Microsoft, for example, has been developing software that takes advantage of the different times an acoustic wave arrives at each microphone in an array around the screen of a computer.

ECONOMIST: Noise-cancelling technology

The tiny super-computer also boasts an impressive array of mega-hot software like Word, Excel, a picture browser, an e-book reader, paint brush -- the list literally goes on and on.

ENGADGET: Seabright PC430 "micro PC" spurns keyboard, not coolness

In the 21 years since Hurricane Andrew slammed Florida, insurers, reinsurers and credit rating agencies have come to rely on computer models that generate an array of hypothetical storms and try to predict the extent of possible property damage.

NPR: Coastal Homeowners Stagger Under Insurance Costs

Fotobar faces competition from chain drugstores and other retail sites that allow customers to print their digital pictures, not to mention an array of websites that will deliver prints without someone ever having to leave their computer.

NPR: 1st Polaroid-Branded Photo Store Opens In Fla.