It pays to look after your stuff

It pays to look after your stuff. If possible keep it in working order and keep the box safe. Rare Apple computer.

Apple iWatch

iPod, iPhone, iPad and now the iWatch. Apple are furiously working on developing a watch. What is next. Have a read and see if you would buy into it. Apple iWatch

NetFlix and Apple

I have just come across this great article talking about the potential successes of two well known brands and the value of their balance sheets. A great resource for financial calculations, theory and wider issues. House of Cards

Marketing at its best

When are Apple and Samsung not in the news? The battle for market share and thus leadership has been hotly contested for a while. Apple with its wide range of products that succinctly synchronize with one another, have had competitors chasing Apples dust for a while, to the point that they were the must have device. Samsung have slowly been opening the door, catching up on the innovation and first mover advantage of Apple and now is in sight to make a serious play in the market share battle of the phone. For all Business studies students, this is a must read.

Fragility of Share Price

Share prices drive a Public Limited Company. A strong share price that is constantly rising, shows that a business is growing and it becomes more attractive to investors, because it shows that the business is becoming more profitable and therefore the investor will get a better return through a dividend. This share price is dependent on a couple of things such as the health of the market, competitors, confidence in the business, direction of the business, the ability to bring out new products and so on. Apple is richer than most countries. It has no debt and is globally recognized. It is the main innovator in the market place with everyone playing catch up. Apple had $35billion wiped off the value of its business due to a fall in the share price. This is mainly due to its competition in one of its markets using a different phone over an Apple product. If you are ever thinking of investing in shares or want a greater awareness of the corporate world, you should have a look at the Footsie, London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or equivalent. Choose some businesses of interest and monitor their share prices. Collect articles on the news in that particular type of industry relevant to your chosen business and see what happens to the share price. By doing this, you will get to see the true value of the share prices and whether the share prices are high or low. I am sure Mr Buffet may buy more of these shares today as the price is lower than it has been for a while. Apple article.

iPod cannibalizing its own!

Technology is a scary thing. I have been reading how over the years technology has changed how we work and interact with others. There are apps that test you on logos, set your burglar alarm,turn on the heating, work out how long you have left to live, how many calories you consume and the list goes on. I watched Apollo13 yesterday and it was staggering to think that there is more technology in an iPhone or smartphone than there was when NASA sent up the space rocket. When computers were first introduced, the monitor itself was the size of your desk. Computers are getting smaller to the point that you could run your office virtually from your phone in the palm of your hand.

Apple are now working on changing this through developing computerized glasses. Where will it end?

Mind boggling partnership

We have all been reading about Samsung and Apples little but costly tiff which has cost Samsung $1bn. It has all been about the infringement in patents and being enforced to protect market share. Samsung have now got a new ally in Microsoft where it is able to use the Windows 8 and 7 operating systems on their tablets and computers. Samsung will be shipping 16 million of their tablets and computers worldwide in one year. This partnership should gain ground on Apple and Google in time. When you next upgrade your phone, who will you go with? Are you about the brand, functionality or price?Article

Google V Apple

In the past and to some extent in the future, whenever apps were mentioned in a conversation, Apple would nearly always be mentioned exclusively. I have been mulling over getting an app done for Fortune and Venture and initially when I contacted app developers, it was nearly always the same response. Get it done using the Apple operating system. Fast forward a year or two and now Google, Android and Windows 8 are making their way into the mix. The choice is vast, however, there seems to be one operating system that will eventually come out that when used to write apps can be used on all of the different Smart phones. Will people still stick with Apple or move to another brand? The article attached is well worth a read. If you are a potential app developer or want an app making, this is a must read. Article

Be careful what you wish for.

If you have been watching any news, you would have realised that Apple and Samsung are having a disagreement. The result being a Billion dollar payout to Apple due to patent infringements. The result of the further spat could mean certain Samsung handsets being banned from being sold in the US. The problem being that Samsung makes the processors for the iphone and ipad. This could be a script from Hollywood in terms of what happens next. You decide. Read article.

Intellectual Property - Man of the Match!

In setting up Fortune and Venture, I have now Trademarked the name Fortune and Venture in a specific category and it is now protected from others using it to sell other educational products and games. Patents had been considered and Copyright is in force. There has been a huge court case with Apple and Samsung over the infringement of Patents which resulted in a billion dollar payout.

I recently applied for various email addresses for my business and the one I wanted had been registered by someone who wanted $5000 for it. It is not been used, but simply being held to be sold on for a profit This is not new. A lot of money has and is being made out of people registering  domain names etc and then selling them for a profit. Enterprising and definitely a niche. But how far does it go?

