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killer app

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killer app

A software application that is exceptionally useful or exciting. Killer apps are innovative and often represent the first of a new breed, and they are extremely successful. For example, in the late 1970s, the VisiCalc spreadsheet was the killer app for the Apple II, providing reason enough to purchase the hardware. VisiCalc was followed by Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel for the IBM PC. In the early 1990s, the Mosaic Web browser was the killer app for the Internet. It was quickly followed by Netscape and others. Contrast with filler app and app killer.

The Killer Is Becoming Real
As more and more military drones are developed, the software that runs them may be used to bomb and destroy targets, which often includes human beings. Thus, the app in these robotic flying machines has truly become a "killer" application.
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"WeChat, as a 'killer app' of Tencent on mobile Internet, has experienced a rapid increase in its user base since it commercialised in 2013," consultancy Analysys International said in a research report in February, referring to when it started charging for some services.
The overall gains will be modest versus historical trends, however, in part due to the lack of a killer app, says Henderson Ventures.
Another important aspect is the concept of a "killer app:' In the early days of the consumer internet, communicating with people was a challenge.
Schrodinger's killer app; race to build the world's first quantum computer.
While Ferguson introduces the third "killer app," property rights, in his Introduction as "the rule of law as a means of protecting private owners and peacefully resolving disputes between them, which formed the basis for the most stable form of representative government," (32) his chapter on the subject does not address these property rights in the West versus the Rest.
Blackberry finally realised that BBM wasn't the killer app that it used to be 18 months ago so instead of restricting themselves, moving the app across platforms at least ensures BlackBerry as a company and a brand that stays relevant in the minds of consumers, according to a senior industry expert.
Chief executive Olaf Swantee said: "We don't know what the next killer app is but our network is ready for it."
In many ways, Eventbrite has become the killer app here." David Berkowitz, vp, emerging media, 360i
The killer app to date--literally and figuratively--is Angry Birds.
Leaving Apple's Siri by the side of the road for the moment, the lure of advanced voice recognition and enabling technologies behind the wheel has become the bright shiny killer app. But standing in the way is a "bottleneck" of data that needs processing.
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