founders which is Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and for now headquarter is locate at Washington. Microsoft was developed and sold the Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) interpreters for the Altair 8800 computer when it was founded. Then continue with The AppleSoft Complier (TASC) which compiles the BASIC written program to Apple machine language. By award the contract by IBM to Microsoft for the operating system in IBM upcoming PC, it yields the first real success for Microsoft is by delivering the Disc Operating System (DOS). Then Microsoft continues to release the new operating system which named as Windows operating system that equi pped with the graphical user interface (GUI). From Windows 1.0 to the latest Windows 7 or Windows server 2008, Microsoft rose of small player to the giant in the software industry. Microsoft provides wide range of software to support the hardware products. Before January 2000 the chief operating officer for Microsoft is Bill Gates, but after Bill Gates stepped down and become the non executive chairman, he gradually transfer his duties to Steve Ballmer, an executive that joined Microsoft on 1980. Beside the operating system Microsoft also create the business software, gaming hardware such as XBOX, gamming software such as Flight Simulator 2000 and other popular games for both PC and XBOX. Microsoft also participates in the search engine, BING and provides other online services such as Windows Live. To compete with iPod, Microsoft released their own portable media player named as Zune which offer more choices to consumers. 3.0 Methods, Materials Process 3.1 Participants Our entire research is based on the students from MMU Cyberjaya. The objective of survey is to collect opinion of students in MMU Cyberjaya toward business strategy and innovation of Microsoft and Apple. As such, our main criteria lie on the Faculty of Engineering (FOE), Faculty of Information Technology (FIT), Faculty of Management (FOM), Centre For Foundation Studies and Extension Education (FOSEE) and Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM). All of the students from the research sample are chosen randomly regardless of their age and sex. We targeted a research sample of 100 students. 3.2 Materials We started our research by using the questionnaire. The questionnaire fundamentally consists of close ended and open ended questions. Each of the questions is specially designed in correspondence with the objective of the research, which is to determine the image of both the company in students mind. The questionnaire is attached on Appendix A. 3.3 Process There are 5 members in our group. The different tasks on the questionnaire design and distributions have been divided evenly among the group members. Our research samples are the 100 students from every faculty. Our friends from every faculty assist us in distributing the questionnaire. Besides that, we also perform the online survey and send the link through social network such as msn, email or facebook. Every question may require more than one answer, which are the answers that come to their mind. 4.0 Survey Results: Which company does you heard before? In the statistic, it shows that all heard about both companies before. Which product from Microsoft that you have used before? As show in bar chart above, Windows and Office suite dominates the market, as the Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player bundle with the Windows operating system, so both of it also have 100% of usage. Windows Mobile is just for the one who own the smart phone that use Windows Mobile as operating system which as low as 40%. The less among all is Microsoft hardware, which includes keyboard, mouse, webcam etc. Which product you think represents Microsoft the most? Pie chart above shows that when people talk about Microsoft, the image or product that relate to the company is Windows. Which product from Apple that you have used before? Most of the people have used iPod and iPhone before compare to the other Apple products. This is because of the pricy of the Mac computers even the entry level product compare to other others. Which product you think represents Apple the most? Pie chart above shows that when people talk about Apple, the image or product that relate to the company is mostly iPhone and iPod. Which company do you think is more innovative? Peoples think that Apple is more innovative compare to Microsoft maybe due to the image that Apple keep refresh its products line and keep introduce new products. Which company image is more mysterious or secretive? From statistic, Apple image is more secretive compare to Microsoft. This is probably due to Apple wont announce current or ongoing projects compare to Microsoft makes public about what its current ongoing. Which sector do you think Microsoft monopoly? Microsoft monopoly the software market in the PC industry due to its operating system can operate in any hardware combinations. Which sector do you think Apple monopoly? Apple monopoly in digital music sector and mobile sector, many iPod and iPhone can be found easily on the street as the handheld device of many users. Usually where you get the information or news for the products? Compare both of the pie chart above, most of the people get the information of Microsoft from email promotions and social media, but for Apple, Email promotions and social media tactics less likely to be use with. 5.0 Discussions: 5.1 Compare and Contrast of Business Strategies 5.1.1 Secrecy As show in graph above the different between Apple and Microsoft business strategy is its secrecy level. Nowadays the social networking platforms such as blog, facebook, twitter, etc are very famous around the world. There are companies that use these platforms to communicate with their fans, potential customers, costumers, sharing about the new business strategy, new technology, new upcoming products or get the direct respond from the public. Such as Microsoft, there are different official blog for different department, such as IEBlog or Server Team Blog. But there is also the official Microsoft Blog for the executives or employees to deliver the news and the perspective from Microsoft. Besides that, the Microsoft team uses their blog to respond to the current related topics or what happenings in the industrial, such as Microsoft Cooperate Vice President reply the criticism of the former employee by the title Measuring Our Work by Its Broad Impact through the blog. [6] But this kind of the culture is banned in Apple. In Apple, no employees are allowed to share to public any tidbits about what are they currently doing. There are also no official blog for Apple. The only Apple have is their official website to provides the details to the public. Moreover, Apple