Month: September 2012

Will Apple take retail salaries to new heights?

2 Replies Katheryn Rivas

Early on Monday, June 18th, Business Insider reported that all Apple Store employees would be getting $4 per hour raises. Later on the 18th, Business Insider edited their article on this subject and asserted that they weren’t sure anymore if all Apple Store employees would actually be getting raises of this kind.

Business Insider’s initial claim about the wide-scale increases in pay was based on information provided to them by one source at Apple, who claimed that the technology giant was giving its retail employees significant raises after many of them had expressed disappointment with their wages on Apple employee satisfaction surveys. Since Business Insider initially published the news story on this subject, other sources at Apple have publicly announced that they haven’t heard anything about the $4 per hour pay increases.

If all Apple Store employees do actually get a $4 per hour increase in pay, Apple will certainly make history in the retail arena, where 2% raises every year are the norm. In some areas of the U.S., Apple Store employees only make around $9 per hour. So, a $4 per hour raise would mean that their pay was increasing by almost 50%. If this happened, the Apple Store would certainly not only become a more attractive place for college students to work if they were trying to maximize their pocket change and minimize their student debt. It would also become an attractive place to work for just about everyone who’s unemployed right now. You couldn’t necessarily live in the lap of luxury on an Apple retail salary (even with the $4 per hour raise), but it would certainly beat many other minimum wage alternatives by a long shot in terms of pay.

Lots of Apple Experts

Specialists who work in Apple stores – known as Apple Experts

News sources had previously reported that Apple employees would be getting 5% increases in pay at some point this summer. A 5% increase in pay is nothing to laugh at, but it pales in comparison to a 50% raise. No one’s sure yet of whether any of the recent rumors about raises at Apple are true, but we can assume that Apple retail employees are hoping for the $4 per hour raises, especially after Business Insider and quite a few other news sources got their hopes up.

Although a $4 per hour raise for all Apple Store employees does seem unlikely, it’s not completely unrealistic. Apple makes a lot of money off of their retail employees, and working at the Apple Store does require some technical knowledge that working at other retail stores generally doesn’t require. Plus, Apple’s call center employees have noticeably higher salaries than most other call center employees, and Apple offers them outstanding health benefits and tuition assistance if they want to go to college. Apple treats its corporate employees well, for the most part. So, it might be time for Apple to show its retail employees some love too.

At this point, there’s no reason for Apple employees to expect $4 per hour raises, but here’s to hoping that it will happen!

Google and Microsoft take on the cloud

1 Reply Sharon Shapiro

Over the past few years cloud computing has become an increasingly popular trend. Two of the biggest tech names are also big names in the cloud computing industry: Google and Microsoft. But while both Google and Microsoft may have well-known cloud platforms, they are each extremely different and have met varied levels of success.

Google first launched its cloud computing platform, Google Apps, in 2006. Currently, Google Apps is available in four different platforms – Business, Education, Government, and Non-Profit – as well as a free version for personal use that can be obtained by creating a Google account. Google Apps is a completely cloud-based solution that does not require any additional hardware or software. The suite lives entirely within the web browser making it accessible from anywhere on any web-enabled device.

Microsoft introduced Office 365, its cloud solution, in summer 2011. When it first hit the market, Office 365 was available only for businesses. However, in spring 2012, Microsoft added a new platform for educational institutions. Office 365 is a hybrid cloud solution that requires some additional servers and software. This means that Microsoft users will have some patching and licensing and it also limits the mobility that Microsoft users can enjoy, especially in comparison to Google users.

Office 365 LogoAside from the difference in user experience and number of platforms, there is also a major price difference between the Google and Microsoft cloud services. Google Apps is a less expensive cloud service than Office 365. The highest-priced platform of Google Apps is the business suite, which runs standard for $50 per user per year. This price includes the entire apps suite and is standard for businesses of all sizes. The least expensive platform of Office 365 costs $48/user/year, but it is only available for businesses with fewer than 50 employees and does not include the entire apps suite. This means that businesses running on this platform must purchase add-ons, which will significantly increase the cost of the service. All other Office 365 platforms are priced higher, except for Office 365 for Education which, like Google Apps for Education, is free.

