...OPONDI Jackson Owinga DIT-035-0237/2015 15/06/2017 JKUAT PCSM Assignment Question 1 a) Define the term form factor A form factor refers to a computer systems’ or component of electronic hardware’s general setup as well as functionality that is normally outlined by a fundamental aspect, which might involve a touch screen, a QWERTY keyboard or the manner that the system opens or closes. According to Kay (1), the name is normally applied to distinguish the dimension, design or physical features and requirements of system hardware, and some emphasis on its internal constituents. The form factor equally acts as an element or an aspect that might be utilized to guarantee that hardware compatibility standard is met between appliances of the same form factor regardless of their varying designers. Hence form factor typically involves describing overall system set-up, including size, shape, case and power supply, alongside its physical layout. b) Describe 3 motherboard form factors (4mks) 1. AT and Baby AT (Advanced Technology) Advanced Technology (AT) and Baby AT served as the most popular motherboard form factors throughout the initial stages of computer development. The two designs vary mainly in width, with the original version measuring up to twelve inches wide. Apart from making it incompatible with smaller systems, the size made it to overlap against the drive bays, and thus rendering tasks such as troubleshooting, installation and upgrading more challenging (Wilson...
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...simulation results, your success compared to other competitors, and alternatives to your actions that could have produced better results in the simulation. Keeping your analysis and the simulation content in mind, do the following: 1. Explain how you determined your product design decisions in the simulation. Product offering: As CEO I decided that it made most sense to build a Workhorse for the office market and the Mercedes for the engineering market. I assumed that design costs could be kept down by creating a product platform that could be used for two different markets. Both products use a lot of similar components such as the case, the motherboard, the hard drive, graphics card, keyboard, mouse, etc. Had I chosen to offer a traveler R&D we would have to be split up design because the requirements would have been very different due the nature of the product, one being a desktop product and one being a mobile product. In addition I would have to create two different assembly lines, one for the desktop and one for the laptop. The second design consideration for the office and the engineering product were based on features customers wanted to see in an office or engineering product. For the office product, customer wanted a PC that is easy to use, low price, had office apps, offered after sales support, could link with other PC’s, and was fun to use, fast and powerful and easy on the eyes. The product I designed was easy to use, had office applications, could link to...
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...Group Assignment 2: Dell- New Horizons (Rangan and Bell) Marketing for Managers Group C: Saturday, 29 June 2013 Summary Could anyone imagine some thirty years ago the global influence a young college freshman would have on the world? Michael Dell’s build your PC to order idea was just that, a game changer. A few years after coming to market, Dell was the 3rd most admired company by fortune magazine. By the early 2000’s Dell like other PC companies began to see a rapid decline in revenue growth. This decline, brought to surface the need to look at diversifying their product and service offerings. These included but are not limited to; is the increase service offerings, expanding into the server and storage space as well as extending their reach globally. Today we will look at the company and how it began, some of their key issues, review a SWOT analysis that will bring us to our decision and why we believe this to be the best path. The Company In 1983, Michael Dell began with a simple strategy of providing PC upgrades to companies who were looking for a more customized PC. After a few years this lead him to a “Buy - Upgrade – Sell” model, where they would purchase IBM computers, upgrade them and then sell them for a profit. By 1985, Dell moved to assembling PC’s through a Build to Order model, this strategy was so successful it provided them with over $70M in sales by the end of the year. The PC’s were produced with a very modular design, so this facilitated...