has been known to spread wrong information to their workers. According to a former employee mention that Philip Schiller, senior vice president for worldwide product marketing, provided incorrect information about a products price or features about new products in internal meetings. By using the incorrect details, Apple then tries to track down the source of leak. For those employee that leak or accidently leak the information, they will be fired. [7] Even Apple employees have no idea what are they currently working at. They just finish the task that assigned. The engineers that deal with the hardware part and the software part are separate in different buildings in order to prevent for them to know what is the whole project was. So for Apple employees they are as surprised as public about the new product launch or products update. Basically Apple secrecy reaches paranoia. A former Apple marketing manager describe as below Employees working on top-secret projects must pass through a maze of security doors, swiping their badges again and again and finally entering a numeric code to reach their offices, according to one former employee who worked in such areas. Work spaces are typically monitored by security cameras, this employee said. Some Apple workers in the most critical product-testing rooms must cover up devices with black cloaks when they are working on them, and turn on a red warning light when devices are unmasked so that everyone knows to be extra-careful. [7] Beside the unannounced new products, this rule also applies for the announced. Such as for new iPad that just launch and will be available in Apple Store on 3rd of April, but even few days before launch, Apple Store employees form concierge to manager havent seen it yet. The most interesting part is the geniuses that in charge of the problems solving and fixing dont know how to solve and fix the potential problems yet.[8] Why secrecy is so important in Apple business strategy? It is because this approach has been critical to success, it will allowing Apple to attack the market share of other companies before for their competitors conscious about it. Usually if Steve found that if there are some breakage or potential products in the sectors, they will find the possibilities to connect it or create it out. Such as iPhone, it takes more than three years for Apple to figuring out how to product it should be, so that was three years ahead of their rivals. So when their rivals try to create some product to fight back, maybe Apple has brought their existing product into another level. This make Apple in lead of the sectors and their rivals keep catching up at behind. Since Apple image is about the secrecy, before any events that held by Apple, there are sure many rumors going on the tech website or media. But there sure will have leaks about the new product information. A former Apple manager describe that these sorts of leaks are handed down from senior Apple executives to the employees to contact major news or website outlets. The communication is always done in person or on the phone and never by e-mail. This is because if theres ever any dispute about what transpired, theres no physical evidence to prove the false of either partys version of the story.[9] So it is all about the business or marketing tactics. By control leaks, Apple will know who the public will respond to their new products and it is a free method to survey and free method to advertise the potential new products. All of the rumors or lawsuits that are related to Apple company well shown in their stock (AAPL) that listed on Nasdaq. The stock price will go higher before there are any events and if the new product release meets the public expectation the stock price will be rise again or remain same. But if out of expectation, the price will be drop. So as the lawsuits, by winning the lawsuit will help to push up the stock. 5.1.2 Open door versus closed door The second strategy related to secrecy is about the open door versus closed door. Since the day Microsoft collaborate with IBM when IBM approach Microsoft for needing the operating system for their new to-be-announced PC. The personal computer (PC) that creates by the IBM is open architecture, which means that peripheral components and compatible software can be produce and sell by other manufacturers without purchasing licenses. Soon there comes other manufactures to reverse engineered the PC which so call the IBM PC compatible. As the success of the IBM PC lead the PC become the standard in the industry and lead many of the other companies to start to clone it. Due to the popularity of the IBM PC, it helps to push to Microsoft to world because all of the clone will use the Microsoft DOS operating system. After more than 30 years of evolution, nowadays there are full of computer company such as Dell, Asus, Acer, etc which is PC maker and seller. It is not too over to say that each of the PC that they sold come with the pre-install Windows operating system that developed by Microsoft. The statistics showed that more than 90% of the operating system market shares are own by Microsoft.[10] How Microsoft reach so far? The answer is collaboration with the hardware manufactures and with software programmer. Microsoft released the Application Programming Interface (API) inside the operating system for the use of the programmer. Since the PC is very popular and due to the popularity and high demand, so there are a lots of programs which is wrote to be work in Windows operating system. Back to computer manufacture, each PC that preinstall with the Windows operating system must be genuine. The charge for the operating system at the end will be pay by the end users. From there Microsoft get a lo t of income from the licenses. Because of the needed of collaboration with different parties, Microsoft need to release their road map or preview of the new software in advance order to let or encourage or make sure the manufactures to build their offerings around Microsoft new systems. Sure, this will only let Microsoft a stranglehold on the software market. For Apple, it is totally different. Apple hardware is a close architecture, so only Apple proprietary software can match with proprietary hardware. It is totally black box operations. Mac OS X is just for Apple Mac computers, iPhone OS just for Apple iPhone or iPod. Apple have different keyboard layout, different connector for video output. By using iPod or iPhone, the only software that you can sync with is by using iTunes. Unlike Windows mobile operating system or Windows operating system that is designed to work on any participating computer or handset. So there is totally no openness and interoperability in Apple compare to Microsoft. Due to that close looped and high prices, less