Refers to the casual user in contrast to the professional user. Consumer products vary in quality, ranging from flimsy, inexpensive devices to very well made; however, the term implies non-professional usage. See prosumer and consumer electronics.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Will the GPU become the new CPU?
- No mention of OpenCL?Oh well...Not right now, but will come soon.Not right now, but maybe will come soon.The current generation of GPUs are fantastically powerful, BUT:-Current GPUs use a technology called "stream processing," which essentially pre-loads the instructions into the processors and starts streaming data.This is unlike CPUs, where both...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-27
- For The First Time in Ages, I Agree With Apple
- Spiders and dust on a slippery slopeWorst inside of a computer I've ever seen was a spider infestation. Must have been a million of them. But what I wonder is where does voiding the warranty stop?A generic abuse statement may not be sufficient in the world of EULA's....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-24
- For The First Time in Ages, I Agree With Apple
- Is this how you work? Then don't get angry at your OEM when they invalidate your warranty when you send your PC in for service. Yesterday our own Apple Core blogger Jason O'Grady reported that Apple has now adopted a policy of voiding...
- Blog posts 2009-11-24
- Microsoft still working on an Adobe Lightroom competitor, but with a social twist
- Maybe MS needs myLife instead of focusing on cloud everything.I've been a Windows user since Windows 1.0 on MS-DOS. I used Multiplan and Word with a mouse before Windows even existed. Over the years I've purchased so many copies of MS Office, OS upgrades, mice, keyboards, joysticks, development environments (MASM,...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- ChromeOS says tear down this network regulation wall
- Costs"What is holding back network capacity is politics."What's holding back network capacity is huge costs.Yep, very important to push the ISPs to free up the bits. They would love to continue selling bandwidth through an eyedropper at very high prices. They need a push.Oh, and Microsoft will not like this...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-19
- Salesforce Chatter: Social operating systems emerge on the IT stage
- The next big shift: Intranets, portals, and software suites that are the integrating force of the social fabric for our organizations. This morning's announcement here at Dreamforce today from Salesforce of Chatter, an enterprise-class realization of Facebook and Twitter, is further evidence of the industry's push for social Web capabilities...
- Blog posts 2009-11-18
- So where's Microsoft's Live Mesh?
- Project name changedIt's Microsoft Live Mess now under Ballmer's leadership.RE: So where's Microsoft's Live Mesh?i hope they don't get rid of or just leave it alone because i really like it. Actually, it works very well.It might be stuck in some pre-release limbo but whats already available to use does...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Salesforce Chatter: Facebook for the Enterprise
- Salesforce is announcing today a Salesforce Chatter, an enteprise collaboration application akin to Facebook. The move puts SalesForce in competition with offerings from other providers, including IBM Lotus. Here's what's being delivered. Features: Profiles: Just like profiles on popular consumer-oriented social networking sites, Salesforce Chatter profiles include...
- Blog posts 2009-11-18
- Selling customer information leads to prosecution
- What's the big deal?Isn't this how everyone does it? My boss would routinely buy millions of data records from companies to conduct email campaigns.Ah, but in Great BritainThey have made it TOTALLY illegal to sell data records. You cannot do stuff like this period over there, and I applaud...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-18
- Microsoft may have blown opportunities, but all hope is not lost
- Time to let it goThe erosion has started, it cannot be stopped and the longer you try to hold on to something that fleecing away the more you lose.Game over.Android wins.:)Blown OpportunitiesThis reminds me of MS failing to see the internet coming and allowing Netscape to dominate the market. They...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Apple's app approval revolt: Will it matter? Maybe
- Once somebody matches the ease of the App store,Create a desktop application which makes it brain-dead simple to buy, install, arrange, and sync software and multimedia content with the Droid and it will take off like crazy. That's about the only thing the iPhone has over the Droid at this...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Apple's Black Friday discounts leaked
- A deal even NZ could like!But then I think he already has bought a MacBook Pro.Maybe time for the i7 iMac. :)"Leaks," are a marketing game. With the limited dollar the consumer has this season they're going to have to prioritize their purchases. Some things are simply going to...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- AMD turbo boosts Flash Player 10.1 with ATI Stream technology
- AMD seems to be the more viable choice nowThey certainly have improved their offerings over Intel and NVIDIA, which both seem to be up in the air at the moment. Intel isn't focused on offering good mainstream performance for the dollar - they're only working on Atom and the...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-17
- Netbooks dead? Not when sales are up 264% percent
- My prediction:Intel and MS and the major brands are trying to drag the market upwards in size and cost to maintain their margins. They will shortly face a barrage of products based on ARM class processors and Linux (Chrome?), which will cost much less and have much better battery lives....
- Discussion threads 2009-11-16
- Samsung launches Google Android-powered Galaxy Spica i5700
- It's funny how many people snickeredwhen it was stated that there would be 19 Android devices on the market by year's end. I wonder how many we are at right now.Is this.....Apple iPhone vs MS Android all over again? It will be interesting to watch.MS Android ? WTF? ntntthat would...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-16
- The stupid network will get a hearing
- Leave my bits aloneIf I pay for unlimited service up to a certain speed that's what I expect to get. The fee I pay is supposed to cover the level of service I order. If a company is investing in a service I didn't buy, they neeed to get their...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-13
- EPA's Energy Star program continues to have teeth
- It wouldn't surprise me if the real motivation was...In a poor sales market, I'm wondering if many homeowners are looking for an edge and attempt to get certified just to have their home stand out when trying to sell it.people make a bigger difference than organizationsThis is good evidence for...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-12
- Cloud, consumers give Skype enterprise boost
- Skype's Dan Neary says in the past online consumer apps would never be considered business grade But with the cloud, those apps have become secure enough that you trust. SINGAPORE--The cloud computing revolution and momentum consumers have driven toward technology adoption are helping consumer- or Web-based businesses such as...
- News items 2009-11-12
- It's public versus private in dispute over electronics recycling laws
- Kinda like the business yokels that want an educated workforce ....but don't want to pay their share of school taxes (supposedly because business can't get pregnant).Another fall flat on it's face waste of money and courts unless of course if you are a lawyer.putting the cart before the horse, should...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-06
- Copyright associations want enforcement for free
- The defender of status quo?What a tired old rant. Use technology and the law to enforce ill advised and ill gotten copyright protection.The internet has revolutionized mankind's ability to communicate and share knowledge and culture, and you want to put it under lock and key to deny mankind that benefit?How...
- Discussion threads 2009-11-05
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