MIS 4153: In Review

4153. Web Application Development for Business (3) (F,S)

Registration preference given to declared majors with a minimum 2.5 GPA. P: MIS 3063. Exploration of evolving technologies that fuel modern day web applications for business and drive interactive web sites.

Wow. This semester went by quick! I have learned tons about this class and my perceptions about web development are drastically different than before I took this class. 

This course description and the things I had heard from other students who have taken this class before the Spring 2012 semester is all I had to go by. This last MIS class was the only thing in the way from me obtaining my degree in Business: MIS at ECU. I thought that my last semester would be a breeze and I wouldn't have to worry about anything. I was challenged greatly in the Web Development class and I enjoyed it from start to finish. 


The 3 main objectives of this course were basic web coding (HTML, php), content management systems (project) and e-commerce.

Web Coding

Coding in this class was not my favorite part at all. It was very challenging and I learned the most in this area. I thought it was very cool how quick you could put together a website and make it look cool by just using HTML code and notepad! I then thought it was very slick using templates to upgrade our sites and using the Microsoft Web Expression 3 software to easily create very advanced sites and also see how sites are created with code. I was challenged in the assignments in that everything added onto itself and got progressively harder but I was persistent and got through it. I now have basic knowledge of HTML and php coding. I think this skill will be very useful in the real world and will make me more valuable in the workforce.

Content Management Systems

This project was very helpful and informative in creating a website for a real life business or organization. CMS is a great way for a small business to gain a competitive advantage over another company. For our project, our group chose to create a website for a service club that I am a part of. This was very cool to see how a website could help an organization in the growing technological world. 

E-Commerce in Business

The final, main topic I learned in this class was about how E-commerce has changed the landscape of business in the past 10-12 years, and how it actually works! I am no stranger to purchasing items online so the process was very familiar to me when studying this. I think that learning the how buying and marketing online is very interesting and this knowledge can help me understand a business moving into the future. I really enjoyed the process of what happens after the customer hits the purchase button until the item is shipped the the address. I know E-Commerce in business is very important in today's world and could in the future replace some items buying from a store. 

Overall, I thought this class was very fun and interesting and I really enjoyed building my knowledge of web applications and how to develop them in a business setting. 

E-Commerce's best "checkout, wallet" service

In the last 5 years e-commerce has drastically risen through the purchase of goods and services on the internet. It has become so easy to shop and browse for goods from the internet cafe, the office or the comfort of your own home. This brings up a question, which e-commerce service is the best? Today I will describe and analyse the 3 most popular sites: Google Checkout, Paypal and Microsoft Wallet.

Google Checkout "Wallet"

Google Checkout is now known as "Google Wallet". It was fairly easy  to set up and also connects to all other "Google stuff" (ie Gmail, iGoogle, and Blogger)with your Google account. You connect your major credit card or debit card and then you are good to go! I have not actually bought anything from Google's "Wallet" but if you can imagine, if it's like anything like Google's other products, it will probably be very simple and easy to use. Google Wallet is also integrating into smartphones as well. The smartphone app will in theory substitute from a physical wallet. this would be a great innovation but it is not plausible until more companies will gain the technology to use the app more widespread. 

Paypal

Paypal is the e-commerce I have most experience with. Paypal was bought out by eBay and is the exclusive e-commerce service for the popular auctioning site. Paypal is, in my opinion the most secure site out of the three since it adds and takes away money upon setup to confirm your account, on the downside, this may take up to a couple of days to do. Paypal also lacks in its mobility. There is the paypal smartphone app, but it is very poorly developed and not very user friendly.

Microsoft Wallet or "Live ID" or "Account"... not sure

Microsoft from my 20 minutes of research is going through an identity crisis with its naming for its checkout processes. I tried searching Microsoft Wallet and it directly linked me to Windows Live ID, which i had heard of. Live ID is a personal account to be used with Microsoft's emailing system and also the popular gaming console XBOX 360. From what I can glean, Microsoft will be unveiling all of these as one in which it will call Microsoft Account. Overall very confusing but typical Microsoft... 

Wordpress vs. Joomla vs. Droupal



http://www.techi.com/2011/07/open-source-wars-wordpress-vs-drupal-vs-joomla/

Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal are all content management systems for the web. These three sites are all very similar and cam do many similar things to create a website for your personal or business or organization's website.

Knowing that these sites are similar, according to Techi.com, there are very key differences in these websites that allows the user to choose which site best fits the customer's needs.

