Polls conducted between 2000 - 2010

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This years polls

2010

December 2010 - Is your wireless network secure?
November 2010 - What is your favorite Windows 7 feature?
October 2010 - How many different passwords do you have?
September 2010 - What is your Internet connection download speed?
August 2010 - What type of mouse do you use?
July 2010 - How do you keep track of your passwords?
June 2010 - When was the last time you defragged your hard drive?
May 2010 - How much computer time a day is spent offline?
April 2010 - When was the last time you cleaned your computer?
March 2010 - What type of display are you using?
February 2010 - Are you buying a Tablet PC?
January 2010 - How do you read/send e-mail?

2009

December 2009 - How old is your computer?
November 2009 - Have you used cloud computing?
October 2009 - Do you plan on upgrading to Windows 7?
September 2009 - How much space is on your primary hard drive?
August 2009 - What Internet browser are you using?
July 2009 - When was the last time you reformatted your computer?
June 2009 - What was the first version of Windows you used?
May 2009 - Have you made a purchase from eBay or other auction site?
April 2009 - How many USB devices are connected to your computer?
March 2009 - How much memory does your computer(s) have?
February 2009 - What antivirus scanner are you using?
January 2009 - When was the last time you used a floppy disk?

2008

December 2008 - How many songs do you have in your music library?
November 2008 - How many messenger contacts do you have?
October 2008 - Do you have a webcam?
September 2008 - What color is your computer?
August 2008 - What do you pay monthly to connect to the Internet?
July 2008 - How long have you gone without getting on the computer?
June 2008 - Do you think it'll be possible for computers to enslave humans?
May 2008 - What is the date of the oldest e-mail you've in your inbox?
April 2008 - What IM client(s) are you using?
March 2008 - How many CD's have you ripped to your computer?
February 2008 - When your computer prompts you to restart do you?
January 2008 - What computer hardware has failed on you before?

2007

December 2007 - How many social networks are you on?
November 2007 - How old were you when you first used a computer?
October 2007 - What word processor are you using?
September 2007 - How long ago did you buy or build your computer?
August 2007 - Do you have a digital / high definition TV?
July 2007 - On average how long do you wait to talk to phone support?
June 2007 - What do you backup your data to?
May 2007 - Have you pirated software, MP3's, or other data?
April 2007 - What MP3 player do you primarily use?
March 2007 - What media player do you primarily use?
February 2007 - What is your favorite computer related movie?
January 2007 - Are you upgrading to Microsoft Windows Vista?

2006

December 2006 - When was the last time you cleaned your computer?
November 2006 - What e-mail program do you use?
October 2006 - Do you have a MySpace page?
September 2006 - When was the last time you restarted your computer?
June 2006 - Do you believe technology has made your life easier?
May 2006 - Would you pay to send e-mail?
Apr. 2006 - Would you allow a chip to be implanted into you?
Mar. 2006 - How often do you backup?
Feb. 2006 - How many computers do you have?
Jan. 2006 - Which antivirus program do you use?

2005

December 2005 - Do you listen to Podcasts?
November 2005 - What brand of processor does your computer have?
October 2005 - How many words per minute (WPM) can you type?
September 2005 - Have you used VoIP to make Internet phone calls?
August 2005 - Do you think games provoke violence?
July 2005 - Have you used a site to legally download music?
June 2005 - Have you burned your own CD?
May 2005 - Have you tried online dating?
Apr 2005 - Do you have a wireless network?
Mar 2005 - Which is your favorite search engine?
Feb 2005 - Have you installed Linux on your computer?
Jan. 2005 - What is your display resolution set to?

2004

Dec. 2004 - Do you play computer games?
Nov. 2004 - When was your last computer hardware upgrade?
Oct. 2004 - Which operating system are you using?
Sep. 2004 - Which Internet Browser do you prefer?
July & Aug. 2004 - What is your favorite media player?
June 2004 - Do you still illegally download songs from the Internet?
May 2004 - Do you have a spyware protection installed on your computer?
Apr. 2004 - Do you spend more time on the computer than you do watching TV?
Mar. 2004 - Which computer pioneer do you envy the most?
Feb. 2004 - What type of computer do you use?
Jan. 2004 - Are you a computer geek / nerd?

2003

Nov. & Dec. 2003 - What size of monitor do you have?
Oct. 2003 - How much total hard disk space does your computer have?
Sep. 2003 - Has your computer ever been infected with a virus or worm?
Aug. 2003 - What's the average amount of SPAM do you receive weekly?
July 2003 - Do you still purchase audio CDs?
June 2003 - Do you think computers will some day be smarter than humans?
May 2003 - How often do you use floppies?
Apr. 2003 - Which Internet Browser do you prefer?
Mar.2003 - Do you have your own website?
Feb.2003 - What do you use the computer for?
Jan.2003 - Which type of display do you have?

2002

Dec.2002 - Have you suffered from a computer stress related injury?
Nov.2002 - Do you think computer games are addictive?
Oct.2002 - Which is your favorite search engine?
Sep.2002 - What's your Internet connection?
Aug.2002 - How many computer problems have you had in the last month?
July2002 - How many hours a week are you on the Internet?
June2002 - Which version of Microsoft Windows is your favorite?
May.2002 - How many hours a week are you on a computer?
Apr.2002 - What is the speed of your computer processor?
Mar.2002 - What do you do with your SPAM?
Feb.2002 - Which Instant Messenger do you use?
Jan.2002 - Do you have your own home network?

2001

Dec.2001 - How many computers do you own?
Nov.2001 - What is your favorite computer related movie?
Oct.2001 - How many MP3 files do you have?
Sept.2001 - Do you read software license agreements?
Aug.2001 - Do you have a broadband Internet connection?
July2001 - Do you plan on upgrading to Windows XP?
June2001 - How many years have you used a computer?
May2001 - Would you trust Microsoft with all your personal data?
Apr.2001 - Have you received all your submitted computer related rebates?
Mar.2001 - Do you have a DVD player in your computer?
Feb.2001 - Do you turn off your computer at night?
Jan. 2001 - What do you dislike most about the Internet?

2000

Dec.2000 - Do you plan on buying online this holiday?
Nov.2000 - What do you use the Internet for?
Oct.2000 - Do you believe it is ok to Pirate software?
Sept.2000 - Which is your favorite search engine?
Aug. 2000 - Do you think violent games provoke violence?
July 2000 - Which operating system are you using?
June2000 - Do you think you have enough privacy on the Internet?
May 2000 - Which Internet Browser do you prefer?
Apr. 2000 - Do you think Microsoft is a monopoly?
Mar. 2000 - Do you think there should be Internet Taxes?
Feb. 2000 - What would you like to see on Computer Hope

Is your wireless network secure?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2010

Yes, using WEP - (13.3%)
Yes, using WPA - (53.3%)
Unsecure / Open - (13.3%)
Not sure - (6.7%)
Not on wireless network - (13.3%)

What is this all about? More people have wireless networking in their homes. We thought it would be interesting to see how many of our visitors and users have their wireless networks secured.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users our primary warless network is secure using WPA.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What is your favorite Windows 7 feature?
Conducted November 1 - 31, 2010

Windows Peek - (8.3%)
Windows Pin - (0%)
Windows Search - (16.7%)
Windows Snap - (33.3%)
Windows Shake - (16.7%)
XP Mode -1 (8.3%)
Other -2 (16.7%)

What is this all about? With more users moving over to Microsoft Windows 7, we thought it would be interesting to see what everyone's favorite Windows 7 feature is. Thanks to Soybean, a forum member for suggesting this months poll.

