Application software, also known as an application or an app, is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with documents. Apps may be bundled with the computer and its system software, or may be published separately. In recent years, the abbreviation "app" has specifically come to mean application software written for mobile devices, with the abbreviation in particular representing both the smaller size and smaller scope of the software (i.e. an app whose sole purpose is to display an image representation of the current weather).

Application software is contrasted with system software and middleware, which manage and integrate a computer's capabilities, but typically do not directly apply in the performance of tasks that benefit the user. The system software serves the application, which in turn serves...

This Apple Watch app counts down to your death

If a Mickey Mouse clock app seems like a frivolous way to dress up the face of your new Apple Watch, perhaps you'd be in the market for a mortality clock -- the estimated amount of life you have left, updated at every glance of the wrist.