By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Legislation has been introduced in Hawaii to reduce annual registration fees and state vehicle weight tax for antique motor vehicles. Under the SEMA-supported bill, the registration fee would be reduced from $45 to $25 each year, and the weight tax would be reduced from 1.75 cents per pound to 1 cent per pound.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
SEMA-supported legislation has been introduced in West Virginia to exempt motor vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, trucks and tractors that are older than 25 years from personal property taxes. Under the bill, these automobiles and motorcycles would need to display valid current antique licenses and could not be used for daily transportation.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
SEMA-supported legislation has been introduced in West Virginia to exempt motor vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, trucks and tractors that are older than 25 years from personal property taxes. Under the bill, these automobiles and motorcycles would need to display valid current antique licenses and could not be used for daily transportation.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
SEMA-supported legislation has been introduced in West Virginia to exempt motor vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, trucks and tractors that are older than 25 years from personal property taxes. Under the bill, these automobiles and motorcycles would need to display valid current antique licenses and could not be used for daily transportation.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Legislation containing a SEMA-drafted amendment to totally exempt from the license tax all vehicles and parts cars stored on private property for the purpose of restoration or repair was approved by the Virginia State Legislature and will now be sent to the governor for his signature and enactment into law. The license tax is applied to vehicles that do not display current license plates. Under the bill, vehicles stored within a structure would also remain exempt from the tax.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Legislation containing a SEMA-drafted amendment to totally exempt from the license tax all vehicles and parts cars stored on private property for the purpose of restoration or repair was approved by the Virginia State Legislature and will now be sent to the governor for his signature and enactment into law. The license tax is applied to vehicles that do not display current license plates. Under the bill, vehicles stored within a structure would also remain exempt from the tax.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Legislation containing a SEMA-drafted amendment to totally exempt from the license tax all vehicles and parts cars stored on private property for the purpose of restoration or repair was approved by the Virginia State Legislature and will now be sent to the governor for his signature and enactment into law. The license tax is applied to vehicles that do not display current license plates. Under the bill, vehicles stored within a structure would also remain exempt from the tax.
For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.
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The deadline for members to submit their SEMA Hall of Fame nominations is Friday, March 22, 2013. The SEMA Hall of Fame Award honors outstanding persons in the automotive specialty-equipment industry whose creativity, dignity, integrity, industriousness and accomplishments on a national basis have enhanced the stature of and significantly contributed to the industry’s growth.
A rule of thumb to qualify could be the following question: “If this person had never existed, how would SEMA and the industry be different?”
Please take a moment to review the Hall of Fame website and SEMA Hall of Fame criteria and listings of past inductees. In order to assist the Hall of Fame Committee in making their selection, please provide a brief statement, including accomplishments and comments as to why, based on the award criteria, the individual is deserving of this honor. Your completed nomination form is confidential and vital to helping the Hall of Fame Committee make their selection for the 2013 SEMA Hall of Fame.
Please submit your 2013 SEMA Hall of Fame form by Friday, March 22, 2013.
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The deadline for members to submit their SEMA Hall of Fame nominations is Friday, March 22, 2013. The SEMA Hall of Fame Award honors outstanding persons in the automotive specialty-equipment industry whose creativity, dignity, integrity, industriousness and accomplishments on a national basis have enhanced the stature of and significantly contributed to the industry’s growth.
A rule of thumb to qualify could be the following question: “If this person had never existed, how would SEMA and the industry be different?”
Please take a moment to review the Hall of Fame website and SEMA Hall of Fame criteria and listings of past inductees. In order to assist the Hall of Fame Committee in making their selection, please provide a brief statement, including accomplishments and comments as to why, based on the award criteria, the individual is deserving of this honor. Your completed nomination form is confidential and vital to helping the Hall of Fame Committee make their selection for the 2013 SEMA Hall of Fame.
Please submit your 2013 SEMA Hall of Fame form by Friday, March 22, 2013.
Microsoft’s Big Bet
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“The challenges of a new user interface, a complex set of processor choices and a long ramp to a compelling set of app offerings in the Microsoft Store will translate to a slower-than-usual Windows upgrade cycle,” said Frank E. Gillett, an analyst with research and advisory firm Forrester.
Gillett is the lead author of a new Forrester report entitled “Windows: The Next Five Years”. The study predicts a grim forecast for Windows 8 next year, concluding that Microsoft could re-stabilize long-term market acceptance of its Windows product line with the right moves.