What does Computer Hope think? Personally I voted for the Windows Search feature, the ability to quickly find the program you want in the Start Menu seems to be one of the most used features I use while in Vista and 7.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How many different passwords do you have?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2010

Only use one - (14.9%)
2 - 3 - (22.3%)
4 - 5 - (23.4%)
6 - 7 - (9.6%)
Over 7 - (29.8%)

What is this all about? With more and more online services and computer logins, we thought it would be interesting this month to see on average how many passwords each of our visitors have.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of those who voted this month we would have also voted for over 7, with unique password for the majority of our online services, servers, e-mail, etc.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What is your Internet connection download speed?
Conducted September 1 - 31, 2010

Less than 1MB - (30.7%)
Between 1-5MB - (28.1%)
Between 5-10MB - (15.8%)
Between 10-50MB - (21.1%)
Over 100MB -5 (4.4%)

What is this all about? Everyday more users are getting onto broadband Internet speeds. We thought it would be interesting this month to see what everyone's Internet connection speed is.

What does Computer Hope think? We voted "Between 10-50MB" this month, which is our average Internet connection speed. Definitely envy those of you who have a connection that has speeds of over 100MB.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What type of mouse do you use?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2010

Two button mouse - (5.5%)
Two button mouse with wheel - (74%)
Trackball mouse - (5%)
Touchpad - (8.8%)
TrackPoint - (1.1%)
Other - (5.5%)

What is this all about? We thought it would be engaging this month to see what computer mouse our visitors are using while on their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? While there are dozens of different types of computer mice, we were not surprised this month when we saw the majority of users were using the traditional two button mouse with wheel. We also voted for this option.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How do you keep track of your passwords?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2010

Always use same password - (30.3%)
Use my head to remember - (28.7%)
Write it down on paper - (13.9%)
Use password manager - (19.7%)
Other - (7.4%)

What is this all about? With computer security always being an important topic we thought this month we'd see how users were storing their computer passwords.

What does Computer Hope think? We were disappointed to see that the majority of our visitors always use the same password. This can definitely be a security vulnerability if someone were to discover that one password you used. We voted for using a password manager. See document CH001210 for our recommended password manager and related links.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

When was the last time you defragged your hard drive?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2010

Never - (11.3%)
This week - (36.8%)
This month - (15%)
Last month - (12%)
Several months ago - (12%)
Over a year ago -7 (5.3%)
Defrags when idle - (7.5%)

What is this all about? We thought it'd be interesting this month to see how often users with Windows defrag their computer hard disk drives.

What does Computer Hope think? We voted "This month " as we try to defrag our hard drives monthly depending on the use.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How much computer time a day is spent offline?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2010

Never - (32.3%)
Between 1-5 hours - (37.6%)
Between 5 and 10 hours - (19.4%)
Over 10 hours - (10.8%)

What is this all about? Without a doubt the Internet has become the most popular thing to do on the computer today. We thought it would be interesting to see how much of our visitors time is spent offline when on a computer.

What does Computer Hope think? We voted never for this months poll. With our scripts, bots, scheduled downloads, etc. We're online 24/7.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

When was the last time you cleaned your computer?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2010

This month - (41.8%)
Few months ago - (35.7%)
Over a year ago - (3.1%)
Several years ago - (7.1%)
Never - (12.2%)

What is this all about? With spring time and spring cleaning we thought it would be interesting this month to see when the last time our visitors cleaned their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? We voted a few months ago as we try to clean our computers at least once every few months.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What type of display are you using?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2010

Single Flat panel - (42.8%)
Multiple Flat panels - (8.7%)
Laptop LCD - (24.9%)
CRT - (19.1%)
TV - (2.9%)
Projector - (0.6%)
Other - (1.2%)

What is this all about? With flat panel displays being as cheap as they are today and being out for several years. We thought it'd be interesting this month to see what type of displays are users are using this month.

What does Computer Hope think? We voted multiple flat panels display this month since our primary system is using two flat panel displays.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Are you buying a Tablet PC?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2010

Yes - (10.5%)
No - (73.3%)
What's a tablet? - (11.6%)
Already have one - (4.7%)

What is this all about? With Apple and various PC manufacturers announcing future plans of releasing new tablet style devices we thought it'd be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors actually plan on purchasing one.

What does Computer Hope think? Like most of our users we have no immediate plans on purchasing a Tablet PC. Although this could change as we get a chance to get an actual hands on with one and can come up with a valid reason to get one.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How do you read/send e-mail?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2010

Online (e.g Gmail) - (57.8%)
Software (e.g. Outlook) - (11.6%)
Both - (30.6%)
Don't do e-mail - (0%)

What is this all about? With online services such as Google Gmail becoming more sophisticated and capable we thought it'd be interesting this month to see how people are receiving and sending their e-mail.

What does Computer Hope think? Unlike most of our visitors we're still using Mozilla Thunderbird to receive and send e-mail.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How old is your computer?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2009

Less than a month - (7.6%)
Less than a year - (16.9%)
Between 1 and 2 years - (16.5%)
Between 2 and 4 years - (25%)
Over 4 years old - (33.9%)

What is this all about? We thought it'd be interesting this month to see how old the computers our visitors are using and interesting stories tied to those computers.

What does Computer Hope think? Although we have computers that would apply to each of the answers in this months poll. I would of voted "Between 2 and 4 years" as it is the primary computer I'm using.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Have you used cloud computing?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2009

What is it? - (47.2%)
No - (32%)
Yes - (20.8%)

What is this all about? With the cloud computing term becoming so widely used and people using cloud computing without even realizing it we thought it would be interesting to see how many people have used something in the cloud.

What does Computer Hope think? We use many different cloud computing services.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Do you plan on upgrading to Windows 7?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2009

Yes - immediately -37 (13.7%)
Yes - but waiting -94 (34.7%)
No never -18 (6.6%)
Not sure yet -83 (30.6%)
Already installed -39 (14.4%)

What is this all about? Microsoft Windows 7 is scheduled to be released October 22, 2009 and we thought it'd be interesting to see how many of our visitors are planning on upgrading to Windows 7.

What does Computer Hope think? For the last several months Computer Hope has been running the beta copy of Windows 7 and has already pre-ordered copies of Windows 7. Therefore we would of voted Yes - immediately this month.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How much used space is on your primary hard drive?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2009

Less than 5GB - (6.3%)
Between 6-20GB - (22.9%)
Between 21-40GB - (14.6%)
Between 41-60GB - (10.2%)
Between 60-100GB - (14.6%)
Between 100-200GB - (13.2%)
Over 200GB - (18%)

What is this all about? With hard disk drives becoming so big now that most users never run out of disk space, we thought it'd be interesting this month to see how much space our visitors are using on their primary drive.

