To some users of personal computers, who state, never trust a computer that you cannot lift; the IBM has been viewed, more often than not, as an enemy, and according to Byte, the computer magazine, this was because of the fact that the IBM company rose to fame mainly on the basis of its mainframe computers, that were large and forbidding, and overwhelmingly bulky. This was probably why, when the rest of the world was eyeing the emerging opportunities in the minicomputer market, the IBM never paid any attention, and even though IBM did succeed in capturing a large chunk of that market, it did not happen until Digital had captured the minicomputer market and had grown into a large corporation.
In the past few years, IBM has agreed to change the ways in which it conducts its business, and adapt to the changing times when the prices of computers have been declining steadily. Therefore, it has started to indulge in mass marketing techniques, and has opened a few retail stores of its own, and has also showed a willingness to buy parts, or even the full and finished product from others, like for example, the low priced copier that IBM sells, that was bought form Minolta. In addition, IBM also made a major decision that would enable private vendors to sell IBM products, especially personal computers, and while in the past, IBM had manufactured its products and also its software in such a way that it would be completely incompatible with other vendors', in the case of personal computers, IBM has decided that this would not be the case. (Pollack, 1981)
It is an interesting fact that it was during the late 1800's that computer technology began to be developed in the United States of America, and it was not until the 1950's that IBM's dominance in the field started to be recognized. There were a number of methods that the company used in order to maintain its dominance, and some of these were: IBM did not sell its computers; rather, it rented them. In the beginning, the IBM computers were formidably expensive machines, and when one of these machines were rented out, one officer form the company would also be sent along with the computer, in order to take care of the machine. Another method that IBM used to maintain its domination was the method of 'bundling' wherein it would provide both the hardware and the software in one single package, and as the company began to be dependent on that software, it would need IBM software more and more, and if the user felt that they could use another computer, then they would find that they would have to buy an entirely new software system as well. IBM also made attempts to control the peripherals of the computer, or in other words, the various ancillary devices that a computer would generally use. What IBM did was to control the connections between the mainframe and the peripherals and make it so very complex that no manufacturer would be able to duplicate something like it, and herein lay IBM's power. (Triebwasser, 1998)
There are some individual who feel that IBM did in fact resort to unfair business practices at time, like for example, when another computer manufacturer made a computer that was better than the IBM and of a lesser cost. What IBM did was to state that it would also manufacture a similar computer, and at a similar price and the fact is, IBM never did and in the meanwhile the other manufacturer lost out on his sales of his computer because customers were waiting for the IBM. In the early 1980's, the desktop computer was introduced, and this was when IBM started to face some problems. This was because of the fact that while in a mainframe computer the software for the computer would be generally supplied by the hardware company, in a desktop computer, much of the software would be written by others. This factor made it impossible for the IBM Company to maintain its stringent standards of control over the personal computer market, like it did in the mainframe computer market. IBM had a policy that it would encourage independent software developers to develop software and also at times, ancillary hardware for its personal computers, and this meant that IBM would allow other manufacturers to imitate the IBM desktops.
This happened to create an open specification, and this...
In some areas it will be used for more populist applications such as, in schools to introduce students to the discipline and within an environment that will give opportunity for participation of non-academics in academic discussion. Conclusion Computer has in a great deal widened the world's knowledge. As the fastest technology that has ever evolved, it has given opportunity for the children and adults, for personal, academic and commercial use. It
Today the prevalent technologies for printing output from a computer include what are called "non-impact" technologies or inkjet and laser-based printing devices. There are an equally wide range of devices for storage of data and resulting information generated on PCs and laptops. Hard disk drives that often include multiple storage platters where data is written to and read from using read/write heads enclosed in the hard disk enclosure are commonplace.
, 2005). Even for businesses that are not regulated, learning management systems can be highly beneficial for the tracking and management of employees (Martin et al., 2005). There are several functions that learning management systems facilitate within businesses these include: the documentation of training requirements for all employees, including requirements that are motivated by local and global policies and standards; the reduction of repetitiveness in the methods used to track
In the same year, the founders started a new company for computer development called the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation. By 1949, this company launched the BINAC or Binary Automatic computer. This computer made use of magnetic tape for the storage of data. Then this company was bought by Remington Rand Corporation and the name was changed to Univac Division of Remington Rand. This company was the organization to bring out
computers and culture, using the book "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology," by Neil Postman, and other resources. Specifically, it will answer the questions: How have computers and computer networks changed human thinking, behavior, and lifestyle? What has been gained? What has been lost? What are the advantages of computers in communication? In education? In entertainment? In the economy? What are the disadvantages in these areas? Is computer
While there are problems with using two cards at the same time, they can be worked out with study and creativity. In fact, there are ways to use two AGP slots on the same computer, so nothing can be ruled out when it comes to combining cards and slots (Weinand, 2004). In conclusion, graphics cards have evolved from simple chips that displayed nothing more than text into graphic wonders that
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