Broadband Majority in US

TheSync writes "NetworkWorldFusion has a report that the majority of US Internet users now connect using broadband, according to NetRatings. There are 63 million broadband users (51%) and 61 million (49%) dial-up users in the US. Broadband was most prevalent among people ages 18 to 20."

NetRatings Confirms It...

[Rude Turnip]

Dial-up is dead!

it was ME!

[ack154]

It was ME! I was the 51st %!

Ok, so I really wasn't. But after a horrible 9 month period with only dialup, and as of this past Tuesday, I finally have broadband once again. I had to take a half day off of work to get it installed, but it was worth it!

*hugs cable modem*
"oh, how I've missed you..."

This just in....

[wo1verin3]

.... virus / spyware / trojan / hacking activity has grown 51%.

Fantastic! Goodbye HTML!

[Anonymous Coward]

I can skip all that messy HTML/CSS stuff now and just make my web pages giant graphics. Text is so over-rated.

... In other news: Congratulations!

[Lord Haha]

(to the United States) for catching up with the rest of the world.

Now problem is how many of those dial-up users are still AoLers who are creating the majority of the problems on the intenet (ie: opening up silly attachments, spamming, not trolling slashdot...)

In other news...

[indros13]

Porn content is being downloaded at ever greater speeds, say analysts from the Porn4All Institute. "While always popular, it's clear that the amount of action increases as the pipes get bigger."

Re:Broadband prevalant bewteen 18-20 year olds?

[Kjuib]

That only applies to 48% of the 51% which is interesting due to 76% of the 49% which are on dial-up. This concludes that 99% of percentages are made up along with 99% of females on net being naykeed.

Re:Spyware?

[stretch0611]

The FA doesn't mention it, but I wonder if they were compensated in some manner.

Maybe the family is told, "If you let us watch your family's surfing habits we'll tell you if little johnny goes to a p0rn site." Of course what they don't know is that little johnny knows how to get around the firewall and get to the p0rn unnotticed.

Problem in the survey method

[kaosrain]

NetRatings, based in New York and Milpitas, Calif., used a panel of 50,000 participants selected through calls to randomly generated phone numbers.

I recently got broadband a few months ago. Before that I was on dialup and only had one phoneline. Had they tried to call me for this survey, they would have gotten a busy signal.

I wonder how many dialup users were not interviewed because of this.

Re:In other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. All porn downloads should be industrial-sized. Let's step it up, people!

Re:it was ME!

[ack154]

This was for Road Runner. I wanted them to test the line anyways (which he said was "bad" but I can still download well over 300kb/s). But he brought the modem, plugged it in, called the MAC in, and I took care of the rest...

The only reason I had to do a half day was b/c it could be anytime "between 12 and 5" ... But Road Runner guarantees they're on time (of course they are, they have FIVE HOURS!). He ended up showing up around 3.

Social cast

[soloport]

A new type of "haves and have knots"?

(I'd be in knots, too, if I still had dial-up).

I'm never giving up dial-up!

[servognome]

You will have to pry my 2400 baud modem from my cold dead hands. Now off to download Doom 3.

Re:Spyware?

[Sique]

Where is the "+5 I am so sorry for you" moderation when you need it?

Re:Spyware?

[SurgeonGeneral]

The thing is, I'm not convinced that these ratings will provide a 'natural' indication of what people are watching.

In other words, if there is a device that is monitering my internet comsumption for a week, I will not be consuming my regular diet of pornography for that week. Mind you, I dont look at porn. I dont. Shut up, I dont. Ok I do. No just kidding I dont.

The idea is that the internet is that its kind of a make your-own-media entertainment. Whereas T.V. is all programmed and time slotted, and is thus passive, on the internet you have to actively seek out and find stuff. You have to decide where to start, where to go, when to leave. Essentially at every turn, on every page, you have to decide what to do. Its like a choose your own adventure story. And since the pathways are so chaotic and turmultuous (the opposite of TV), I'm not sure that there is a whole lot to measure. It might be a window into personal psychology, but mass psychology? I dont know.

Welcome

[Run4yourlives]

The rest of the first world welcomes you.

Re:Spyware?

[Sparr0]

the coax running from the wall could have been a clue

Re:Spyware?

[eric76]

If they monitored my Internet browsing, they'd learn the following (not necessarily in this order):

1) The most important lawsuits in the U.S. are SCO vs IBM, Novell, Autozone, and Daimler Chrysler.
2) The number one server O.S. in the world is OpenBSD followed by Linux and FreeBSD.
3) The number one shopping site on the Internet is newegg.com.
4) The number one electronic reference is O'Reilly's Safari Tech Books Online.
5) Microsoft has more security holes than you can shake a stick at.

Imagine if they monitored several such people and it was interpreted by the major tv networks as representative of Americans:

1) Fox, CNN, and MNBC would have daily reports on the SCO lawsuits.
2) Whenever a show wanted to provide a tech tip, it would be aimed at OpenBSD, Linux, and FreeBSD.
3) Newegg.com would be advertising in the Super Bowl.
4) So would O'Reilly.
5) We'd have a new TV sitcom about an inept software developer at Microsoft who is responsible for fixing all the security holes. We could call it "Clueless In Seattle" or maybe "MS ER".

Re:Amazing...

[pclminion]

And why is that? Because they're getting it for free from their college/university. They're certainly not paying for it themselves.

That's right, all that tuition, room and board I paid in school was just imaginary...

Re:Spyware?

[brianimator]

OMFG- do not - I repeat - do not make the same mistake I did and go to the "tubgirl.com" address mentioned in the parent's comment.

Re:Spyware?

[DonGar]

They picked me once when I didn't have a TV at all. I really wanted to be part of the ratings (0 hours total). For some reason, they wouldn't let me.

Re:Spyware?

[Insipid Trunculance]

We are talking about people that think WinME is the best OS ever

You mean it isnt the bestest ever most super duper OS.Ow man you just broke my heart.Like my parents did when they told me the truth about the Tooth Fairy and santa claus.Oh this cold cruel world.

Re:Spyware?

[steve_bryan]

Why do some people take such pride in things they don't do? Congratulations, you succeed in not viewing any television. Do you also manage to not watch movies at home or at the theater? Have you also managed to avoid live theatrical performances and musicals? If your point is that most of TV is meritricious tripe I don't think you will find a very committed opposition. For that matter most published literature is a significant disappointment. Is your home a proudly book-free zone?

Getting away from the pervasive commercials of TV is an understandable goal. Doing so by burning your TV set seems like an odd method. By all means continue your defiant stance against the media overlords but don't expect any lauditory poems to be written in your honor.