Tuesday, May 19, 2020

History of the Apple Macintosh

In December of 1983, Apple Computers ran its famous 1984 Macintosh television commercial on a small, unknown station solely to make the commercial eligible for awards. The commercial cost $1.5 million and only ran once in 1983, but news and talk shows everywhere replayed it, making TV history. The next month, Apple ran the same ad during the Super Bowl and millions of viewers saw their first glimpse of the Macintosh computer. The commercial was directed by Ridley Scott, and the Orwellian scene depicted the IBM world being destroyed by a new machine called the Macintosh. Could we expect anything less from a company that was once run by the former president of Pepsi-Cola?  Steve Jobs, the co-founder of  Apple Computers,  had been trying to hire Pepsis John Sculley since early 1983. While he eventually succeeded, Jobs soon discovered that he did not get along with Sculley  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  who, after becoming CEO of Apple Computers, ended up booting him off Apple’s Lisa project. The Lisa was the first consumer computer with a graphical user interface (GUI). Steve Jobs and the Macintosh Computer Jobs then switched over to managing the Apple Macintosh project that was started by Jef Raskin. Jobs was determined that the new Macintosh was going to have a graphical user interface like the Lisa, but at a considerably lower cost. The early Mac team members in 1979 consisted of Jef Raskin, Brian Howard, Marc LeBrun, Burrell Smith, Joanna Hoffman, and Bud Tribble. Others began working on the Mac at later dates. Seventy-four days after the introduction of the Macintosh, the company was only able to sell 50,000 units. At the time, Apple refused to license the OS or the hardware. The 128k memory was not enough and the onboard floppy drive was difficult to use. The Macintosh did have Lisas user friendly GUI, but was missing some of the more powerful features of the Lisa, such as multitasking and the 1 MB of memory. Jobs compensated by making sure developers created software for the new Macintosh. Jobs figured that software was the way to win the consumer over and in 1985, the Macintosh computer line received a big sales boost with the introduction of the LaserWriter printer and Aldus PageMaker, which made home desktop publishing possible. That was also the year that the original founders of Apple left the company. Power Struggle at Apple Computers Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs was fired when his difficulties with John Sculley came to a head. Jobs had decided to regain control of the company from Sculley by scheduling a business meeting in China for Sculley so that Jobs could carry out a corporate takeover while Sculley was absent. Word of Jobs true motives reached Sculley before the China trip. He confronted Jobs and asked Apples Board of Directors to vote on the issue. Everyone voted for Sculley and so, in lieu of being fired, Jobs quit. Jobs later rejoined Apple in 1996 and worked there until his death in 2011. Sculley was eventually replaced as CEO of Apple.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Battle Of The Revolutionary War - 1263 Words

Once the Redcoats were set up to the best of their ability the militiamen continued to move forward. As the militiamen closed in the British fired the first volley, Private Abner Hosmer and Captain Isaac Davis were at the head of the march and were killed instantly. That volley was the start of the Revolutionary War and is now known as the â€Å"Shot Heard around the World†. The militiamen returned the volley which devastated the Redcoats. Eight officers were wounded and one British soldier lay dead and another mortally wounded. The Redcoats returned the volley but fired high missing their opportunity to do any damage to the colonists. The colonists knew that was a sign of inexperienced firer’s. As the fighting continued the militiamen†¦show more content†¦The Revolutionary War had begun. It was clear to the colonists that in order to beat the British and a unified Army needed to be created. The Continental Congress would adopt and sponsor these men in to the beginnings of the Continental Army. The Continental Army was created and the first Commander in Chief was put in place. General George Washington would take over command on June 14, 1775. The colonists had won the first Battle in the American Revolutionary War. (Lexington and Concord. 2013). During the Battle of Lexington and Concord the Human Intelligence (HUMINT) played a huge role. HUMINT was the only intelligence capability they had before and during throughout the battle. HUMINT was the reasons the battle was won by the colonists. A source inside the British Parliament leaked vital information to Mr. Paul Warren. The information was secret plans to march to Concord and destroy any weapons. It was said that General Gage’s wife who had sympathy for the colonists was the source. That allegation has never been substantiated. Regardless of whom the source was that Intel gave the colonists an upper hand and ultimately helped them win the battle. (1775, 04/19: Battles of Lexington and Concord. 2007) It is not hard to identify lessons learned from this battle. We have many lessons to learn from the Battle of Lexington and Concord in terms of leadership, communication, tactics, intelligence and strategy. However, the leak of intelligence was