While the differences between Google and Microsoft might seem quite large now, they were even more distinct a few months ago. Recently, in an effort to better compete with Google, Microsoft added the new Office 365 for Education platform and cut its prices by as much as 20%. While these changes did narrow the gap somewhat, they still leave Office 365 trailing behind Google Apps in terms of platform diversity and pricing.

In May, Gartner Inc., a research firm, reported that businesses looking to move to the cloud for the first time were choosing a Google Apps migration one-third to one-half of the time. Perhaps this high percentage is a result of the differences between Google Apps and Office 365. This report came after a 2009 study by the same firm that predicted that Microsoft would be outselling Google by 4-to-1 in 2012.

In addition to making changes to bring in new users, Microsoft’s efforts are also targeted at keeping existing customers with Microsoft. To better achieve this goal Microsoft also created a “Google Compete” team, dedicated entirely to retaining current Microsoft users. The Wall Street Journal reported on this team’s failed attempt to keep Dominion Enterprises, a Virginia company, a Microsoft customer. Dominion Enterprises CIO Joe Fuller chose to have Google Apps setup even after the “Google Compete” team tried to convince him otherwise. The team invited Fuller to the Microsoft headquarters where he received a tour and saw the research lab, roadmaps to current technologies, and inside looks into new technologies. Nevertheless, Fuller still made the decision to switch to Google Apps. According to the Wall Street Journal, Fuller said he made the decision because he felt Google Apps was the “cooler” product and because he would pay $200,000/year for Google instead of $2 million for Microsoft, resulting in a savings of about 50%.

Although both Google Apps and Office 365 are well-known cloud services, there are very big distinctions that separate the two. Everything from user experience, platform variety, and price are different. Because of these differences, Microsoft has found itself trying to play catch-up in order to truly compete with Google Apps in the cloud.

How to get great gadgets on a budget

2 Replies MattRawlings

It’s a very easy – and all too common – mistake to see your student loan arrive in your bank account and rush out and spend it all on the latest must-have gadgets. Smartphones, laptops, tablets, printers, they’re all “essential” to student life, (well, in a social capacity in most senses, but to some they’re essential).

Obviously going off to University is an exciting time and you want to go fully prepared for the academic year, and to make an impression on your new friends and flat mates. But you can do all of this without breaking the bank.

For instance there are some great laptop deals for students specifically which enable them to get the computer they want as well as all of the software they’ll need to help with the course, and even discounts on devices like printers and wireless routers.

When you think about it, you can get what you consider to be brilliant deals on your computer, printer and tablet – to name just three you might buy together – getting discounts on all three, but it can still add up to upwards of £1,000. But one of the advantages of being a student is being eligible for a package tailor made for getting you through the late night group projects and the 10,000-word essays that you finish at 4am.

National Union of Students card

An NUS student card

You might not think that some of the devices in the offers are what you would call “top drawer” or even as cool as what your friend has bought, but if you’ve spent £500 and they’ve spent £1,500, you’ve got an extra thousand left in your bank account to enjoy yourself with while taking the necessary “study breaks”, or to keep in hand for emergencies and all-important food shops. There are only so many times you can buy own-brand beans after all!

Budgeting is a key part of Uni life, something you don’t tend to realise until the end of the year (or the end of your third year in a lot of cases) but anything you can save before you start your first term is going to benefit you later on, allowing you to upgrade your gadgets in the future when you’ve got a little bit extra that you can spend without getting into financial difficulties.

The deals on laptops and other tech for students really are worth looking into. A lot of the top brands produce models and packages designed purely for students at prices made for students. If I had one tip, check them out, don’t just splash the cash on the biggest and best because you want to be cool.