An Apple a day keeps the competitors at bay.

30 years ago you would have been forgiven for thinking that an apple was just an everyday fruit, made famous by falling on Isaac Newton’s head. Apple Inc. has since transformed that premonition, so much so that people’s first thoughts aren’t of just a fruit anymore, but of a corporation that makes music devices, computers, phones and other electronic items.

Apple’s rise to the forefront of technology has been staggering. This is especially overwhelming as it started with the co-founder, Steve Wozniak, hand building its first product, the Apple 1, in 1976. The company initially struggled to cope with its competitors, IBM and Microsoft. However, after subsequent products such as the Apple III and the Apple Lisa became commercial failures, it wasn’t until 1984 that Apple really made its mark in the world of computers.

The release of the first Macintosh, along with its iconic “1984” commercial, brought massive attention and interest to the corporation. It was these series of products that really proved that Apple was a serious contender to other competitors, despite the blip that was the incredibly heavy portable Macintosh. While the company tried to develop new merchandise throughout the 1990s, it wasn’t until 2001 that they had a truly unique flagship product.

As most people know, the iPod has revolutionised the way we listen to music. Even though it was not the first portable media player, it has since become the most recognisable and most popular, selling over 220 million units since it’s inception. Along with the iPhone, the iMac, and the newly released iPad, these products represent the core of Apple’s products today and have helped it become a technology giant.

To put Apple’s development into facts and figures, it was only worth a few thousand dollars back when it began in 1976. Now it is valued at a breathtaking $222 billion, with CEO Steve Jobs’ fortune estimated to be a cool $6.1 billion. This is made even more significant by the milestone that Apple achieved earlier this year, where they overtook Microsoft for the first time ever to become the world’s largest technology firm. Even though their rivals continue to earn nearly triple the profit Apple do, this is seen as a vital step to the business solidifying it’s position as the most, or one of the most, influential in the advancement of technology.

In the UK especially we seem to love Apple products. Worldwide, iPhones outsold Blackberrys in the last quarter, selling 14.1 million handsets between July and September. In Britain this trend is reflected, where the iPhone has become the fastest selling smartphone, catching up with the leader Nokia, who shifted 26.5 million handsets.

However, Apple enjoys less success in the United States, where Blackberrys are leading the line with a 36% share of the smartphone market, while Google’s Android operating system has recently pushed the iPhone into third place. In the near future this doesn’t seem likely to change as the number of apps that will become available to Android users is tipped to better Apple’s own App Store. However, as the iPhone 4’s own slogan has proved with increased sales, Apple can “change everything. Again”.

Of course, the story cannot be told just by sales figures and growth rates. Apple has shaped technology in the 21st century and will do for years to come. It has kept its rivals on their toes, and with the arrival of the extraordinary iPad, this has prompted other companies to bring out new versions of the tablet device in order to compete with this success. The iPod however has no realistic rival, and has been an iconic symbol for media players since it was created. It has made the transition of music from your computer, to your iPod ready so you can walk the dog, only a matter of minutes. This means listening to music, looking at your bank balance, or even destroying green pigs with a flock of birds is easier than it ever has been.

What is more important is that Apple seems to keep it’s customers happier than any other company. In terms of the iPhone 89% of owners said they were very satisfied with it and would consider upgrading to a future generation of the iPhone, while only 71% of Android users were happy with their device. These statistics are vital, showing that Apple have the edge in attracting, and more importantly, keeping customers.

There is no sign of Apple slowing down either, with the IT juggernaut topping $3 billion profit in the second quarter of 2010, beating the same quarter last year by over $1 billion. This has been helped by the increasing demand for iMacs and its sister products, including the MacBook. Apple’s trick is that they make their products look extremely fashionable. I myself am a victim of this, after self-professing I’d never buy any Apple products I went and bought an iPod Classic in January 2009 and an iPhone 4 only last week. This mix of desirability and fashion has led to Fortunes magazine naming Apple the most admired company in the world for the past three years.

So, can anyone stop Apple? Yes, it can be seen that Apple has met its fiercest competition yet, certainly in the phone market. However at the moment they’ve still got their noses in front. Microsoft and Google have got their work cut out if they are to replace Apple at the top of the tree anytime soon, but this can only improve the market as a whole.

So who knows, Apple’s sales could drop over the next few years, establishing a new world leader in technology, but what is sure is that the battle within the technology market is definitely an enthralling one. It might even take an event such as an apple falling on a director’s head to provide the spark for the stand out product of 2011.

£113 million. What would you do with it?

Becoming a millionaire, or even a billionaire, is always high up on most people’s aims in life. Travie McCoy sings about wanting to be one, most football clubs are run by one, and a successful gameshow has also been created where your intelligence could enable you to join the seven figure plus club. Money is such a coveted necessity these days it is hard not to dream of becoming rich, especially as it is so heavily exploited in the media.

However, what would it be like if you became a millionaire overnight? In comparison to building your fortune over several years, becoming an overnight millionaire is a totally different proposition. There is a much bigger temptation to squander all your money, just like Michael Carroll did back in 2003 when he won £9.7 million. 7 years on, and he’s back earning jobseekers allowance, while proudly proclaiming that all he spent his money on was drugs, gambling and prostitutes. Maybe he wouldn’t have spent it so quickly if he knew he could have been best mates with Ashley Cole.

The recent Euromillions draw on Friday 8th October still has a ticket worth a measly £113 million waiting to be claimed. Such a vast amount of cash, as well as the fact no-one has come forward to claim a sum that would surely secure their future, has got me thinking; what would I actually do with all that money if it was me?

