The Business of Apple Itunes 8 Genius
On Saturday September 13, 2008, around sometime in the evening I received the offer to update my Itunes version. I did so with no hesitation because I have heard it coming for a while on Blogs such as Kevin Rose’s from Digg.
My first impressions of the new Itunes 8:
The interface was basically the same with some new features. When selecting the music tab on the left hand side I noticed that it brought me to the albums view. I thought this was actually pretty neat to emphasize the album cover art.
Next, I noticed the new addition that Apple employees must have been hard at work with for months ( Genius ). Basically what it does is recommend music to buy to the user based upon the current music they are playing.
iTunes 8 genius
You ask me, are you not writing about business anymore?
Then I would reply to you that you are wrong, this posts intent was to give you a paradigm shift how the business at Apple is conducted.
Business perspective:
Apple’s primary motive for the Genius program is to their increase bottom line like any other for-profit company, so that in turn can increase shareholder happiness. So were the profits lagging at Apple, you make the judgment call?
I think they noticed that the average users love to pirate there music, and wanted to change the industry to help the user to purchase songs they liked for only $0.99 each? Not to raise an ethical decision for the user, but were the exes right in implementing there resources all to the new Genius program in an attempt to downplay pirating? Will this change the way we view the industry of music distribution in the future.
Overall, users and Apple both win from this new program Genius because it suggest music to users that they might not have heard about and decide to buy it for a minimal fee. Feel free to express your thoughts on the business implications of Apple’s new Itunes 8 Genius Implementation.
Bank of Canada leaves rates at 3%
This week we have had some big news regarding the Bank of Canada leaving there rates at 3%. To fully understand the implications of this from a financial perspective I would recommend visit the Bank of Canada site and play the video (New 2006 version only (21 min 16 sec))
On Business News Network they posted an article about the Bank of Canada’s rates remaining at 3%. That is Friday’s financial tidbit of the week, hopefully that will get you thinking about finances.
Accounting 101
The History of Accounting
Accounting originated from the granddads of the number crunch system. Today, calculators are a great use to us, but it never always use to be this way as indicated by the historical stems of accounting below:
“Accountancy’s infancy dates back to the earliest days of human agriculture and civilization (the Sumerians in Mesopotamia), when the need to maintain accurate records of the quantities and relative values of agricultural products first arose. This need for record keeping was the synthesis of writing. Simple accounting is mentioned in the Christian Bible (New Testament) in the Book of Matthew, in the Parable of the Talents. The Islamic Quran also mentions simple accounting for trade and credit arrangements.” – Wikipedia
Basically, are you surprised that accounting dates back this far? If we stop and think for a moment, we realize that man is motivated by trade, money and goods.
The Basics of Accounting
Financial Statements; Cash flow Statement, Balance Sheets, Income Statements and Statement of Retained Earning`s are all vital to the success for a for profit company, as a matter of fact even for a not for profit company.
What is an Income Statement (Statement of Operations)?
An income statement simply is a summary of the firm profitability over a period of time, usually over a year. It presents revenue generated by the firm and expenses the firm has accumulated over the period. The end result is either net income (profit) or net loss.
In business, revenue or revenues (turnover in Europe) is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers.
In common usage, an expense or expenditure is an outflow of money to another person or group to pay for an item or service, or for a category of costs. As in the case of the firm, it is the using up of assets to generate revenue.
What is a Balance Sheet?
If you remember anything from this note that a balance sheet is a snapshot of the financial condition of the firm at a particular point in time. The balance sheet is a list of the firm’s assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity.
Assets are the resources or properties held by the company. For example; cash, land, building’s, equipment and supplies.
Liabilities are debts or obligations to the business. If you ever talk to a legal counsel as in bankruptcies they will refer this as the claims against the business assets.
Equity is the owners claim on the business assets, in the case of a corporation it would be the shareholders claim on the businesses assets. Note: Often referred to as NET ASSETS, because if you subtract liabilities to assets, you will come up with the equity of the firm. (Assets-liabilities=equity)
What is a Cash flow Statement?
Cash flow describes sources and uses of cash inflows and outflows of cash. Also, known as the statement of changes in financial position. More importance will be highlighted regarding this statement.
What to look forward to in the future?
Useful ratio’s that are derived from the financial statements, micro and macro economic theory, and Finance and Management.
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Online Accounting Resources
When searching the other day for more complicated theories of goodwill valuation I happened to stumble upon these great sites:
Niche Blogging
“Niche blogging is the act of creating a blog with the intent of using it to market to a particular niche market. While it could be argued that all blogs are, in some form, a niche blog, the term as it applies to marketing refers to a particular kind of blog.” – Wikipedia.org
I have decided to change the direction of this blog. For some time now I have been blogging about whatever I feel like. That is why a more concise focus will be more appropriate. The focus of this blog will be on business. Specifically, in the area of accounting. Since, I am currently an accounting student at Camosun College in Victoria, BC, aspiring for a degree in accounting.
This past semester has been extremely busy with taking five core business courses, I haven’t had much time to chat about random news about I used to. That is why I think it would be easier to talk about the niche I am currently studying.
I hope to offer insight and new ideas for you to ponder about in business and daily life with finances. Some might say free advice. Stay informed and keep up to date and add my feed to your rss reader, because I am positive that my blog will add value to your list. If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to email me anytime at dave(at)venter(dot)ca.