MIS402 Strategic Information Systems - MidTerm Project

I used a Twitter account that name is Esc Computers Co and its slogan is technology solutions. Esc Computers Co is an imaginary computer company and it sells computers, computer equipments and mobile phones products. All the discounted products are just for the Twitter users. 

Sourcing information from around the world

Sourcing information from around the world

InSourcing is delegating a job to someone within a company, as opposed to someone outside of the company (outsourcing). One reason for insourcing to occur is if a company had previously outsourced a certain task, but was no longer satisfied with the work being done on that task, so the company could therefore insource the task and assign it to someone within the company who they believe will do a better job.

Near-sourcing is a term used to describe a business strategically placing some of all of its operations close to where its end-products are sold. Typically, the term is contrasted with and used to highlight the reversal of the trend to outsource low-wage manufacturing operations to developing nations.

Backsourcing is a term that more precisely describes the process of bringing jobs previously outsourced back under the roof of the company to be performed internally.
Backsourcing has been increasingly discussed as companies decide to cease outsourcing operations, whether because of the issues outsourcing agreements encounter, because of pressure to bring jobs back to their home country, or simply because it has stopped being efficient to outsource a given task outside of a company.

Crowdsourcing is, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. Often used to subdivide tedious work or to fund-raise startup companies and charities, this process can occur both online and offline. It combines the efforts of crowds of self-identified volunteers or part-time workers, where each one on their own initiative adds a small portion that combines into a greater result. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing

Outsourcing most commonly known as offshoring has pros and cons to it. Most of the time, the advantages of outsourcing overshadow the disadvantages of outsourcing. 

The Advantages of Outsourcing

• Swiftness and Expertise: Most of the times tasks are outsourced to vendors who specialize in their field. The outsourced vendors also have specific equipment and technical expertise, most of the times better than the ones at the outsourcing organization. Effectively the tasks can be completed faster and with better quality output
• Concentrating on core process rather than the supporting ones:Outsourcing the supporting processes gives the organization more time to strengthen their core business process.
• Risk-sharing: one of the most crucial factors determining the outcome of a campaign is risk-analysis. Outsourcing certain components of your business process helps the organization to shift certain responsibilities to the outsourced vendor. Since the outsourced vendor is a specialist, they plan your risk-mitigating factors better.
• Reduced Operational and Recruitment costs: Outsourcing eludes the need to hire individuals in-house; hence recruitment and operational costs can be minimized to a great extent. This is one of the prime advantages of offshore outsourcing.

The Disadvantages of Outsourcing

• Risk of exposing confidential data: When an organization outsources HR, Payroll and Recruitment services, it involves a risk if exposing confidential company information to a third-party.
• Synchronizing the deliverables: In case you do not choose a right partner for outsourcing, some of the common problem areas include stretched delivery time frames, sub-standard quality output and inappropriate categorization of responsibilities. At times it is easier to regulate these factors inside an organization rather than with an outsourced partner.
• Hidden costs: Although outsourcing most of the times is cost-effective at times the hidden costs involved in signing a contract while signing a contract across international boundaries may pose a serious threat.
• Lack of customer focus: An outsourced vendor may be catering to the expertise-needs of multiple organizations at a time. In such situations vendors may lack complete focus on your organization’s tasks.

What do your apps know about you?

What do your apps know about you?

This is the most widely used smartphone operating system-Google Play and download android market standard for applications for which I chose Android. Game-app advertising banners keywords now have access to the internal Internet addresses, or at least can be used for business activity in the navigation.
Indeed, most of the free apps development or support third-party advertising collect checks this information to understand the ones that have integrated advertising.

The impact of 3D printing on our lives

How will affect 3D printing our daily lives?

To give this question context, let’s assume that 3D printing as a technology keeps on evolving – both in capabilities and cost. 3D printers become local, and you have either one in your home, or you can find one around the corner. I am going way forward in the future here.