What does Computer Hope think? For this months poll we would of voted for 'Between 100-200GB'.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What Internet browser are you using?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2009

Internet Explorer - (38.8%)
Mozilla Firefox - (47.8%)
Netscape - (0.7%)
Opera - (3.4%)
Chrome - (5.1%)
Safari - (2.4%)
Other - (1.7%)

What is this all about? We've run this poll several times throughout the last ten years and thought it'd be interested to once again run this poll t see what everyone is using. Click the below link to see a compiled list of previous years and what browsers people were using.

What does Computer Hope think? We were pleasantly surprised to see a vast majority of those who voted in this months poll are using Mozilla Firefox. Like many of our visitors we too use Mozilla Firefox.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

When was the last time you reformatted your computer?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2009

This month - (18.9%)
Few months ago - (20.6%)
Last year - (8%)
Over a year ago - (12.3%)
Never - (40.2%)

What is this all about? We thought it'd be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors have reformatted their computer, completely erasing everything and starting over and if so when the last time they did it.

What does Computer Hope think? We often do this because of the need to install different operating systems or because of the havoc we sometimes inflict on computers. However, for our primary system we would of voted Never like many of our visitors.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What was the first version of Windows you used?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2009

Windows 3.x - (37%)
Windows 95 - (26.7%)
Windows 98 - (17.3%)
Windows ME - (1.9%)
Windows NT - (0.8%)
Windows 2000 - (0.6%)
Windows XP - (13.2%)
Windows 2003 - (0.8%)
Windows Vista - (1%)
Windows 7 - (0.4%)
Never used Windows - (0.4%)

What is this all about? We thought we'd be a little nostalgic this month and see what version of Microsoft Windows everyone first used.

What does Computer Hope think? Like most of our visitors the first version of Microsoft Windows we used was Windows 3.x or more specifically Windows 3.11.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Have you made a purchase from eBay or other auction site?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2009

Yes - Just eBay - (39.9%)
Yes - Other auction site - (4%)
Yes - eBay and other - (16.8%)
No - (39.3%)

What is this all about? Online auctions are one of the most popular destinations on the Internet. We thought it'd be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors have used an auction site and if so which one.

What does Computer Hope think? Like most of our visitors we've used eBay, but that's it.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How many USB devices are connected to your computer?
Conducted April 1 - 31, 2009

None - (7.4%)
One - (6.7%)
Two -4(13.4%)
Three - (16.7%)
Four - (22.1%)
Five - (8.4%)
Six - (13.4%)
Seven or more - (12%)

What is this all about? With USB devices now one of the most widely used external connections used to connect peripherals we thought it'd be interesting this month to see how many USB devices users have connected to their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? Our primary system has nine USB devices connect to it.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How much memory does your computer(s) have?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2009

Less than 128MB - (1.7%)
> 128 <= 256 - (4.8%)
> 256 <= 512 - (7.8%)
> 512 <= 1GB - (16.1%)
> 1GB <= 2GB - (28.7%)
> 2GB <= 3GB - (13.4%)
> 3GB <= 4GB - (11.1%)
> 4GB <= 5GB - (6.9%)
Over 5GB - (9.4%)

What is this all about? In the ever growing struggle of computer programs and operating systems requiring more resources we thought it'd be interesting this month to see how much memory your computer(s) have.

What does Computer Hope think? This month with a multiple voting option and our dozens of machines we placed a vote for every option, since we have systems that meet each of these memory requirements.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What antivirus scanner are you using?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2009

Alwil (Avast) - (6.8%)
AVG - (26.3%)
Avira - (7.6%)
BitDefender - (4.8%)
F-Secure - (0.3%)
Kaspersky - (8.8%)
McAfee (CA) - (11.4%)
Symantec (Norton) - (16.9%)
Panda - (1%)
Trend Micro - (2.5%)
Other - (10.4%)
Not sure - (0.3%)
None - (3%)

What is this all about? We thought it'd be interesting this month to see what anti-virus if any our visitors were using on their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors our computers are also running AVG on them.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

When was the last time you used a floppy disk?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2009

Today - (5.4%)
This week - (7.4%)
This month - (7.7%)
Several months ago - (15.2%)
Over a year - (9.8%)
Over two years - (9.8%)
Over three years - (32%)
Never - (12.8%)

What is this all about? Floppy diskette drives are definitely a thing of the past with new computers. However, we thought it would be interesting to see when the last time our visitors have used one.

What does Computer Hope think? Almost weekly we use the floppy diskette drive at least once with the need of having to use older computers without network connections and/or USB.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How many songs do you have in your music library?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2008

None - (8.4%)
1 to 500 - (34.9%)
501 to 1,000 - (9.6%)
1,001 to 2,000 - (13.3%)
2,001 to 5,000 - (8.4%)
5,001 to 10,000 - (12.7%)
10,001 to 20,000 - (10.2%)
20,001 to 30,000 - (1.2%)
30,001 to 50,000 - (0%)
Over 50,001 - (1.2%)

What is this all about? Storing music on your computer has definitely become the way for users to store their music library. We thought it'd be interesting to see how many songs our visitors have in their online music library.

What does Computer Hope think? For this months poll we would have voted for 5,001 to 20,000 songs we've currently got in our music library.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How many messenger contacts do you have?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2008

None - (28.6%)
Less than five - (18.8%)
Between 6 - 10 - (9%)
Between 11 - 20 - (15%)
More than 21 - (28.6%)

What is this all about? We thought it'd be interesting this month to see how many IM contacts our visitors had.

What does Computer Hope think? For this months poll we would of voted for "Between 11 - 20" and although we have a few contacts we tend to not log in often as it can be an easy distraction.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Do you have a webcam?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2008

No - (56.8%)
Yes - (43.2%)

What is this all about? YouTube and other popular video sites have become one of the most popular destinations on the Internet. We thought it'd be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors have their own webcam.

What does Computer Hope think? We have a few different webcams and cameras although admittedly don't use them much.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What color is your computer
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2008

White - (8.3%)
Beige - (5.8%)
Black - (63.3%)
Silver - (12.9%)
Gray - (4.6%)
Yellow - (0%)
Red - (1.3%)
Clear - (0%)
Other - (3.8%)

What is this all about? With the wide variety of types and colors of computers we thought it'd be interesting to see what color of computers are users have.

What does Computer Hope think? Because we have multiple computers, most being black, silver, and beige we went with our primary system, which is silver. We were actually surprised to see the vast majority of our visitors have black computers.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What do you pay monthly to connect to the Internet?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2008

$19.99 or less - (18.4%)
$20 - $29.99 - (33.3%)
$30 - $39.99 - (8%)
$40 - $50 - (28.2%)
More than $50 - (12.1%)

What is this about? We thought this month it'd be interesting to see what everyone around the world is paying to connect to the Internet a month. We requested that our visitors participating in this poll who were not in the United states convert their currency to U.S. values to help keep everything consistent.