Structure Should Be Simple Decentralized - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Structure Should Be Simple And Decentralized? Answer: Introduction The manager of the firm is considering the changes in the depreciation method and approaches for recognizing uncollectible amounts from accounts receivable. To improve the performances, following changes can be made to aforementioned policies. Currently, the company is using written down value method in which the depreciation of assets remain high in the initial years and keeps on reducing with the value of the assets. Alternatively, the company can use straight line method to charge depreciation. Under this method, the depreciation is equally spread over the life of the assets, thus it helps in equalizing the profits over the years. Secondly, the alternative approach for uncollectible is to directly write off the uncollectible portion instead of creating provision for that. This will reduce the liabilities portion of the balance sheet and hence, will improve the financial position. Importantly, the company should try to keep the uncollectible as low as possible. This can be done either by changing its collection method and / or giving the less credit period. Ratio Analysis Any companys performance can be well evaluated from its accounting ratios. In the given case, the companys net profit ratio is 29.51%. This ratio indicates the net profit generated against its sales. It is an important ratio for any company and there is no standard ratio numbers for net profit ratio. As the higher the ratio the better it is. Further, it indicates that the companys business is effectively managed and generating good numbers of profit. Next ratio is return on assets ratio which is 3.57%. This ratio indicates the profit generated against the net assets. In given scenario, the companys net assets are $228,416 and net profit is $8,154. The ratio of 3.57% indicates that by employing $1 in net assets the company can generate $3.57. This ratio is also higher the better as it shows effective and optimum utilization of assets. Another ratio is return on equity ratio which is 4.13%. Similar to return on assets, this ratio shows the net profit generated against the shareholders equity. The company has shareholders equity of $197,500 and net profit of $8,154. The ratio of 4.13% indicates that if a shareholder is investing $100 in the company, then the company is generating $4.13 of profit from that. This ratio is also higher the better. Comparative Balance sheet Comparative balance sheet compares the companys current year financial position with the pervious years financial position. The companys comparative balance sheet shows the improvement in the financial position of the company. To briefly explain, the major changes noticed in comparative balance sheet are that the companys non-current assets have been increased by 10.07% and current assets have been increased by 36.43%. In total, there is an increase of 19.59% in total assets. Moving to liabilities, the total liabilities have been decreased by 8.95% and equity portion have been increased by 23.89%. To summarize, the financial position of the company have improved significantly. Particulars 30 June, 2017 1 April, 2017 Increase (decrease) (in $) (in $) Amount Percent (I) Assets Current Assets: Cash 71,900 51,000 20,900 40.98% Supplies 6,675 12,000 - 5,325 -44.38% Accounts Receivable 15,560 6,000 9,560 159.33% Total current assets 94,135 69,000 25,135 36.43% Building 118,950 122,000 - 3,050 -2.50% Furniture 15,331 - 15,331 100.00% Total Assets 228,416 191,000 37,416 19.59% (II) Liabilities Current Liabilities: Accounts Payable 18,600 22,600 - 4,000 -17.70% Water expenses payable 470 470 100.00% Wages Payable 200 200 100.00% GST 3,132 2,400 732 30.49% PAYGW 360 360 100.00% Total current liabilities 22,762 25,000 - 2,238 -8.95% Non-Current Liabilities - - - 0.00% Total liabilities 22,762 25,000 - 2,238 -8.95% Shareholders' Equity Capital 197,500 166,000 31,500 18.98% Retained earnings 8,154 8,154 100.00% Total shareholders' equity 205,654 166,000 39,654 23.89% Total Liabilities and Equities 228,416 191,000 37,416 19.59% Common-size Balance sheet The common size balance sheet shows a horizontal view of the balances. It shows the portion of total assets bifurcated between non-current and current assets and further between non-current and current liabilities. By comparing the common size balance sheet of both the years, we noticed that companys investment in non-current assets have been decreased from 63.87% to 58.79%. This is mainly due to charge of depreciation. Further, the investment in current assets has been increased from 36.13% to 41.21%. Moving to liabilities, the liabilities have been decreased from 13.09% to 9.97%. This is a good sign for the health of the company. To comment overall, the companys financial position has been improved. Particulars 30 June, 2017 1 April, 2017 (in $) (as a %) (in $) (as a %) (I) Assets Current Assets: Cash 71,900 31.48% 51,000 26.70% Supplies 6,675 2.92% 12,000 6.28% Accounts Receivable 15,560 6.81% 6,000 3.14% Total current assets 94,135 41.21% 69,000 36.13% Building 118,950 52.08% 122,000 63.87% Furniture 15,331 6.71% - 0.00% Total Assets 228,416 100.00% 191,000 100.00% (II) Liabilities Current Liabilities: Accounts Payable 18,600 8.14% 22,600 11.83% Water expenses payable 470 0.21% 0.00% Wages Payable 200 0.09% 0.00% GST 3,132 1.37% 2,400 1.26% PAYGW 360 0.16% 0.00% Total current liabilities 22,762 9.97% 25,000 13.09% Non-Current Liabilities - 0.00% - 0.00% Total liabilities 22,762 9.97% 25,000 13.09% Shareholders' Equity Capital 197,500 86.47% 166,000 86.91% Retained earnings 8,154 3.57% 0.00% Total Shareholders' Equity 205,654 90.03% 166,000 86.91% Total Liabilities and Equities 228,416 100.00% 191,000 100.00% Other issues Not only the financial impacts are there on the business, there are many other political, social and environmental factors which need to be considered. For example, the type of business carried in a country is highly affected by environmental and social factors. So, before starting any business a feasibility study needs to be conducted to check whether the proposed business can be carried and is allowed by the government. Further, the organizational structure also plays an important role in the development of business. So, the structure should be simple and decentralized. References: Staff, I. (2017).Return On Assets - ROA. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnonassets.asp [Accessed 23 Sep. 2017]. Staff, I. (2017).Return On Equity - ROE. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnonequity.asp [Accessed 23 Sep. 2017]. Accounting for Management. (2017).Net profit (NP) ratio - explanation, formula, example and interpretation | Accounting for Management. [online] Available at: https://www.accountingformanagement.org/net-profit-ratio/ [Accessed 23 Sep. 2017]. Bragg, S. and Bragg, S. (2017).Net profit ratio. [online] AccountingTools. Available at: https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/5/net-profit-ratio [Accessed 23 Sep. 2017].