Assignment 1 social media
View more presentations from GerGrealy
Author Archives
Turbulent Times for Business
Ireland has always been noted as a country with rich culture. A country which has a very small population of 4.5 million has always contributed on a world scale, most notable in the areas of science, music and literature. However, the country has seen its reputation tarnished in a European economic wide debacle. What seems to be broadcast on a daily basis is the “Punch and Judy type show” – between the French and German leaders. Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel are the European leaders who seem to have the fate of Europe in their hands.
How does this stack up for budding new entrepreneurs who want to set up a business in Ireland? The outlook does not bode well as banks are not servicing overdrafts as they should be, the next Irish Budget in December seeks to cut €3.6 billion and the pan-European debt crisis looms large on the horizon.
These facts considered the more important issues which should be addressed from an Irish perspective are the draconian laws of Bankruptcy; 12 years disqualification from obtaining a new directorship. This means that once you fail you fail and that’s it. Another area that should be addressed post haste is the social welfare entitlements to company directors, as most cannot claim jobseekers benefit when they are unemployed.
Ireland is a changed place forever, with thousands upon thousands of educated people leaving our shores. To secure jobs for the long term we need to focus on innovation and make it more attractive for entrepreneurs without relying on Foreign Direct Investments and Tourism which both are fickle in nature. Only time will tell whether Ireland can change its culture on entrepreneurship and reap the rewards to combat these tough times.
External Links;
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/item/15486-entrepreneurship-will-fuel
Samsung Pips Apple
The two giants of the smartphone market, Samsung and Apple, have been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle over internationl patents since April last.
The lawsuit is centered around Apple’s Iphone & Ipad with that of Samsungs Galaxy smartphone and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
This case is intriguing for many reasons but none more so than the fact that “Samsung is one of Apple’s critical component suppliers: the Korean giant manufactures everything from DRAM and SSDs for MacBook Pros to the A4 and A5 processors in the iPhone, iPod touch, Apple TV, and iPad”
Apple looks like they have won the majority of courtroom battles with injunctions in certain EU countries on Samsung products.
However, Samsung have responded with countersuits and have just recently asked for the deposition of four key Iphone engineers.
One would think that Apple would have blitzed Samsung in the smartphone arena having built up an enviable global brand.
The fact of the matter is that this year alone “Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones in the third quarter, 3 million fewer than expected. Samsung, meanwhile, shipped more than 27 million, according to analyst estimates.”
Samsung seeems to be closing the gap on the market and understand how important these courtroom clashes will be to their bottom line.
Apple are all too familar with court cases as may be seen with the unveiling of the Apple Iphone in 2007 which developed into a legal battle with Cisco who claimed that there had been a trademark infringement. “The showdown between the Silicon Valley tech heavyweights erupted last month when Cisco sued Apple in San Francisco federal court claiming that Apple’s use of the iPhone name constituted a “willful and malicious” violation of a trademark that Cisco has owned since 2000.”
So it must be asked-
Is Apple rotten to the core and monoplising the market or is it just trying to protect what is rightfully theirs??
External Links;
http://www.theverge.com/apple/2011/11/2/2533472/apple-vs-samsung
gergrealy 