In the news today it was revealed that an intellectual property company have trademarked the phrase Man of the Match. This meas that if it is used in a commercial sense i.e. the Man of the Match in this game or the Man of the Match award goes to. A royalty will have to be paid this company. Clever but should it have been allowed? Read the article and You decide.

Apple Versus Samsung

I have been following the Apple Versus Samsung saga with regards patents and infringements. I have had quite a few discussions with people and watched various movies while also dealing with lawyers vicariously. At times I find the law extremely frustrating as it does not always take into account common sense. At times even though you are right, it does not necessarily mean you will win in court. There are times when the law does not protect the intended as there is a loophole or the law is either so vague or too specific and the common sense element does not come into play. I watched A Time to Kill the other night, and somehow common sense should have come into play and put something into context but it could not be discussed or entered into evidence during that movie, due to a technicality. Watch the movie - it stars Samuel L Jackson, Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock and you will fully understand what I am saying.

I also find it absurd that a court case, back to Apple Samsung, that has so much at stake is not being held in a neutral place. Apple is based in California, where the court case was heard and decided upon and Samsung is not. $1 billion will have to be paid out in damages and now certain phones may not be potentially sold in the US due to this "infringement" which ultimately leads to less choice for the consumer. To put this further into perspective, Xerox had the original designs that Apple used. If Apple can do that to Xerox, why not Samsung to Apple?

One thing that I cannot do is blame Apple for seeking damages awards as they are simply playing by the laws that are in place regarding infringement. Samsung would do exactly the same, if roles were reversed, because that its the law.

We are quick to blame the bankers for lending to people who had no chance of paying the money back as it was all about hitting targets. Were the bankers greedy? - to a degree yes -were they allowed to do this? - to a degree yes. If you were paid for hitting your targets, with no consequences of how you got to those targets would you have done the same? Hopefully, no. Are traits of integrity and honor and "doing the right thing" overridden by making the bottom line look good?
 The system is at fault and therefore needs reviewing.

I found an article in the LA Times and is definitely worth taking the time out to read this. Apple Versus Samsung

Patent war

This is a great story for those studying Business Studies. Two massive companies (Samsung and Apple) going head to head due to patent infringements and licenses. The ruling could effect the companies and potentially our choices of handset in the future. This story is worth following and reading around. To all entrepreneurs and businesses, it is worth taking note of Intellectual Property and the like. Read here.

Fashion, practicality or innovation?

Apple are a great brand. They are trendy and innovative. They have a huge following worldwide and in a way I am  but not totally surprised when I saw this story in the news.  A man loves his iPod to the extent that he has incorporated it into him through having magnets surgically implanted into his arm so that he can wear his iPod like a watch. Thereby having his iPod with him at all times amongst a back drop of artwork. It is different, it does look pretty cool and iPod will get a lot of exposure out of this. No doubt the tattoo artist will get a lot of exposure for his work and lots of goodies from Apple. I would like to see how he gets on with security when he decides to fly somewhere, or puts his hands in his pocket near his credit card. Will these magnets ruin the magnetic strip in the card thereby ending up with a useless card? I have read somewhere that people are having logos tattooed or painted on themselves for cash. marketing is getting creative, if you get chance read the blog about the houses being painted bright colors. It will be interesting to see what deals this guy will get. Have a look for yourself.

Intellectual Property

Whether you are starting up a business, watching Dragons Den or sat in a Business Studies lesson learning about Entrepreneurship, patents, trademarks and copyright are nearly always mentioned. Intellectual Property is a complex thing which is set up to protect the owner of the innovations and processes but unfortunately does not always work. In some countries in the world it is not enforceable and in other instances it is really expensive to guard against. Just look at all the counterfeit goods sold on markets -fake football tops are one really big example.Counterfeiting is really big business but I always thought it was a low level thing, but when I read this I was shocked. I had heard that there were fake Apple shops but setting up a Primark in Dubai which is actually a fake shop had me shaking my head in disbelief at the brazen attempt to defraud Primark and its customers. Read for yourself

Websites and apps

I have recently started looking at getting an app made for my game Fortune and Venture and there is a minefield of information from flash, html5, android etc. I also have to make a decision on whether I should get the app made solely for the I phone which has its own platform or for the rest of the app users who don't use Apple products. When I do talk to the app makers I have also got to think how it will transfer across in terms of functionality etc. I cam across a great article for those of you at school / college who make websites and are thinking of making app  - the dos and donts of web and app design. Let me know what platform you would choose if you were me.