people which the Mac OS X market share less than 5% and the software that operable on the Mac OS X is quite limited and the driver for peripherals hardware that work with Mac OS X also limited. But on the other hand, because of the ecosystem, Apple can design the combination of hardware and software tha t work well together, this can ensure that whole system is running smoothly and to enhance the user experience which others cant deliver. The advantage for Apple is they only write the software for their own hardware so there are fewer problems, for Microsoft, as they need to support all of the variant hardware then it run on, so there will be more problems to deal with. 5.1.3 How to reach customers The third point is how the both company reach their customers. Usually there are three ways to reach the customers, first is through the official online store, secondly is directly through the concept store and the last and the most important method is through advertisement. The Microsoft online store aka Microsoft Marketplace offers all the latest products from Microsoft and computer or hardware by third party manufactures. It provides all the specifications, minimum requirements, pricing, comparison between products and other details that will be need by the buyers. User can select the products and add into cart then directly pay by credit card to get the products. Unfortunately, Microsoft Marketplace just available to selected countries only which exclude Malaysia. Beside for the software for computer, Microsoft also provides the software for smart phone. For the Windows mobile platform there is a special store or platform for users to view and download the applications, games tha t create by third party developer which name as Windows marketplace for mobile. The virtual store is not enough to interact with users. So why the concept store is so important? It is because there are demands for users to physically experience the stuff, to introduce to the new technology and get the direct help from the professionals. So it leads to opening of the official concept store. For Microsoft, they have total two Microsoft store at United States, both open in 2009. Microsoft store is target to improve the customers retail purchase experience for Microsoft products, provide opinions and help consumers to make decisions with their PC and software purchases. The store provide wide variety of products, it offers both hardware and software that create by Microsoft such as Microsoft windows, Microsoft office, Xbox 360, Zune potable media player etc. It also offers the personal computers that manufactured by third parties manufactures such as HP, IBM, Dell etc. Most of the PC peripherals and accessories can be found in the store too. For both hardware part a nd software part, customers can have a test drive at there about all the new technologies or functions that provide by Microsoft for new software and entertain their self with Xbox 360 or the Zune. There is also a corner named as Answer bar which duty by the Microsoft professional with the meaning of helps to answer and troubleshoot the problems about Microsoft products. Beside the normal customer service, they also provide the after sales service at there. For the faulty Microsoft hardware can be send to there for the repair. Class sessions also provided to introduce to the new users to highlight all the basic and new functions. For Apple, same as Microsoft, they have both the online store and the concept store so call Apple Store. But both the Apple online store and concept store are quite different with the Microsoft. For Microsoft the main idea is for promote and introduce their product to the public and not sales. This is because personal computer can buy from the manufacture and maybe the manufacture provides more promotions or offers. For the software part, most of them are bundle with the new computers. But this is totally different for Apple. For Apple, all the software and hardware are custom by themselves. So they are the only one who provides the service or warranty. All the faulty hardware which cant solve by the authorized distributor is send back to Apple. For Microsoft, they just provide online store for few countries, but for Apple, they provide the online store for most of the country in the world which all the price are display in the local currency. For Apple online store, they provide bot h the hardware and software from themselves and third party too. The special about the Apple online store is they provide the education discount for both the students and lectures. The education prices are lower than market price, so that it can encourage the students or lectures to switch to the Apple ecosystem more affordable. As mention above, Apple website is the only way to get the new information about the Apple. So as the online store, it is the only way to get information about the updates or refresh of the current Apple product lines. When the online store is down, there are only two possibilities, one is for maintenance and another is for product update. Beside the online store, there are other stores such as Apps Store which provide the applications for the ipod touch, iphone and ipad by third parties. Itunes store to sell the music, video, ringtone, drama to both the mac and windows users. For Apple concept store, there are totally 286 stores in worldwide. Inside the store provide all the product range from Apple. In order to run the store effectively and achieve high customers stratifications, all the staff are been well trained for specific tasks. The level of training depends on the post that currently holds. First is store manager that in charge of whole team members, evaluate their performance and manage the profitability. Second is concierge/ specialist, there are quite a numbers of specialist such as Inventory Control, Back of House and Personal Shopping Specialist. For Personal Shopping Specialist they performs assorted customer service tasks, such as conduct product sales and answers enquires about Apple products and their main task is to deliver unique shopping experience to customers . Third is Creative which been well trained to provides training or advice, teach about all Apples software and pro applications to customers. As Apple very focus about the cust omer service and from the statistic of Customer Service Champs 2010 that done from the BusinessWeek magazine, Apple get 3rd rank which is highest among all the computer manufacture. Last but not least, there is also Apple Genius that serves at the Genius Bar to diagnoses and identifies the possible problems, perform repairing, replacement services for the products that under recall or needed and provide technical support to Apple users. To attract the visitors to Apple store, Apple had made many affords. One of it is the architecture and interior design. In a results, numerous architectural awards been award to its store designs, so thats make it Apple Store so unique to each others such as the Apple Store at the 5th Avenue of New York. It is the underground store which its entrance is a big glass cube. The most unique and eyes catching interior design is the glass staircase that leads to the underground store. Beside that the glass staircase was awarded design pattern in 2002.