Sunday, May 24, 2020

Internet Piracy Theft of Intellectual Property Essay

Piracy is a form of theft. Specifically, it refers to the unauthorized copying or use of intellectual property. Intellectual property is knowledge or expression that is owned by someone. There are three major types of intellectual property: 1) creative works, including music, written material, movies, and software, which are protected by copyright law; 2) inventions, which are protected by patent law; and 3) brand-name products, which are protected by trademarks. Many of the issues surrounding piracy have to do with the difference between intellectual property and physical property. A CD, for example, is a piece of physical property, but the songs on the CD are intellectual property. A customer in a record store can purchase a CD, but†¦show more content†¦And because the copies are tapes of tapes, the quality suffers. But if the film has been digitized into a computer file, it can be E-mailed to millions of people in minutes; because strings of zeroes and ones can be reprodu ced with absolute fidelity, the copies are perfect. And online pirates have no development costsÂâ€"they dont even have to pay for paper or blank cassettesÂâ€"so they dont really have a bottom line. The problem of Internet piracy did not gain national attention until Napster gained an enormous following in 1999. The original Napster, created by thenÂâ€"college student Shawn Fanning in May 1999, was an online music service that enabled users to trade digital music flies. Napster used a technology known as peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. P2P networking essentially enables users to link their com- puters to other computers all across the network. Each user linked to the Napster network was able to share his or her music files with all the other users on the network, and each user was in turn able to download a copy of any music file on almost any other computer in the network. Napster claimed to have over 20 million users in July 2000, all of them making copies of each others music. By that time, Napster had become the subject of a massive controversy over online file sharing. Part of Napsters appeal was intertwined with the novelty ofShow MoreRelatedIntellectual Property And Social Property Theft1643 Words   |  7 Pagesmuch confusion about the Internet and the new problems and questions it brings to the table in terms of the court of law, and how law enforcement should deal with it. Then comes the matter of Intellectual Property, and what it covers and how to integrate it into the justice system. Intellectual Property is a grey area for many people and can also be a very controversial matter. In this paper I will clear up some misconceptions about the definition of Intellectual Property and what it covers, someRead MoreSOPA: A Righteous Cause or a Piracy Crusade? Essay1355 Words   |  6 PagesRighteous Cause or a Piracy Crusade? To better understand the act, one needs to first examine what â€Å"SOPA† is and means. First and foremost, SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act. This act is essentially an extension of another bill that was sent through shortly before it. The name of this bill is the PROTECT IP act, which stands for Protecting Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property. Both these names are essentially very fancy names for an anti-theft law to protect theRead MoreIntellectual Property Essay1379 Words   |  6 PagesTechnology is now the foundation to any society and in America; digital products (mp3 files, videos, books, etc.) are protected as intellectual property. Theft of any intellectual property would have similar (and in some cases more severe) consequences as stealing a car or shoplifting, however, some countries that fall behind in the development of intellectual property can easily steal digital products and produce them for a much cheaper and easier rat e of production. One such country is China, whichRead MoreIntellectual Property And Computing Technology1207 Words   |  5 PagesIntellectual Property through the development of computing technology Intellectual Property refers to any original creative work manifested in a substantial form that can be protected. When an intellectual property right is mentioned, it refers to controlling the manner in which intellectual property is used, distributed or accessed. The intellectual property right is enforced by the World Intellectual Property Organization which is an organ of the United Nations. The organization holds that intellectualRead MoreStop Online Piracy Act ( Sopa ) - Why Did It Fail?975 Words   |  4 PagesStop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) – Why did it fail? SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) was a bill proposed in the House of Representatives that aimed to tackle the growing problem of online piracy and