What does Computer Hope think? For our Internet connection, we would have voted for $40 - $50.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How long have you gone without getting on the computer?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2008

Few hours - (44.4%)
Few days - (22.2%)
One week - (10.2%)
Few weeks - (14.2%)
Over a month - (3.6%)
Few months - (3.1%)
Over a year - (2.2%)

What is this about? With computers becoming part of almost everyone's life we thought it'd be interesting this month to see how long you've gone without getting on a computer.

What does Computer Hope think? We were surprised to see how many of our voters have only gone a few hours without being on a computer. Unlike many of our voters we've gone one week without being on a computer.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Do you think it'll be possible for computers to enslave humans?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2008

Will never happen - (38.9%)
Within 10 years - (1.5%)
In 10 - 20 years - (6.1%)
Within 100 years - (13.7%)
In over 100 years - (3.8%)
Has already happened - (35.9%)

What is this all about? We thought we'd post a hypothetical poll this month and see how many of you think computers could some day enslave humans. We thought it'd be interesting to see these results as computers continue to become an ever growing part of each of our life's.

What does Computer Hope think? Although we hate to predict the future, because it's almost always wrong we would have voted within 100 years this month. We were surprised to see how many of you believe that this has already happened.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What is the date of the oldest e-mail you've in your inbox?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2008

Less than a week - (18.7%)
A few months - (15.9%)
Received in 2007 - (14%)
Received in 2006 -(9.3%)
Received in 2005 - (9.3%)
Received in 2004 - (5.6%)
Received in 2003 - (7.5%)
2002 or older - (19.6%)

What is this all about? Chatting and IM is one of the most popular things to do on the Internet. We thought it would be interesting this month to see month to see what IM client our visitors are using if any.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our visitors we also primarily use the MSN Messenger.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What IM client(s) are you using?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2008

Adium - (0%)
AIM (ICQ) - (7.1%)
Google Talk - (11.4%)
iChat - (0.8%)
Skype - (8.7%)
Jabber - (0.5%)
Meebo - (0.5%)
Miranda - (0.5%)
MSN Messenger - (22.6%)
Pidgin - (4.4%)
Trillian - (3.5%)
Yahoo! Messenger - (23.2%)
Gadu-Gadu - (0.8%)
QQ - (1.4%)
Other - (5.4%)
None - (7.4%)
Xfire - (1.6%)

What is this all about? Chatting and IM is one of the most popular things to do on the Internet. We thought it would be interesting this month to see month to see what IM client our visitors are using if any.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our visitors we also primarily use the MSN Messenger.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How many CD's have you ripped to your computer?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2008

None - (22.3%)
1 - 10 - (20.4%)
10 - 30 - (14%)
30 - 50 - (10.2%)
50 - 100 - (10.2%)
Over 100 - (22.9%)

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of MP3 players, iTunes and other online services, and the decrease in sales of CD's we thought it would be interesting to see if those users who have CDs have ripped any of them to their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our visitors we would have voted over 100 as we've ripped our entire music collection on CDs to a digital format.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

When your computer prompts you to restart do you?
Conducted February 1 - 29, 2008

Yes always - (33%)
Sometimes - (36.8%)
Never unless required - (30.2%)

What is this all about? Microsoft Windows commonly prompts users to restart their computer after updating software, drivers and performing other system tasks. Often when prompted users can choose to restart at a later time. We thought it would be interesting to see how many of our visitors restart their computer when prompted.

What does Computer Hope think? Like most of our visitors we would of voted sometimes. Many times we're often involved in something and put rebooting the computer off until later.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What computer hardware has failed on you before?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2008

Never had a hardware failure - (2.1%)
CD-ROM / Disc drive - (12%)
Hard drive - (14.4%)
Memory - (7.7%)
Monitor / Display - (8.8%)
Motherboard - (8.6%)
Mouse / Keyboard - (8.7%)
Network card - (4%)
Power supply - (10.4%)
Processor - (4.1%)
Sound card - (4.6%)
Speakers - (3.7%)
Video card - (5.4%)
Other drive - (2.6%)
Other - (2.9%)

What is this all about? Computer hardware failure is something no one wants to deal with. However, for the majority of computer users you're likely to encounter some type of hardware failure during the life-time of your computer. This month we thought it would be interesting to see how many of you have encountered a hardware failure and if so what device has failed on you. This month allowed users to vote on more than one thing.

What does Computer Hope think? This month we would have voted for all available options as we've encountered one or more failures with each of these devices with each of the computers we've had.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How many social networks are you on?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2007

One - (17.4%)
Two - (20.8%)
Three - (11.1%)
Four - (4.2%)
Five - (2.8%)
More than five - (5.6%)
None -55 (38.2%)

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of online social networks we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors are on a social network and if any how many.

What does Computer Hope think? This month we would have voted for "More than five" as we are currently listed on several dozen different social networks.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How old were you when you first used a computer?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2007

5 or younger - (6.1%)
6-8 years old - (8.8%)
9-13 years old - (19.6%)
14-16 years old - (8.8%)
17-20 years old - (17.1%)
21-25 years old - (10.5%)
26-30 years old - (7.4%)
31-40 years old - (9.1%)
41 or older - (12.7%)

What is this all about? We thought it would be interesting this month to see when our visitors and forum members started first using their computer. In addition to voting many of our forum users also shared a lot of great stories about what they started using and what they did in the below link.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users we voted 9-13 years old this month.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What word processor are you using?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2007

Apple Pages -(0.7%)
Google Docs - (0.7%)
Microsoft Word - (75.1%)
Microsoft WordPad - (2.9%)
OpenOffice - (8.4%)
Zoho Writer - (0.4%)
Corel WordPerfect - (2.9%)
Microsoft Works - (2.9%)
Other - (3.7%)
None - (2.2%)

What is this all about? One of the most commonly used programs on a computer is the Word Processor. We thought it would be interesting to see with all the alternative programs available what users are using as their Word Processor.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the overwhelming majority of our users we too use Microsoft Word primarily for our word processor. In addition to this word processor we also enjoy OpenOffice Writer although we miss the lack of a grammar checker.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

How long ago did you buy or build your computer?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2007

Less than a month ago - (13.2%)
Between two and five months ago - (13.8%)
Over five months ago - (13.2%)
Over a year ago - (17.1%)
Over two years ago - (42.8%)

What is this all about? As computers become cheaper and more common we thought it would be interesting to see how many users are using older computers.

What does Computer Hope think? We were real surprised to see that almost half of those who voted are using computers that are older than two years. For this month we would have voted between two and five months ago.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Do you have a digital / high definition TV?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2007

Yes - Digital (DTV) - (6.1%)
Yes - Digital Tuner - (6.8%)
Yes - High definition (HDTV) - (22.7%)
No - Planning on it soon - (22.7%)
No - Waiting until 2009 - (11.4%)
No - Will get tuner - (3%)
No - Don't need it - (27.3%)

What is this all about? In the United States on February 17, 2009 all traditional analog signals will stop being broadcasted, which means if you do not have a TV or tuner capable of interpreting the digital signal you'll be unable to watch TV. With this date fast approaching we thought it would be interesting to see how many users have already upgraded.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our users we have already upgraded to a HDTV and are ready for the conversion. We were surprised to see many of our users voted that they don't need high-definition. We're assuming that this is because of users who are outside of the United States.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

On average how long do you wait to talk to phone support?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2007

Less than five minutes - (12.5%)
Between five and ten minutes - (19.2%)
Between ten and fifteen minutes - (9.6%)
Over fifteen minutes - (18.3%)
Don't call support - (40.4%)

What is this all about? Regardless of who you are it's inevitable that you'll have to contact some type of phone support. Either to help troubleshoot a problem or to help with getting a product fixed or replaced. We thought it would be interesting to see how many users contact support and how long they wait for support when they do contact them.

