Week 4 EOC: There's an app for that.

An app, that without any attachment just with the default phone camera, could scan documents papers and turn them into word documents. Right now there are apps that are allow you to take a picture of paper and turn it into a PDF file, so you can’t edit the text. But there are also apps that translate texts in real time with your camera. So there is the technology to make the camera recognize words and letters, but no one has mixed them up. With this new app you could take notes on a piece of paper, maybe your classes, and what not. Then you could just take a picture of it with your smartphone, which would instantly turn them into a word file to be later edited, improved, and stored on your computer. The app at first would probably make mistakes because everyone’s handwriting is different, but as correct those mistakes, the app starts learning your handwriting.

After a little research I found that there’s in fact no app that’s able to do what I’m describing. Yes, there are scanners apps, but I’m looking for something more, not just neat picture of the document, but functional word file. Still, apps like Genius Scan, TurboScan, Scanner Pro, and many others, are helpful. But I’m being more ambitious than that. I’m pretty that what I’m asking for is not that hard, because as I said before, there is an app that’s capable of doing translation in real time. Word Lens is an app that can translate text in English, Italian, French, and Spanish back and forth, by simply pointing your phone’s camera at a sign, or whatever you want to translate, in real time, right in front of your eyes, it’s really amazing. So that app can recognize text, and words just by pointing at them with the camera, so just have to tweak with that technology a little bit, and have app that stores that text to be edited later.

Week 3 EOC: My Demographics

I was born in 1993, which puts the in the Millennials (or Generation Y), we are also known as the echo boomers. This generation includes the tweens (aged 9-12), teens (13-18), and young adults (19-32), and we have a total purchasing power of more than $733 billion. Were supposed to be very fluent with technology, and really good picking new ones, which is right, most of us have no problem learning the tricks about always changing smartphones; of course there are always exceptions to this, because we all have that one friend who is completely oblivious to technology. “They don’t just embrace technology, it’s a way of life. The Millennials were the first generation to grow up in a world filled with computers, cellphones, satellite TV, iPods, and online social networks.” Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, Page 74.

We have been very influenced by the Internet, to the point were it is our main source of information, recreation, and our mean of interacting with our friends. I do have to admit, I spend my fair time on the Internet, just take this blog which is being published on the internet. Like almost anything it has it good parts and it’s bad parts. The point is that the Internet is one of the biggest things in our every day life. “A recent study found that 91 percent of Millennials are on the Web, making up 32 percent of all U.S. Internet users.” Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, Page 74.

Another thing about the Millenials is that we are really involved in social networking; almost anyone has, or at some point had, a profile on either myspace, facebook, twitter, instagram (just to name a few), if not in all of them, I know I’m one. “According to another study, 77 percent of Millennials frequent social networking sites and 71 percent use instant messaging.” Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, Page 74.

Technology defines us, lets just hope it doesn’t end up controlling us.

Week 3 EOC: Making Money for Good

Hurricane Sandy was a hurricane that devastated Northeastern United States during late October 2012. At least 253 people were killed along the path of the storm in seven countries. The severe and widespread damage the storm caused in the United States, as well as its unusual merge with a frontal system, led the media and several government agencies to nickname the hurricane Superstorm Sandy. And CBS reporter: “New estimates from forecasting firm Eqecat put the damage from superstorm Sandy at as much as $50 billion, making it the second most expensive storm in U.S. history after Hurricane Katrina.” http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57543923/damage-from-sandy-could-cost-as-much-as-$50b-says-forecasting-firm/

Many charities came to the rescue to do what they could to help the affected. And of them video game developer Activision Blizzard, the creator of the video game World of Warcraft, and sub company of the video game publisher, Activision. They way they did this was the interesting part. At the beginning of December 2012, Blizzard released a new pet, called The Cinder Kitten for their role-playing game World of Warcraft. The pet cost $10 USD, and 100% of the sales would go to the Red Cross and disaster relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. This is how they advertised the pet: “This fiery little feline is warm, adorable and will light the steps of any adventurer kind enough to adopt it. The Cinder Kitten has Rare-quality stats and is a part of the Elemental family. It also uses many Beast abilities in addition to Dragonkin and Elemental, and can also Prowl, Leap, and Rend its way to a 3-hit combo against its foes.” http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/12/04/buy-wow-pet-cinder-kitten-help-hurricane-sandy-victims#.UQCo9Uqjcj0