copyright infringement. It targets foreign-based websites that contain any form of unauthorized copyright-infringing material such as movies or music by giving content-creators the right to stop any US businesses from providing payment services, advertising, or even dealing with prosecuted websites; essentiallyRead MoreEthics and Information Security Essay1125 Words   |  5 Pagestechnology conflicts in the United States are privacy issues and how we cite, distribute and publish intellectual property on the internet. For instance, many corporations and people take advantage of the open access of the internet and the lack of legislation governing the right to post and upload information to the internet. Today, nearly every household in the United States has a computer with internet access and faces the challenge of ethical or unethical choi ces about the information they view andRead More Peer to Peer Piracy and the Film Industry Essay944 Words   |  4 PagesPeer to Peer Piracy and the Film Industry Introduction Each day an estimated 400,000 films exchange hands through the Internet. Movie piracy, once reserved to pirate syndicates and illegal duplication factories, has become a common staple among college students with high-speed internet access. With advanced compression technology, movie files can be transferred across continents in hours and across campus networks in under ten minutes. File-sharing is seen as a victimless crime, but the motionRead MoreThe History of Internet Piracy1122 Words   |  4 PagesHistory of Internet Piracy and its Impacts Internet piracy and copyright infringement have become major issues around the globe. Internet piracy has also evolved significantly since its beginnings. The effects are particularly felt by multiple industries, including the music, movie and software industries. As a result of the overwhelming effects of piracy, many pieces of legislation have either been proposed or passed in the United States. Piracy has significantly impacted the Internet as a resultRead MorePsychological Profiling And Predictive Modelling3711 Words   |  15 PagesIntroduction 4 3. Intellectual Property Rights 5 1) Patents 5 2) Trademarks 5 3) Copyrights 5 4) Trade Secrets 5 4. The Nature of Threats 6 1) Computer Hacking 6 2) Reverse Engineering 6 3) Physical multimedia piracy 6 4) Online Piracy 6 5) Disclosure of Emails 7 6) Disclosure of employees information 7 5. The Magnitude of the Threat 8 6. Offenders 9 7. The Source of Threat 10 1) Externally influenced theft of IP 10 2) Internally influenced theft of IP 10 8. Methods of stealing Intellectual Property 11 9. MitigationRead MoreIntellectual Property Is Intangible Property963 Words   |  4 PagesIntellectual property is intangible property that can be owned by law. The Law protects the four following areas. 1) Copyright- grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. 2) Trademark- a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. 3) Patent- is the protections of an individual’s invention and the way its use. 4) Trade Secrets- A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument,

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Dissecting Clarkes Cosmological Argument - 796 Words

Dissecting Clarke’s Cosmological Argument In the following paper, I will outline Samuel Clarke’s â€Å"Modern Formulation of the Cosmological Argument† and restate some of the points that he makes. Samuel Clarke’s argument for the existence of God states that â€Å"There has existed from eternity some one unchangeable and independent being† (37). The argument follows a logical flow and can be better understood when the structure is laid out and the argument reconstructed. Clarke begins his argument with a use of disjunctive syllogism, a form of valid logical reasoning that proposes two outcomes, denies one, and thus proves the other to be true. Clarke’s premise states that one of the two following statements must be true: either there has†¦show more content†¦He states that since the series of dependent beings couldn’t be caused by any external or internal source, that it would have to be cause â€Å"absolutely by nothing†. He then states that this is a â€Å"contradiction to be done in time; and because duration in this case makes no difference.† He also states that it is a â€Å"contradiction to suppose it done from eternity.† Since the universe has parts that come into existence at one occasion and not another, it must have a cause. There could supposedly be an infinite regress of causes if there was evidence for such, but lacking such evidence, God must exist as the cause. Clarke does not specifical ly identify God at any point in his argument. He ends with â€Å"There must be on the contrary, of necessity have existed from eternity, some one immutable and independent Being† (37). Whatever one chooses to call this â€Å"Being†, it is the one unchangeable and independent being that Clarke attempts to prove the existence of in his argument. Works Cited Feinberg, Joel, and Russ Shafer-Landau. Reason and Responsibility, Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy. 14th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2008.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Return Midnight Chapter 31 Free Essays