[11] For the advertising part, both companies almost perform same to each other. First is by sending email. This is because it is a most cost effective way. Usually the email will introduce either the new products or the promotion of the current products. By sending the email or newsletter to the subscriber, it can create the awareness of the customers towards the advertisement, help to create loyal customers and serve as a reminder. Through the email newsletters that send, the direct sales can be increase and will lead to increase the income. Nowadays, the usages of the search engines are part of the daily life. Just key the website or information that wishes to look for at the search engine, and you will get the page that require. So advertising through the search engine is the way to do so. Search engine company provide paid search advertising at the top of the all the results when the keywords are matched. This allow interested visitor to browse the details, increase the business revenue and reduce spending limit. For Apple, for the major products such as iPod, iPhone and iPad, or when there are major improvements over old products, they will publish the advertisement video to introduce the features or the uniqueness of the products. Besides that, the most famous Apple advertisement is the Get a Mac, which use to compare between the PC and Mac computer. To compete with the advertisement, Microsoft creates Im PC advertisements which focus on the price of PC which is cheaper over Mac computers. Another strategy which use by Microsoft and later follow by Apple is use the strength of social media. By using social media, the end users or customers will help to spread out the information which is product advertising. The reviews by the professionals or pioneers are post at the Facebook or Youtube to introduce their products. Communicate with the users are important for Microsoft strategy, so they create blogs, discussion groups on forum or social networking website such as Facebook or even Twitter to provide the frequent information updates about new products and use the platform as the brand ambassador to increase to adoption rate of new products. From listening the feedback rather than self defend can help Microsoft to improve and create better products. As discussed above, the suggestions or opinions from users act as a feedback look and make a whole close loop ecosystem. For Apple, there are two official Facebook page, one for iTunes and another for Apps Store. The content include introduce the new apps or song and direct link to the store for further purchasing, which is another way to promote the items. Overall, the social media can be effective tool for marketing, it also allow user to voice their opinions and suggestions and participate in the product development cycle, which result better products for better future. [12] 5.2 Compare and Contrast of Innovations 5.2.1 Apple Innovations According to the survey percent of people thinks that Apple is more innovative. It is a norm where when discuss about innovation, most computer and electronics consumers will focus and chasing for Apple, and that why Forbes Magazine ranked Apple in 1st place for most admired company for innovation. The formula for Apple is keep increase the spending for RD, keep innovate, keep launch the new products or updates and lastly keep the competitors far behind. Apple do innovate quite a number of technologies, but it is surprise that in many cases Apple do help to push the technologies in the mainstream but Apple did not invent the core technologies. Steve jobs said that You cant ask people what they want next, they wont know, they cant tell you what they want next, they just know when they see it and feel that it gonna be right things. First of all is graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI was introduced by Apple in 1984 named as Mac OS pairing with its Apple Lisa computer and changes the computer industry since ever. Before the introduction of GUI to public, all the personal computers were power by dot matrix command line operating system, to execute any command, user need to type in the command and the interaction and it is not user friendly at all. In the truth is the GUI generally credited to Xerox because the idea is get from Xerox when Steve Jobs and other Apple executives visit the Xerox research center in 1979. On the other hand, Apple do help to innovate for GUI, Apple include the drag and drop, double click, menu bar at top of the screen with pull down menu. All the steps follow by Microsoft with release Windows 1.0 in late 1985. [13] With the introduced of GUI in Mac OS, Apple introduced the mouse to be the pointer for its GUI. Apple did not invent the mouse, the mouse was invent by Douglas Engelbart and ship with Xerox workstations in 1981. As a result of population, nowadays all the desktop computer must pair with a keyboard and mouse. [14] The successor for Apple Lisa is Apple Macintosh. It is the first commercially successful all in one personal computer feature with GUI and mouse. All in one computer not the original idea from Apple as older 8 bit computers such as Commodore PET and Kaypro implemented this concept first. [15] After Steve Jobs back in 1997, he announced iMac in 1998 which is all in one computer which brightly colored transparent casing for monitor, keyboard and mouse. This is the 1st computer for Apple to return its profitability after return if Steve. Since then iMac been categorized as mid range price computer and the newest of iMac feature 21.5 and 27 inch LCD screen. As the uniqueness and the all in one pc reduce the space consumption, nowadays other manufacture such as NEC, LENOVO, DELL release their own all in one pc with Windows OS to grab the market share of all in one pc. Another story for introduction of iMac in 1998 is abandoning old technology such as remove the floppy disk drive. The remove of floppy was

Abortion in Canada - A Crime Against Humanity :: essays papers