Then on January 11^th, Blizzard announced, through their blog, that the managed to raise $2.3 million for the American Red Cross’s ongoing Superstorm Sandy relief efforts in the month of December. They managed to raise all that money in the course of a month. “the pet sale was a smashing success for Blizzard, the WoW community - and most important of all - ongoing relief efforts being carried out by the American Red Cross where Sandy hit the hardest.” http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/01/11/world-warcraft-pet-sale-raises-23-million-hurricane-sandy-victims-december#.UQCop0qjcj0

Week 2 EOC: Boston Consulting Group - Video Games

The Video Game Industry is a fluctuant market. It is constantly changing, but the recent polls and numbers show that the market is slowly decaying. And console sales are going down as well. “If console gaming were a first-person shooter, it would be taking heavy fire right now. A red hue would envelop the viewable screen from all sides, an ominous sign of spilled blood.” http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/tech/gaming-gadgets/console-gaming-dead/index.html

By analyzing the consoles with the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) approach we could sort this way:

The Xbox 360 falls in the “Cash Cow” because it is still selling, but it is slowly moving into the “Dog” since the sales are going down, and they aren’t coming with anything knew, besides from the Kinect, which only helped a little. As it was said in the zdnet.com article, “Microsoft sold 1.4 million consoles during January to March of this year, a precipitous drop of 48 percent compared to the same period last year. This in turn resulted in a fall in revenue for the Xbox business of 33 percent, down to $584 million.” http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/xbox-360-sales-down-by-almost-half/19902

The PS3, as well as the Xbox 360, is a “Cash Cow” slowly moving into the “Dog” category, pretty much for the same reasons. The PS3 did even worst in their attempt to step in the world physically interactive gaming with their release of the PlayStation Move, which was a total failure.

The Wii is surely a “Dog”, and it’s been that way for while now, because even though it promised a lot of innovation it failed in the execution. Adding to that the release of the new Wii U, which made the old Wii even more obsolete. The Wii U on the other hand it’s a “Question Mark” because it’s the first new console since 2006, and it does bring some new features, but still, the sales haven’t really taken off.

The PC is pretty much a steady “Cash Cow”, computers are always selling constantly innovating, not only for gaming purposes. And actually computers are starting to get more popularity in the gaming industry, with more gamers changing from consoles to PC because of its possibility of being constantly upgraded and customized without having to buy an entire new unit. Also, the PC is taking a huge step in the gaming world with the “Steam Box” from valve: “Steam Box gaming hardware, the future of the Steam digital distribution platform, and even gaming itself.” http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/8/3852144/gabe-newell-interview-steam-box-future-of-gaming

Finally, we have the mobile gaming, which a huge “Star” first of all because cellphones are always selling for several different reasons, then they are always being reinvented. The biggest reason why mobile gaming is becoming so huge is because its making video games more accessible for everyone, people who had never played or truly enjoyed video games are finding themselves absorbed by silly little games like Angry Birds.

The Video Game Industry future is unsure, specially for the consoles, but one thing is for sure, consoles aren’t going down without a fight, so we can expect a lot interesting changes in the near future.

Week 1 EOC: Great Customer Service

About three months ago, around Halloween, I was looking to buy an Mbox Mini, which is a compact portable 2x2 audio computer recording interface. First I tried a website which name I don’t really remember, but what that I do remember was the trouble it made me go through. First of all, the website was complicated, then they were asking for a lot of unnecessary information, and top of that, whenever I tried to call I was never able to talk with a real person. Then I remembered a website a friend had recommended me a few years back called Sweetwater. They have a really nice, easy to understand website, when it comes to buying the only ask for the usual like name, address and credit card information. Then they also assign one person to you, who keeps in contact with you, even after the purchase has been made. The attention was amazing, I even made the mistake of missing one digit in the zip code, and so they called me before shipping because they noticed something wrong. Then, my Mbox was delivered really fast, and they even included a free issue of one of their magazine, a personal letter from the person they assigned to me and, my favorite part, a bag full of various candies, I know that last part seems silly, but it’s those little details that show me that they care.