Net users online longer, report says
Advertiser News Services
U.S. Internet growth continues to slow, but users are logging on more often and spending more time online, a report said.
"Those who want to have access pretty much have it," said Net analyst T.S. Kelly of Nielsen//NetRatings, whose analysis of 2001 Net trends was recently released.
Growth in the number of active users (who go online at least once a month) slowed to 6 percent, down from "the wild double-digit increases of the late 1990s," the report said.
More than 174 million people — 55 percent of U.S. households — now have Internet access at home. But only about 60 percent of those with access, or just 37 percent of the U.S. population, actually use the Net in any given month, Kelly said.
Still, users spent 17 hours a month online in December, up from about 15 hours the previous year. Users overall spent 14 percent more time online in 2001 than in 2000, viewing 14 percent more Web pages.
Fifty percent of all hours spent online were by users of high-speed technologies, mainly DSL, cable modem or satellite dish, Kelly said.
Transport computers with extreme caution
Soon thousands of college students will be leaving campuses and returning home for a summer of relaxation or perhaps a job. For many, it means packing up their computer for the ride home. If so, here are some tips for ensuring the computer gets from dorm room to bedroom in working order.
First, be overly cautious.
When getting ready to move your computer, don't start yanking cords out of the back of the machine. Make sure to shut it down properly and turn it off before connecting or disconnecting any cables. With the power on, there's always the possibility of experiencing a short circuit and frying the electronics on the inside of the computer.
Is it likely to happen? Probably not. But again, why take the chance?
Next, put a 3 1/2-inch disk in the floppy drive. It makes the drive a bit more secure if it's bounced around in the moving process.
Whenever possible, use the original shipping boxes to pack your computer. If you store your boxes at home, make sure someone brings them to your campus home on move-out day. Do the same for your printer, scanner and monitor.
Without the original boxes, take extra care when placing your equipment in the trunk or back seat of a vehicle. Surround it with blankets or pillows. You don't want it shifting around, or worse yet, falling off the backseat during a sudden stop.
If you follow these suggestions, there's a good chance your computer will work just fine when you get home. But don't be shocked if it doesn't. Sometimes a computer won't start up properly, a CD drive won't read discs or a printer won't print. These problems can be resolved quickly and without much fanfare.
Even when trying to move equipment with the greatest of care, there are occasional jolts — sometimes from potholes in the road. Controller cards in your computer that handle such things as the hard drive, CD drive, sound, printer and monitor are susceptible to such jolts and can become unseated from their expansion slot connectors.
So if your computer doesn't work properly, unplug it, take the cover off and push each of the cards snugly into their slots. Turn on and test the computer before replacing the cover.
If it still doesn't work, shut down the computer again and remove each computer card and insert it back into the same slot.