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...Michael Dell reshaped the computer industry with build‐to‐order computers directly sold to consumers. His business model positioned the company for emerging internet sales , with one of the highest sales figures in the industry. But Dell has done more than streamlined the selling and distribution process, he has also streamlined the manufacturing process as well. Dell can deliver the latest technology exactly the way the customer wants it at blinding speed, which has earned them the nickname of “Dellocity”. Examples of their speed are; they delivered eight customized fully loaded PowerEdge Servers to NASDAQ within 36 hours of receiving the order, or when they delivered 2,000 PCs and 4,000 servers with proprietary and multimedia software delivered and installed at 2,000 different WALMART stores all in 6 weeks. How does Dell manage to do all this at such incredible speeds ?? Through close customer contacts and carefully orchestrated manufacturing and distribution system. Dell manufactures its’ computer systems in 6 different locations‐ Texas, Tennessee, Brazil, Ireland, Malaysia, and China. Dell has recently added a new factory in Round Rock, Texas, called the OPTIPLEX Plant. This factory is state‐of‐the‐art and there are only a handful of such factories in the world. The OPTIPLEX is a showcase of networked manufacturing. The factory is 200,000 SFT in size, but allocates only 100 SFT for incoming parts, that is enough for about 2 hours worth of inventory. Their finished ...
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... Dell utilized an assemble-to-order design. This meant that Dell only began building the PC until the order is received, using the order money to purchase the components. Dell kept no in-house stock of finished goods inventories. Dell’s supply chain design allowed for mass customization. While other companies in the industry had to guess at consumer preferences, Dell knew exactly what its customers wanted before manufacturing the product. This lean system would not have been possible without Dell’s supplier integration. The company outsourced all components of personal computers, only performing the assembly. To buffer against demand variability and minimize long lead times, Dell required its supplier to keep inventory in supplier logistics centers, which were small warehouses located within a few miles of Dell’s assembly plants. Each center was shared by several suppliers that paid rent to Dell. Dell owned none of the inventory in the logistics centers, keeping overhead low. Dell withdrew inventory from the logistics centers as needed, which averaged once every two hours. The just-in-time philosophy resulted in inventory turns of 122 per year. In order to maintain such lean manufacturing, Dell had vendor-managed-inventory arrangement with its suppliers. Suppliers decided when to order inventory and how much to order, while Dell set target inventory levels. Dell recorded deviations from these targets, and used quarterly supplier scorecards to evaluate how well each supplier...
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...In addition, I decided to add “III” to the end of the job title. My reasoning behind this decision is because coders are usually distinguished by either coder I or coder II in hospital settings. Comparatively, the new job position is the combination of the two levels of coding. For this reason, I thought it would be cleaver to increase this level of coding to one level higher. After all, this new position will involve both aspects of inpatient and outpatient coding. For example, employees with need to master all ICD-10-CM and PCS, HCPCS and CPT...
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...Introduction In this assignment I will be investigating the requirements of 3 computer set ups and how you would assemble them; the first will be a gaming pc. This is a pc that is specifically designed to run at faster speeds with a dedicated graphics chip and a high power processor. The next will be what is known as a thick client this is a home computer that would be needed to operate independently of a server but have access to the internet via a network card installed on the mother board. The final computer system I will be investigating will be a home theatre system, this is normally a smaller setup but with a dedicated sound card for the surround sound environment in most home theatre systems. I want to make this as simple as possible picking only the best but still somewhat affordable components for each and go into detail on the specific parts of each system that makes them stand out amongst the others and why...
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...their PCs tend to buy HP brand. For instance, HP Power Distribution Rack which controls three-phase power distribution across a row of server racks brings enhanced flexibility to IT personnel who are seeking to place power where it is needed, but without over provisioning or otherwise wasting the precious resource. In other hand people who want high performance, they tend to buy IBM brand. For instance, IBM System x server (formerly IBM eServer™ xSeries®) brought up database application, all of the performance number were beyond expectation. Actually, Compaq is well-positioned because its non price attribute position is balance both in performance and flexibility. Which competitor(s) should Dell be the most concerned about? Why? Competitor: IBM because as you can see in the positioning map it’s the nearest competitor that dell face. Dell has to compete on the nearest one because there just little difference in performance so it can be easily pursued by improving performance quality at least same as IBM. Compared with Hp, the difference is too far which means the capability is indeed totally different so it will be too difficult to be pursued and it sounds unbalanced competition. Source: IBM's personal computer business is taken over by Chinese electronics giant Lenovo, while IBM itself focuses more and more on selling its information technology expertise to corporations. Competitors (out of the 2 key attributes): HP because both strategic emphasis on the PC segment...
