Late 1950s - Early 1960s: Second Generation Computers An important change in the development of computers occurred in 1948 with the invention of the transistor. It replaced the large, unwieldy vacuum tube and as a result led to a shrinking in size of electronic machinery. The transistor was first applied to a computer in 1956. Combined with the advances in magnetic-core memory, the use of transistors resulted in computers that were smaller, faster, more reliable and more energy-efficient than their predecessors. Stretch by IBM and LARC by Sperry-Rand (1959) were the first large-scale machines to take advantage of the transistor technology (and also used assembly language instead of the difficult machine language). Both developed for atomic energy laboratories could handle enormous amounts of data, but still were costly and too powerful for the business sector's needs. Therefore only two LARC's were ever installed. Throughout the early 1960s there were a number of commercially successful computers (for example the IBM 1401) used in business, universities, and government and by 1965 most large firms routinely processed financial information by using computers. Decisive for the success of computers in business was the stored program concept and the development of sophisticated high-level programming languages like FORTRAN (Formular Translator), 1956, and COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language), 1960, that gave them the flexibility to be cost effective and productive. The invention of second generation computers also marked the beginning of an entire branch, the software industry, and the birth of a wide range of new types of careers.

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Product Placement With television still being very popular, commercial entertainment has transferred the concept of soap operas onto the Web. The first of this new species of "Cybersoaps" was "The Spot", a story about the ups and downs of an American commune. The Spot not only within short time attracted a large audience, but also pioneered in the field of online product placement. Besides Sony banners, the companies logo is also placed on nearly every electronic product appearing in the story. Appearing as a site for light entertainment, The Spots main goal is to make the name Sony and its product range well known within the target audience.

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Public Relations and the Advertising Industry The public relations industry, the same as advertising, is concentrated in the hands of few dominant firms. Still, the striking element about corporate public relations is that PR firms are tightly related to advertising companies. Nine out of the ten biggest international PR agencies have close ties with the advertising industry. Also, looking at the largest acquisitions involving U.S. PR firms from 1997 to 1999 it is apparent that money coming from advertising agencies has played an important role. Table: Top 10 PR Firms 1998 Rank 1998 PR Firm Advertising Agency Related 1998 Net Fees (in U.S. $) 1997 - 1998 % Change 1 Burson-Marsteller yes 258,417,000 4.2 2 Hill and Knowlton yes 206,000,000 8.9 3 Porter Novelli Int. yes 183,050,000 23.6 4 Shandwick yes 170,300,000 7.3 5 Fleishman-Hillard yes 160,692,000 19.1. 6 Edelman PR Worldwide no 157,840,530 18.1 7 Ketchum yes 125,248,000 29.6 8 BSMG Worldwide yes 118,963,000 93.0 9 Weber PR Worldwide yes 83,166,000 36.2 10 GCI/APCO yes 79,667,957 28.4 With many PR agencies sold to advertising companies, the advertising industry's influence further increases; enabling them to offer their clients not only advertising services, but also know-how in marketing, public opinion, crisis and issues management and political lobbying. Table: Acquisition of PR Agencies (1997 - 1999) Acquired Company Buyer Buyers Industry Estimated Purchase Price (in millions of U.S. $) International PR Interpublic Group of Cos. Advertising 230 Fleishman-Hillard Omicom Group Advertising 85 Ketchum Omnicom Group Advertising 60 Dewe Rogerson Incepta Advertising 40 Financial Rel. Bd. BSMG/TN Public Relations 33 Weber PR Interpublic Group of Cos. Advertising 15 Alexander WPP Group Advertising 15 Charles Barker BSMG/TN Public Relations 15 Source: Odwyerpr.com.

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Operating system An operating system is software that controls the many different operations of a computer and directs and coordinates its processing of programs. It is a remarkably complex set of instructions that schedules the series of jobs (user applications) to be performed by the computer and allocates them to the computer's various hardware systems, such as the central processing unit, main memory, and peripheral systems. The operating system directs the central processor in the loading, storage, and execution of programs and in such particular tasks as accessing files, operating software applications, controlling monitors and memory storage devices, and interpreting keyboard commands. When a computer is executing several jobs simultaneously, the operating system acts to allocate the computer's time and resources in the most efficient manner, prioritizing some jobs over others in a process called time-sharing. An operating system also governs a computer's interactions with other computers in a network.

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Microsoft Corporation Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and headquartered in Redmond, USA, Microsoft Corporation is today's world-leading developer of personal-computer software systems and applications. As MS-DOS, the first operating system released by Microsoft, before, Windows, its successor, has become the de-facto standard operating system for personal computer. According to critics and following a recent court ruling this is due to unfair competition. http://www.microsoft.com For more detailed information see the Encyclopaedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,1524+1+1522,00.html http://www.microsoft.com/ http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0...

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