Elena woke up feeling stiff and cramped. But that wasn’t surprising. Three other people seemed to be on top of her. We will write a custom essay sample on The Return: Midnight Chapter 31 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Elena? Can you hear me? Stefan? Yes! You’re awake? I’m all cramped†¦and hot. A different voice interrupted. Just give us a moment and you won’t be cramped anymore. Elena felt Damon move away. Bonnie rol ed into his place. But Stefan clung to her for a moment. Elena, I’m sorry. I never even realized what condition you were in. Thank God for Damon. Can you forgive me? Despite the heat, Elena cuddled closer to him. If you can forgive me for putting the whole party in danger. I did that, didn’t I? I don’t know. I don’t care. All I know is that I love you. It was several minutes before Bonnie woke up. Then she said feebly, â€Å"Hey! Whachoo doin’in my bed?† â€Å"Getting out of it,†Elena said, and tried to rol over and get up. The world was wobbly. She was wobbly – and bruised. But Stefan was never more than a few inches away, holding her, righting her when she started to fal . He helped her get dressed without making her feel like a baby. He examined her backpack, which fortunately hadn’t gone into the water, and then he took out anything heavy inside. He put the heavy things in his own pack. Elena felt much better after being given some food, and after seeing the thurgs – both of them – eating too; either stretching their great double trunks up to break off pieces of wood from the barren trees, or scooping away snow to find dry grass underneath. They clearly were not going to die after al . Elena knew everyone was watching her to gauge whether or not she was up to any more that day. She hurried to finish drinking the tea heated over a dung fire, trying to conceal the fact that her hands shook. After forcing some jerky down, she said in her most cheerful voice, â€Å"So what next?† How do you feel? Stefan asked her. â€Å"Little sore, but I’l be fine. I guess everyone expects me to have pneumonia, but I don’t even have any cough.† Damon, after one heavy-lidded glance at Stefan, took both her hands and stared at her. She couldn’t – she didn’t dare – meet his eyes, so she focused on Stefan, who was looking at her comfortingly. At last Damon dropped Elena’s hands abruptly. â€Å"I went in as far as I could. You should know how far that is,†he added to Stefan. â€Å"She’s sound, her nose is wet, and her coat is shiny.† Stefan looked as if he were going to smack him one, but Elena took his hand soothingly. â€Å"I’m healthy,†she said. â€Å"So that’s two votes for me going on to save Fel ‘s Church.† â€Å"I’ve always believed in you,†Stefan said. â€Å"If you think you can go on, you can go on.† Bonnie sniffled. â€Å"Just don’t take any more chances, okay?†she said. â€Å"You scared me.† â€Å"I’m real y sorry,†Elena said gently, feeling the void of Meredith’s absence. Meredith would be a great help to both of them now. â€Å"So, shal we continue? And where are we heading? I’m al turned around.† Damon stood. â€Å"I think we just keep in a straight line. The path is narrow after this – and who knows what the next trial is?† The path was narrow – and misty. Just as before, it started in filmy veils and ended up blinding them. Elena let Stefan, with his catlike reflexes, go first, and she held on to his pack. Behind her, Bonnie clung like a burr. Just when Elena thought she was going to scream if she had to keep traveling through the white blanket any farther, it cleared. They were near the top of some mountain. Elena took off after Bonnie, who had hurried ahead at the sight of transparent air. She was just fast enough to grab on to Bonnie’s pack and pul her backward as she reached the place where the land stopped. â€Å"No way!†Bonnie cried, setting up a clamoring echo from below. â€Å"There is no way I’m going across that!† That was a chasm with a very thin bridge spanning it. The chasm was frosty white on either side at the top, but when Elena gripped the bridge’s ice-cold metal poles and leaned a little forward she could see glacial blues and greens at the very bottom. A chil wind hit her face. The gap between this bit of the world and the next bit directly in front of them was about a hundred yards long. Elena looked from the shadowy depths to the slender bridge, which was made of wooden slats and just wide enough for one person to walk on. It was supported here and there by ropes which ran to the sides of the chasm and were sunk with metal posts into barren, icy rock. It also swooped magnificently down and then back up again. Even looking at it gave the eye a sort of mini?Cthril ride. The only problem was that it didn’t include a safety belt, a seat, two handrails, and a uniformed guide saying, â€Å"Hands and feet must be kept inside the attraction at alltimes!