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...foremost competitive weapon--an unrelenting sense of urgency and speed-ultimately proved itself. Two years ago, a 10-day labor lockout idled 10,000 union dockworkers, shut down 29 West Coast ports extending from Los Angeles to Seattle, and blocked hundreds of cargo ships from unloading the raw materials and finished goods that fuel U.S. commerce. The port closings paralyzed global supply chains, bloodied retailers and manufacturers, and ultimately cost U.S. consumers and businesses billions. Analysts expected that Dell, with its just-in-time manufacturing model, would be especially hard hit when parts failed to reach its two U.S.-based factories. Without warehouses filled with motherboards and hard drives, they figured, the world's largest PC maker would simply find itself with nothing to sell within a matter of days. And Dell knew all too well that its ultralean, high-speed business model left it vulnerable to just such an intolerable prospect. "When a labor problem or an earthquake or a SARS epidemic breaks out, we've got to react quicker than anyone else," says Dick Hunter, the company's supply-chain czar for the Americas. "There's no other choice. We know these things are going to happen; we must move fast to fix them. We just can't tolerate any kind of delay." Fortunately, the same ethos of speed and flexibility that seems to put Dell at the mercy of disruptions also helps it deal with them. Dell was in constant, round-the-clock communication with its parts makers in Taiwan...
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...QUESTIONS 1. Identify and describe all the different types or forms of innovation exemplified in this article by explaining with data and facts from this case. Product Innovation (the development of an improved product) Dell is the only computer company which offers its customers the built-to-order model. The customers can choose which components they want to have in their computer and can adapt it to their needs. Process Innovation (the development of a new manufacturing process) Dell has brought a maniacal focus to shaving minutes off the time to assemble and ship a computer. By studying videotapes of "the build," as they call it, factory managers have slashed in half the number of times a computer is touched by workers. They've counted the screws in a PC and redesigned it so that the major components simply snap in place. The entire process, from the time the order is taken to when the finished PC exits the factory, is wrapped up in four to eight hours. Organizational Innovation (a new internal communication; introduction of a new accounting procedure) Dell has a very good communication. As they standing under so much pressure regarding to the fact that they have no inventory, they have to have this skill. There is even a round-the-clock communication with the parts makers overseas existing, which helped them to handle with the lockout in 2002. Without this communication they had never managed it through it. With the built-to-order principle Dell has also...
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...and a group of five others as Multitech in 1976, headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. It began with eleven employees and US$25,000 in capital. Initially, it was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies, but over time it emerged as a PC manufacturer. The company was renamed Acer in 1987. In 1993, Acer posted record profits of $80 million. Total sales grew to $3.2 billion in 1994, and net income increased to $205 million, as Acer America turned its first annual profit in the 1990s. From 1994 to 1995, Acer advanced from 14th to ninth among the world’s largest computer manufacturers, surpassing Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Toshiba. Acer’s operate in more than 38 countries, and each business unit is operated as decentralized strategic business unit. Acer’s Canadian business had in a past served as an intermediation between Acer America to deliver products to Canadian distributors, but in 1996 Anthony Lin was chosen as general manager of Acer’s operation in Canada. Previously the Canadian operation was selling no products directly to consumers in Canada, but Lin saw this as an opportunity to use local distribution and assemble the computers in Canada, “to order,” and sell directly to consumers. VISION To have a line product sold to three different target groups- Commercial, Home and non-profit. Acer in Canada envisions itself to be part among the top 5 in the Information Technology Industry worldwide by...