The differences have been broken down into 3 categories:

History
Functionality
Cost

History

Comparing the history of the three content management sites may seem irrevelant, but it is always helpful to know how the sites came about.

Wordpress:
Wordpress was released in May of 2003 by Matt Mullenweg. It has had only 3 core versions which means primarily not that many changes to the site and only minimal changes to the layout and form of the site. There have been 164 updates and frequent an update a little more than every 2 weeks (17.8 days).

Drupal:
Drupal came into existance in 2001 by Dries buytaert as a community web board for his classmates to communicate. After 7 core version updates Drupal has made many changes to its site which included 77 updates which averages about every 36 days.


Joomla:
Joomla is the newest platform which was released in 2005 which got its start from Mambo which was a closed-source propritary CMS which was created in 2000. There have been 6 core versions of Joomla with updates ranging from every 25 to 49 days.

Functionality

The functionality of the website is most important to the user. This shows how the website works, how many plugins, social media mentions, and SEO use the website has.

Wordpress:
Wordpress, in my opinion is the best in this category.
Plugins/Modules & Extensions: 14,629- Almost twice as many as Drupal and Joomla.
Number of themes: 1,392
US Monthly visits to main site: 50 million
# of Websites using the platform (of top million websites): 14.3%
Global monthly Google searches: 30.4 million
Out-of-box SEO Strength: 5/5
Ease of install: Beginner
Ease of moderation: Beginner
Overall: This is for very basic and simple websites.

Drupal:
Drupal ranks last in my opinion. :-(
Plugins/Modules & Extensions: 8,039
Number of themes: 885
US Monthly visits to main site: 55,700
# of Websites using the platform (of top million websites): 1.6%
Global monthly Google searches: 5 million
Out-of-box SEO Strength: 4/5
Ease of install: Advanced
Ease of moderation: Advanced
Overall: If you have the knowledge, this CMS can do many things!

Joomla:
Joomla is a mix of Wordpress and Drupal
Plugins/Modules & Extensions: 7,608
Number of themes: UNKNOWN
US Monthly visits to main site: 59,600
# of Websites using the platform (of top million websites): 2.7%
Global monthly Google searches: 11.1 million
Out-of-box SEO Strength: 4/5
Ease of install: Moderate
Ease of moderation: Moderate
Overall: This is not quite the most adanved to use but may pose some challanges but can do more than basic CMS.

COST
For some companies, this will determine which CMS to use.

Wordpress:
Startup/Customization Cost: $250- $15,000
Avg Monthly Maintanence Cost: $250
Google's Adwords Cost per Click: $2.18

Drupal:
Startup/Customization Cost: $5,000- $50,000
Avg Monthly Maintanence Cost: $1,500
Google's Adwords Cost per Click: $4.58

Joomla:
Startup/Customization Cost: $2,000- $20,000
Avg Monthly Maintanence Cost: $500
Google's Adwords Cost per Click: $2.53

Overall, as a user, you need to find out which features benefit your site the most. On that decesion, you can then pick the best content managemetn site for your business or organization!

A Business degree? What's in it for me?

With graduation quickly approaching, many students will be entering the workforce and heading off into "The Real World". This is an exciting time for many people but also can be nerve-racking and stressful at the same time. If you were wondering how and where you were going to land that first job you might want to see which degrees employers are looking for. How valuable is your degree, and what kinds of jobs can you acquire with that degree as well?

According to AG Beat, a degree in Business Administration is the top degree employers are seeking for 2012. They further explain that problem solving and leadership skills are very important and can be learned while completing a Business degree. The AG Beat further explains that Computer and Information Sciences and Accounting are the third and fourth top degrees employers are seeking for.

In my opinion, The ECU College of Business is dynamic in offering a business degree with a concentration in any area that interests you, like Accounting or Management Information Systems. The main thing is to find something you love and then put your mind to it and it will then pay off in the end with a valuable internship or that first job to start your career! I know I am well prepared for the business world with a degree from the ECU College of Business!

IIS vs Apache

Ever since the boom of the World Wide Web, web servers have become a major component of how the internet has exploded in today's society. Apache and IIs are the top leaders in web servers of the internet today.

Apache and IIS have any similar characteristics as well as many differences. Users choose which web server to use based on their requirements and needs.

