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Internet Plays A Large Role For U.S. Citizens 170
Homework Help writes "The latest U.S. Census Bureau report suggests that the Internet has become an integral part of the American lifestyle and economy." From the article: "It shows 40 percent of U.S. adults used the Web to obtain news, weather or sports information, a dramatic increase from the 7 percent who surfed in 1997, when the bureau conducted a similar study. The report also found that nearly half of adults, 47 percent, used the Internet to find information on products or services. About one-third reported purchasing a product or service online, compared with only 2 percent who did so in 1997."
More revelations coming next week... (Score:5, Funny)
Radio popular, but not as popular as it was in the 1930s.
NFL football quite popular as a spectator sport.
Re:More revelations coming next week... (Score:2)
WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)
I thought our government was gathering more useful statistics, but I guess not.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
The U.S. census is only done every 10 years yet it shows vital statistics and patterns.
I realize you were hoping for a once a year survey but all that would have shown is the gradual climb in user statistics. A ten year survey is fine for this purpose.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
Not sure the information is all that useful to the public in general anyway other than as an interesting tidbit. If XYZ company wants to get useful data to develop an online strategy they can pay for their own study.
Re:WTF? (Score:1)
"Not only is Mississippi crapped on by hurricanes, the Bush administration and racism, they also don't have enough internet!"
Re:WTF? (Score:3, Insightful)
And to digress slightly from the topic, I would bet in 1905, far fewer than 7% of people u
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
It will be a great day when I can make a comment on slashdot without one person dissecting information in it.
Learn to let things go.
Re:WTF? (Score:2)
Yeah, don't hold your breath- that day is never gonna come. The greater day (and certainly more plausible one) will be the day you accept that people will dissect whatever you post on slashdot. Let things go, indeed.
Hang in there, I'm rooting 4 ya. (Score:3, Insightful)
It would also be quite an occasion to see someone admit they didn't think something through before posting.
MOD PARENT UP. (Score:2)
Re:WTF? (Score:1, Interesting)
Are you aware that the average US citizen pays nearly 50% of his earnings to government through federal, state, and local taxes combined? You already spend half the year working exclusiv
Re:WTF? (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/compu ter.html [census.gov]
I really like reading the census data. Sometimes the numbers do not at all meet perception, so I try to calibrate my perception from time to time.
Also, another excellent data site for raw data is http://www.nationmaster.com/ [nationmaster.com] and another is http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index
Its like saying that in 1905 only 7% of people used cars and now in 2005 99%
I just IM'd my mom (Score:5, Funny)
Comparison (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Comparison (Score:2)
Here in the UK, the TV is on the list of things that debt collectors cannot collect, alongside fridges, heating etc. I wonder how long it will be before computers are added to that list; especially with the personal data on the drive.
Re:Comparison (Score:2)
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Re:Comparison (Score:2)
South Korea, Canada, Sweden, Norway & Japan
(in that order too I think)
Re:Comparison (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Comparison (Score:5, Funny)
I can find 100% penetration on the internet without even trying, and I live in puritan America!
Re:Comparison (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.nationmaster.com/cat/Internet [nationmaster.com]
Click away...
internet? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:internet? (Score:1)
Re:internet? (Score:1)
Re:internet? (Score:2)
Yes, shamelessly stolen from The Simpsons.
Re:internet? (Score:2)
The sad part about that quote above is that, in the year 2002, I had a real
Re:internet? (Score:2)
I actually sold that home "by owner". It's not too hard. All real estate agents to is provide you access to the Multi-list. Otherwise, their job is so easy, even I could do it.
Re:internet? (Score:2)
the figs.... (Score:2, Interesting)
when it says a third reported purchasing products or services online compa
Re:the figs.... (Score:2)
More telling would be knowing how many people are getting things for free (to put it gently) online.
Eric
Paper maps (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:Paper maps (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, paper maps do exist for both large and small cities. In my area, these maps are mostly free because they are supported by advertising local businesses.
As nice as google maps or other software packages are, its a lot lighter to carry a real map than a laptop, or a lot less expensive than buying a portable GPS map unit.
