population
The poor don’t care about broadband? Of course they do
By now most Ars readers have been saturated with statistical data about broadband adoption in the United States: who has access, who doesn’t, where, why, and how we compare with the rest of the world. One of the conundrums with which all these surveys grapple is that allegedly stubborn portion of the population—mostly poor, rural, and older—who don’t use the Internet at all, because they supposedly don’t care to do so. But a new study suggests that this community of broadband outsiders is rapidly disappearing from the landscape, particularly among low income Americans.
Continue reading »UK “Three-Strikes” To Cost Consumers $800 Million p/yr
Means plan would unfairly require majority of population whom don’t file-share to pay for the failings of the entertainment industry. A new report indicates that an “ evolved ” plan by UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, head of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and whom ultimately is tasked with implementing the recommendations for dealing with illegal file-sharing as outlined in the Digital Britain report , to disconnect accused copyright infringers from the Internet will cost UK consumers more than £500 million ($799.5 million USD) annually. That means an individual “three-strikes” tax per broadband connection of approximately £25 ($40 USD) a year.
Continue reading »UK on the Forefront of Online TV, DVR Use
One in three Internet users in the UK is watching TV online, according to a new study by the British media regulation authority Ofcom. This trend seems to be largely driven by the BBC’s iPlayer, which is used by 27 percent of the country’s online population. However, traditional TV viewing still plays a huge role, and time-shifting through DVRs is growing quickly.
Continue reading »How real is the Swine Flu ‘pandemic’?
Since yesterday I’ve had flu-like symptoms and I feel like hell. So am I coming down with the much-touted swine-flu pandemic, as it’s being designated by the World health Organization? A pandemic is an epidemic over a large area.
Continue reading »STUDY: 55% of 16-24yo Believe P2P Should Be Legal
Hints at possible long term trend. The UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom), regulator for the communications industries in that country, recently published a report on the state of media literacy among adults aged 16 and over. Conducted during this past spring, the report shows that the population is more connected than ever before with three in four adults saying they used the internet at home or elsewhere in 2009 (75%), compared to two-thirds (63%) in 2007 and three-fifths (59%) in 2005.
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