Mr Johnston's commitments included reducing crime and anti-social disorder, to find solutions to local problems, place a greater focus on the needs of victims rather than offenders and ensure core policing functions continued to be carried out by police rather than the private sector.

BBC: Police commissioner: Ian Johnston elected in Gwent

Google's email offering Gmail was declared the most efficient site in the findings, a fact credited to its use of HTML for key functions rather than the more power-hungry Javascript.

BBC: Poorly designed mobile sites 'drain smartphone battery'

Netbooks, which have lower price points and focus on basic computing functions, rather than frills, appeal to children, travelers and first-time Internet users in emerging markets, where sales are expected to be particularly strong.

FORBES: Mini Laptops: The Next Big Thing

Functions are accessed by keystrokes rather than mouse-clicks and require users to invest time learning all the nooks and crannies, making it that much more difficult for them to replace it.

WSJ: J.P. Morgan Asks Bloomberg for Data on What Information Reporters Had Access to

Not only does prison, for the vast majority of those who endure it, not work, either as punishment or as rehabilitation, but there is no escaping the conclusion that it functions as a stimulant to crime, rather than its bromide.

BBC: A Point of View: Prisons don't work

In countless companies the marketer and other functions work the details of their initial budgets independently, rather than leverage the power of integration.

FORBES: How CMOs Can Re-energize The Annual Planning Process

Baroness Smith of Basildon explained that the director general would remain in charge of the agency's operational and administrative functions, but would be directly accountable to the board rather than the home secretary.

BBC: Government defeated on Crime and Courts Bill