Swot Analysis Of Retronics, A Software Engineering Firm Essay

Background Information History Retronics, a software engineering firm located in Silicon Valley, was founded in 1990s. Many internet-based companies were founded at that period since a new economic sector grew up and it attracted many investors. With the new economic sector and its privileged geographic location, Retronics could easily attract a tremendous amount of capital funding and investments, as well as a long list of big clients. Owing to the high interest rate, many people invested in the dot-com companies and their stock prices had risen sharply. The bubble burst when it hit the peak. Millions of investors and companies suffered from the dot-com bubble. Retronics, one of the suffering companies, had to lay off employees for survival in the extreme environment. In 2003, the board of director fired the founder of Retronics and hired George Latour, who was experienced in enterprise-scale systems and operations as the new CEO. Development George had brought in new investments for the company after his inauguration. After 16 months, the company’s revenue did not reach a satisfying level and the market share started to decline as competitions became more intense. George was very nervous and worried about the figures and he had no ideas of how to change the company’s fortune. On the other hand, Shelley Stern, the marketing director came into the company by the way of the chairman, Pete Dmitrijevich. George was asked by Pete to train and coach her since she had great

Internet Piracy and Its Economic Effects Free Essays

The ongoing dispute over illegal Internet-based file sharing between the entertainment and software industries and the vast, online pirating community has been one of the most debated upon topics that has gripped public attention for the past decade. What was once a single public website created by a college dropout has become an empire of trafficking communities, used by hundreds of millions of people, that robs billions in revenue each year. Although these rogue websites claim to strictly serve only as hosts for illegal file sharing, the United States government must take action to eliminate Internet piracy and protect copyright by implementing digital encryption technologies and strict laws that prohibit tampering these encryptions. We will write a custom essay sample on Internet Piracy and Its Economic Effects or any similar topic only for you Order Now The trafficking of copyrighted goods must be put to an end because it promotes illegal transactions of an owner’s intellectual property, causing sales in the entertainment and software industries to plummet and thereby restricts the growth of the economy. Internet piracy is the unlawful reproduction and/or distribution of any copyrighted digital file without the consent of the owner. It is driven by the consumers demand for a desirable product that would otherwise be unobtainable, either because of financial limitations or cultural factors, such as the Chinese culture’s emphasis that the free sharing of knowledge creates and preserves both civilization and traditional values across generations (Lu 310). Consequently, such a mindset that has caused many people to believe piracy to be the solution to their individual economic problems has resulted in the slow, yet unrelenting destruction of the economy. Spearheaded by several websites hosting millions of users every day, illegal file sharing services have robbed entertainment and software companies of billions of dollars each year and have direct correlations to the current economic depression. The era of internet piracy began in May of 1999 when a college student founded an internet website called Napster that allowed users to upload and download music for free through connected computer networks (Internet Piracy). In the first four months of its initial release, Napster hosted roughly 1 million users (Bach 4). After one year, however, the service became so popular that the Napster community expanded to an unprecedented 20 million users. Though it was eventually charged for copyright infringement and lost a series of legal battles, Napster had already introduced the world to internet piracy. For the first time ever, Napster, in just two years, caused the music industry, specifically in compact disc sales, to steadily lose roughly $500 million in revenue in each preceding year (Bach 5). The damage that these rogue websites have done to the entertainment industry by promoting and hosting file sharing services has been catastrophic. In the fifth annual global piracy study by the Business Software Alliance, BSA discovered that in 2007, â€Å"Worldwide, for every two dollars’ worth of software purchased legally, one dollars’ worth was obtained illegally. BSA) † Not only is internet piracy hurting the economy by dramatically lowering sales in the worldwide market, it is