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Overhype

by Mike Masnick

Tue, Dec 30th 2003 11:54am





Are People Using Non-Browser Apps To Access The Internet?

from the yes,-but-on-purpose? dept

Nielsen/NetRatings is reporting that more and more people are accessing the internet via non-browser applications. 76% of users connect via non-browser applications, with the popular ones being instant messaging and the various media players. I'm not sure why this is a big deal. Lots of people use non-browser applications to reach the internet. This isn't a question of replacing the browser, but other, non-browsing applications using the internet as well, for other, (you guessed it) non-browsing purposes. It really wasn't that long ago that all internet applications were non-browser applications. I'm actually surprised that email applications aren't included at the top of this list. Are that many people really using web-based email applications these days? In the meantime, Jeremy Wagstaff is pointing out that many of these applications are sneakily installed upon startup, so that many users have them connecting to the internet when they don't even know about it, making this study even less meaningful.

10 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    Nielsen Junk Stats

    identicon
    Ollie Tabooger, Dec 30th, 2003 @ 12:28pm

    I suspect the reason that IM is so high is because most people just turn on AIM when they are online regardless of whether they chat with anyone -- it depends want you mean by "use". I'm predisposed to ignore any "studies" coming from Nielsen anyway -- we all know the TV ratings are crap so I don't know why anyone pays any attention to them.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Re: Nielsen Junk Stats

    identicon
    data64, Dec 30th, 2003 @ 2:35pm

    Perhaps they are referring to bandwidth usage, in which case peer-to-peer probably is king.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    No Subject Given

    identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, Dec 30th, 2003 @ 9:17pm

    The article quotes an analyst saying: "...functionality has grown beyond the browser..." Given that the net preceded the net by two decades, this statement obviously makes no sense on its own. What it really says is that the analyst, and probably also the author, knows almost nothing about the net. Most journalists who report on such things are so lazy that they act as if "the net" and "the web" are one and the same.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Re: Nielsen Junk Stats

    identicon
    aNonMooseCowherd, Dec 30th, 2003 @ 9:19pm

    Going by bytes transferred, I would expect downloading Microsoft patches to be at the top of the list.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    two words

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 31st, 2003 @ 4:05am

    imode and rss

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    No Subject Given

    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Dec 31st, 2003 @ 7:12am

    Forte Agent, NewsRover, CDEX...

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    Why should a html browser rule?

    identicon
    OnkelKonkel, Dec 31st, 2003 @ 10:51am

    Why should the Web browser rule?
    With the help of a specific client you are able to use more sofisticated functions.
    Internet is more than browsing html files.

    Unfortunately it is not an increase of useful clients, it is an increase of spywares and other stupid solutions like Media Player.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  

    No, there *is* important information here...

    identicon
    Jay Ashworth, Jan 2nd, 2004 @ 8:16am

    The point it makes is that it is *not* safe to do stupid-ass things like pseudo-DNS (can you say new.net?) with browser plugins.

    We all knew that, of course, but there were people who didn't. Perhaps this will teach them.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  

    online chess

    identicon
    chess, Feb 22nd, 2004 @ 1:01pm

    Oh, yeah!
    And I'd rather be playing chess online on online chess !

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  10.  

    online chess

    identicon
    chess, Feb 22nd, 2004 @ 1:03pm

    oh, yeah!
    and I'd rather be playing chess online on online chess :)

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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