The first and foremost effect, I think, is that consumers can become creators again. They are able to manipulate the final product or create one from scratch. There are several routes to take here: one route is that the customer is involved in the product creation process through coöperation with designers or companies. This is called co-creation or mass-customization. Another route is that they become makers themselves, and start creating without the help of others. Software evolves too and becomes more intuitive, and help the user to make useful and meaningful products.
The effect of this change in behavior is that the perception of a product is going to fundamentally change. The product becomes to be an extension of your personality, and defines who you are in a much more profound way than today. A product becomes more valuable and more personal.
The rise of personal fabrication services is already showing that the long tail of products becomes longer – much longer. It enables to create and make niche products available which would never existed before.
In essence, it will change how we consume and perceive products.

Another effect of 3D printing is that the manufacturing industry will change. Large companies, like Apple, totally depend on design, mass-production, mass-distribution and branding to make and sell their products. Take out their added value on production and distribution, and you are left with design and branding. A lot of companies need to adapt, and will experience massive changes in how they operate and are organized. With any disruptive technology, there will be winners, losers and newcomers. For sure, the landscape of products will change, and industries will have to change. People will lose their jobs, and new jobs are created.

Designers can directly deal with customers, and do not need the support of large corporations to produce and distribute their goods. Retail faces yet another challenge, after internet e-commerce companies have taken over part of their role already. One of their key offerings today is instant satisfaction, and 3D printing will take that away as well. What is left is personal service, advice and consultancy.

Why is Facebook losing millions of users?

The world's largest social network, Facebook, increasingly diverse and increasing number of users continues to lose against competitors. The internet looking for new and different social media platforms and mobile users, Facebook is terminating their commitment. Facebook, to explain the preparation of the data for the first quarter of 2013, investors are waiting for the occurrence of the company's revenues increased by 36 percent.Brought the correct strategy followed by advertising revenue associated with mobile devices, in spite of these expectations, Facebook in many European countries, especially the United States and the United Kingdom are now not able to increase the number of users specified. SocialBakers'ın analysis firm, according to the number of users of Facebook in the United States decreased by 4 percent last month, and six million people had to leave the social network. While the rate of 4.5 per cent in the UK, 1.4 million users, Facebook accounts closed. In both countries, the number of members in the remaining 6 months 9 million was lost in the month.

Possible Factors:

College Graduates: Originally, Facebook was actually limited to college students.  You needed an active college email address to become a member. College age students also now make up a vast majority of the active users on Facebook. So why would they delete their accounts? Graduation! Each year, Facebook experiences a loss of users due to the fact that students who are graduating college are on the job hunt, and don't want potential employers seeing pictures of them doing keg stands on the internet.

Privacy and Bullying Concerns: There is a growing number of parents that are concerned with their children being on the internet and having pictures and tons of information about them out there for anyone to see. The trend has been parents refusing to let their children even be part of Facebook until they are of legal age. Bullying online has also become a growing concern for children and parents alike. Access to a child's interests and every move is perfect ammunition for bullies to hound and badger fellow classmates online.

Law of Diminishing Returns: Facebook has reached every nook and cranny of the world, especially the United States.  Over half of the U.S. population has a Facebook account currently, meaning the room for growth has started to hit it's sealing meaning Facebook has had to focus on expanding overseas to other markets.

Spam: We all have experienced this in some way or another on Facebook. We don't want to see our friends high scores on Farmville or Mafia Wars 30 times in an hour. Facebook has started to implement privacy and publishing restrictions customizable by individual users as to what is posted on their wall or Status Feed to help reduce this, but it's inevitable to continue.

Copyright in Technology

The case, which has centered over a panoply of patents relating to both hardware and software design, should settle one major argument once and for all: did Samsung rip off Apple's design when it started churning out touch devices of its own? Does Apple own the right to tech features that've become completely ubiquitous, like icon grids and black rectangles? The repercussions here are mammoth—this decision could literally and profoundly change the way our gadgets look for years and years to come.