Abortion in Canada - A Crime Against Humanity Every year in Canada, over 100 000 murders never reach the courtroom.1 They never reach the courtroom because they are completely legal. Abortion continues to grow across the world, hurting and killing children, as well as their mothers. Abortion is immoral, harmful, and actions must be taken to stop it. When a woman aborts, she is not only killing her child but is also harming herself. Legal abortion is the fifth leading cause of maternal death.2 Ten percent of women undergoing abortion suffer immediate complications, and one fifth of those are consid ered life threatening.3 Teenage aborters are at an even higher risk.4 These serious conditions include infection, embolisms, convulsions, hemorrhage, and endotoxic poisoning.5 By having an abortion, a woman doubles her chances of getting breast or cerv ical cancer. Every consequent abortion increases these chances.6 Physical damage, however, is merely the beginning. Aborted mothers will also suffer many psychological effects as well. These include nightmares, hysterical outbreaks, feelings of immense guilt, and fear of punishment from God.7 In fact, aborted women visit doctors for psychosocial reasons 180% more than other women.8 Abortion may seem like a quick fix at the time, but there can be many and harsh consequenc! es. Yet even if a mother is willing to accept the consequences, she is taking away a human life. Purely biologically speaking, it is undeniable that a fetus is a human, and an individual. at the moment of conception, the fetus has a DNA that is different from his or her mother. By three weeks, the baby's heart is pumping its own circulatory system with a blood type different from its mother.9 Doctors measure the end of life by brain death. It is then reasonable to say that the beginning of life should be at least measured by the beginning of brain life. By six weeks, an unborn baby's brain waves can be recorded by an electroencephalogram (EEG).10 Between six and seven weeks, the unborn baby will respond to external stimuli, such as touching his or her face.11 While many people believe that a fetus is merely a mass of flesh, and is not nearly as complex as a human, this is completely untrue. By eight weeks, all of the body systems are present, and by eleven weeks, still i! n the first trimester, all of those body systems are functional.12 In fact, the body of an unborn baby is more complex than Abortion in Canada - A Crime Against Humanity :: essays papers Abortion in Canada - A Crime Against Humanity Every year in Canada, over 100 000 murders never reach the courtroom.1 They never reach the courtroom because they are completely legal. Abortion continues to grow across the world, hurting and killing children, as well as their mothers. Abortion is immoral, harmful, and actions must be taken to stop it. When a woman aborts, she is not only killing her child but is also harming herself. Legal abortion is the fifth leading cause of maternal death.2 Ten percent of women undergoing abortion suffer immediate complications, and one fifth of those are consid ered life threatening.3 Teenage aborters are at an even higher risk.4 These serious conditions include infection, embolisms, convulsions, hemorrhage, and endotoxic poisoning.5 By having an abortion, a woman doubles her chances of getting breast or cerv ical cancer. Every consequent abortion increases these chances.6 Physical damage, however, is merely the beginning. Aborted mothers will also suffer many psychological effects as well. These include nightmares, hysterical outbreaks, feelings of immense guilt, and fear of punishment from God.7 In fact, aborted women visit doctors for psychosocial reasons 180% more than other women.8 Abortion may seem like a quick fix at the time, but there can be many and harsh consequenc! es. Yet even if a mother is willing to accept the consequences, she is taking away a human life. Purely biologically speaking, it is undeniable that a fetus is a human, and an individual. at the moment of conception, the fetus has a DNA that is different from his or her mother. By three weeks, the baby's heart is pumping its own circulatory system with a blood type different from its mother.9 Doctors measure the end of life by brain death. It is then reasonable to say that the beginning of life should be at least measured by the beginning of brain life. By six weeks, an unborn baby's brain waves can be recorded by an electroencephalogram (EEG).10 Between six and seven weeks, the unborn baby will respond to external stimuli, such as touching his or her face.11 While many people believe that a fetus is merely a mass of flesh, and is not nearly as complex as a human, this is completely untrue. By eight weeks, all of the body systems are present, and by eleven weeks, still i! n the first trimester, all of those body systems are functional.12 In fact, the body of an unborn baby is more complex than Abortion in Canada - A Crime Against Humanity :: essays papers Abortion in Canada - A Crime Against Humanity Every year in Canada, over 100 000 murders never reach the courtroom.1 They never reach the courtroom because they are completely legal. Abortion continues to grow across the world, hurting and killing children, as well as their mothers. Abortion is immoral, harmful, and actions must be taken to stop it. When a woman aborts, she is not only killing her child but is also harming herself. Legal abortion is the fifth leading cause of maternal death.2 Ten percent of women undergoing abortion suffer immediate complications, and one fifth of those are consid ered life threatening.3 Teenage aborters are at an even higher risk.4 These serious conditions include infection, embolisms, convulsions, hemorrhage, and endotoxic poisoning.5 By having an abortion, a woman doubles her chances of getting breast or cerv ical cancer. Every consequent abortion increases these chances.6 Physical damage, however, is merely the beginning. Aborted mothers will also suffer many psychological effects as well. These include nightmares, hysterical outbreaks, feelings of immense guilt, and fear of punishment from God.7 In fact, aborted women visit doctors for psychosocial reasons 180% more than other women.8 Abortion may seem like a quick fix at the time, but there can be many and harsh consequenc! es. Yet even if a mother is willing to accept the consequences, she is taking away a human life. Purely biologically speaking, it is undeniable that a fetus is a human, and an individual. at the moment of conception, the fetus has a DNA that is different from his or her mother. By three weeks, the baby's heart is pumping its own circulatory system with a blood type different from its mother.9 Doctors measure the end of life by brain death. It is then reasonable to say that the beginning of life should be at least measured by the beginning of brain life. By six weeks, an unborn baby's brain waves can be recorded by an electroencephalogram (EEG).10 Between six and seven weeks, the unborn baby will respond to external stimuli, such as touching his or her face.11 While many people believe that a fetus is merely a mass of flesh, and is not nearly as complex as a human, this is completely untrue. By eight weeks, all of the body systems are present, and by eleven weeks, still i! n the first trimester, all of those body systems are functional.12 In fact, the body of an unborn baby is more complex than