What does Computer Hope think? For this months poll unlike the majority of our users we voted between five and ten minutes. Something we believe is about average for most phone support calls.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What do you backup your data to?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2007

Floppy diskette - (2.5%)
CD-R (Burnable CD) - (12.9%)
CD-RW - (7.5%)
Burnable DVD - (14.9%)
Other hard drive - (28.4%)
Tape drive - (2.5%)
USB flash drive - (15.4%)
Other device - (5%)
Don't backup - (10.9%)

What is this all about? Many users often think about backing up their data but often never get around to it until it's too late. This month we thought it would be interesting to see if our visitors back up their data and if they do what they back it up to.

What does Computer Hope think? We often backup all are data to CD-R or DVD-R discs to have a good external source of backed up data. In addition to this we also backup data more frequently to an alternative hard drive.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Have you pirated software, MP3's, or other data?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2007

No never - (29.4%)
I have in the past - (26.6%)
Still do, only software - (8.3%)
Still do, only MP3's - (14.7%)
Still do, only movies - (1.8%)
Yes all the time - (19.3%)

What is this all about? We thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our forum members illegally obtain data such as pirated software, movies, and MP3's and how many of them would confess it.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our visitors admittedly in the past we have obtained MP3's though services such as Napster and software through other means. Today, however we're happy to admit we don't own one program that we have not purchased.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What MP3 player do you primarily use?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2007

Creative Zen - (17.5%)
iriver - (1.6%)
Archos - (1.6%)
Apple iPod - (23.8%)
Microsoft Zune -0 (0%)
Mobile Phone - (9.5%)
None - (22.2%)
Other - (23.8%)

What is this all about? After the introduction of the Apple iPod and iTunes and similar services and products the popularity of MP3 players has greatly increased. We thought it would be interesting this month to see what type of MP3 player everyone is using if any.

What does Computer Hope think? Unlike many of our users this month we primarily use our Mobile Phone as a MP3 player for the few times we're away from the computer or car.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What media player do you primarily use?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2007

Foobar2000 - 28 (1.4%)
ITunes - 225 (11.9%)
Quick Time - 34 (1.8%)
RealPlayer - 131 (6.9%)
VLC - 128 (6.7%)
Winamp - 240 (12.7%)
Windows Media Player - 971 (51.5%)
Xine - 8 (0.4%)
XMMS - 14 (0.7%)
Other - 105 (5.5%)

What is this all about? As computers, the Internet, and technology in general become increasingly popular so do the movies that deal with them. We thought it would be interesting to see what our visitors favorite computer movies are.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our visitors we have several favorites as well as own many of them on DVD. However, because we can only choose one we would have voted for Hackers. Yes, the movie is a little corny and non-realistic but thought it was fun.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

What is your favorite computer related movie?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2007

Antitrust - 26 (3.2%)
Hackers - 112 (14.1%)
Johnny Mnemonic - 8 (1%)
Matrix - 292 (36.8%)
Mercury Rising - 6 (0.7%)
Pirates of Silicon Valley - 41 (5.1%)
Sneakers - 23 (2.9%)
Swordfish - 70 (8.8%)
The Net - 41 (5.1%)
The Thirteenth Floor - 14 (1.7%)
Tron - 55 (6.9%)
WarGames - 71 (8.9%)
Other - 34 (4.2%)

What is this all about? As computers, the Internet, and technology in general become increasingly popular so do the movies that deal with them. We thought it would be interesting to see what our visitors favorite computer movies are.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our visitors we have several favorites as well as own many of them on DVD. However, because we can only choose one we would have voted for Hackers. Yes, the movie is a little corny and non-realistic but thought it was fun.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

Are you upgrading to Microsoft Windows Vista?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2007

Don't meet system requirements - 176 (9%)
Have an Apple - 54 (2.7%)
Maybe - 278 (14.3%)
No, staying with XP - 1052 (54.3%)
No, sticking with *nix - 109 (5.6%)
Yes - 267 (13.7%)

What is this all about? With Windows Vista being released on January 29, 2007 we thought it would be interesting to see how many of our visitors are planning on upgrading to the next release of Windows.

What does Computer Hope think? This months poll we would have voted Yes. Being in the computer support field we need to upgrade at least a few of our computers to Windows Vista to help support other Windows Vista users.

Click here to see other users' comments about this poll

When was the last time you cleaned your computer?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2006

This week - 573 (33.9%)
This month - 332 (19.6%)
This year - 259 (15.3%)
Over a year ago - 130 (7.7%)
Never - 392 (23.2%)
Total votes: 1686

What is this all about? Many computer users never consider cleaning their computer and computer components. With studies showing that the computer keyboard is one of the most dirty spots in all homes we thought it would be interesting this month to see how often people clean their computers.

What does Computer Hope think? Like 19% of the users who voted we would of also voted this month. Although we don't often clean all our computers monthly we try to clean the ones being used the most at least once every month.

What e-mail program do you use?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2006

Eudora - 50 (3.3%)
Lotus Notes - 61 (4%)
Outlook - 336 (22.4%)
Outlook Express - 356 (23.8%)
Pine - 6 (0.4%)
Thunderbird - 211 (14.1%)
Use online e-mail - 320 (21.4%)
Other - 154 (10.3%)
Total votes: 1495

What is this all about? E-mail is the most widely used and most popular service used on the Internet. We thought it would be interesting this month to see what users are using to send and receive their e-mail.

What does Computer Hope think? In the past we've used Microsoft Outlook as our primary program to send and receive e-mail. However, we recently moved all our computers to the free and open-source e-mail program Mozilla Thunderbird and have been real happy with the results.

Do you have a MySpace page?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2006

<Results lost due to forum error>

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of MySpace we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many users out there have their own MySpace page.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope created its own MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/computerhope therefore we would of voted

When was the last time you restarted your computer?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2006

Today - 564 (54.8%)
Yesterday - 170 (16.5%)
A few days ago - 120 (11.6%)
Over a week ago - 64 (6.2%)
A month ago - 26 (2.5%)
Over a month ago - 36 (3.5%)
Over a year ago - 48 (4.6%)
Total votes: 1028

What is this all about? Often a computers stability and/or reliability is judged by how long a computer can remain on without having to be restarted because of errors, power outages, or other problems. We thought it would be interesting to see how often our users restart their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? Of course this all depends on which computers this poll relates to. However, overall most of our computers are restarted over a week ago, although we've had several *nix boxes up and running for several months (5-9 months) without needing a restart.