†It did have a single, thin, creeper-woven rope to hold on to on the left. â€Å"Look,†Stefan was saying, as quietly and intently as Elena had ever heard him speak, â€Å"we can hold onto each other. We can go go one by one, very slowly – â€Å" â€Å"NOOO!† Bonnie put into that one word a psychic shriek that almost defeaned Elena. â€Å"No, no, no, no, NO! You don’t understand! I can’t DO IT!† She flung her backpack down. Then she began laughing and crying at the same time in a ful -blown attack of hysterics. Elena had an impulse to dash water in her face. She had a stronger impulse to throw herself down beside Bonnie and shriek, â€Å"And neither can I! It’s insane!†But what good would that do? A few minutes later Damon was talking quietly to Bonnie, unaffected by the outburst. Stefan was pacing in circles. Elena was trying to think of Plan A, while a little voice chanted inside her head, You can’t do it, you can’t do it, you can’t do it, either. This was al just a phobia. They could probably train Bonnie out of it – if, say, they had a year or two. Stefan, on one of his circular trips near her, said, â€Å"And how are you about heights, love?† Elena decided to put a brave face on it. â€Å"I don’t know. I think I can do it.† Stefan looked pleased. â€Å"To save your hometown.† â€Å"Yes†¦but it’s too bad nothing works here. I could try to use my Wings for flying, but I can’t control them – â€Å" And that kind of magic is simply not available here, Stefan’s voice said in her mind. But telepathy is. You can hear me, too, can’t you? They thought of the answer simultaneously, and Elena saw the light of the idea breaking on Stefan’s face even as she began to speak. â€Å"Influence Bonnie! Make her think she’s a tightrope walker – a performer since she was a toddler. But don’t make her too playful so she doesn’t bounce the rest of us off!† With that light in his face, Stefan looked†¦too good. He seized both Elena’s hands, whirled her around once as if she weighed nothing, picked her up, and kissed her. And kissed her. And kissed her until Elena felt her soul dripping off her fingertips. They shouldn’t have done it in front of Damon. But Elena’s euphoria was clouding her judgment, and she couldn’t control herself. Neither of them had been trying for a deep mind probe. But telepathy was al they had left, and it was warm and wonderful and it left them for an instant in the circle of each other’s arms, laughing, panting – with electricity flashing between them. Elena’s whole body felt as if she’d just gotten a sizable jolt. Then she pul ed herself out of his arms, but it was too late. Their shared gaze had gone on much too long, and Elena felt her heart pounding in fear. She could feel Damon’s eyes on her. She barely managed to whisper, â€Å"Wil you tel them?† â€Å"Yes,†Stefan said softly. â€Å"I’l tel them.†But he didn’t move until she actual y turned her back on Bonnie and Damon. After that she peeked over her shoulder and listened. Stefan sat down by the sobbing girl and said, â€Å"Bonnie, can you look at me? That’s al I want. I promise you, you don’t have to go across that bridge if you don’t want to. You don’t even have to stop crying, but try to look me in the eye. Can you do that? Good. Now†¦Ã¢â‚¬ His voice and even his face changed subtly, becoming more forceful – mesmerizing. â€Å"You’re not afraid of heights at all, are you? You’re an acrobat who could walk a tightrope across the Grand Canyon and never turn a hair. You’re the very best of al your family, the flying McCul oughs, and they’re the best in the world. And right now, you’re going to choose whether to cross over that wooden bridge. If so, you’l lead us. You’l be our leader.† Slowly, while listening to Stefan, Bonnie’s face had changed. With swol en eyes fixed on Stefan’s, she seemed to be listening intently to something in her own head. And final y, as Stefan said the last sentence, she jumped up and looked at the bridge. â€Å"Okay, let’s go!†she cried, picking up her backpack, while Elena sat staring after her. â€Å"Can you make it?†Stefan asked, looking at Elena. â€Å"We’l let her go first – there’s real y no way she can fal off. I’l go after her. Elena can come after me and hold on to my belt, and I’m counting on you, Damon, to hold on to her. Especial y if she starts to faint.† â€Å"I’l hold her,†Damon said quietly. Elena wanted to ask Stefan to Influence her, too, but everything was happening so fast. Bonnie was already on the bridge, only pausing when cal ed back by Stefan. Stefan was looking behind him at Elena, saying, â€Å"Can you get a good grip?