I recently posted my thoughts on the tablet market, saying they were certainly about to steal a huge chunk of the pc and laptop market. They are very light-weight, very portable, and fun to use. And for the majority of users who just do web surfing, email, and social media, tablets are a perfect interface for these users.
I will have to guess in the consumer world laptops will not be in near the demand as people begin to discover the tablets. Of course this will not be the case in the corporate world. As fun and as portable the tablets are, you are still limited in what you can do with them, so there needs to be a happy medium of a tablet sized device that can function like a laptop. That is what you will see in 2012! While many laptops will be forgotten during the tablet invasion, there is a laptop that will survive. You will see these laptops start flooding the market this year from every manufacturer (HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Sony, Dell). They are called ultrabooks. These ultrabooks pack the power and functionality of a laptop, but are very sleek and much more portable like the tablet. I suppose I can't finish this article without mentioning that Apple has already had a similar laptop on the market, the macbook air.
If you are looking at a laptop purchase, you had better check these out! [Here are a few to look at]
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2012 in the Middle East
I have been using this blog to post topics I have been researching as I get time, and one of the things I try to keep a close eye on is the situation in Iran. 2012 is going to be a big year in the Middle East. We have been hearing about the Iranian threat for several years now and at times we thought we would even see an attack on Iran. At this time, there is no telling what will happen just yet, but it is pretty certain that something will happen in 2012.
Iran is the biggest topic in international security, and the biggest present danger. From the senate, to the nsa and cia, to the EU and United Nations, it is considered a grave threat to world peace. Former head of the CIA and the NSA says the Iranian nuclear program is on a trajectory that grows darker by the day.
The U.S. quickly enforced strict sanctions on the Iranian central bank toward the end of 2011 and penalties for any companies found doing business with them. This may have been the cause for Iran's recent decline in the value of their money, which recently lost 40% to the dollar! Unfortunately, no matter what sanctions have been thrown at them, Iran continues on a path to complete their nuclear ambitions.
Just this week the E.U. took major steps forward to an embargo on Iranian oil. They are very close to stopping any purchase of oil in Iran, which would not go unnoticed. Oil sales is figured to be about 60% of Iran's economic income, and Europe is a big chunk of that 60%. It is just not that simple though. With the European economy on the brink of disaster, cutting off it's oil supply from Iran would only deepen the already serious economic woes, especially with Italy, Spain, and Greece. If they were to stop purchasing from Iran, they would have to find alternative suppliers that would agree to work with them in debt ridden financial problems. The other problem with the embargo on oil from Iran is that there is evidence that Iran is already finding new buyers in Asia to make up for the lost business in Europe. There is a chance this plan would not do a lot of damage unless Asian countries such as China were to support the embargo.
Despite the outcome of these sanctions, there is a point where danger is immanent and something will have to be done. I believe as many others do, that we will see this happen in 2012. A French diplomat says we cannot do nothing. Every option will have to be considered in the face of serious and dangerous activity, and you choose the most effective options and make your stand. There are certainly no good options in this situation!
Another problem looming in all of this is that Iran is making threats of blocking the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation of these sanctions. A huge amount of oil passes through this strait; this could cause oil pricess to double which would likely cause much worse problems in the economy worldwide. That being said, there would be immediate action against Iran if they were to do this and they certainly would not hold it long. Iran made further threats to the U.S. if they were to move their carrier into the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. says this would be an act of war and they would respond. Iran quickly backed away. If Iran were to do this, the U.S. may use this as an opportunity to strike further into Iran, and even go after their nuclear facilities (according to one article I read).
One thing is certain, 2012 will be an interesting year. There is no way to ignore the looming dangers in the Middle East, and options outside of military action are waning away quickly as Iran nears completion of their nuclear program despite all attempts to stop them. And there certainly has been some incredible activity that we have not even heard about that has delayed Iran up to this point. Keep a close watch on the situation, it is getting very sensitive!
Iran is the biggest topic in international security, and the biggest present danger. From the senate, to the nsa and cia, to the EU and United Nations, it is considered a grave threat to world peace. Former head of the CIA and the NSA says the Iranian nuclear program is on a trajectory that grows darker by the day.
The U.S. quickly enforced strict sanctions on the Iranian central bank toward the end of 2011 and penalties for any companies found doing business with them. This may have been the cause for Iran's recent decline in the value of their money, which recently lost 40% to the dollar! Unfortunately, no matter what sanctions have been thrown at them, Iran continues on a path to complete their nuclear ambitions.
Just this week the E.U. took major steps forward to an embargo on Iranian oil. They are very close to stopping any purchase of oil in Iran, which would not go unnoticed. Oil sales is figured to be about 60% of Iran's economic income, and Europe is a big chunk of that 60%. It is just not that simple though. With the European economy on the brink of disaster, cutting off it's oil supply from Iran would only deepen the already serious economic woes, especially with Italy, Spain, and Greece. If they were to stop purchasing from Iran, they would have to find alternative suppliers that would agree to work with them in debt ridden financial problems. The other problem with the embargo on oil from Iran is that there is evidence that Iran is already finding new buyers in Asia to make up for the lost business in Europe. There is a chance this plan would not do a lot of damage unless Asian countries such as China were to support the embargo.
Despite the outcome of these sanctions, there is a point where danger is immanent and something will have to be done. I believe as many others do, that we will see this happen in 2012. A French diplomat says we cannot do nothing. Every option will have to be considered in the face of serious and dangerous activity, and you choose the most effective options and make your stand. There are certainly no good options in this situation!
Another problem looming in all of this is that Iran is making threats of blocking the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation of these sanctions. A huge amount of oil passes through this strait; this could cause oil pricess to double which would likely cause much worse problems in the economy worldwide. That being said, there would be immediate action against Iran if they were to do this and they certainly would not hold it long. Iran made further threats to the U.S. if they were to move their carrier into the Strait of Hormuz, but the U.S. says this would be an act of war and they would respond. Iran quickly backed away. If Iran were to do this, the U.S. may use this as an opportunity to strike further into Iran, and even go after their nuclear facilities (according to one article I read).
One thing is certain, 2012 will be an interesting year. There is no way to ignore the looming dangers in the Middle East, and options outside of military action are waning away quickly as Iran nears completion of their nuclear program despite all attempts to stop them. And there certainly has been some incredible activity that we have not even heard about that has delayed Iran up to this point. Keep a close watch on the situation, it is getting very sensitive!
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