The year was 2001, a year that most Americans will remember as the year the changed our lives forever. It was the year that the World Trade Center was attacked by a terrorists group out of the Middle East called Al Queda. War was in our future and our outlook out the United States went from being the invincible superpower to a country susceptible to any kind of outside terror. What we do forget though is that there was something else that was about to change our world forever in a technological way. Apple was really hurting in the computer industry. Microsoft was about to release its XP operating system which would revolutionize the way we use computers. Apple had no way of competing with them, but something was in the making that would make them a powerhouse in the industry once again, and it was only 4 inches long.
The downloading of music was still fairly new to us but the only problem was that what we downloaded would only be listened to on our computers. We had no way of listening to it portably. Apple noticed this and decided to create something that would let us take our MP3's anywhere we wanted. This device would be the IPOD. Standing at just 4 inches tall, this little giant changed to way we listened to our music. You were now able to connect it to your computer using a USB cable and bring your entire music library with you. You could bring it to the gym, work, on the morning jog, virtually where ever your heart desired. Ever since 2001, the IPOD has been the out right leader in the MP3 player industry, taking up about 71% of the industry. Microsoft was having it though and needed to enter this new world, but could they do it.
Microsoft has always been known as a leader in computing. If you look at just...
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Marchetti, Nino. "The Battle fo Two MP# player Titans : Microsoft vs. Apple." http://portables.about.com/od/mp3players/a/microapphub.htm
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*http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/9F60D74A-0E27-4F5F-B88D-835974628809.html
Kim, James. "The Zune vs. the world. http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6490_7-6551614.html
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune
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-Although not all sources were cited, all were read and greatly helped in production of this piece. MD
By 1993 Microsoft's windows computer programming function became the most widely used operating system in the world. When Microsoft was still an idea, Bill Gates led Apple to believe he would help them succeed in creating the best computer programming systems in the nation, however, Gates left it unknown to Apple he planned to release his own software. Gates took notes and allowed Apple to release the software he helped them to create. Then shortly after, Microsoft introduced windows. Apple claimed Gates had stolen their ideas, as windows looked surprisingly similar to Apple's version. Gates claimed he used his own ideas because it was his own that made Apple's renowned software. As Microsoft was leading in the world, Apple threatened Microsofts position in the world of technological advances by introducing a new software program that could potentially take Microsoft's top spot in the market away from them. Gates quickly said that he had created a new software that was set to release also, although he had no idea of new software at the time and made the excuse to possibly buy himself a bit of time. About eight months later, Microsoft released the new software program, as bill gates had proclaimed, retaining the top spot in the market. Microsoft's expansion today has reached every technological realm possible. Occluded in the newest developments are
Microsoft has devoted huge amounts of effort to marketing in developing their products and services, as well as to the integration of their software products with one another in an attempt to create a seamless and consistent computing environment for the user.
...ones which cost right around $30. Out of the millions and millions of Apple buyers, it was a great change in profit for the Apple industry. Even though it’s a small innovation it can bring in a major profit for the Apple companies worldwide. Eventually, Apple was not only a Technology Company but it was a new way of life to society. It was an everyday thing and just something that could never die out. In five to ten years who knows where the company will be. Without smart phones, who knows where our generation would be. It’s crazy to think about if cell phones were never created. How different everything would be.
With the popularization of the MP3 format a few years back came a renewed interest into listening to music. One of the great advantages of the Internet was that it allowed for almost immediate access to information instantaneously. If a song had been recorded, then there was a good chance it could be found on the Internet. The MP3 format allowed listeners to check out new artists and allowed for people to sent songs to each other of artists they thought should be heard. This was a good way for unknown artists to be heard or forgotten artist to be re-discovered. Radio station play lists or MTV’s idea of the next big thing did not fuel this rekindled interest in music. Rather a desire to simply listen to music was all that drove this phenomenon of people downloading music.
It is a well-known fact that Microsoft is the most marketed operating system. This can be explained by the decision by Microsoft to design and sell its operating system to other computer manufacturers. This meant making it compatible with other hardware. Apple did not choose to do this, making its operating systems only compatible with its own computer hardware (Derene, 2009). In a website article called “HongKait.Com: Online Tips for Designers and Bloggers” Nina Krimly states statistics that identify Microsoft as controlling 91% of the market while Apple Mac around 5%. The exclusivity of Apple did not make it popular among those who used the computer to work on projects both at home and at work in the past ...
Microsoft, one of the largest corporations in the world today, employs over 93,000 people and is a public, multinational company that manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computers and is most widely known for its Microsoft Windows operating system. Microsoft not only markets computer hardware products such as the Microsoft mouse and the Microsoft Natural keyboard, but it also manufactures and sells home entertainment products including, the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Zune. It also holds assets in other markets including the MSNBC cable television network, the MSN Internet portal, and the Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia.
