For example, instead of outsourcing more call centres to India or other developing countries, companies might employ people in America or Europe who have good practical knowledge of products or services and can deal with inquiries from home.

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The China Banking Regulatory Commission, to its credit, issued regulations at the end of last month to force banks to rein in the shadowy products, but as a practical matter the rules only begin to address systemic problems.

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"There are no impediments -- economic, practical or legal -- to AB accurately labeling its products to reflect their true alcohol content, " the 18-page lawsuit said.

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Since it is not practical to have a physically-backed crude oil fund, existing products rely on futures contracts to implement their strategies.

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The practical part of the exercise involves proposing how Intel can target future products for these applications, which, upon conception, live only in the realm of science fiction, but which can be brought about in real life by focus and effort over, say, a decade.

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The international art film is a genre with as many conventions as the most commercial products, and the Argentinean writer and director Lucrecia Martel fulfills them with practical craft but little originality.

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And although some products' quality can be verified through trial and error, this is not always practical.

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"At the end of the day, while everyone laughs at the silly products, I have to imagine that the thing that keeps them going are the practical items, " Barish said.

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