PC Matic Blog • Page 7 of 13

Blizzard of SPAM

billz / September 11, 2007

Pitstop users face a blizzard of spam – mostly aimed at the crotch.

The PC Pitstop users report they face more of a storm of spam than they did two years ago, with most of it aimed at sex, drugs and the theory that “bigger is better.”

The survey found that anyone who suffers from erectile dysfunction or is interested in increased penis size (including women) seems to have plenty of spam-delivered options. Pitstop users also reported a deluge of spam for software sales, Web greeting cards and excited emails from lawyers claiming the recipients have inherited money from strangers.

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PC Pitstop Window’s Accessory Usage Survey Results

Lyle / August 9, 2007

The PC Pitstop July 2007 survey took a look at how people make use of the Windows accessory tools, services and applications. These accessories are generally included as part of the Windows operating system with each providing some specific functionality for PC users.

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Vista Trends

Lyle / August 9, 2007

Microsoft launched Vista Business in late 2006 and Vista Home in early 2007. Our research shows that in July 2007, Vista was found on 12% of the PCs running the PC Pitstop online tests. Our research also shows that Vista is significantly lagging the historical XP launch ramp by almost 57%. In the six months following the XP launch in 2001, the operating system had grown to be found on over 28% of all PCs. Vista’s prevalence, after six months from its consumer Vista Home launch, sits at 12%.

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DVD Copying Tools Software Trends

Lyle / July 13, 2007

The PC has provided the ability for users to make, edit and copy of all types of digital information. PC Pitstop Research took a look at the prevalence of DVD decryption and ripping software found on the PCs running the analytical tests on our website. This type of software makes it possible for a PC user to decrypt and rip a DVD movie onto their hard drive or other digital media. A search of the Internet for DVD coping software reveals a variety of both freeware and commercial applications that a user can use to create backups of their DVD movies. Approximately 15% of the PCs visiting our web site have at least one of the DVD decryption and ripping applications installed.

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World of Processors

Lyle / July 11, 2007

Over the past 20+ years, the PC industry has revolved around key innovations in processor technology. Recent years have been marked by the emergence of multi-core processor technology. Today, there are essentially three types of processors currently available for the desktop PC user: single core, dual core, and quad core. The ‘core’ is the part of the microprocessor that does the work. This is different from computers with multiple processors.

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PC Pitstop Online Video Survey Results

Lyle / July 11, 2007

The PC Pitstop June 2007 survey took a look at how people are adapting to and using online video. Improvements in technologies and bandwidth have opened up a whole new way for how information is being shared and accessed on the internet. 40% of the folks that answered our survey indicate that they are frequently watching online news videos. Web sites such as YouTube.com and MySpace.come are basically allowing anyone, with a PC and the desire, to make and share their online videos with the world.

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PC Pitstop PC Obsolescence Survey Results

Lyle / June 12, 2007

The results of our May 2007 PC Gaming Survey have been analyzed. How many people use the various shortcuts or media features on their computer?

The significant highlights:

Over 70% of people under twenty reported not having a fax modem.
Almost 70% of people never use that menu button by the spacebar. Right-click does the same thing. It takes more energy to take your hand off the mouse than it does to right-click, however.
Not even 2% of people who responded use the SysRq key. Maybe it’s time to take that off the keyboard.

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PC Bloatware Trends

Lyle / June 11, 2007

PC manufacturers have been loading “trial application” on the PCs they sell for years. We took a look at three of the more common bloatware titles to get a view of the historical trends. The titles identified for our analysis included the WildTangent Game Console, URL Assistant by Google (aka Browser Address Error Redirector) and Microsoft’s own Activation Assistant for the 2007 Office Suites. Our research shows that the prevalence of these applications have more than doubled in the past year. Vista systems especially seem to a target for this software. Over 35% of Vista systems running PC Pitstop’s on-line tests in May 2007 had a least one of these bloatware application installed.

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Unutilized D Drive Partitions

Lyle / May 14, 2007

Our research shows that, overall, approximately 3.1% of PCs that have one physical hard drive also have an unutilized partition with drive letter D:. Our research indicates that 4.8% of portables and 2.4% of desktops have a D: drive partition that has 99% or more free space. It appears that it is common for some vendors to split the primary hard drive into two partitions. Often a drive is split into two equal partitions. If you think your hard drive capacity isn’t what you paid for, you might want to check to see if you have an unutilized drive partition.

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PC Pitstop PC Gaming Survey Results

Lyle / May 10, 2007

The results of our April 2007 PC Gaming Survey have been analyzed. Below are some of our findings.

Almost everyone has a favorite PC game. Almost 96% of the responders to our survey indicate that they play one or more PC games on a regular basis. While the games that are loaded with the Windows operating systems are not as addictive as other types, almost 70% indicated that they occasionally or regularly play these free games.

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