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Essay about Commodity Chain of the iPod

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What does the iPod represent? A close relationship with Celine Dion and Barry White? Or maybe even with Apple Inc.? Take a peek inside and discover a whole world of economic geographical processes hiding behind your iTunes. ?Laid out in silicon is a road map for the world economy: globalized, outsourced, offshored, interconnected and complex (Leonard).? When we consume a commodity we often do not realize that not only are we engaging in a relationship with that particular commodity, but inadvertently, we become entrenched in a series of social, economic, and geographical relationships around the globe. These relationships can be traced backwards from the point of consumption to a marketing agency, a supplier, a producer, an exporter, …show more content…

are essential to the existence, and in turn, the fetishization (Marx) of the iPod as we know it. The first major performer in this iPod economy is a company called PortalPlayer. PortalPlayer is a key participant in the iPod economy because Apple relies on them for the platform and reference design of the iPod (Kessler).? This crucial relationship between Apple Inc. and PortalPlayer represents the beginning of a long series of relationships involved in the production of the iPod as a consumable commodity. Located in Santa Clara, California, PortalPlayer?s headquarters are strategically situated in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Renowned for more than just sunny weather and quaint counties; the region represents a geographically intensified cluster of high-tech firms who experience a competitive advantage through both cooperating and competing with one another (Porter).? Conveniently, Apple Computer Inc. also has their headquarters in this high-tech ?Mecca? dubbed ?the Silicon Valley,? in Cupertino, California. This high-tech region?s roots stem about 50 years back when Stanford University of Paulo Alto, California, leased some of it?s land to high-tech companies in order solve financial problems. Today, the Silicon Valley is one of the fastest growing regions in California and according to and information site on the region, ?is explosively expanding? it?s geographical borders (NetValley.com). The

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