Has technology made your life easier?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2006

Yes - 97 (80.8%)
No - 9 (7.5%)
Not sure - 14 (11.6%)
Total votes: 120

What is this all about? With all the new types of technologies that have been introduced into the public, ie: mobile phones, MP3 players, GPS devices, satellite radio, computer and computer accessories, etc. We thought it would be interesting to see if people believe all these new gadgets and other technology devices have made life easier.

What does Computer Hope think? Although technology can seem to make life more difficult at times we believe overall technology and many of the different gadgets have made life easier and more productive.

Would you pay to send e-mail?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2006

Yes - 94 (4.3%)
No - 1924 (89.5%)
Maybe - 130 (6%)
Total Votes: 2148

What's this all about? Recently there have been talks by many large companies who handle a lot of e-mail such as AOL, Microsoft, and a few others to develop a system to charge a small fee to help manage and control e-mail and potentially stop spam. We thought it would be interesting to see if users would pay for such a service and see the visitors thoughts on the subject.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors we too would not pay for e-mail. We find e-mail is a great service but find that it should remain free to the public even with the problems it does have.

Would you allow a chip to be implanted into you?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2006

Yes - 390 (25%)
No - 889 (57.1%)
Maybe - 277 (17.8%)
Total votes: 1556

What's this all about? There has been recent news over the last few years of tests and experiments with various types of implants in humans. With many animals and pets already getting implants to help with identification and tracking we thought it would be interesting to see how many of our users would have an implant implanted into them if it became widely available.

What does Computer Hope think? We would have no issue with having implants assuming the implant was something beneficial such as monitoring health conditions or making life easier. Therefore we would have voted yes for this month's poll.

How often do you backup?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2006

Daily - 329 (17%)
Weekly - 232 (12%)
Monthly - 324 (16.8%)
Yearly - 166 (8.6%)
Never - 876 (45.4%)
Total votes: 1927

What is this all about? Many users become to dependant on their computers and often never backup their data and end up regretting it when their data is lost or their computer crashes causing the data to become lost. We thought we would run this poll as a reminder for those users who don't backup as well as to see how many users out there don't. As can be seen from the above results many users never backup their data.

What does Computer Hope think? Although we do run often daily updates overall we usually run weekly updates with other programs such as Norton Ghost and other scripts to handle other frequent updating after updating files.

How many computers do you have?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2006

Only one - 698 (22.7%)
Two - 770 (25.1%)
Three - 632 (20.6%)
Four - 330 (10.7%)
Five - 197 (6.4%)
Six to 10 - 232 (7.5%)
More than 10 - 207 (6.7%)
Total votes: 3249

What is this all about? This is the first month Computer Hope will be testing out integrating the forum polls with the website. We hope this will bring more of a community feel to the site and forums and help migrate both of the services. We thought it would be interesting this month to see how many computers each of our users has.

What does Computer Hope think? We have 10 working computers and 4 non-working / partially working computers. Almost each of these computers is a completely unique setup including the operating system with each of the major Windows operating systems running on at least one of the computers.

Which antivirus program do you use?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2006

Norton (1465 votes) 38.36%
McAfee (833 votes) 21.81%
F-Prot (35 votes) 0.92%
Other (1280 votes) 33.52%
None (206 votes) 5.39%
(Total Votes: 3819 )

What is this all about? With the wide variety of different virus scanners available today we thought it would be interesting to see what antivirus scanner programs users are running on their computers. Because of the large amount of other votes and at the request of forum users additional votes were made possible through the forum polls.

What does Computer Hope think? We actually run a couple different variants of different virus scanners. However, we primarily use Norton as our antivirus program. Therefore we would have voted for Norton this month, in addition to running Norton we also run McAfee and AVG on other computers.

Do you listen to Podcasts?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2005

All the time (71 votes) 8.37%
Sometimes (133 votes) 15.68%
No (644 votes) 75.94%
(Total Votes: 848 )

What is this all about? The year 2005 is also known as the year of the Podcast, was also named as the word of the year. With the increased popularity and press on podcasts we thought it would be interesting to see how many of our visitors are listening to podcasts.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope would have voted for 'All the time', for this months poll. We were a little surprised to see how many users were not listening to podcast and how little votes we got on this months quiz. It's obvious both from this poll and other articles about podcasts that we've read that podcasting is still not mainstream and may not be for some time.

What brand of processor does your computer have?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2005

AMD (1390 votes) 36.49%
Intel (2215 votes) 58.15%
Other (91 votes) 2.39%
Not sure (113 votes) 2.97%
(Total Votes: 3809 )

What is this all about? With all the news reports about AMD processors out selling Intel processors we thought it would be interesting this month to see what processor our users were running.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors we are also primarily running computers with Intel processors. Although we do have a few computers also running AMD processors. Therefore this month we would have voted for Intel.

How many words per minute (WPM) can you type?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2005

Less than 20 (493 votes) 17.07%
20 - 40 (736 votes) 25.48%
40 - 60 (778 votes) 26.94%
60 - 80 (444 votes) 15.37%
Over 80 (437 votes) 15.13%
(Total Votes: 2888 )

What is this all about? With more people working on the computer everyday, chatting, and browsing the Internet, we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many words per minute users on our website could type.

What does Computer Hope think? This month I would have voted for 60 - 80; on average, I get 65-75 WPM. We were real surprised to see how many of our visitors could type over 80 words per minute.

Have you used VoIP to make Internet phone calls?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2005

Yes (404 votes) 30.75%
Planning on it (136 votes) 10.35%
No (705 votes) 53.65%
Not sure (69 votes) 5.25%
(Total Votes: 1314 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of broadband connections and the increased popularity of talking to other users using VoIP, we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors have used their computers to make phone calls or use some other type of VoIP technology.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer hope has used VoIP to make Internet phone calls as well as used VoIP technologies such as Skype, TeamSpeak, and Ventrilo and has been very satisfied with each of the programs and their abilities. We strongly believe that this technology is only going to get better and who knows soon all your phone calls even mobile calls will go over the Internet.

Do you think games provoke violence?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2005

Yes (657 votes) 26.93%
No (1115 votes) 45.70%
Sometimes (582 votes) 23.85%
Uncertain (86 votes) 3.52%
(Total Votes: 2440 )

What is this all about? With all the recent news about the computer game Grand Theft Auto SanAndreas, we thought it would be interesting once again to see how many of our users believe that computer games provoke violence.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of the people who participated in this month's poll we would have voted No. We believe a person who commits any type of violence or crime has problems that have been caused by a lifetime of different reasons and that playing a game is not the primary cause of the persons behavior.

Have you used a site to legally download music?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2005

Yes - iTunes (261 votes) 17.17%
Yes - Napster (57 votes) 3.75%
Yes - eMusic (34 votes) 2.24%
Yes - Other (260 votes) 17.11%
No (908 votes) 59.74%
(Total Votes: 1520 )

What is this all about? News reports and various other reports have reported the increased popularity with new sites that provide a method of easily getting music legally over the Internet. We thought it would be interesting to see how many of our users were actually using one of these services.

What does Computer Hope think? We have used a few of these services, because we have used Apple iTunes the most we would have voted for it this month. However, overall we don't use these services to get the majority of our music. Find it easier to buy a CD or get the music from other legal free music sites.

