americans
Latest
FISA court: FBI use of NSA's electronic surveillance data was illegal
A US court ruled that some of the FBI's electronic surveillance activities violated the constitutional privacy rights of Americans. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) deemed that FBI officials improperly searched a National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence database for info on Americans. The ruling was made last year but just revealed by the intelligence community today.
Americans consume an alarming amount of microplastics
Americans consume tens of thousands of microplastic particles every year -- and that's just from the food we eat. Microplastics are also found in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Thanks to a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, we have a better idea of just how much plastic Americans consume.
Two-thirds of Americans unwilling to spend over $50 a month on mobile data, says Parks Associates
In a recent report titled Mobile Data and Applications, research outfit Parks Associates found that a large chunk of Stateside consumers aren't willing to pay more than $50 per month for a mobile data plan. What's also interesting here -- but not surprising -- is the study shows nearly 50 percent of smartphone users are completely oblivious to the amount of data they're consuming every month. Parks Associates says this highlights the "risk" networks like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are taking by making the transition from all-you-can-have to those tiered data plans we're so fond of. The firm's Mobile Research Director, Harry Wang, sees this as a necessity for carriers, though, expressing that "moving mobile users to usage-based plans will be difficult and painful, but changes are necessary for operators to maintain revenues." So, are you part of the two-thirds keeping bits under 50 bucks? Let your voice be heard in the comments below.
Shocker: CEA's spending report finds Americans buying more technology
Guess what kiddos? That recession that harshed your mellow all last year is officially over and done with... according to the Consumer Electronics Association, anyway. Based on a new report put out today by the CEA (you know, that organization that sets up CES each year?), the average US household spent $1,380 on consumer electronics over the past dozen months, which represents an increase of $151 from last year. The report also found that the average household spent 12 percent more on CE devices over the past year, and individual consumer spending shot up 10 percent year-over-year. Other tidbits included: ladies spent more on CE wares than the did last year (but still trail the guys overall), and the average home reported owning 25 consumer electronic products, up from 23 in 2009. We're also told that 86 percent of all US households own at least one computer, making it the third most owned CE product behind TVs and DVD players. Oh, and as for those pesky netbooks? 12 percent of US households own one of those, while 58 percent own "laptops" of some sort. Head on past the break for the full skinny -- we hope you're in the mood for good news, 'cause that's all you're getting. [Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]
WoW Insider Show Episode 97: Chasing silhouettes
Good times as always on our podcast this past holiday weekend -- while Turpster was away, we Americans took over the show, and declared our independence the only way we know how: by talking about the most popular stories in the World of Warcraft this past week. Adam Holisky, Alex Ziebart, Michael "Belfaire" Sacco and I answered your emails, and then chatted about Blizzard's addition of faction changes to the game (and who'll go for it), patch 3.2 and its extendable raid lockouts and universal armor tokens, Exodus and Ensidia and how Blizzard has dealt with both, and of course, that sneaky Cataclysm trademark and what it might mean for Blizzard's future releases.Whew! If it sounds like a full show, that's because it was. It even went on longer than usual, so you can enjoy the extra-long WoW Insider Show at any of the links below (including clicking on the iTunes link to subscribe directly there). We won't be back next Saturday -- instead, we're setting up for a special Thursday evening show this week at 6pm Eastern, so those of you who can't make it on Saturdays can instead tune in on Thursday night to chat and listen live with us on the Ustream page.Enjoy this past weekend's show, and we'll see you on Thursday.Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
US phone consumers: buying less, paying more
Fewer Americans are buying new ear candy these days than they were a year ago, according to a newly-released NPD survey -- but those that are still dropping coin are dropping more of it. An estimated 28 million cellphones came off shelves and into pockets in the second quarter of 2008, down a solid 13 percent year over year, but the increase in average handset price was nearly enough to offset the drop in volume altogether. Particularly notable was the fact that smartphone sales doubled in the past year, with full QWERTY models seeing the biggest gains; it's probably still a bit early to sound the dumbphone's death knell, but could it be on the horizon?
US handset sales droop in Q1, RIM rides into top 5
Unless you've been squarely camped out under an atypically large boulder the past few months, you aren't apt to be taken aback by this news. Sure enough, handset sales declined 22-percent in Q1 2008, though the industry did move some 31 million mobiles during the post-holiday quarter. It was noted, however, that smartphones comprised 17-percent of all mobile sales, which marks a 10-percent increase from the prior quarter. When taking a look at the top five handset manufacturers, you'll find Motorola shakily perched at the top (27-percent), while RIM slipped past Sanyo to grab the five spot with 5-percent. Check the read link for all the gory details.
"Study" finds half of Americans want to be Bill Gates
According to a highly dubious study recently released by a maker of paper-shredders, 47-percent of Americans said they would "like to be Bill Gates." The other 53-percent said they preferred being powerless, poor, and not knowing what to do with Visual Basic.