Book Review on Anna Karenina Essay

Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger. Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina his first true novel . The character of Anna was likely inspired, in part, by Maria Hartung , the elder daughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin . Although Russian critics dismissed the novel on its publication as a â€Å"trifling romance of high life†, Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be â€Å"flawless as a work of art†. His opinion was shared by Vladimir Nabokov, who especially admired â€Å"the flawless magic of Tolstoy’s style†, and by William Faulkner, who described the novel as â€Å"the best ever written†. The novel is divided into eight parts. Its epigraph is â€Å"Vengeance is mine, I will repay†. Tolstoy’s language has a chafing effect on readers coming to it for the first time; it takes time to synch with his rhythms. The novel begins with one of its most quoted lines: â€Å"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Anna Karenina is the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother’s unbridled womanizing – something that prefigures her own later situation, though with less tolerance for her by others. A bachelor, Vronsky is willing to marry her if she would agree to leave her husband Karenin, a government official, but she is vulnerable to the pressures of Russian social norms, her own insecurities and Karenin’s indecision. Although Vronsky eventually takes Anna to Europe where they can be together, they have trouble in making friends. She is shunned, becoming further isolated and anxious. Despite Vronsky’s reassurances she grows increasingly possessive and paranoid about his imagined infidelity, fears losing control and eventually takes her own life. A parallel story within the novel is of Levin, a country landowner who desires to marry Kitty, sister to Dolly and sister-in-law to Anna’s brother Oblonsky. Levin has to propose twice before Kitty accepts. The novel details Levin’s difficulties managing his estate, his eventual marriage, and personal issues, until the birth of Levin’s first child. Tolstoy’s style in Anna Karenina is considered by many critics to be transitional, forming a bridge between the realist and modernist novel. The novel is narrated from a third-person-omniscient perspective, shifting the narrator’s attention to several major characters, though most frequently focusing on the opposing lifestyles and attitudes of its central protagonists of Anna and Levin. There is an excessive use of stream of consciousness. Tolstoy has used real events in his narrative, to lend greater verisimilitude to the fictional events of his narrative. Characters speak of the significant sociopolitical issues affecting Russia in the latter half of the nineteenth century, like the place and role of the Russian peasant in society, education reform, and women’s rights. Tolstoy communicates his own political beliefs through this novel. He includes in the transcript, his own analysis of the ideologies, behaviors, and ideas running through contemporary Russia through the thoughts of Levin. The broad array of situations and ideas depicted in Anna Karenina allows Tolstoy to present a treatise on his Russian era, and, by virtue of its very breadth and depth, all of human society. This stylistic technique, as well as the novel’s use of perspective, greatly contributes to the thematic structure of Anna Karenina . The novel is basically a taunt on Russian aristocracy although Tolstoy himself was a part of it. It emphasizes on the notions of hypocrisy, jealousy, faith, fidelity, family, marriage, dodge, society, progress, carnal desire and passion, and the agrarian connection to land in contrast to the lifestyles of the city. There is a point raised on the adulterous liaisons and the inferiority complex for speaking french instead of russian language, in the Russian Aristocratic society. Tolstoy allows his themes to emerge naturally from the â€Å"vast panorama of Russian life. The novel sends a message that â€Å"no one can build one’s happiness on another’s pain. † Anna karenina implicitly shows the â€Å"respect† and â€Å"honour† given to women in western society which debates on Human Rights. Western society is not an exception, women mostly considered to be the puppets regardless of the societies. This is why Allama Iqbal talks about the hollowness of the western society. Islam takes a moderated approach for women. There are restrictions but her role is also justified in the society.

Export Import

Import and export of goods play a vital role in all the economy. That too, India is a developing country, the role of export and import are of greater emphasis. There must be a free flow of exports and imports in order to improve the economy. But, the free flow should not affect the economy. So, the control over import and export of goods become the need of the hour.Regulation mandated by a state attempts to produce outcome which might not otherwise occur, produce or prevent outcomes in different places to what might otherwise occur, or produce or prevent outcomes in ifferent timescales than would otherwise occur. In this way, regulations can be seen as implementations artifacts of policy statements. The economics of imposing or removing regulations relating to markets is analyzed in regulatory economics. [Development of economic legislation is of comparatively recent origin.Reserve Bank of India was established in 1935 to exercise control over banking and fiscal activities. Need to control economic activities through legislation arose during the Second World War to face shortages. Price and distribution controls were established on arious essential commodities under the Defense of India Act, 1939 (later converted into Essential Supplies (Temporary Powers) Act of 1946 and Essential commodities Act in 1955). Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 was passed to control the difficult position of foreign exchange. Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 provided for industrial licensing and registration.MRTP Act was passed in 1969 to exercise control over monopolies, unfair trade practices and restrictive trade practices. Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 was passed as a solution to growing sickness in industries. Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 was passed to establish a statutory body (SEBI) to exercise control over rapidly growing capital market. Earlier, capital issues (control) Act, 1947 was used to exercise cont rol over capital issues. This Act was scrapped after the formation of SEBI. As international business is growing, importance of controls over foreign transactions is growing.The main purpose of economic legislation is to support the economic policies of the Government. b. to exercise control over economic activities. to protect consumers from unscrupulous persons. d. To prevent bad side effects of the development. India decided to follow Russian model of ‘controlled economy and ‘leading role to public sector'. Various Acts were passed atter 1947 to suppo t rt nese ideals. T envisaged various controls, licensing etc†¦ Some Acts like Essential Commodities Act. FERA was designed to support ‘shortage economy, where supply was less compared to demand. These economic policies were totally changed in July 1991.It is ironical that through the policies have changrd, the old Acts still continue. Though some amendments to FERA, MRTP Act etc†¦ have been made, the bas ic philosophy of these Acts (i. e) controls and licensing continues. Luckily, the Acts provided so much flexibility in framing policies that these old Acts provided so much flexibility in framing policies that these old Acts designed for different purposes and with entirely different concepts can be in fact are being used to implement new policies. Indeed the new policies are against basic philosophy of the old economic legislation.The country which is purchasing the goods is known as the importing country and the country which is selling the goods known as exporting country. The traders involved in such transaction are importers and exporters respectively. In India, exports and imports are regulated by Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, which replaced the Imports and Exports (control) Act, 1947, and gave the Government of India enormous powers to control it. Besides the FTDR Act, there are some other laws which control the export and import of goods. These includ e :- a. -rea Act, 1953 b.Coffee Act, 1942 The Rubber Act, 1947 The Marine Products Export Development Authority Act, 1972 e. The Enemy Property Act, 1968 The Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963. g. The tobacco Board Act, 197513] IMPORT RESTRICTIONS Control over the import ot the goods in to India is exercised by the Import Trade Control Oragnisation, which functions under the ministry of commerce. This rganisation is supervised by the director General of foreign trade station at New Delhi, who is assisted by Additional and Joint director general and by other licensing authorities at various centers.Current import policy is embodied in the export and import policy book out by the DGFT. CUSTOMS ACT, 1962 Section 12(1) of the customs Act is the charging section which provides for imposition of a duty called Customs duty levied as per the customs Tariff act 1975, or any other law for the time being in force on the goods imported in to India or exported out of India. The ob jects of Customs Act are i) To regulate imports and exports. To protect domestic industries from dumping. iii) revenue in the form of customs duty and indirect tax. iv) legislations such as FTDR and FEMA.To collect To assist allied By virtue of the power conferred under Secl 56 of the Customs Act 1962 Central Govt is empowered to make rules consistent with the provisions of the Act. Similarly by virtue of its powers conferred under Sec157 of the Act , the Central Board of Excise and Customs(CBEC) has been empowered to frame regulations( Customs House Agent Regulations) EXPORT & IMPORT PROHIBITIONS Secl 1 of the Customs Act 1962 gives powers to central government to prohibit import or export of goods . Such a prohibition can be absolute or conditional.Absolute prohibition means an importer is totally prohibited in importing/exporting the subject goods. Some of the goods prohibited from time to time are narcotic drugs, explosives, live or dead animals [birds, arms and ammunition, coun terfeit currency notes. On the other hand, conditional prohibition would mean that the prohibition would mean that the prohibition would mean that the prohibition is subject to certain conditions imposed. A conditional prohibition would attract in a case where the importer is prohibited in selling/trading the imported goods but can only use the ame as a raw material for manufacture.Some item like wool, turmeric, onion, black pepper, tea, etc†¦ are allowed to be exported only after they are graded by designated authorities. In terms of Sec. ll (2) of the Customs Act, 1962, the prohibition may among other things relate to the following: i) Maintenance of security of India. Prevention of smuggling Conservation of foreign exchange and safeguarding balance of payments. Prevention of serious injury to domestic production of goods. v) Protection of national treasures. Maintenance of public order and standards of decency and morality. vii)Protection of IPR (Patent/Trademark/Copyright) viii) Any other matter conducive to the interest of general public. Sec. 2 (33) of the act defines prohibited goods means any goods the import or export of which is subject to any prohibition under this act or any other law for time being in force but doesn't include any such goods in respect of which the conditions subject to which the goods are permitted to be imported or exported, have been complied with. Therefore, the prohibition under Customs Act applies to prohibition under any other law in India. ) Ancient Monument Prevention Act prohibits/ restricts antiquities e imported or exported without licence. b) Arms and ammunition cannot c) Wildlife Act prohibits certain exports- ‘red sandal wood ‘(which are used in Middle East countries for making musical instruments) d) Environment Protection Act prohibits export of some items. At the time of import of goods the customs authorities will first check whether the items imported is prohibited / restricted or subject to co nditional import, before allowing clearance of the goods.Similarly at the time export also the goods are given ‘let export order' only after they are checked with the reference to restrictions/ rohibitions. If such goods are attempted to be smuggled the goods are liable to seizure/confiscation and the offender liable to penal action including arrest / prosecution under the Customs Act. The word ‘confiscation' implies appropriation consequential to seizure. The essence and concept of the confiscation is that after confiscation the property of the confiscated goods vest with the central govt.Secl 1 1 of the Act provides for confiscation of improperly imported goods. The goods brought from a place outside India shall be liable for confiscation. Sec. 111 (d) says â€Å"any goods hich are imported or attempted to be imported or are brought within