Apache

http://www.learncomputer.com/training/apache/web-server-administration/

Apache Apache 2.0 is the newest version of the Apache Web Server. In 2.0, Apache did a major overhaul and rewrite from previous versions. Apache is considered to be the second runner in the web server race to the top. Apache is growing and gaining ground on IIS in that AA&T, HP and Verizon Communications use an Apache web server. According to Candid Webhosting, Apache is great for projects that are heavy Java based, but lack any type of support for the web server. You have to be aware that Apache is an open source web server so it is essentially "free", but this also comes with open source updates that are frequent and fix functionality problems and add useful features.

IIS 

http://rmontes2asix.wordpress.com/

IIS is Microsoft's attempt at a web server is now in its 7.0 version. IIS is a Windows product so it is backed with tons of support, easy wizards to get through tough UI and also also works seamlessly with other Windows products. This also could be a problem as well because if you wanted to run IIS on a non NT system, like UNIX, you can use IIS.

There are many pros and cons of each web server, you just have to find out which one fits you the best and go with that one. Knowledge of these products will help you make your decision!

iPad 3

All the hype is now about Apple's third generation of the industry tablet leader... The iPad.

The iPad has been in existence since its release on April 3rd, 2010. The iPad was revolutionary in being the fastest tablet at its time. The iPad 2, which was released in March of 2011. The tablet competes with the gap between laptop computers and smartphone devices. The iPad is by far the industry leader in tablet devices which was created from Apple's top innovators.This past weekend on Friday, The Apple iPad 3 was released for sales and many excited people lined up to get one of these powerful devices.

There a few great improvements on the iPad 3 that make this tablet so saute after: 1. the new Retina Display. On the iPad 3, the improved display creates a great screen to view HD graphics and see many sharp images more clearly. 2. The new 5 megapixel iSight camera allows users to take great pictures from their iPad. 3. Finally, the introduction of the next-generation 4G LTE wireless capability makes this iPad 10 times faster than 3G coverage. This tablet has been reviewed by many but my favorite review comes from MacWorld.com.

The retina display in the iPad 2 was good, but now with the iPad 3, users will see the 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution screen that will show razor sharp text and vibrant colors on the screen. This iPad has 1 million more pixels than your standard HDTV!!!

Additionally, the 5 megapixel camera allows users to shoot full 1080p HD video and take amazing pictures from its rear facing camera. The iPad 3 lets users FaceTime and Skype from its front facing camera as well. With the newly redesigned iPhoto app, iPad 3 users will be able to photo shop all photos, then upload them directly to Facebook or Twitter. The iMovie app on the iPad 3 allows users to edit and crop and snip videos into movies from their iPad.

Finally, the wait is over for 4G capability on the iPad 3. 4G LTE technology is the newest wireless technology that is 10 times faster than the previous 3G. This will make users very happy when downloading apps, music or videos or just surfing the web.

Overall the new iPad looks and will perform at the top of every tablet category. It will be hard to compete into Apple's innovative technology it comes up with year after year. This will come at no cheap price a hefty $499 will get you a 16 gigabyte hard drive, $599 for 32 GB and $699 for the 64 versions.

Amazon.com fighting States over Sales Tax (Lost in Cyberspace)

Ever since Amazon was started in 1994, they have not charged sales tax in most states. They also want to keep it that way too. 

Amazon Warehouse

The Wall Street Journal  explains in this article, that Amazon does pay sales tax in at least 10 states where the states have passed online sales tax laws (North Carolina is one of them). As you can see in the Interactive Map that many states have lost from $10-25 billion dollars in local and state taxes not being collected. That number is only growing as studies have shown from the article. Amazon continues to cause more slaes tax loss in states as Amazon keeps getting bigger and bigger. 

Further in the article it explains that its sales tax policies are critical in its performance as a company. Although Amazon credits its low prices, fast delivery and trusted site, its sales tax policies add a competitive advantage to physical stores that are forced to charge the tax. 

In my opinion, I don't think that Amazon should be legally forced to charge a sales tax unless that specific state's government has a clause included in it. It is just smart business. Amazon found a way to gain a competitive advantage over any physical store. Amazon has found a loophole and has capitalized on this and has made a lot of money off of this misfortune of all physical stores.

Amazon also does promote a national sales tax to even the playing field for all online stores but previous attempts to get this law passed have failed. They are working to help close the gap in this e-commerce industry. 

This battle will only continue in the future and time will only tell to see how this issue will be resolved. As of now, Amazon will continue to capitalize on this competitive advantage they have created.