Have you burned your own CD?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2005

Yes (1581 votes) 85.83%
No (219 votes) 11.89%
Not sure (42 votes) 2.28%
(Total Votes: 1842 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of creating your own CDs and many new computers coming equipped with the software and hardware that allows you to burn your own CD, we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our users have created their own CD.

What does Computer Hope think? For this month's poll we would have voted "Yes", we have burned several CDs over the last few years.

Have you tried online dating?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2005

Yes, it worked (227 votes) 16.32%
Yes, didn't work (190 votes) 13.66%
Planning on it (70 votes) 5.03%
No (904 votes) 64.99%
(Total Votes: 1391 )

What is this all about? We thought this month it would be interesting to see how many users out there have tried online dating and how it worked for them.

What does Computer Hope think? We have not tried online dating, so we would have voted no this month.

Do you have a wireless network?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2005

Yes (1076 votes) 48.69%
No (1079 votes) 48.82%
Not sure (55 votes) 2.49%
(Total Votes: 2210 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity with wireless networks, we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many users out there have a wireless network in their home or office setup.

What does Computer Hope think? Although we do not primarily use it, we do have a wireless network, therefore we would have voted "Yes" for this month's poll.

Which is your favorite search engine?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2005

Ask Jeeves (141 votes) 4.38%
Google (2590 votes) 80.48%
MSN (95 votes) 2.95%
Yahoo (280 votes) 8.70%
Other (112 votes) 3.48%
(Total Votes: 3218 )

What is this all about? We have ran this poll in the past and we thought it would be interesting to see if everyone still feels the same way about their favorite Search Engine. As we and probably most of you expected, Google overwhelmingly was everyone's favorite search engine.

What does Computer Hope think? We would have to agree with the overwhelming majority of our users that our favorite search engine is Google.

Have you installed Linux on your computer?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2005

Yes, but uninstalled (306 votes) 19.02%
Yes, still installed (469 votes) 29.15%
No (834 votes) 51.83%
(Total Votes: 1609 )

What is this all about? With the increasing popularity of Linux variants we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many users out there have tried Linux and are still running it. We were surprised to see that over half of our audience has not even tried Linux.

What does Computer Hope think? We have several computers and several different configurations setup. Therefore we would have answered "Yes, still installed" for this month's poll.

What is your display resolution set to?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2005

640 x 480 (166 votes) 3.47%
800 x 600 (857 votes) 17.93%
1024 x 768 (2667 votes) 55.78%
1152 x 864 (375 votes) 7.84%
Other (716 votes) 14.98%
(Total Votes: 4781 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of bigger monitors and flat panels we thought it would be interesting this month to see what everyone is running for their resolution.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users we also run all our displays at 1024x768.

Do you play computer games?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2004

Yes (1419 votes) 69.90%
No (611 votes) 30.10%
(Total Votes: 2030 )

What is this all about? With the gaming industry now the second most profitable entertainment industry we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors play computer games.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors Computer Hope would have voted Yes for this month's poll.

When was your last computer hardware upgrade?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2004

Less than 3 months (501 votes) 33.47%
Between 3-6 months (170 votes) 11.36%
Between 6-12 months (223 votes) 14.90%
Between 1-2 years (257 votes) 17.17%
Over 2 years ago (346 votes) 23.11%
(Total Votes: 1497 )

What is this all about? We thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors have recently upgraded their computers because of the decreases of computer prices and the increasing demands of computer software.

What does Computer Hope think? As you may have imagined Computer Hope has several computers and because we must test and learn about all new technologies we find ourselves frequently upgrading the hardware in our computer. For this month's poll we would have voted: Less than 3 months.

Which operating system are you using?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2004

Windows 95/98/ME (713 votes) 18.84%
Windows NT/2K/XP (2689 votes) 71.06%
Mac OS (106 votes) 2.80%
BeOS (13 votes) 0.34%
Unix / Linux (263 votes) 6.95%
(Total Votes: 3784 )

What is this all about? With the increasing popularity of Linux / Unix and the new versions of Microsoft Windows we thought it would be interesting this month to see what operating system our users are using.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope has computers running each of these operating systems or variants of each of these operating systems. However, we primarily have computers running Windows NT/2K/XP and therefore we voted for Windows NT/2K/XP.

We also conducted this poll in July 2000, as can be seen from the below results many users are moving into later versions of Microsoft Windows.

Windows 95 / 98 (539 votes) 61.95%
Windows NT / 2000 (198 votes) 22.76%
Mac OS (38 votes) 4.37%
BeOS (11 votes) 1.26%
Unix / Linux (84 votes) 9.66%
(Total Votes: 870 )

Which Internet browser do you prefer?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2004

Internet Explorer (1262 votes) 42.49%
Firefox / Mozilla (1167 votes) 39.29%
Opera (220 votes) 7.41%
Netscape (182 votes) 6.13%
Other (139 votes) 4.68%
(Total Votes: 2970 )

What is this all about? With the popularity of alternative Internet Explorer browsers we thought it would be interesting this month to see what browser everyone prefers.

What does Computer Hope think? We are now using Firefox as our primary browser, although Microsoft Internet Explorer has made a lot of improvements with Service Pack 2, we still enjoy Firefox's features such as tabbed browsing.

What is your favorite media player?
Conducted July & August 2004.

RealPlayer (269 votes) 11.01%
WINAMP (816 votes) 33.39%
Windows Media Player (1012 votes) 41.41%
XMMS (84 votes) 3.44%
Other (263 votes) 10.76%
(Total Votes: 2444 )

Why Two months? Computer Hope ran into several issues July causing the results of the polls to get reset three times during the month. Because of these issues we thought it would be best to have the polls roll over into the month of August.

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of playing multimedia files on computers we thought it would be interesting to see what everyone's favorite media player is.

What does Computer Hope think? Like many of our users we would have voted for WINAMP. We really enjoy the WINAMP media player for any audio files. However, often resort to using Windows Media Player for playing video files.

Do you still illegally download songs from the Internet?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2004

Yes (760 votes) 44.89%
No (759 votes) 44.83%
Maybe (174 votes) 10.28%
(Total Votes: 1693 )

What is this all about? With the increased crack down on Internet Piracy, especially that pertaining to downloading free songs, we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many users still download songs illegally from the Internet.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope understands the reasons of why users may want to download songs illegally and also why companies want to prevent users from getting songs for free. With the wide availability of legal music sharing networks and because it is illegal we would have voted "No" for this month's poll.

Do you have a spyware protection installed on your computer?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2004

Yes (1140 votes) 64.63%
No (452 votes) 25.62%
Not sure (172 votes) 9.75%
(Total Votes: 1764 )

What is this all about? With the ever growing threat of spyware and malware being installed on Internet users computers' we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of you have protection.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users we have one or more spyware protection programs installed on each of our computers and highly recommend users consider installing one on their computers. A listing of some of the available spyware, malware, adware detection and removal programs can be found through document CH000578.

Do you spend more time on the computer than you do watching TV?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2004

Yes (2175 votes) 84.43%
No (313 votes) 12.15%
Not sure (88 votes) 3.42%
(Total Votes: 2576 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of computers and the Internet we thought this month it would be interesting to see how many users are now using their computers more than watching their TV we were actually surprised and happy to see how many more users were using their computer more than watching their TV.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users we are also on our computer more than in front of the TV. Therefore this month we voted Yes.

