New figures from a US survey by Pew Internet Project reveal that cables are becoming, like, soooo 1990s as more and more people connect to the internet via wireless connections.
The study, released yesterday, shows that some 34% of internet users have surfed the web or checked email on a computer or smartphone/PDA using a Wi-Fi connection or mobile phone network.
Wi-Fi In The House
Wi-Fi is also proving a hit in the home, with nearly 20 percent of US Internet users now having domestic wireless networks – up a hefty 100% from the same time two years ago.
“We know that ‘always on’ broadband connections really deepen people’s relationship to the Internet; adding ‘on the go’ to the mix takes this a step further,” commented John Horrigan, associate research director at Pew.
“The convenience of wireless access gives people the chance to fire off a quick e-mail to someone while waiting in a doctor’s office or check the news headlines on the way to work,” he added.
The figures show that wireless folks are more addicted to email than other web users, with 72% checking their email ‘on a typical day’ compared to 63% of home broadband users and 54% of all internet users.
They’re news junkies too, with nearly half (46%) going online to read news compared to 38% of home broadband users and 31% of all internet users.
Of course, these figures should be taken with a Table Mountain of salt, because it’s ruddy obvious that someone who relies on mobile email for work is going to be using wireless connections more often than your average home user.
Where they connect
The report looked at where people hook up wirelessly and found that the majority (27%) log on in web cafes or other non- work/home environments.
Some 20% of internet users said that they’ve gone online wirelessly at home with 17% connecting at work. Naturally, there’s a fair bit of overlap, with people connecting at two or three of the places above.
It’s a shame the survey didn’t ask how many were hooking up to free networks and how many were grabbing a sneaky piggyback ride on other folks’ unprotected connections, though.
But there’s lots more analysis of varying interest here: Pew Internet (PDF)
Once the biggest, baddest, mean mo’fo name in the world of web piracy, BitTorrent is going legit today with the launch of a digital store backed by a string of big name content partners.
The Emotion Engine will instead be handled in what they call, “a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation (PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation2 (PS2) titles.”
Some additional PS2 titles will become compatible on the PS3 system through regular downloadable firmware updates, which will be made available through the PLAYSTATION®Network, from http://www.playstation.com or via PS3 game discs, with the first update planned for the launch date of the 23rd March 2007.
The frost started back in November last year when Virgin’s Richard Branson complained about Sky buying a £940m holding in the UK broadcaster, ITV. Branson jumped up and down and generally said how unfair it was.
The new PURE DMX-25 DAB Micro System with MP3 playback comes with the ability to playback MP3/ WMA files from portable USB flash memory drives, SD memory cards and CDs. Beyond those terribly modern means, there’s also two auxiliary inputs, letting you connect iPod, MiniDisc or MP3 player.
Speakers: 4 Ohms (nominal) impedance. 10W RMS power handling. Two-way design. Treated paper mid-bass driver. Custom-tuned crossover. Rosewood finish. Removable grilles.
USB rules the roost for people loading and unloading content on and off their mobiles phones. It was employed in more handsets than all other interface standards combined in 2006, according to iSuppli Corp.
It’s had an outing at CES in January this year and was well received.
2007 has started at quite a pace for DigiTV. We have seen unprecedented growth in usage traffic following the introduction of a new job search plugin from Job Centre Plus.
Joost is currently in beta, and it’s understood that the Viacom material will be available for the yet-undefined launch date of Joost. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Joost recently introduced a version of Joost to run on Apple’s Mac. Version 0.8.0.1 for Mac came out on Monday, following a brief period in Alpha test. They describe it as looking “very much like Joost for Windows, while behaving very much like a Mac application.” A growing number of Mac Beta testers are complaining that the software only works on Intel-based Macs.
Apparently the problem of ’email addiction’ has got so bad amongst some permanently-connected workers and Blackberry toting bosses that some “executive coach” dudess in Pennsylvania has come up with her “12 steps to cure e-mail addiction” plan.
Thankfully ol’Marsha’s on hand to help cure these poor souls, and with an eye to opening up future business opportunities, she wasn’t one to underplay the ‘problem’ for big businesses.