Re:Paper maps (Score:2)
Oh, but as many of the Slashdot crowd will be happy to hear, it did crash a few times (but it may have been due to a failing hard drive).
Re:Paper maps (Score:3, Insightful)
Not of small towns necessarily, but of regions and states, sure. I have been using a Garmin GPSMap 76 [garmin.com] with thier Mapsource software and while it is good for trip planning and the occasional re-routing, it take fore thought to load the maps and really doens't give a good overview of where you are, where you are going, and where you will be.
Paper maps are exremely useful if your lost and trying to figure out how to get back to where you need to be. Now you can say with a GPS, you never get lost because yo
Re:Paper maps (Score:1)
Census & tech goes way back... (Score:3, Funny)
I guess that they failed to mention (Score:1)
As an administrator for a large ISP, I can see who's really downloading the porn.
The most popular newsgroup? alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.teen.female.
Re:I guess that they failed to mention (Score:2, Insightful)
Possibly, but aren't you confusing 'most popular' with 'generating the most traffic'? I suspect there's plenty newsgroups that are just as popular (or more so), but simply lighter on the data pipes.
Same with other types of internet usage. Things like e-mail and IM can take a small share of all bandwidth, but still be among the most popular applications.Link to the actual report (Score:5, Informative)
Emerging Technology (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Emerging Technology (Score:4, Insightful)
Not necessarily. There are plenty of "mature" technologies that are not a part of the average household (own any small planes?). Whether a technology gains widespread adoption depends on the cost and appeal to consumers. The internet could have easily remained just a geeky way of exchanging research information if it had not been adopted for commercial use.
Re:Emerging Technology (Score:2)
Whoa... there are people who don't? (Score:1, Redundant)
16th place (Score:2)
So USA is not using internet that much in fact. Another PR stunt just on time when EU wants to takeover.
Re:16th place (Score:2)
The US is a large place geographically. There are many, many places that still don't have access to broadband, yet do have phone access. Dial-up is quite alive and kicking in the US.
Re:16th place (Score:2)
Rather than a 'PR' stunt this is a different look at internet use. I don't thinki the Census Bureau really has an agenda to promote the US over other nations.
Anecdot
The Web Is Not The Internet! (Score:5, Insightful)
To the extent that we have all sorts of just-in-time deliveries to factories, package tracking, widely accessible databases, and all sorts of other efficiency-enabling goodies that rely on internetworking, the thrust of the summary sells it very short. Sure, web/e-mail/IM use by individuals is way, way up from 5 or 10 years ago - but the country's use of the internet, down at the economic and government plumbing level, affects everyone, and in ways that most people don't appreciate until it breaks.
Just-in-Time ... Just-a-Note (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Just-in-Time ... Just-a-Note (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
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Re:Just-in-Time ... Just-a-Note (Score:2)
Of course, it's a matter of semantics, what is truly "new" vs. wh
Re:Just-in-Time ... Just-a-Note (Score:2)
No. No. No.
JIT is one component of lean manufacturing. What lean manufacturing aims to do is *not* optimize just (g), or (b), or (c). What lean manufacturing does is optimize (a + b + c + d + e + f + g), in particular by focusing on (d, e, f, g), which in turn have positive impacts on (a, b), which are your largest costs.
I agree that JIT as a method of just minimizing (g) is nothing new. And that's how a lot of companies use it. But that's not how Toyota uses it.
You are really not understanding some imp
Re:Just-in-Time ... Just-a-Note (Score:2)
First, why do you have to write like such a smart-ass? Especially when it is clear, as I have pointed out repeatedly, that you are missing something?
You still are missing it. Lean manufacturing, of which JIT is a component, is not about prioritizing optimizations. It is about optimizing the whole, which often results in steps that appear, in isolation, to be sub-optimal. It is not about optimizing a, then b, then c, etc., in the order of greatest return. It is about realizing that a, b, c, etc. are lin
Re:Just-in-Time ... Just-a-Note (Score:2)
Where to start...