also making it increasingly difficult for artists, developers and their companies to produce new content to stimulate economic growth because of the daunting fact that their product will more likely be copied and redistributed rather than acquired legally through purchase. In the United States music industry, for example, the NPD group reported that only 37% of music acquired by consumers in 2009 was paid for (RIAA). If there is no payout, producers have less incentive to quickly develop new content. Likewise, without the revolving door of investment and revenue, the ability to bring the next generation of talent, such as artists and inventors, to the marketplace is diminished- as is the incentive for the aspiring talent to pursue a full time career in his or her desired industry (Gee 20). Furthermore, a decreasing amount of new products entering the market, coupled with the increasingly scarce number of new talents willing to enter the slumping entertainment industry and the continuously growing pirating community will only add fuel to the pre-existing fire that is the recession. Previously passed bills Protect IP Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have done little in the war against Internet piracy as a majority of the pirating sites have turned to Bit Torrent technology as the method of choice to avoid drawing blame for directly handling intellectual property during illegal transactions. This advanced protocol maximizes transfer speed by gathering pieces of the file you want and downloading these pieces simultaneously from the computers of those who have downloaded from the same source- referred to as â€Å"seeders (Carmack 1, 3). As of 2009, Bit Torrent file sharing has accounted for approximately 43% to 70% of Internet trafficking, making it one of the biggest contributors to the declining entertainment and software industry (Schulze). Although it would be impossible to shut down every rogue website that provides file sharing services, it is possible to prevent consumers from uploading purchased products onto these sites by implementing digital encryption keys that are unique to each product, in which content is distributed not as raw data, but rather inside a secure container (Bach 7). Dubbed â€Å"Digital Rights Management (DRM), † these technologies have already been implemented in America’s motion picture industry and have greatly limited the number of pirated DVD’s. Moreover, digital encryption keys may be able to help stimulate the economy. Consider the notion that a good must be scarce, exclusive and rivalrous in order to draw consumer demand. Now, take into account that illegally copying and redistributing a good on the internet has zero marginal cost. The majority of people would rather commit to the latter instead of paying for said good, therefore eliminating rivalry, scarcity and exclusiveness in the market. If, however, encryption keys were to be equipped to each product, DRM would re-establish excludability and thus an artificial notion of rivalry and scarcity because each product would require a unique key code acquired upon purchasing the good (Bach 9). Companies would have more control over the distribution of its property while consumers can still keep their legally purchased product. What is more, the addition of laws prohibiting the tampering of these keys as well as severe punishment and fines would act as a strong deterrence to piracy. Unless the United States government adopts the ideas of implementing digital encryption technologies and passing strict laws that severely punish those who tamper with these electronic locks, the cycle of economic depression and inflation of products in the market will continue forever. Some may argue that these ideas to reinforce copyright will tip the balance of power away from consumers to the producers and also infringe upon the rights of an individual’s freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and the right to communicate (Lu 299). Yet, implementing key codes and laws to protect them (key codes) in no way limit a person’s right to speech, privacy, nor expression. For instance, a boy named Bob purchases a digital version of the hit song â€Å"Gangnam Style† and really enjoys the instrumental as well as lyrics. Though he cannot upload his copy of â€Å"Gangnam Style†Ã¢â‚¬  to the Internet and share it with others, he may still express his feelings about the song and tell others why he likes it. Bob is not restricted to enjoying the song by himself. In fact, he can post links of his new favorite song to his Twitter, Facebook, or any website; he just cannot distribute HIS copy in any way to anyone else. Though suggested method of protecting copyright may seem like it infringes about human rights, it does not. It merely serves, literally, as a protective cage surrounding your digital content. How to cite Internet Piracy and Its Economic Effects, Essay examples