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...It is very ironic that the profits of the PC industry are so low since the technology required is so complex and the products sell for such a high price. In analyzing why the profitability in the PC industry is so low, it is helpful to look at Porter’s five force model for an explanation. Competition (rivalry) is the biggest reason for why companies in the PC industry make such a small profit. In 1981, IBM published most of the specifications for their PC system so that an “open architecture” could be formed, in order to encourage software developers to “write programs for the IBM PC and to spur other firms to make compatible peripherals such as printers” (2). Because these specifications were made public, many IBM clones began to appear, which created many similarly-powerful competitors. Compaq entered with a low-priced portable clone, Dell Computer Corporation was established, and other competitors such as Hewlett-Packard shifted to the IBM standard (2). This industry is also so competitive because making PCs is not an arduous task- many companies manufacture them, and computers are all relatively homogenous products. They are manufactured by assembling standardized parts: “Computer makers used basic assembly-line techniques to assemble PCs from standard parts” (5). For about a million dollars, “a manufacturer could buy and install the capital equipment required for an efficient PC assembly line, capable of assembling 250,000 PCs per year,” and prices of the component parts...
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...eliminated the middleman. Dell has high margin because of direct sale strategy and customers get excellent state of the art machines at low cost compare to Dell’s competitors. Michael Dell’s visionary leadership has made Dell the second most successful PC maker in the industry. (IBM is the leader). Dell’s ability to adapt to changing circumstances is its great strength. One week after the September 11th 2001 attack, Dell reported selling 24,000 servers and desktops. Dell established mobile technology park in Washington D.C. and New York by converting three eighteen wheel trucks and operated its factories round the clock to fulfill the unexpected customers demand. The trustworthy relationship between Dell’s management and work force made it possible to change the disastrous moment in the I.T industry to a great opportunity for the organization. Dell has very user friendly web site and half of Dell’s sale, half of tech support and three quarter of order status takes place online. The supply chain and data integration with suppliers has made Dell one of the most efficient computer manufacturers. The continuous advancement in technology and innovative approach to manufacturing and assembly keeps Dell the low price leader in the PC industry. Dell’s has highest Return on Assets (11.10%), highest inventory turnover (65.7) and highest Return on Invested...
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...made by Dell computers on the personal computer market are astonishing given the amount of time it has taken them to reach the point they have reached right now. Dell has ventured into other products like printers, however; it has been criticized for modifying its printer cartridges to only work with Dell computers. Despite this shortfall, it remains one of the most popular personal computer sellers in the world. Who are this organization’s competitors? Customers? Suppliers? New entrants to this marketplace? Dell’s competitors are fellow PC manufactures and makers in the business. These include Hp, Microsoft, Toshiba and NEC. Its suppliers are mostly from the Eastern countries including Asia-Pacific and Japan. The Eastern countries generally offer their parts at a cheaper price than most suppliers offer and therefore making it easier for Dell to compete in the market despite the fact that it does not make most of the parts it assembles into computers. Dell’s suppliers include AMD, Cypress, Parade, Sonix, and Coolit Systems. Dell’s customers include personal computer home users, corporate organizations and governmental agencies. There are no new entrants in this marketplace. The threat of new entrants comes mostly from China where the...
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...level. Numerous government law requirement orgs have offices that endeavor to battle a wide scope of PC unlawful acts from PC interruptions to licensed innovation burglary. This paper additionally surveys different meanings of cybercrimes and orders these unlawful acts into three general classes. It then goes ahead to analyze the current level of cybercrime exploitation for both organizations and people in internationally. Digital exploitation has influenced numerous people and organizations in the very states and this issue appears to have expanded as the utilization of PCs and the web expanded in the course of the most recent decade. In the wake of investigating the current level of cybercrime internationally in this paper inspects the use of restraint and routine movement hypothesis to the investigation of cybercrime. Both of these hypotheses can be connected to the investigation of PC wrongdoing and exploitation. We also going to take interview with some IT experts of software and network companies based on cybercrimes. At long last this paper closes with a few proposals for territories of future exploration. Introduction In 1969, the first message, "login", was sent over ARPANET, the ancestor of today’s web (Kleinrock, 2008). ARPANET was composed as a correspondence framework that would permit specialists to get to data from different researcher’s PCs around the nation, hence permitting data to stream all the more unreservedly (Kleinrock, 2008). From...
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