†Damon was behind Elena, putting a strong hand on her shoulder, and saying, â€Å"Look straight ahead, not down. Don’t worry about fainting; I’l catch you.† But it was such a frail wooden bridge, and Elena found that she was always looking down and her stomach floated up outside her body and above her head. She had a death-grip on Stefan’s belt with one hand, and on the woven creeper with the other. They came to a place where a slat had detached and the slats on either side looked as if they might go at any moment. â€Å"Careful with these!†Bonnie said, laughing and leaping over al three. Stefan stepped over the first chancy slat, over the missing one, and put his foot on the next. Crack! Elena didn’t scream – she was beyond screaming. She couldn’t look. The sound had shut her eyes. And she couldn’t move. Not a finger. Certainly not a foot. She felt Damon’s arms around her waist. Both of them. She wanted to let him support her weight as he had many times before. But Damon was whispering to her, words like spel s that allowed her legs to stop shaking and cramping and even let her stop breathing so fast that she might faint. And then he was lifting her and Stefan’s arms were going around her and for a moment they were both holding her firmly. Then Stefan took her weight and gently put her feet down on firm slats. Elena wanted to cling to him like a koala, but she knew that she mustn’t. She would make them both fal . So somewhere, from inner depths she didn’t know she had, she found the courage to take her own weight on her feet and fumbled for the creeper. Then she lifted her head and whispered as loudly as she could, â€Å"Go on. We need to give Damon room.† â€Å"Yes,†Stefan whispered back. But he kissed her on the forehead, a quick protective kiss, before he turned and stepped toward the impatient Bonnie. Behind her, Elena heard – and felt – Damon jumping catlike over the gap. Elena raised her eyes to stare at the back of Stefan’s head again. She couldn’t compass al the emotions she was feeling at that moment: love, terror, awe, excitement – and, of course, gratitude, al at once. She didn’t dare turn her head to look at Damon behind her, but she felt exactly the same things for him. â€Å"A few more steps,†he kept saying. â€Å"A few more steps.† A brief eternity later, they were on solid ground, facing a medium-sized cavern, and Elena fel to her knees. She was sick and faint, but she tried to thank Damon as he passed by her on the snowy mountain trail. â€Å"You were in my way,†he said shortly and as coldly as the wind. â€Å"If you had fal en you might have upset the entire bridge. And I don’t happen to feel like dying today.† â€Å"What are you saying to her? What did you just say?†Stefan, who had been out of earshot, came hurrying back. â€Å"What did he say to you?† Damon, examining his palm for creeper thorns, said without looking up, â€Å"I told her the truth, that’s al . So far she’s zero for two on this quest. Let’s hope that as long as you make it through they let you in the Gatehouse, because if they’re grading on performance we’ve flunked. Or should I say, one of us has flunked?† â€Å"Shut up or I’ll shut you up,† Stefan said in a different voice than Elena had ever heard him use before. She stared. It was as if he’d grown ten years in one second. â€Å"Don’t you ever talk to her or about her that way again, Damon!† Damon stared at him for a moment, pupils contracted. Then he said, â€Å"Whatever,†and strol ed away. Stefan bent down to hold Elena until her shaking stopped. And that’s that, Elena thought. An ice-cold rage gripped her. Damon had no respect for her at all; he had none for anyone but himself. She couldn’t protect Bonnie from Bonnie’s own feelings – or stop him from insulting her. She couldn’t stop Bonnie for forgiving. But she, Elena, was done with Damon. This last insult was the end. The fog came in again as they walked through the cavern. How to cite The Return: Midnight Chapter 31, Essay examples

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Microsoft Target Market - Segmentation and Positioning Example

Question: Discuss about the Segmentation,Targeting and Positioning for Microsoft Company. Answer: The Microsoft Company Microsoft is a corporation of multinational computer technology that was started in the year 1975 by Bill Gates. Since the Microsoft Company launched the lumia 950 in the Australian market, about 80% of Australians now use the device. The total number of smartphones in Australia is nearly 15 million currently. Australians are normally people who like multitasking, and within a day, you will find many of them glancing at their smartphones. Segmentation, Targeting and positioning is the strategy that the Microsoft Company is using primarily to promote the lumia 950. The Microsoft Company uses this Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) approach to bring about communications in marketing since it enables the