I’d probably start off by following the trend and purchasing both a new car and a house. With all that money you could easily fit two of each animal in your new home, and call it Noah’s Ark while you’re there. Also, whilst my twelve car garage was being built I’d realise slowly that I’d be richer than most popstars. Even David Cameron would be banging on my door begging me to pay 0.1% of the country’s debt off, so in that sense I’d be a bit awestruck.

After all, I would officially be the luckiest person in the world having won £113 million just by selecting a few numbers. Then again, I would probably try and create something with the money that wouldn’t normally exist. Something like a real Willy Wonka factory, which I reckon would be possible, and be honest, would you say no to swimming in a chocolate river? A DeLorean from Back To The Future would be something else worth splashing cash on, and especially handy to go forward in time to make sure I wasn’t the next Michael Carroll. Sonic screwdrivers are also an option, although I think house and car crime could be a little higher if they ever went on the market.

In all honesty, in the 10 minutes that I sat down to think about what I’d do with all that money, my imagination went wild, but nothing available right now stood out for me. Maybe the person with the winning ticket is unsure as to what they’d actually do with all the cash, or maybe they’ve changed their mind and don’t want it at all. Or, in the most unfortunate of circumstances, the silly sausage has just lost it down the back of the sofa.

Why don’t you all have a think about it, I mean what would you do with £113 million? You could share it all and buy a pint for every person in the country, or you could sit and ponder what to do with the money, just like I’ve just done.

Is social networking shrinking the world?

“Did you know Mark and Olivia are going out?!”
“No way! Who told you that?!”
“Facebook.”

Is this conversation familiar to you? If so, then you are a social networking fiend. Don’t worry though, you’re not alone. The majority of people log on at least once a day to sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter to share their thoughts, daily activities and even emotions, to the world. I am no exception, and it has come to the point where I think of it as a guilty pleasure. I know that I should be spending less time on Facebook, yet I find myself “liking” an undesirable amount of statuses, updating my own page or just generally gazing at the screen to pass the time. We all use social networking sites, far too much in many cases, but really how much have they changed our lives?

Let’s start with the facts. Facebook for instance, has 500 million users worldwide, which equates to one in 14 people in the world. To put that into perspective, the next biggest site, Twitter, “only” has just over 100 million users. Facebook has taken social networking to another level, as anything seems possible on there. You can build your own farm, become a fan of Anne Widdecombe and if you’re feeling extra cheeky, you can even ask your mum what’s for dinner. This has led to us spending copious amounts on the site, while Myspace and Bebo recede slowly into our memories as a 13 year old.

I feel Facebook has also broken new ground, as a lot of the older generation have signed up, even if it is just to see what the fuss is all about. Nowadays whole families can be linked across the world of Facebook, like some sort of crazy cyber family tree. Don’t fret though, even if you aren’t blood related your best friend could easily turn into your sister, or worse still, your husband.

Maybe some parents have got Facebook so they can keep a closer eye on their children, but I believe they have discovered that Facebook is extremely easy for catching up with old relatives, and seeing what people get up to when they can’t see them as much as they’d like. Or maybe I’m totally wrong and they’re all just vying for the highest score on Bejeweled.

Facebook serves as a sort of “halfway house”, a third party where you can create events, speak to friends, check out the photos of their latest holiday and do much more. This can be rather handy, knowing that you can learn someone’s life story through several clicks of a button. However, I find it extremely disheartening, recognising the fact that you don’t actually have to see someone in person to be friends with them. Although social networking will never eradicate people meeting up with their friends, it has made people contacting others through the internet far more comfortable than it’s ever been.

Facebook has also bulldozed it’s way into modern culture and the everyday language we use. Phrases such as “Facebook me as soon as you get in” and “Did you find that out on Facebook?” proves how much of a social community it has become, where people can discover things about distant friends that they would not normally know. From that respect, the amount of information and emotions that are plastered all over Facebook is rather scary, but we have all accepted it as normal.

Is this worrying? Even though we never think about it, it probably is, as people who we don’t even know could be looking at our profile information without us knowing in the slightest. It especially is with reports in the past of paedophiles and thieves accessing people’s profiles to discover their whereabouts, with disastrous consequences. Facebook is tightening it’s security measures all the time, so there is less of a chance of this happening now, but there will always be cause for concern.

Even Twitter is making the global community far more local, but what is unique about Twitter is that it’s bridging the gap between celebrities and their fans. People can discover what their idols get up to on a daily basis, and while Dizzee Rascal might not be too keen on the idea of a female fan purring over the thought of him just having “a bangin’ shower”, I think celebrities enjoy the opportunity to be normal people. If you’re really lucky, your favourite popstar could “follow” you back, effectively letting Lady Gaga know when you’ve got a massive hangover, or telling Wayne Rooney to concentrate on his skills with a football, and not any other type of balls.

Social networking sites will continue to grow in popularity, especially as there is a film released this month about Facebook, entitled ‘The Social Network’. How ironic then that people could be organising a trip to the cinema to see a film about the very site that they’re planning it on.

As a result of their success, Facebook and Twitter have compressed the worldwide community into several manageable, easy to roam websites. Although they have made it far easier for friends to connect and contact each other, it is slightly worrying that Joe Bloggs from the Cook Islands could be looking at your photos from the night before right now.

Social networking is fast becoming a part of modern culture, growing synonymously with the internet, and even though we could easily live without it, it’s hard to see past it.