One important change that has occurred is the distribution of music digitally. Music now in our society is purchased through the Internet. The simplicity of having an entire library of music on one device has been adopted versus having stacks of CD’s or tapes. The emergence of the Mp3 file has changed how we listen to music. Mp3 are digital songs that are portable, provide high quality sound, and are less expensive. Essentially by eliminating middlemen, digital music took control of music away from the major record companies and put the power in the listener’s hands. Major companies such as Apple’s iTunes created the distribution of digital music. CNNMoney mentions, “iTunes is currently responsible for 63% of all digital music sales” (CNNMoney). They set the standard of 99 cents for a single song, which was quickly adopted by major music companies. Selling songs by singles provided more control ...
...ncome and increase in demand. Microsoft met another challenge from the rapid rate of new technology. Specially coming from competitor such as Apple, Google, IBM, AT&T corporation, and cable giant media ONE. The Internet also allowed for new growth, because companies can get their message out in second anywhere in the world. However, the management of Microsoft was able to fully utilize the skills, expertise, and wisdom of its employees to remain successful. Microsoft continues to be successful with its creativity and innovation by producing new product such as windows and Xbox. Management has shown diversity by employing 91000 people worldwide in over two-hundred countries. This cultural success has propelled Microsoft to the front of the technology world. This can be attributed to the efficiency and effectiveness.
Introduction of the iPod: The iPod was introduced into the market just in time for Christmas, 2001. The first iPod was priced at $399. Apple relied on a hard disk for storage instead of flash memory or interchangeable CD-Roms and focused on promoting the uniqueness of the small size, power, and ease of use of the device. This first iPod had a 5 GB storage capacity—which is enough to hold over 1,000 songs—and it worked only on Macs, using iTunes as a music organization and CD-to-iPod conversion tool. iTunes, digital jukebox software that let Mac users import songs from CDs by converting audio files to the MP3 format and storing them on the computer’s hard drive, was introduced in January of 2001. Along with the iPod, Apple announced an enhanced version of iTunes that included a 10-band equalizer with presets, as well as a cross fading feature for smoother transitions from one song to another. An Auto Sync capability facilitated the downloading of music from a Mac to the new portable media device. Once the music was downloaded, Apple promised 10 hours of continuous play from the iPod’s rechargeable lithium battery. The device supported MP3, with bit rates of up to 320kbits/s, as well as AIFF and WAV file formats. Its amplifier could deliver 20-20,000-Hz frequency response. Apple sold 125,000 iPods by the end of December 2001.
Microsoft is a computing software company. Microsoft was made and founded on April 4th 1975 by two young men who were captivated by computers. Their names were Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The homebase was in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft became one of the most famous and successful companies in the world. “Microsoft was one of the pioneers responsible for bringing the personal computer into the lives of millions of people.” (Musolf). The company has had such a great impact that now the name “Microsoft” is now virtually synonymous with computer software.
Microsoft’s mission of placing a “PC running Microsoft software on every desk and in every home” drove their overall strategy early on. Depending on the business segment within Microsoft, one would see in place very different business models as the strategy for each line of business could vary. In the operating system (OS) segment, Microsoft initially brought in an existing product and modified this (MS-DOS) to work with the Intel microprocessor, which were the “brains” of the IBM PC. Microsoft partnered with IBM to provide the operating system for the IBM PC. In addition to developing Windows, Microsoft during this period was working to write applications for the Apple OS.
... in one. Satisfying this demand will be key to the growth of the MP3 player market, demand is growing for MP3 players, and there's a clamor for their prices to come down. The majority of current manufacturers are OEM makers without their own brand and key technology.
Sony is the world’s leading portable entertainment manufacturer, and Apple iPod is the most famous MP3 player. After Apple introduces their new product mini-iPod, Sony brings in their new MP3 player, NW-MS90D. The original iPod is a very successful product, but can it continue to be the best on a smaller device as mini-iPod or Sony will be the best smallest MP3 player? I will compare them with the specifications from their official webpage.
Then there is the Apple shuffle this is designed slightly differently as it more like a USB stick so that consumers are able to just place it in the computer.
...P, 2005, p 23) Around 2005 cell phones and PDAs were referred to as Swiss army knives of gadgets due to the fact they had many functions in one device. All the big phone companies at the time were premiering phones with more mp3 storage than mp3 player, essentially foreshadowing the future. (Dempsey, P, 2005, pg. 23)An average smart phone in the year 2014 can hold around 8-16 gigabytes of data, and if storage is allotted correctly, the phone can hold thousands of mp3s. Any mp3 player trying to have a foothold in the consumer market cannot compete with a device that is an essential part of an average person’s daily life, and a music player. “Smartphones with increasingly high-quality audio and video capabilities have become popular and therefore hamper demand for products in the Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing industry.” (Krabeepetcharat, T. 2013. p. 8)