Who Invented Tablet Computers

Believe it or not, tablet computers did not begin with the Apple iPad. Just like how smartphones were around before the iPhone, manufacturers had been tinkering with variations on the concept of keyboard-free mobile computers for years prior to the arrival of the portable piece of technology that has since come to set the standard. For example, Apple, for their part, had released two earlier products that never quite caught on.    Though a fairly recent advancement, visions of a notepad style computer existed long before people even had home computers. They were used aboard the USS Starship Enterprise when â€Å"Star Trek: The Original Series† was launched in 1966 and casually depicted in scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic film â€Å"2001: A Space Odyssey.† Similar portable devices were also mentioned in older novels such as Foundation, where author Isaac Asimov described a type of calculator pad. One million pixels The first serious idea for a real-life tablet computer came from the imaginative mind of American computer scientist Alan Kay. His concept, the Dynabook, was published in 1972 and detailed a personal computing device for children that functioned similarly to a personal computer. In advocating for the feasibility of such a technology, there were suggestions on which sort of existing hardware components could work inside, which included various types of screens, processors and storage memory. As he envisioned it, the Dynabook weighed about two pounds, came in a thin form factor, featured a display boasting at least a million pixels and had a nearly unlimited power supply of power. It also included a stylus. Keep in mind, however, just how far fetched and grandiose his idea likely seemed at the time. The notion of home computing was still quite novel and laptops, of course, had yet to be invented. Like smartphones,  the early tablets were bricks The GRidPad, the first tablet pc to hit the consumer marketplace, did eventually debut decades later courtesy of Grid Systems, one of the earliest Silicon Valley startups. Prior to its 1989 release, the closest thing were products known as graphics tablets, essentially input devices that connected to a computer workstation and allowed for different forms of interfacing such as drawing, animation and graphics through the use of a stylus. These systems, often used in place of a mouse, included the likes of the Pencept Penpad, the Apple Graphics Tablet and the KoalaPad, which was geared toward schoolchildren. As the first coming of tablet computers, the GRidPad wasn’t quite what Alan Kay had in mind. It weighed almost five pounds and was rather bulky. The screen was a far cry from the million-pixel benchmark that Kay set forth and was barely capable of displaying in grayscale. Still, it widely picked up by large companies and government agencies that used it to help streamline record keeping. The GRidPad cost about $3,000 with software and, during its most successful year, the company moved $30 million worth of product. Also significant was that one of the company’s engineers, Jeff Hawkins, would eventually go on to found Palm Computing, one of the largest makers of Personal Digital Assistants.         Ã‚   PDAs: when tablets were simpler Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) could hardly be considered tablet PCs relative to the functional wizardry offered up by products currently on the market. But during the early 90’s, they largely fit the bill with sufficient processing power, graphics and a fairly substantial portfolio of applications. The leading names during this era were Psion, Palm, Apple, Handspring and Nokia. Another term often used in reference to this form of technology was â€Å"pen computing.†   Ã‚   Whereas the GRidPad ran on a version of the archaic MS-DOS, pen computing devices were among the first commercial products to wed portable computing with consumer friendly operating systems. In 1991, Go Corporation demonstrated how this kind of integration can make for a more seamless experience with the launch of the PenPoint OS on IBM’s Thinkpad 700T. Soon, more established players such as Apple, Microsoft and later Palm begin putting out competing pen computing platforms. Apple debuted their OS inside the Apple Newton Messenger, considered by some to be the predecessor to the iPad.   Ã‚   Stumbling out of the block: the first true tablets As PDAs proliferated among the consumer masses throughout the 90’s, there were a few novel, but ultimately doomed attempts to produce a true tablet that would appeal to the mainstream. For instance, Fujitsu launched in 1994 the Stylistic 500 tablet, which featured an intel processor and came with windows 95 and followed it up two years later with an improved version, the Stylistic 1000. Not only were the tablets heavy and impractical to lug around, they had a sizable price tag to match ($2,900).   Ã‚   That might have all changed in 2002 had the newly released Windows XP Tablet lived up to the hype. Introduced at the 2001 Comdex technology trade show, Microsoft founder Bill Gates proclaimed tablets to be the future and predicted that the new form factor would become the most popular form of PC within five years. Its ultimately failed, partly due to  the  underlying  incompatibility of trying to shoehorn  the  keyboard-based Windows OS into  a purely touchscreen device, which resulted in  a less intuitive  user experience.   The iPad gets it right It wasn;t until 2010 that Apple put out a tablet pc that offered a tablet experience that people have longed for. Granted, Steve Jobs and company had laid the groundwork earlier by getting an entire generation of consumers to become accustomed to intuitive touchscreen typing, gestures and making use of applications with the wildly successful iPhone. It was slim, lightweight and had sufficient battery power for hours of consumption. By then, it’s iOS operating system was well-matured to where the iPad ran on essentially the same platform. And like the iPhone, the iPad dominated the newly re-imagined tablet category early on. Predictably, a barrage of copycat tablets ensued, many of which ran on the competing Android operating system. Microsoft would later find its footing in the crowded market with touch-friendlier Windows tablets, many of which are able to convert to small and light laptops. Thats currently where stand today, three operating systems to choose from and a tablet selection  that comes in several shapes and sizes.

HARRIMAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY Example

Essays on HARRIMAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY Assignment HARRIMAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY a) The net cash outlay which is the amount of capital investment required at the beginning of the project is $62,000.This encompasses the quoted price of the equipment and an additional $10,000 for installation cost (which includes transportation and equipment modification). Moreover, an additional $2000 is required for the working capital. The amount invested for working capital would be recovered at the termination of the project. Table 1 presents a tabular explanation of the above given question. Table (1) Purchase of Machine 50,000 Add: Transportation and Equipment Modification 10,000 Installed Cost 60,000 Add: Initial increase in Inventory 3,000 Less: Increase in Accounts Payable 1,000 Total Initial Net Investment (an outflow of cash) $62,000 b) As the question states, the project would save $20,000 in before tax labor operating costs each year therefore; the given amount is your earning before tax for all three years. Taxes would be deducted from EBT to arrive at the net operating income for the year. This amount will be added to the depreciation tax shield to get cash flow for the respective years. The depreciation tax shield is a means to reduce taxable income for the company which is achieved through claiming allowable deduction, which in this case is through depreciation. These deductions reduce the taxpayer’s taxable income for the given year but add to operating cash flow. The depreciation tax shield is calculated as Table (2) gives depreciation expense and depreciation tax shield for the given year. The figures in table (2) are used to find the net cash flow for the given year. The formula used to the calculate net cash flow is Table (2) Project Year IRS MACRS % Projects annual depreciation expense Remaining acct. book value Depreciation Shield 0       60,000    1 33% $19,800.00 $40,200.00 $7,920.00 2 45% $18,090.00 $22,110.00 $7,236.00 3 15% $3,316.50 $18,793.50 $1,326.60 4 7% $18,793.50 $0.00    For the terminal year, salvage value of the asset bought is added to the net cash flow. Table (3) presents tabular explanation of all three years. Table (3)    Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 EBT 20,000 20,000 20,000 Less: Tax (40%) 8,000 8,000 8,000 NI 12,000 12,000 12,000 Add: Depreciation Shield 7920 7236 1327 Add: Terminal Year Cash Flow       21518 Cash flow $19,920 $19,236 $34,845 c) Terminal year cash flow is calculated by adding the salvage value (which is the value of selling an asset to at t=3. The gain on the asset is calculated by: This is gain in taxable therefore; the amount to be taxed will be deducted from the salvage value. Lastly, the working capital investment which was made at the beginning of the project is recovered. The cash flow which is generated due to termination of the project would be $21,518. Table (4) Salvage value 20000 Less: Tax on gain after selling the asset (482) Return on NWC 2000 Cash flow due to termination of the project $21,518 d) For Harriman, the all values are discounted at its weighted average cost of capital The cash flows are taken from Table (3) and inserted in the equation below. IRR: IRR= 8.48% Payback Period= Payback period represents the time by which initial investment made by the company is recovered. For Harriman, the payback period is 2 years and 8 months. This is calculated as: The investment should not be made as the project is giving negative NPV and an IRR which is below our cost of capital. The payback period is close to 3 years which makes the project unattractive for any investor.