Survey sez: nearly half of America prefers football on HDTV versus in-person
We know, the hardcore fanatics out there aren't likely to believe these results, but according to a recent survey commissioned by Motorola, some 45-percent of Americans would prefer to watch collegiate / professional football games on an HDTV rather than attending -- which certainly mirrors the conclusions drawn by a similar survey conducted earlier this year. Furthermore, only 32-percent of those questioned stated that they outright preferred live matches to those shown in HD, while the other segment was apparently indifferent. Not surprisingly, Moto attributes the results to our growing fascination with HD sports, but we have to believe the unprecedented rise in ticket prices has something to do with all of this as well. Still, even we can't deny the allure of getting all up in the huddle at 1080i, and given the alternative of sitting in costly nosebleed seats in sub-freezing temperatures, it's hard to pass up the former.[Via ConnectedHome2Go]
Study suggests 100% mobile phone penetration in the US by 2013
We know, that "100-percent" figure may be a bit tough to wrap your mind around, but let's give it a try, shall we? Current estimates reportedly suggest that "nearly 84-percent of the US population will have mobile phones by the end of 2007," and according to SNL Kagen, that figure should shoot to 100-percent in just six years. Notably, 100-percent penetration does not mean that every single American will own a phone, as it's estimated that some 18 to 20-percent of us will be using multiple mobiles. Additionally, it was noted that data usage / revenue could become increasingly important as newcomers to the wireless world grow fewer, but that tidbit certainly isn't taking anyone by surprise, now is it?[Via mocoNews, image courtesy of JevaTech]
World Wide WoW: The "Blood Bar"
Can you imagine if every time someone talked about healing, they called it "adding blood" instead? In China, the word people use for "health" is "xue," which means "blood" (and is pronounced a bit like "shweh"). Traditionally in Chinese role-playing games, the health bar (or "blood bar") is red, instead of green.Now when you think about it, having a "blood bar" does make a certain sort of sense. After all, when you get hit by monsters, you lose blood, and any healing you take from others would have to somehow restore your blood to your body as well as sealing up all the holes in your flesh. Of course without healing, all those holes in the flesh would also prevent a warrior from swinging his sword around so freely, or at least make him limp a bit. But realism isn't really the issue here -- the idea of "blood" or "health" as a measurable quantity is just something we need as a symbol to represent the video game mechanics in an emotionally meaningful way. A game like WoW can't possibly be as complicated as real life; it would hardly be as fun as it is if it were. Instead, it needs to use real life metaphors as an access point to get you involved in the game, while in the end it's still all about numbers. Stripped of metaphorical words like "health" (or "blood"), playing World of Warcraft might look a bit like this: Player 4837 says, "I'll reduce your unit's primary points with my unit's special 'large-scale point reduction ability!' Pwned you!! haha!" only to be countered with Player 7490's response: "Oho! but my unit can use my secondary points to exchange for primary points, and make up for this loss! Noob!" Talk about boring! But underneath all the "fireballs" and "greater heals," this shifting of numbers around is exactly what we're doing when we play, no matter where we are or what language we speak.In China, of course, the points and numbers are exactly the same, but it makes sense that the underlying metaphor would be somewhat different. For them, "adding blood" to a wounded teammate feels just as natural as when we say we are "healing" them -- but when you translate their "blood" metaphor into our language, it gets pretty weird!
Shocker: Americans spend more time with PC than spouse
While one may argue that a computer doesn't talk back, disagree, or rub one the wrong way as we're sure just about everyone's spouse / SO definitely can, you must have somehow avoided the BSOD, kernel error, 404, clicking HDD, invalid drivers, and the host of other "cyber stresses" that can elicit all sorts of rage and frustration. A recent survey conducted by Kelton Research discovered that a majority of Americans (52-percent) said their "most recent experience with a computer problem provoked emotions such as anger, sadness or alienation," yet a whopping 65-percent of these same folks spend more time with their beloved computer than their own spouse. Adding even more fuel to the computer addict fire, 84-percent of responders stated that they were "more dependent on their home computer now than they were just three years ago." Interestingly enough, rather than founding some sort of rehab facility to coax folks away from the keyboard and back into reality, SupportSoft is looking to provide loving, caring advice to help folks suffering from "cyber stress" solve their PC troubles without tearing down the house. Essentially, the service actually encourages folks glued to their computer to stay that way, as the new startup looks to provide answers to the issues that could eventually run even the most loyal computer user back to their oft forgotten spouse, but the company does insinuate that by solving PC quandaries, folks will have more time to spend when the ones they love. Nevertheless, we can't say these figures are entirely shocking, especially when you consider that folks would take an iPod over booze and nearly anything trendy for an SO.[Via TGDaily]
Scientist: Minesweeper probably cost economy billions
A Canadian study found that American procrastination is on the rise. The research was supposed to take five years to complete, but after 10 years the scientists are releasing the results -- who's procrastinating now? The study found that in 1978 about 5 percent of Americans thought of themselves as chronic procrastinators and now it's 26 percent.The tools for procrastination surround us -- "TVs in every room, online video, Web-surfing, cell phones, video games, iPods and BlackBerries." Is it procrastination or just cultural attention deficit disorder? Of course, even in this study, video games are pointed out as the culprits for the fall of western civilization. The scientist who is publishing the study, University of Calgary Professor Piers Steel, says, "That stupid game Minesweeper -- that probably has cost billions of dollars for the whole society."