the Indian Customs waters for the purpose of being imported, contrary to any prohibition imposed by or under this act or any other law for the time being in force. Secl 13 of the Act deals with confiscation of goods attempted to be improperly exported .The export goods shall be liable for confiscation under sec 113 (d) says â€Å"any goods attempted to be exported or brought within the limits of any customs area for the purpose of being exported contrary to any prohibition imposed by or under this Act or any other law for time being in force. COFEPOSA, 1974 Conservation of Foreign Exchange and prevention of smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) was passed in 1974 when foreign exchange position in India was bleak and smuggling was beyond control.In view of recent liberalisation, the Act has lost its significance. The Act gives wide powers to executive to detain a person on mere Suspicion of smuggling (the draconian provisions of the act can be compared with provisions of TADA, where a person can be incarnated in Jail merely for possessing a illegal weapon and having acquaintances with some underworld elements, w ithout any proof of direct involvement in terrorist activities). The acts like COFEPOSA, TADA, etc†¦ are criticized on the ground that they violate basic human rights.Freedom of a man can be taken away under such Acts, without Judicial scrutiny and safeguards. The act has been given special protection by including the same in the 9th schedule to constitution. The validity of COFEPOSA particularly section 5A and SAFEMA smugglers and foreign Exchange Manipulators (forfeiture of property) Act 1976, have been upheld in Attorney General of India Vs. Amaratlal PraJivandas[4]. A 9 member bench SC order. Thus, individual civil liberties can be curtailed for national security and in national interest.Under provisions of the act, a Government officer, not below the rank of Joint Secretary in case of central Government and Secretary in case of State Government, who is specifically authorized by central or state government for that purpose, is authorised to order detention of a person (inc luding a foreigner) with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to conservation or augmentation of foreign exchange, or to prevent him from smuggling or abetting smuggling of goods, or transporting, keeping conceling or dealing in smuggling goods or harbouring persons engaged in smuggling ot goods. section. ). where an order ot detention is made by state government officer, it should be reported to central government within 10 days. (Section. 3 (2)). When detention is ordered by central government, central govt. is appropriate government. When detention is ordered by state government, that govt. is appropriate government. The significance of this definition is that the ‘Appropriate government' has to make a reference to advisory board formed for the purpose of COFEPOSA and take action as per decision of advisory board.Appropriate government also has powers to revoke a detention, release a person temporarily, etc†¦ SAFEMA, 1976 Another act relevant to COEPOSA is SAFEMA – smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of property) Act, 1976. The act applies to persons convicted under customs Act, FERA and to those detained under COFEPOSA. The purpose of the act is to forfeit the illegally acquired properties of the smugglers and foreign exchange manipulators. Property can be forfeited merely on the ground that he is detained under COFEPOSA.However, in case of customs and FERA, property can be forfeited only if a person is convicted under these Acts. An appellate tribunal has also been formed for this purpose. COFEPOSA is dreaded Act similar to TADA. It permits detention of a person even without a charge. Since the powers are extraordinary, generally courts are strict about the conditions prescribed in respect of detention. FOREIGN TRADE (DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION) ACT, 1992. The FTDR Act is designed to develop and regulate foreign trade by facilitating imports in to India, and augmenting exports from India, and fo r matters connected therewith.The salient features of the Act are as follows; 0 It has empowered the Central Government to make provisions for development and regulation of foreign trade by acilitating imports into, and augmenting exports from India and for all matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 0 The Central Government can prohibit, restrict and regulate exports and imports, in all or specified cases as well as subject them to exemptions. 0 It authorizes the Central Government to formulate and announce an Export and Import (EXIM) Policy and also amend the same from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette. It provides for the appointment of a Director General of Foreign Trade by the Central Government for the purpose of the Act. He shall advise Central Government in formulating export and import policy and implementing the policy. 01Jnder the Act, every importer and exporter must obtain a ‘Importer Exporter Code Number' (‘EC) from Director G eneral of Foreign Trade or from the officer so authorised. The Director General or any other officer so authorised can suspend or cancel a licence issued for export or import of goods in accordance with the Act.But he does it after giving the licence holder a reasonable opportunity of being heard. PENALTY Export or import in violation of provisions of the act, rules or policy is an offence. Penalty up to five times the value of goods can be imposed. The contravening goods and conveyance carrying the goods are liable to confiscation. The goods and conveyances confiscated can be released by paying redemption charges equal to market value of such goods or conveyance.Conveyance will not be confiscated if it is owner proves that the conveyance was used without his knowledge or ne took reasonable precautions against its misuse. Penalty and confiscation can be ordered by ‘Adjudicatory authority. APPEAL Appeal against the order of DGFT for refusing of suspending or cancelling code umb er or licence or imposing penalty can be filed within 45 days with prescribed authority. Appeal can be filed only on payment of penalty imposed, unless appellate authority dispense with such pre deposit (Section. 5 of FTDR). Central Government can call and examine any records and pass revision orders in some cases (section. 16 of the act). SETTLEMENT A person can opt for settlement by admitting contravention in the following Contravention was without willful mistake or without any circumstances. a. collusion, fraud or without intention to cause loss of foreign exchange. b. Person mporting has not misutilised the imported goods, but condition of ‘Actual user' or ‘Export obligation' have not been satisfied.