John Stuart Mill and Liberty Free Essays

John Stuart Mill was one of the leading philosophers in the Victorian Age of England. Mill believed in Liberalism where society was best served by the maximum number of people being free with minimal government. He was born into a comfortable home in London in 1806 in a time when the Industrial Revolution was transforming England. We will write a custom essay sample on John Stuart Mill and Liberty or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mill had no formal education and practiced no religion but was was schooled at home in order to become a perfect utilitarian. This led Mill to become very independent and get his first job as a clerk by the age of 17.He was known as a radical reformer, and suffered through a depression at the age of 20 which he bounced back by reading poetry. His ideas were influenced by his desire to combine the virtues of rationalism and romanticism. Mill met his â€Å"soul mate† Harriet Taylor at the age of 23, and although she was already married with kids, they continued their relationship until Taylor’s husband died and they went on to get married. Mill credits Taylor with influencing his writings as seen in Principles of Political Economy where he not only dedicates the book to her, but also titles it as a â€Å"joint production†.In the first couple editions of the book, Mill criticize Socialism and communism, but after Harriet was won over by anti monarchial revolts, Mill deleted those criticism. Mill and â€Å"Harriet’s† most significant work lies in 1859’s On Liberty. Here, Mill differs his ideas from the liberal traditions of John Milton and John Locke. He attacked the idea of a â€Å"single truth†, he acknowledged the isolated man standing away from the large social body and in his other writing Utilitarianism, Mill stated that liberty is part of a mans social state.During Mill’s time, there were very little constraints on the state, and all individuals felt constant pressure from other members of society. Mill expressed the need for granting liberty of opinion and expression, an d for that reason, he left a lasting impression on England telling the people that they do no have to give in to the pressures, and they should do what they want as long as it doesn’t harm others liberties. He believed that people had the ability to make the right choice over the wrong one and he also helped support feminism, perhaps due to the influence of his wife.He believed that those who were knowledgable, should be able to vote, no matter their gender. He preached a need for compulsory education, and he believed that society should step in if laws are ineffective. When in Parliament, he also had bold beliefs in Capital Punishment and the death penalty because he believed that the only way to limit the number of murders, was to make the punishment equal. What John Stuart Mill wanted to see in England was progression, he wanted to simply leave England better then found it, and he beliefs and ideas are still around today. Opinion I thought that this was a very interesting article.Prior to reading this, I had no knowledge of John Stuart Mill and as I was reading, I started to realize that a lot of his beliefs and ideas are ones that are still around today. The article was well written and easy and understandable to read and gave some great insight on a very influential philosopher. The whole relationship that he had with Harriet Taylor was pretty interesting, and the fact that she had such a large influence in his writings was interesting. This was still a time when men were superior to women, and it seems as if Taylor â€Å"wore the pants† in their marriage.She was able to get him to delete the criticisms on Socialism and Communism so she obviously had influence. From reading the article, it seems that John Stuart Mill was a very interesting man who had very logical beliefs that I would agree with, and I think it is safe to say that he influenced many future philosophers. I do think a better title could have been used, because the given title is very dull and boring, but all in all, it was a very informative article that gave me necessary information on what appears to be a very influential man in society. How to cite John Stuart Mill and Liberty, Papers

Customer satisfaction Samples for Students †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Quality and Customer satisfaction. Answer: Brief Summary of Theory and Progression The selected theoretical concept from this report is based on the real world implication - Customer satisfaction, which depends upon quality over quantity. Based on the report by Sivakumar et al. (2014), it can be described that performance (quality) often meets the customers expectation, which is further referred to as gain of market competitiveness. The theory based on the customer satisfaction concept is the Assimilation theory, which describes that customers tends to make cognitive comparison between the expectation from the product and the supposed product performance. This theory was developed by Festinger during 1957. In order to minimise the tension of customer resulting from inconsistency between the expectation and perceived performance, they either need to raise their level of satisfaction or adjust the expectation accordingly. Notably, according to the failure and delight concept in the paper customer expectations are presumed belief for the product which act as reference level for judging the performance of the product. The first scholar has conceptualised the expectation to be a point estimate and suggested that service quality as a gap between the point estimate of expectation and service perception (1 ref). The second scholar has conceptualised the reference level as a distributed group of reference point and the expected reference level is determined by taking the mean of the distribution points. The third scholar takes the reference level as the zone of tolerance, which is recognised