Survey: Internet a major source for personal,
business info
May 13, 2001
By JIM BROOKS
If you have
children in school or a computer at home, it didn't take a research
institute to tell you the Internet is quickly becoming the preferred
first choice for people searching for persona and special interest information.
A study by the
Content Intelligence Group of Lyra Research reports that more than 60
percent of those surveyed chose the Internet over magazines or other
sources when seeking out personal information.
On the job, 48
percent said they chose the Internet first when searching for
business information.
The study
proves something most of us know anyway -- the better acquainted
people come with using the Internet, the more likely they are to use
it as their first choice.
People seem to
like the amount of control they have as users, the survey reported.
Internet users
aren't taking time away from other chores to go online -- they are
taking time away from in front of the television, the survey said.
Almost
one-fourth of the online users said they watch less television since
they began using the Internet, though 50 percent of those surveyed
say a TV is in the same room with their computer. Ninety-one percent
of users with a TV near the computer said they surf the Web while
watching TV.
Since news is
still a priority to most Web users, nearly half of those surveyed
said they have read an online newspaper in the past 30 days.
The survey was
based on more than 2,000 interviews with adults 18 and older.
WHERES GEORGE?
In the Web's early days (that would be two years ago or more),
everyone was doing all sorts of interesting and off-the-wall things
with Web sites and Internet technology.
One of those
sites was The Great American Dollar Bill Locator, also known as
"Where's George?"
The site's
premise was simple. Record the series and serial number on a $1 bill
and track where that bill goes (hence the name).
Dot-coms have
come and gone, but Where's George? has remained online, helping the
curious and those with a little spare time on their hands track where
the one dollar bills they've registered might travel.
The secret to
tracking where the bills go is marking them. If you mark them too
garishly, they'll be sent to the U.S. Mint and destroyed as damaged.
In the early
days, the site suggested printing the Web site address,
www.wheresgeorge.com, on the border around the bill. They also sold
small self-inking stamps that could be used to stamp a small,
three-line message on each bill to alert anyone holding it that it
was now registered on the Where's George? Web site. Some highlights
from a highlight marker were also recommended to make get a user to
notice the bill as ``marked.''
Each time
someone checks on a registered $1 bill at the Web site, the date and
location are recorded in a database. This creates a sort of
travelogue of just where that bill has been, displaying the time
between each recorded interval and the distance the bill has traveled.
Where's
George? had slipped off my radar screen until recently when my wife
received a $1 bill with a curious message on it.
The message
read "See where I've been, track where I go! www.wheresgeorge.com."
After
registering as a user at the Where's George Web site, I checked my
bill's history.
Someone
registered the $1 bill I have Aug. 23, 2000, in Mishawaka, Ind.
Someone
checked on it next on Jan. 9 this year from Elkhart, Ind., which is
approximately 10 miles away from Mishawaka, according to the Web site.
I checked in
to the site on May 7. The distance the bill has traveled (the known
towns that are logged by the Web site) is about 270 miles.
It's an
interesting project, and I'm looking forward to passing this $1 bill
and seeing if it shows up again before it is returned to the U.S.
Mint and destroyed.
For more
information, visit The Great Dollar Bill Locator at www.wheresgeorge.com.
APPLE
BRICKS & MORTAR. Apple Computer's "first" bricks
and mortar retail store will open in Virginia on Saturday, May 19 --
the first of what is expected to be a chain of retail stores.
Rumors of such
a move have been swirling for months, with Apple staying quiet on its
plans.
In the past,
the company has relied on deals with resellers, large electronics
stores and its Web site for sales of its products.
It's likely
that Apple will continue its sales through these avenues, since its
stores aren't likely to pop up in every sales market.
Industry
experts say Apple's stores will likely be carefully targeted to try
and boost sales in areas where the potential is greatest.
The McLean,
Va., store that will open soon actually isn't Apple's first retail
store. The company has been operating a retail store next to its
headquarters in Cupertino, Cal., for many years. Mac fans are
speculating the retail stores will be based on the lessons learned at
their original store.
For a tour of
their actual "first" retail location, visit the Mac Addict
Web site at www.macaddict.com.
EMACHINES
FOR SALE? Budget PC maker Emachines will likely go up for sale
soon, according to a posting on the CNet Web site.
In its early
days, Emachines was one of the fastest-growing PC makers in the low-priced
field. It sold 1 million PCs in its first year.
The drop in
sales that is affecting all hardware manufacturers has hit the three-year-old
company hard. Its fourth-quarter 2000 sales last year were off by
nearly 50 percent from the previous year.
With
razor-thin profit margins, Emachine's business model required it to
sell a large number of its low-priced computers. With sales dropping
for all PC makers, that just isn't like to happen, analysts say.
Comments
and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com,
or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com
on the World Wide Web.
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