Microsoft is betting big on the new OS, which is driven by touch-screen controls for the first time. The change makes Windows much easier to use on smartphones and tablets. But the new interface comes across as clunky and inefficient on traditional desktops, according to many early adopters.
“This common design language is being used across all of Microsoft’s products and services, including Xbox and Bing,” Gillett said. “Users will switch to ‘desktop mode’ to run existing Windows desktop apps and to access some systems settings and features. This dual OS personality will likely confuse many users, at least at first.”
Gillett said that even though Forrester is encouraging enterprises to look at Windows 8 in all use cases, the new Windows 8 UX Start screen is prompting concerns about the need for extensive employee training.
“Having finally migrated to Windows 7 in significant numbers and released their death grip on Windows XP, many enterprise IT shops are content to stand pat,” he explained.
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“We have re-imagined Windows, and the result is a stunning lineup of new PCs,” he said. “Windows 8 brings together the best of the PC and the tablet. It’s perfect for work and play, and it is alive with your world. Every one of our customers will find a PC that they will absolutely love.”
Not surprisingly, Microsoft is putting significant marketing muscle behind the new rollout—including the release of its own, Microsoft-manufactured tablet for Windows 8, the Surface.
“We decided to do Surface because it’s the ultimate expression of a Windows PC for us,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of MS Windows Division. “It’s an extension of Windows. It’s a stage for Windows.”
Microsoft partners are also releasing their own studies, which indicate that user interest is more enthusiastic than others have found. For example, PC Helps—a Microsoft gold-certified partner—said that 25% of employers with 500 or more employees anticipated migrating to Windows 8, according to its Windows Pulse Survey. And 17% of those employers said that they expected to start migrating to Windows 8 as soon as the OS was available.
Besides facing initial resistance from desktop users, Windows 8 is also in desperate need of cool. Currently, it’s all too fashionable for consumers to bash anything new from Microsoft, while they genuflect at the altar of all things Apple.
For example, an Associated Press/GfK poll conducted just prior to the release of Windows 8 found that 52% of 1,200 people surveyed were not even aware that Microsoft was releasing a new operating system. Moreover, 61% of those who were aware of Windows 8 expressed little or no interest in the software. And only 35% of those in the know thought that Windows 8 would be an improvement over previous versions.
That’s a far cry from new releases of Apple iPhones and iPads, which are regularly accompanied by news stories of hordes of diehard Apple fans camping out for days to snatch the latest version of their digital nirvana. And there are other market factors outside Microsoft’s control conspiring to make Windows 8 a tough sell.
“PCs are going through a severe slump,” said Jay Chou, senior analyst at IDC, a market research firm. “The industry had already weathered a rough second quarter, and the third quarter was even worse. While ultrabook prices have come down a little, there are still some significant challenges that will greet Windows 8 in the coming quarter.”
In addition, stubborn economic times are a continued drag on the market.
“Businesses slowed their refresh cycle as they remained concerned about the broad economic outlook amid a busy political season,” said David Daoud, a research director at IDC.
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Essentially, personal computing has evolved from a desktop-only affair into a decidedly on-the-go market, they said. Microsoft now faces two formidable competitors—Apple and Google—which also have smarts and very deep pockets.
“Until smartphones arrived, Microsoft ruled the PC industry roost,” Forrester’s Gillett said. “Now smartphone and tablet sales—where Microsoft has little share—vastly outnumber [desktop] sales.”
Indeed, in the new reality of personal computing via smartphones and tablets in addition to desktops, Microsoft’s share of the personal computing market has shrunk from 95% penetration on all devices to just 30%, Gillett said.
“From 2008–2012, global smartphone sales exploded from about 140 million to more than 660 million, and tablets emerged to similarly explosive growth,” Gillett said. “And we’re only part way through the shift. The PC’s share of total personal devices will continue to decline in coming years—even as PC unit sales gradually grow.”
Through it all, Microsoft’s attempts to become a player in the smartphone market have been rebuffed.
“So far, Windows Phone has captured only a small share of the largest personal device market, some of it with the now obsolete Windows Mobile OS,” Gillett said. Ergo, Microsoft’s big bet on a touch-centric Windows.
“Early adopters will jump at Windows tablets,” Gillett said. “Beyond that, individuals will be slow to adopt. Windows will ramp in 2014 and gain almost a 30% share of tablets by 2016 but will miss out on phones.”
Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
For more information: 646-233-4089; joe@joedysart.com;
visit www.joedysart.com