company to make propositions their priority. The Microsoft Company does this to keep their audience engaged. The STP is a method of great significance in marketing of smartphones. Application of personas can significantly improve digital communications of more relevance as indicated by the alternative approaches of the tactical customer segmentation (Sarasvathy, 2001). The Microsoft Company uses STP in the following ways. It is a fact that in every organization, brand or product may not be all that people look for. This is the reason every company must use STP. Microsoft uses segmentation of markets to group customers into small groups that are easy to reach. By doing so, they are able to meet the needs of each group effectively thus making them more competitive in the market. They identify niches in the Australian markets through segmentation. The company ventures into the mature markets to look for new potential buyers while providing more effective and focused messages meant for marketing. The company realized that the needs of marketing lumia 950 are the same across the entire country. The Microsoft Company designed the messages for reaching customers for every segment in a way that emphasized relevant advantages and features that were needed. The approach like this one is very appropriate since it helps in delivering the best mix to the same group of people (Cravens Piercy, 2006). Ways the Company used to Segment the audience Demographs This is a strategy where the market is broken down in terms of age, gender, income, economic status and ethnic backgrounds. It also considers size of the market and residential places. The Microsoft Company uses demographic information to break down the market into sections so that they can easily reach the audience. Lumia is a smartphone and it is popular among youths. Targeting only the youths makes the Microsoft Company increase their sales since the youths really like smartphones (Harrell, 2002). Psychographics This refers to a way of revoking emotions of a person by telling them how a brand of a particular product is able to help them. By doing so, the person develops interest that later leads to loyalty in that particular product. Microsoft uses psychography to completely change the attitudes of the people. This not only increases their sales but also enables people to become attached to the product thus talking good of it to even bring in more customers (Kamakura, Kim Lee, 1996). Beliefs and Values Different groups of people have different beliefs and values on particular things. People have different political, religious and cultural vies about smartphones. Microsoft Company promotes lumia 950 in Australia by making the people feel safe while using it. They dispel away any fears and concerns that people normally have regarding such items. So many people might have attached different beliefs regarding smartphones (Moschis, Lee Mathur, 1997). These are the myths that the Microsoft Company seeks tro dispel away. By doing so, they make sure that people feel safe while considering using such devices. Life Stages Observing chronological life stages of different people is a good way of discovering what people love in different stages of their lives. Microsoft brought into the market the lumia 950 at a time when most of the Australian youths needed smartphones and as a result, they found instant market for the product. They perfectly timed the time to enter the market. During this time, most people had the urge to use smartphones but they lacked information regarding the usage. Microsoft Company made the people aware of the use of smartphones and explained different features that were found in lumia 950. After doing so, the Australians started developing interest and most of them strived to own a mobile device. The Microsoft Company made a lot of sales as a result (Moschis, Lee Mathur,1997). Geography Microsoft made sure that every region across Australia had sufficient information regarding lumia 950. The company did vigorous promotion and made sure that everybody, regardless of where they lived had access to the information about the device. To make sure that they reach all the regions, Microsoft employed the use of brochures, the Internet and the use of television to reach audience across the country (Natter, et al., 2008). Use of brochures proved to be very effective in helping Microsoft reach the audience across Australia. Apart from driving traffic to their website, the use of brochures made many people aware of the phone by improving the interaction between the people and their customers. Microsoft Company used QR codes to make the gap of the flat narrower. In their use of brochures to promote lumia 950, Microsoft came up with a clear strategy and message they want to pass across to their audience. Though the content they write is brief, they are normally to the point and