PC Data's Home PC Portrait(TM) Provides Insight Into Technology Usage in U.S. Households.

 Despite "Melissa" and the "Love Bug," almost 45 percent of home PC users still do not have anti-virus software protection on their home computers, according to a comprehensive report entitled Home PC Portrait(TM) released for the first time this week by PC Data. 


Home PC Portrait(TM) also revealed that 61 percent of households are equipped with a PC, and that due to plummeting computer prices, these PC users are less likely to "hand-down" an old system to family or friends than they were five years ago. 

Home PC Portrait(TM) is the industry's first complete and comprehensive analysis of home computer use. The report provides insight into the modern PC household -- what hardware and software consumers actually use and their online surfing and buying patterns. The report will be produced quarterly. 

The information is obtained through four separate PC Data proprietary sources: the PC Data Online panel of over 120,000 home Internet users, the Lifestyle and Activities Survey, a comprehensive quarterly enumeration study entitled Net Portrait(TM), and the PC Data Point-of-Sale retail hardware and software sales reports. 

"Home PC Portrait(TM) paints an overarching picture of the modern home computer household -- what hardware and software U.S. households prefer, how much time its members spend on it and to what applications, such as broadband and streaming media, it is looking," said Howard Dyckovsky, PC Data's Vice President of Operations. "It indicates that many stereotypes and assumptions about computer use are untrue. For example, many believe that home PCs are purchased so that work can be done after hours at home. This is hardly the case. Only one in five used a spreadsheet application in June, which strongly suggests that the PC is evolving into a platform for communication and recreational activity." 

Other findings include: 

* Fifty-two percent of home computers in the U.S. are connected to the
Internet. Twenty-eight percent of home users access the Internet
several times a day, while 2.6 percent use it once per month;
* Fifty percent of households have owned a PC for more than five years.
Just 1.9 percent has had a PC fewer than six months;
* Seventy-five percent play games on their home PCs, and pre-installed
Windows games like "Solitaire" and "Minesweeper" are the most popular;
* Fifty-two percent of home PCs have fewer than 5GB of hard drive space.
Twenty-five percent of U.S. home computers have more than 64MB of RAM.
Thirty-five percent have CPU speed between 333 and 449Mhz; and
* Seventy-six percent of home PCs use inkjet printers and 15 percent use
laser printers. Forty-three percent of computer households have 15-
inch monitors, while five percent have monitors larger than 17 inches.
To purchase a copy of the Home PC Portrait(TM), contact Julene Reiland at 703-995-5909. Media outlets can receive further information by contacting Jim Carey at 703-995-5902.
About PC Data
PC Data was established in 1991 and is a leading source of computer hardware, software and gaming intelligence. Its PC Data Online division is a leading provider of web traffic measurement and analysis. Through its 120,000 home Internet panel, PC Data Online also fields custom, state-of-the-art Internet based surveys from topics ranging from online music trends to online behavioral differences between men and women to web buying preferences and trends.