Analysis Assignment- Stairway to Heaven free essay sample

Stairway to Heaven develops depth and emotion throughout the entire song, starting very simply and gradually delivering ore complexity and Intensity from 2:14 onwards. There Is a clear build up as the piece progresses with the addition of new Instruments (2:14), an Increase In tempo (6:44), and change in rhythm regularly from quavers in 4/4 time to semi-quavers (2:02). Although Led Zeppelin follow no particular genre of music, this spectacular piece begins as a significant contrast to their usual hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal style with an almost folk, acoustic introduction.The introduction holds one main folk riff that forms the theme of many variations to underpin the musically Ingenious entrants as the guitar solo begins at 5:55, bringing back Led Zeppelins usual heavy rock reputation. Within Victor Loppers variation of Stairway to Heaven, there is no evidence of development or emerging energy and emotion. The arrangement does however change tempo many times from = 120 to -72, yet the changes fail to match the original song in the slightest and appear stilted, almost disjointed, as they seem separated at times by a number of awkward pauses (egg 2:30). The introduction holds one main folk riff that forms the theme of many variations to underpin the musically ingenious contrast as the guitar LOL begins at 5:55, bringing back Led Zeppelins usual heavy rock reputation. Within Victor Loppers variation of Stairway to Heaven, there is no evidence of development or emerging energy and emotion. The arrangement does however change tempo many times from = 120 to =72, yet the changes fail to match the original song in the slightest and appear stilted, almost disjointed, as they seem separated at times by a number of awkward pauses (egg 2:30).Contrasting the entire structure of the original piece, this Lopez arrangement starts heavier, with every instrument playing, and continues on eighty only from 0:17. A more upbeat heavier variation is introduced again at 1 :24 and then the arrangement ends the same as the beginning from 2:30. These changes differ only very slightly and are unsuccessful in involving as much variety in the different parts a s the original as it engages in the overuse of repetition. Although this is understood to be an arrangement, it fails to allow the different sections of the original piece to be properly determined. At one point it even includes a feature trumpet part at 1:33 (see Figure 1) that does not resemble any section of the original. Figure 1: Bars 33 36 of Stairway to Heaven arranged by Victor Lopez In the writing and arranging of this piece, Victor Lopez completely disregards the genre under which the original was written by turning this version into a big brass band song with no evidence of development or sensitivity to the original structure of Stairway to Heaven. Led Zeppelins original song is famous worldwide for its main introductory melody, or riff, on lead guitar.This riff repeats for the first two minutes then continues at 2:16 into a variation, swapping between this and strummed chords (based around G/B, AMA and D). The guitar solo at 5:55 begins with an A minor pentatonic scale then continues in A minor diatonic. The effect of having WV melodies (Jimmy Page on guitar and Robert Plant with voice) creates a dynamic sound with some clashes adding to the unique style of the song . Within the re-creation however, Victor Lopez makes no attempt at replicating the classic opening guitar melody which is the main and most iconic part of the song. This oversight alone, takes away from the original as this riff has become the trade mark and most well known part of the original Stairway to Heaven. The introduction starts with every instrument playing and an attempted take Off of the chorus, contrasting the idea of one melody growing in Led Zeppelins version. The arranged variation begins in E flat major and modulates to D major. There is no clear melody evident at all throughout the piece, as the number of instruments playing at similar volumes, makes it hard to determine.Ornamentation is also a key musical flourish in the original, that lacks in Victor Loppers version, as there is no guitar and therefore none of the brilliant guitar techniques mentioned above, to make the music come alive and become more than just notes on a page. The timbre or characteristic quality of sound displays a great difference when comparing the jazz arrangement of Stairway to Heaven to the original. Jimmy Page manipulates his guitar as the main sound source with such brilliance, using a variety of methods such as pull offs, vibrato, hammer-ions, bends and slides (see Figure 2). The guitar is the central instrument and is held responsible for the individuality and vividness of the piece as it holds the majority of the melody, and in particular brings out the contrast during the bridge and solo (5:35). The entire piece depends on the guitar as it continues o play throughout the whole song and is accountable for the most complex part, portraying the creativity and ingeniousness of Stairway to Heaven. The use of the Maelstrom (an electronic keyboard controlling pre-recorded musical sounds) to imitate the flute, creates the darker more eerie mood and adds timbre contrast to the guitar melody.Throughout the song, to assist the development, instruments are added to the guitar at each section change, such as the Maelstrom flute (0:1 3), voice (0:53), bass guitar (2:14) and drums (4:18). These timbre changes during this piece, add to the musical complexity ND impressiveness with the way it begins very lightly and gets gradually darker throughout, until it ends very lightly at 7:45. Figure 2: Example pull off, vibrato, bend, hammer on and slide- Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven Victor Lopez arrangement includes too many instruments to portray the mood in which the original depicts.As it is written for darker sounding instruments such as tenor and alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone and bass, it takes away from the lighter sounding parts in the original, and so lacks contrast. This version hardly changes and remains of the same timbre for charity of the time except at 8 where the trumpets stop playing and the other instruments hold long notes as opposed to collectively playing the melody resulting in a lighter timbre. This section is the closest Lopez comes to conveying to the listener, the original mood and contrasts of Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven.There is no modification of instrumental playing evident as the manipulation of this piece lacks variety in notes or rhythm which leaves no room for individual variations of the notes or instrument playing. The original was written mainly for guitar and voice, resulting in the option for eight or dark timbre. This variation however consists of lower brass instruments inevitably leading to a consistent dark timbre, revealing this pieces inability to live up to the original.