Let's see, you claim that If I were an exec and someone came up to me and said "if we use smaller batch sizes, we can save on overall costs", I can 100% guarantee you I would not say "but small batch sizes are inefficient!"., and yet, despite my repeated assertions to the contrary, you insist that I understand completely. I'm missing nothing.. To be true to your claim, I would have expected that
Money! (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, it depends on how much the bandwidth charges cost. In their equation, bandwidth is the only thing that isn't going down in price. Home networking gear, laptops, mobile devices with wireless/GPRS, etc, are all falling rapidly. It's the network connection fees that are prohibitive.
They are claiming that a huge percentage of households will have broadband available to them by 2010 but how many will be able to afford it with restrictions such as required CATV, local phone service, etc? Yeah, the actual Internet connection seems inexpensive until you realize that you have to bundle it w/the other services to get a reasonable rate.
That's what needs to be ended before broadband adoption skyrockets.
Pffft! Porn? (Score:1, Interesting)
You think I'm kidding, but I'm not.
Now if only our Victorian era legal system could be dragged into the 21st century...
Re:Pffft! Porn? (Score:2)
Right... (Score:1)
Re:Right... (Score:2)
Re:Right... (Score:4, Interesting)
Go. To. The. Library.
Or, are you suggesting that poor families that live too far from a library instead be provided with dial-up ISP accounts, a telephone line if they don't have one, a computer they clearly don't know how to use, and ongoing tech support such as will clearly be needed when someone who has never used these things is suddenly depending on them to "get a good job."
Or... perhaps those parents should be encouraging their kids to pay attention in school? There are countless ways for schools to get hold of free computer hardware and net access, but most don't have the staff needed to supervise/train students in the continual use thereof. If you're posting this comment, right now, about how I should be listening to the "clarion call" that you're mentioning... first tell me how many schools you've visited with that rebuilt Ubunto P3-450 and a $9 donation to cover that month's dial-up access for the machine?
And... minorities? Do you really think that lack of experience online, and lack of personally owned net-connected workstations is limited somehow to people of one color or another? Are you that race-fixated? Ever driven through Appalachia? Wake up, man, and talk some less myopic, skin-color-driven smack so that you can be taken seriously. And explain what you've done before telling me what I should do.
Re:Right... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Right... (Score:2)
you haven't a clue what you're talking about. if you think a city of 1.x million, which happens to be at the center of a metro area with a population of ~10 million can be considered a "richer neighborhood" then my only polite response is that you are just making this shit up to try to impress people
last week in san francisco (that "rich neighborhood") a schizophrenic 23 year old mother of 3 threw her babbies into the bay because the voices told her to feed them to th
Re:Right... (Score:2)
In comparison to much of the rest of the country, it is a "rich neighborhood". If you can't figure that out by the obvious real estate prices, then please search wikipedia for per capita and household inco
Re:Right... (Score:2)
while you're right, i don't think its an entirely fair approach. if we distributed support based on mean income, or on mean real estate prices, then a lot of very needy people are getting screwed. while the bay area does have some of the highest real estate, it also has a much more pronounced we
Re:Right... (Score:3, Insightful)
Except that most libraries are, and should be, extensions of the local educational framework. Those are administered, and typically funded by local taxes (usually property taxes) overseen by state legislatures and county councils. The most impoverished, under-educated, high-unemployment areas of the country aren't run by conservatives, they're run - at the city, county, and state levels - by liberals. You'd think that areas (take, say, New Orleans as an e
Re:Right... (Score:2)
Also, as someone planning on having a child and doing the research, i'm compelled to point out that for most people, diapers are the only necessary portion of that spending (and reusable ones are cheaper). Most women who become mothers have a natural limited supply of baby food that's FREE, and don't need to buy formula. In actuality formula is less healthy than breast milk anyway.
Also, so
Re:Right... (Score:1)
Ira
turning into a way of life (Score:1)
Now whether that means that it will fall on the libraries to have public terminals (and if so, they need to
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Right... (Score:2)
Are you kidding? I learned everything I know about computers from using the internet. In the '90s I went from delivering pizza to working in tech support after owning my first computer (with internet access) for only a year, and have steadily climbed from there.