Apple has contended that the entire mobile industry had nothing but messes of buttons and switches before Steve Jobs descended with the iPhone—after which point a unadorned glass face with rounded, bouncy icons became the de facto standard for pretty much every phone and tablet, for the rest of time. Samsung says they came up with this stuff on its own before the iPhone ever dropped. Apple, of course, claims the opposite.

Keep in mind that probably everything below will be appealed, so this is by no means over. As much as we wish it were.

Update: According to The Verge, reporting from the courtroom, an enormous swath of Samsung's devices have been found to illegally rip off Apple's software interface ideas (namely bounce-back scrolling and gestures):

Continuum, Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galasy Ace, Prevail, S 4G, S II, Galaxy Tab, The Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerie, Nexus S 4G, Replenish and Vibrant

Captivate, continuum, droid charge, fascinate, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S II, i9100, Galaxy s 2 Tmobile, Tab, Tab 10.1, Gem, Indulge, Infuse, Nexus S 4G

The list goes on. Virtually every Samsung device in question has been found to infringe on Apple patents. Very, very few exceptions. This is a landslide for Apple so far.

Update 2: Another giant blow to Samsung—the following devices have been found to infringe upon Apple's "front trade dress"—meaning the way it looks:

Fascinate, Galaxy S, S 4G, S 2 ATT, S2 i9100, S2 Tmobile, S 2 Epic 4G touch, Skyrocket, Showcase, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize, and Vibrant.

Update 3: The Galaxy Tab gets off clean for design! Major points for Samsung.

Update 4: Samsung willingly infringed upon multiple Apple patents, the jury says. That's very bad. Intentional intellectual property theft. Big loss for Sammy.

Update 5: Another trouncing for Samsung: the company didn't prove that a single one of Apple's contested patents is invalid. This will have big consequences when it comes time to hand out punishment.

Update 6: Samsung hit with over $1 BILLION in damages, paid to Apple. Hoo boy! That's enough to buy an Instagram, with cash left over. $1,051,855,000, to be exact.

Update 7: Jury says Apple violated zero Samsung patents, and owes Apple nothing so far. Welp. Remember that part in Starship Troopers, when all of the bugs kill all the humans? This is like that, and Samsung is the humans. The question now: where will Apple's legal team be dining tonight? A giant lake filled with molten gold?

Update 8: Samsung's statement, according to CNET:

"Today's verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies. Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products. This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple's claims. Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer."

Update 9: Samsung scored a 0.24% discount on the bill they owe Apple because of a jury screw up. The bill is now... wait for it, wait for it: $1,049,343,540.

Update 10: Apple and Samsung get a schedule for post-trial filings, with a hearing set for September 20th.

Apple didn't win literally every single possible victory, but almost all of them. Here they are, in the blue jersey. The gentleman in white makes Android phones.

Should government agencies be allowed to censor Wikipedia?

As technology evolves, it is easier to access information on the Internet, both good and bad. Different countries have different views and ideas about the extent of how to censor the Internet. For example, Kuwait not censor search engines or blogs, but censorship pornography. On the other hand, access to certain keywords in search engines in China. Currently, most Internet users in the U.S. access anything on the Internet, but it is monitored by the government and private entities with programs that look for certain activities.

Due to the progress in technology, it is necessary for the authorities to sensor and the Internet. For state censorship to be effective, it must follow a specific department to censor and made enforcement of rules and regulations.

Governments should not hire private companies to regulate and enforce the rules because of their different agendas and values. In the future, we believe that some of the biggest problems that people will encounter on internet pornography, privacy, identity theft, file sharing and social networks, like Facebook, people are connecting. All these problems have the potential to ruin or destroy people "s reputation and harm others.
We believe that the governments of the most powerful and influential person censorship and enforcing guidelines for the Internet. Government censorship is always a controversial topic, but government regulation of certain areas is an ethical thing to do. It is ethically acceptable under utilitarian and consistency-based framework based on the government's Internet censorship. Of course it is a contradiction to believe, but they have a common guideline set and enforce.