and accepted by the customers. Overall, it is also realised that irrespective of the concerned commercial industry, the customer satisfaction is of high importance to maintain the brand recognition and market position. Common findings All the four articles describes about the common topic that is customer satisfaction is dependent on service quality, while the inference was observed from diverse background. According to the underlined research, service quality is the key aspect for determining the level of customer satisfaction. In addition to the price concept, service quality is a major criteria which customers of both gender prefer before purchasing any product or service (Buell, Campbell and Frei, 2016). Another common finding among the four articles is that they prefer quality product or services, irrespective of price and it may be purchasing online or offline, and the important fact is that the long-run customer loyalty is only reflective in the product line which satisfies customer expectation (Bressolles, Durrieu and Senecal, 2014). In almost varieties of market quality is given the prior importance than the quantity and the market segmentation is also taken into account, which suggests that the price ran ge from comparable (to other available products) to high is acceptable, if they are of superior quality (Terpstra, Kuijlen and Sijtsma, 2014). Different findings According to the authors, Sivakumar et al. (2014), the customer satisfaction is discussed in context to the service delivery, and delight creation, which is not available in the rest of the articles. Customers perception of service quality is examined on the basis of service failure frequency, and the timing, proximity and sequence of failures as well as delights. In contrary, the authors Buell et al. (2016), exceptionally discusses about the competition of service quality in a variety of market which ranges from retail industry to traditional stores. This is further linked to the concern of market competitiveness, positioning, and dominance in comparison to rivalry companies. However, in order to measure the response of customers towards the increased competition, the relationship between the (i) increased service quality; (ii) market competition and (iii) the obligatory customer detection rates for the firm, is critical; which in turn is responsible for offering the service quality at different level and ultimately leading to success of the firm. Likewise, in another report, Bressolles et al. (2014), the authors mainly discuss about the customers satisfaction on the e-service quality, in which retail scenario does not exists but the customer satisfaction is of high importance. Based on the study, the authors concluded that the e-service quality is directly proportional to the e-satisfaction, which is responsible for retaining loyal customers. According to their survey, the factors like (i) ease-of-use, (ii) geniuses of information; and (iii) security as the key factors for satisfaction of customers within scope of online shopping. In the article Terpstra et al. (2014), the authors discusses about constructing a customer satisfaction scale which optimally measures the construct of interest. The study concludes that deductive design is a correct method for measuring and construct validation in customer satisfaction related research. Limitations There are certain limitation encountered during the study of article 3 (qualitative). The service quality application for customer satisfaction includes ease-of-use, aesthetics, information, and security/privacy. The methods and models needed to find the customer satisfaction is provide in the article, while the negative service quality involved online shopping is not defined, which is critical to identify, in order to measure its impact on customer satisfaction. On the other hand, the article 2 (quantitative) also have certain limitations, which include the lack of human information needed to process in the complex environment. Moreover, there is also limitation in the service quality metric, and that is the data used for constructing the metric does not temporarily align with the customer defection data in 2004. The major difference between the two study designs (article 1 and 2) is that in one article the customer satisfaction is analysed quantitatively on the basis of service qua lity competition, whereas on the other article customer satisfaction is determined qualitatively using the e-service quality. Future research However, further research should be carried to find some service qualities involved in the e-shopping. The reason being that retail business include face-to-face communication, whereas online ventures are only dependent on information available. Thus additional measures like offers, promotion, tracking the customer, and attracting them are of high importance, to estimate their effect on customers satisfaction level. Likewise, the article, Terpstra et al. (2014), also dictate that the measurement scale must be precisely framed such that it will also take into account of available resources and frequency of market changing pattern. This must be undertaken in future research, which in turn will explore the subject area to a better level. References: Bressolles, G., Durrieu, F. and Senecal, S., 2014. A consumer typology based on e-service quality and e-satisfaction. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(6), pp.889-896. Buell, R.W., Campbell, D. and Frei, F.X., 2016. How Do Customers Respond to Increased Service Quality Competition?. Manufacturing Service Operations Management, 18(4), pp.585-607. Sivakumar, K., Li, M. and Dong, B., 2014. Service quality: The impact of frequency, timing, proximity, and sequence of failures and delights. Journal of Marketing, 78(1), pp.41-58. Terpstra, M., Kuijlen, T. and Sijtsma, K., 2014. How to develop a customer satisfaction scale with optimal construct validity. Quality Quantity, 48(5), pp.2719-2737.