From PC troubleshooting to web design to coding to *nix system and network administration, it all came from using the internet (although not just
Smoking bad for you (Score:2)
The Internet Makes You Stupid (Score:1, Troll)
Re:The Internet Makes You Stupid (Score:4, Insightful)
I love it when people toss about references with no understanding of their origin or meaning. When Marx initially wrote about religion being the opiate, he was actually paying it a (albeit backhanded) compliment, that awareness of a religious idea can steer people toward a more noble life. It makes the oppressed fell better about their condition.
Marx figured religion would become obsolete anyway after the Revolution[tm].
Now even if we take the fully negative context that has been imposed on the quote over the years, your previous statement does not add up:
Seriously, the Internet makes it almost too easy to access information. If I want pizza, I go online and order it. If I want a movie, I go online and order it. To submit homework, I go online to submit it. To get a job, I email applications and lookup company profiles on the internet.
And where's the downside you are seeing? The Marx quote is sometimes applied to television and other mediums that tend to make people passive and distracted. What you describe is a handy and practical tool, and somehow this offends you.
So what's really interesting here is that the Marx quote, in its original context, might actually apply to some extent to the Internet, but not for the reasons you think.
Re:The Internet Makes You Stupid (Score:2)
Yes. Here's the real full quote, from Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]:
"Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."
Religion is the "heart of a heartless world?" The "sou
Re:The Internet Makes You Stupid (Score:1)
Please elaborate a bit. How does having to walk across campus in the freezing rain to turn in homework make one smarter, or at least maintains your current level of intelligence? How does calling a pizza place and ordering pizza for delivery do the same thing?
Re:The Internet Makes You Stupid (Score:1)
What I mean is, the internet makes it too easy to do certain things. It makes it almost too easy to do research, shopping, and even education. I guess my title wasn't quite appropriate, but I figure somebody might appreciate the "Something Awful reference." In a way, I wanted to almost tie this post to the IDE (rottign the brain) article the other day. The internet allows you to do things very quickly, not necessarily smartly. Don't get me wron
Re:The Internet Makes You Stupid (Score:2)
Seriously, shops make it almost too easy to get products. If I want pizza, I go to the pizza shop and buy it. If I want a movie, I go to a shop and buy it on DVD. I guess s
Average person spends more time using media (Score:4, Interesting)
Alaska = 70%?! (Score:1)
Re:Alaska = 70%?! (Score:1)
For most people, the Web is the best, and in many cases, the ONLY connection to the rest of the country/world.
In a state where many locations aren't even connected with roads, an information media like the Internet is invaluable.
In other news... (Score:1)
Air has been found to be important.
Seriously, slow Friday?
Sheesh (Score:1)
Re:Sheesh (Score:2)
Broadband is not the only way to access the Internet.
Response to article in one word... (Score:2)
The Internet? (Score:2, Funny)
conservative estimates (Score:1)
This seems pretty conservative. With technologies like Wi-Max and Wi-Fi, and google rolling this out for free, I would imagine that almost everyone would have broadband access by 2010.
Web (Score:1)
As usual, both good and bad (Score:2)
40% makes it an "integral part"? (Score:2)
Re:40% makes it an "integral part"? (Score:2)
You just came here from Kuro5hin, didn't you?
Damn! (Score:2)
Bizzare. The hype was accurate (30% of people will now buy stuff on the Internet), riches are to be made, but you can't do it anymore.
Ratboy.
Why does the Census have this info? (Score:2)
More News Flashes for the Monkeys in the newsroom (Score:2)
Automobiles Play Large Role in American Life - The planning and layout of American cities has caused the AUTOMOBILE (sometimes also konwn as a "car") to pllay a large role in American life. Rich people drive better cars than poor people, and are less likely to take the bus from the suburbs to their jobs.
People are Getting Older - Studies are comfirming that from the moment Americans are born, they continue to age without any slowing of getting older as time passes. ma