whenever the client read them, they were sure of what was being said. In addition to that, Microsoft uses taglines and blurbs that are attractive and keep the customer interested while reading, thus making sure they read it to the end (Stokes, 2000). The Microsoft Company uses practical design in its brochures. Their brochures are in attractive colos that attract the readers and make them enjoy reading to the end. Another aspect that Microsoft considers while designing its brochures is readability. The company makes sure that the printed words are easily readable even to those who have difficulties reading without wearing glasses. The use of websites has become quite common in marketing today. Microsoft uses website to promote lumia 950 to people who like hanging on the Internet. Through the use of websites, it is easy to target those who spend most of the time in their offices with the Internet (Smith Hirst, 2001). Product Positioning When it comes to product positioning, it is important that every firm finds out how best to position its product. This is so because the aim of any business entity is to target the customer segment that is most valuable. After that, they can come up with the most significant customer mix that will have the most impact in the market (Wood, 2011). Microsoft Company considers first why their product should be purchased and not that of their customers. This helps them find the best way of positioning lumia 950. Microsoft Company uses the criteria of product positioning to identify the most effective way of communicatin the features of lumia 950 to the target groups (Ellson, 2004). They first find out the needs of the customers, competitiveness, the channels of communication available and key messages that are carefully crafted. By effectively positioning lumia 950, Microsoft ensures that there is a resonate of messages with the consumers they are targeting. This makes it necessary for them to take action. Apart from Microsoft lumia 950, there are other brands of smartphones that compete in the Australian market. The major ones are Samsung Galaxy S7, iPhone 6s 6s Plus, Google Nexus 5X and HTC 10 (Dibb Simkin, 1991). Market Positioning: It is clear from the market positioning above that Microsoft lumia though highly priced, but still is of high quality. Marketing positioning helps Microsoft Company focus on the quality of Microsoft lumia while considering its market price. These kinds of maps help firms like Microsoft lumia come up with a positioning strategy to enable it compete in the market favourably. By studying the positioning maps, Microsoft can determine the positions of other products in the market and therefore determine where to place its product in the market. Knowing how the other firms price their items also enable you become aware of how to price yours (Bowen, 1998). Microsoft Company has done everything possible to promote lumia 950 in the Australian market. From segmentation, targeting to positioning, the company has done everything it can to make sure that the Australians know about the smartphone. Because of this, it has made a lot of sales and a remarkable step ahead of its competitors. References Bowen, J. T. (1998). Market segmentation in hospitality research: no longer a sequential process. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 10(7), 289-296. Dibb, S., Simkin, L. (1991). Targeting, segments and positioning. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 19(3). Ellson, T. (2004). Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. In Culture and Positioning as Determinants of Strategy (pp. 21-34). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Cravens, D. W., Piercy, N. (2006). Strategic marketing (Vol. 7). New York: McGraw-Hill. Harrell, G. D. (2002). Marketing: connecting with customers. Pearson College Division. Kamakura, W. A., Kim, B. D., Lee, J. (1996). Modeling preference and structural heterogeneity in consumer choice. Marketing Science, 15(2), 152-172. Moschis, G. P., Lee, E., Mathur, A. (1997). Targeting the mature market: opportunities and challenges. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(4), 282-293. Natter, M., Mild, A., Wagner, U., Taudes, A. (2008). Practice Prize Report-Planning New Tariffs at tele. ring: The Application and Impact of an Integrated Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Tool. Marketing Science, 27(4), 600-609. Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of management Review, 26(2), 243-263. Smith, G., Hirst, A. (2001). Strategic political segmentation-A new approach for a new era of political marketing. European Journal of Marketing, 35(9/10), 1058-1073. Stokes, D. (2000). Entrepreneurial marketing: a conceptualisation from qualitative research. Qualitative market research: an international journal, 3(1), 47-54. Wood, M. B. (2011). The marketing plan handbook. Pearson Higher Ed.