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(Redirected from Killer app)
A 'killer application' (commonly shortened to 'killer app'), in the jargon of computer programmers and video gamers, has come to mean any program, particularly a minor one, that is ingeniously coded or unexpectedly useful. Originally, and more broadly, "killer app" has been used to refer to any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it provides the core value of some larger technology, such as a gaming console, software, operating system, or piece of computer hardware. In this sense, a killer app substantially increases sales of the hardware that supports it.
One of the first examples of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet on the Apple II platform (e.g. [1]). The machine was purchased in the thousands by finance workers (in particular, bond traders) on the strength of this one program. The next example is another spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3. Sales of IBM's PC had been slow until 1-2-3 was made public; the IBM became the best-selling computer only a few months after Lotus 1-2-3's initial release.
A killer app can provide an important niche market for a non-mainstream platform. Aldus PageMaker and Adobe PostScript gave the graphic design and desktop publishing niche to the Apple Macintosh in the late 1980s, a niche it retains to this day despite the fact that PCs running Windows have been capable of running versions of the same applications since the early 1990s.
There have been a number of new uses of the term. For instance the usefulness of e-mail drew many people to use computer networks, while the Mosaic web browser is generally credited with the popularization of the World Wide Web and hence the Internet. The term has also been applied to computer and video games that cause consumers to buy a particular video game console or gaming hardware. Nintendo 64 saw much success with the releases of Super Mario 64 and . The Game Boy saw Tetris, and following Game Boy iterations saw the highly successful Pokémon series. Software developers of new platforms now tend to focus considerable effort into discovering or creating the next "killer app" for a given technology.
★ Apple II: VisiCalc
★ Amiga: Video Toaster
★ IBM PC: WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, Novell Netware
★ Macintosh: Adobe PageMaker
★ NeXT: Lotus Improv
★ Windows 3.1: Microsoft Office
★ OS/2: Galactic Civilizations
★ Beryl (window manager)/Compiz Fusion
★ Launch title
★ List of best-selling video games
★ Larry Downes and Chunka Mui, ''http://www.killer-apps.com Unleashing The Killer
A 'killer application' (commonly shortened to 'killer app'), in the jargon of computer programmers and video gamers, has come to mean any program, particularly a minor one, that is ingeniously coded or unexpectedly useful. Originally, and more broadly, "killer app" has been used to refer to any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it provides the core value of some larger technology, such as a gaming console, software, operating system, or piece of computer hardware. In this sense, a killer app substantially increases sales of the hardware that supports it.
| Contents |
| Spreadsheets |
| Trends |
| Selected applications for computer systems |
| See also |
| Further reading |
Spreadsheets
VisiCalc, the earliest generally agreed example of a killer application.
One of the first examples of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet on the Apple II platform (e.g. [1]). The machine was purchased in the thousands by finance workers (in particular, bond traders) on the strength of this one program. The next example is another spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3. Sales of IBM's PC had been slow until 1-2-3 was made public; the IBM became the best-selling computer only a few months after Lotus 1-2-3's initial release.
A killer app can provide an important niche market for a non-mainstream platform. Aldus PageMaker and Adobe PostScript gave the graphic design and desktop publishing niche to the Apple Macintosh in the late 1980s, a niche it retains to this day despite the fact that PCs running Windows have been capable of running versions of the same applications since the early 1990s.
Trends
There have been a number of new uses of the term. For instance the usefulness of e-mail drew many people to use computer networks, while the Mosaic web browser is generally credited with the popularization of the World Wide Web and hence the Internet. The term has also been applied to computer and video games that cause consumers to buy a particular video game console or gaming hardware. Nintendo 64 saw much success with the releases of Super Mario 64 and . The Game Boy saw Tetris, and following Game Boy iterations saw the highly successful Pokémon series. Software developers of new platforms now tend to focus considerable effort into discovering or creating the next "killer app" for a given technology.
Selected applications for computer systems
★ Apple II: VisiCalc
★ Amiga: Video Toaster
★ IBM PC: WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, Novell Netware
★ Macintosh: Adobe PageMaker
★ NeXT: Lotus Improv
★ Windows 3.1: Microsoft Office
★ OS/2: Galactic Civilizations
★ Beryl (window manager)/Compiz Fusion
See also
★ Launch title
★ List of best-selling video games
Further reading
★ Larry Downes and Chunka Mui, ''http://www.killer-apps.com Unleashing The Killer
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