The effective performance of a computer. It can be expressed in MIPS (millions of instructions per second), clock speed (10 Mhz, 16 Mhz) and in word or bus size, (16-bit, 32-bit). However, as with automobile horsepower, valves and cylinders, such specifications are only guidelines. Real power is whether it gets your job done quickly.
A software package is "powerful" if it has a large number of features.
A software package is "powerful" if it has a large number of features.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Sun brings open source and virtualization to K12
- I finally have a chance tonight to follow up on my interview with Joe Hartley of Sun Microsystems since the only news floating around relates in some way to that silly little election we have coming up in a few weeks. I wanted to focus tonight on...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- Does IT really need to fear multicore?
- While multicore chips hold great promise for applications and computing power they could wreak havoc on technology departments. That's the message from Gartner analyst Carl Claunch, who argued Thursday that IT types should fear--yes fear--multicore technology. Multicore chips carry multiple brains on them and companies like Intel...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- Constellation Wines (maker of Mondavi, Wild Horse and other big U.S. wine brands) goes solar
- Pacific Power Management is building out a 1.2-megawatt solar system that will cover the winery warehouse roof for theConstellation WinesU.S. Gonzales Winery in Monterey, Calif. The system, set to be completed by the end of 2008, is supposed to produce more than 1,700,000 kilowatt hours per year. ...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- R.I.P. Apple matte screen displays
- The thing that bums me out the most about yesterday's MacBook announcements is Apple's move to all-glossy displays. I'll make no bones about it – I loathe glossy displays – especially on a notebook computer. Apple will spin it that blacks look darker and colors...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- MacBook Air gets Penryn and MBP17 gets minor bump
- Although they didn't get fancy glass trackpads or unibody aluminum frames (like Apple's other new notebooks) the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 17-inch received minor speed-bumps when Apple announced its new MacBooks yesterday. The MacBook Air went from: ...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- 360 degree virtual reality training RIA
- SitePoint and TechCrunch both have some information up about something that EffectiveUI is building for Intelligence Gaming. It's a video-based virtual reality training simulation for the army. It's one of the coolest RIAs that I've seen. The application uses a combination of high quality video and hardware to immerse people...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- Apple vs. Dell: Battle of the 13-inch notebooks
- Since my last comparison, Apple and Dell have both come out with even smaller notebook computers to tempt you away from your old fashioned desk-bound workstation. How do they stack up? Today I look at the low end MacBook White and Dell Inspirion 13 to find out. ...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- ManageFusion 2008
- I'm sitting in the media workroom preparing for today's sessions at Symantec's ManageFusion 2008. The event is being held at the JW Marriott resort and conference center in the land of the Mouse, that is Orlando, FL. I'll be adding things to this post throughout the day as interesting things...
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- Photos: A look at HP's portable data center
- One of the more busy areas of the expo floor at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo this week was a walkthrough of HP's "Performance-Optimized Data Center." These portable data centers, also known as PODs, went on sale a little less than a month ago, according to HP representatives....
- Blog posts 2008-10-15
- The Future looks very Cloudy
- I've just attended the one day, highly-focused executive 'Cloud Summit' conference. The Cloud—used to describe everything from internet-based computing utilities to Software as a Service — was examined and its future impact explored within the highly appropriate venue of the Silicon Valley Computer History Museum. ...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
- Apple notebook hits and misses
- The Apple product transition mentioned by Apple's CFO has arrived. Like other industry watchers, Storage Bits looked into its crystal ball to predict what it would look like. Overall, Apple did OK, with some surprising omissions and changes. Hits: Product = notebook In the first...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
- OLPC and Intel trumped by small-scale virtualization
- I had planned for my next post to be a followup to my interview with Sun's Joe Hartley, but it's going to have to take a back seat to a story about small-scale virtualization in the 1:1 computing market. Maybe, though, this particular story suggests that Sun is headed...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
- Child predators apparently don't use Gmail
- A few years ago, a piece of popular legislation made its way past Illinois lawmakers (including Barack Obama, who voted in favor of it, as well as teacher unions, public health officials, etc.) offering comprehensive education to school children that, among other things, would have taught them to identify and...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
- Fake Microsoft Patch Tuesday malware campaign spreading
- Fake Microsoft Patch Tuesday malware campaign spreadingowning a computerthese peeps whom click on the email should not be allow to own a computer. period until they go through security training for 1 year
- Discussion threads 2008-10-14
- Video: Apple unveils new multitouch trackpad
- At a press event in Cupertino, Calif., Apple CEO Steve Jobs demos new trackpad technologies for the company's MacBook line. The new trackpad is made entirely of glass and has a 39% larger tracking area than previous trackpads. More video from the event: Apple's latest MacBook...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
- Secunia: popular security suites failing to block exploits
- In a recently conducted comparative review, Danish security company Secunia, tested the detection rate of 12 different Internet Security Suites against 300 exploits (144 malicious files and 156 malicious web pages) affecting popular end user applications, to find that even the top performer in the test is in fact performing...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
- Apple's big new LED display
- Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the new 24-inch LED Cinema Display, Apple's largest so far. It's designed to easily plug into and power the MacBook.
- Videos 2008-10-14
- New notebooks: What Apple didn't announce
- New notebooks: What Apple didn't announceWhile I don't completely disagree...[i]...Now why they couldn't keep the last-gen white MacBook and put an $800 price tag on it...[/i]They did keep the last-gen white MacBook... but only dropped the price $100, not $300.I admit to being confused about the 17" model myself, but...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-14
- More on Apple's new Mini DisplayPort
- More on Apple's new Mini DisplayPortDisplayPort is fine...but include the VGA port too so we don't have to carry around an extra cord....duh. It doesn't take up much space and EVERY windows laptop has a VGA port.30"!It's nice that it finally works with 30" even on MacBook (non-Pro).I just...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-14
- IT's challenges: The end of device charging; ROI; Super programmers
- Gartner on Tuesday outlined its grand IT challenges from 2008 to 2033 and it includes a world where you'll never have to charge your device. That was one of the futurama type predictions outlined by Gartner analyst Ken McGhee at the firm's Symposium ITxpo. These prediction presentations...
- Blog posts 2008-10-14
Neighboring Terms
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- Is it time for "Radical Change" in IT?
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Business-Grade Laptops
- What do you look for in a laptop? And who’s the best? When you choose a laptop for yourself or your organization, what’s the key factor you look for? And what’s your favorite vendor? Learn more »
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