Which computer pioneer do you envy the most?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2004

Bill Gates (1033 votes) 50.22%
Steve Jobs (251 votes) 12.20%
Linus Torvalds (524 votes) 25.47%
Tim Berners-Lee (89 votes) 4.33%
Other (160 votes) 7.78%
(Total Votes: 2057 )

What is this all about? We thought it would be interesting to see which computer pioneer you envy the most and/or believe has influenced the computer industry.

What does Computer Hope think? Although each of these individuals have greatly affected the computer Industry like the majority of our audience we would have also voted for Bill Gates because of everything he and his company has done.

What type of computer do you use?
Conducted February 1 - 29, 2004

Desktop (1353 votes) 74.55%
Laptop (371 votes) 20.44%
PDA / Mobile (24 votes) 1.32%
Server (43 votes) 2.37%
Other (24 votes) 1.32%
(Total Votes: 1815 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of other types of computers or electronic devices and the drop in prices in all types of computers we thought it would be interesting this month to see what users are using.

What does Computer Hope think? Although Computer Hope does utilize each of the devices listed in the above list we primarily utilize desktops.

Are you a computer geek / nerd?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2004

Yes (1002 votes) 46.01%
No (720 votes) 33.06%
Not sure (456 votes) 20.94%
(Total Votes: 2178 )

What is this all about? With the ever-growing popularity of computers and the Internet we thought it would be interesting to see how many of you consider yourself a geek or nerd.

What does Computer Hope think? Running a computer help site, sending the majority of the day on the computer, spending several hours each week programming, and with our love of science and mathematics I think the answer is obvious.

What size of monitor do you have?
Conducted End of November through December 31, 2004

15-inch (377 votes) 16.80%
17-inch (1085 votes) 48.35%
19-inch (559 votes) 24.91%
21-inch (141 votes) 6.28%
22-inch or bigger (82 votes) 3.65%
(Total Votes: 2244 )

Why Two months? Computer Hope was working on other projects that completely filled all of our available hard disk drive space that caused our polls to become continuously reset. Because we did not want to have only a few days of results we decided to run the poll into the next month of December.

What is this all about? With the decrease in price on computer monitors and other display devices this month we thought we would pose this month's question to get a better understanding of users' monitor sizes.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope has several monitors, the majority of our monitors our 19", however we also have 17" and 15" monitors.

How much total hard disk space does your computer have?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2003

50GB or less (1310 votes) 45.93%
51 - 100GB (759 votes) 26.61%
101 - 200GB (457 votes) 16.02%
201GB or more (244 votes) 8.56%
Not sure (82 votes) 2.88%
(Total Votes: 2852 )

What is this all about? With the increased size of hard disk drive space and the decrease in price we thought it would be interesting this month to see what the total hard disk space each of your computers have.

What does Computer Hope think? The majority of Computer Hopes computer have hard disk drive space that total between 50 and 100GB. Therefore Computer Hope would have answered 51-100GB for this month's poll.

Has your computer ever been infected with a computer virus or worm?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2003

Yes (1139 votes) 63.35%
No (543 votes) 30.20%
Not sure (116 votes) 6.45%
(Total Votes: 1798 )

What is this all about? With the recent blaster worm infecting several Microsoft Windows computers we thought it would be interesting this month to see how many of our visitors have ever been infected with a computer virus or worm.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our voters this month we have also had our computers infected with one or more viruses or worms.

What's the average amount of SPAM do you receive weekly?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2003

None (106 votes) 6.26%
1 to 50 (534 votes) 31.54%
50 to 100 (385 votes) 22.74%
Over 100 (635 votes) 37.51%
Not sure (33 votes) 1.95%
(Total Votes: 1693 )

What is this all about? With the unfortunate increase of solicited e-mail, also known as SPAM, we thought it would be interesting this month to see how much SPAM each of our visitors receive each week.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of this month's voters unfortunately we also receive over 100 messages weekly. We have listed additional steps in document CH000477 that will help prevent SPAM. However, unfortunately will not completely stop SPAM.

Do you purchase CDs more or less with the availability of MP3s?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2003

More (203 votes) 28.51%
Less (218 votes) 30.62%
Same (291 votes) 40.87%
(Total Votes: 712 )

What is this all about? MP3 files have always been a big controversy after the introduction of P2P programs and there are numerous theories and ideas to what this has done to the music industry. We thought with all the recent activity in the news that it would be interesting to see how MP3s have affected peoples' purchasing habits.

What does Computer Hope think? We were amazed on how close each of the votes were this month. Computer Hope believes MP3 files are a great method of listening to music that you would normally not have listed to and would have voted for "More" in this month's poll. We have been introduced to many music artists that we normally would have missed at the local music store.

Do you think computers will some day be smarter than humans?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2003

Yes (634 votes) 36.69%
No (1001 votes) 57.93%
Not sure (93 votes) 5.38%
(Total Votes: 1728 )

What is this all about? With improvements in AI being made frequently as well as the increased speed in computer and the countless movies made about computers and their intelligence we thought it would be interesting to see what our visitors thought about the subject.

What does Computer Hope think? Although there is different types of intelligence Computer Hope believes that in the future Computers will exceed the overall intelligence of humans. Therefore we would have answered "Yes" to this month's poll.

How often do you use floppies?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2003

Every day (329 votes) 13.65%
A few times a week (432 votes) 17.93%
A few times a month (614 votes) 25.48%
A few times a year (747 votes) 31.00%
Never (288 votes) 11.95%
(Total Votes: 2410 )

What is this all about? With the limited size a floppy diskette provides and the increased popularity of recordable CDs and other media we thought it would be interesting to see how many of our users are using floppies and how often.

What does Computer Hope think? We were actually amazed at the results of this month's poll. We assumed with more and more computers not including floppies and users needing more storage space that a larger percentage of our visitors would have not used a floppies so often. However, Computer Hope would have voted for "a few times a month" for this month's poll.

Which Internet Browser do you prefer?
Conducted April 1 - 31, 2003

Internet Explorer (1583 votes) 68.95%
Netscape (298 votes) 12.98%
Opera (218 votes) 9.49%
Mosaic (24 votes) 1.05%
Other (173 votes) 7.53%
(Total Votes: 2296 )

What is this all about? A poll that we ran on May of 2000 that we thought would be interesting to see what people currently prefer for their Internet browser in comparison to three years ago. In our previous poll Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape were neck and neck with Internet Explorer wining by a 15 votes. This year as you can see from the above results Microsoft Internet Explorer is largely the browser of choice for people visiting our site.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users we also prefer Microsoft Internet Explorer. While we do not seclude ourselves to Internet Explorer, we find that Microsoft Internet Explorer has a much broader compatibility among most sites and Internet utilities on the Internet, in addition we enjoy its interface and link system. If we had to choose a second we would have chosen Opera. This is another great browser that users should definitely consider as a contender to Internet Explorer.

Do you have your own website?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2003

Yes (527 votes) 42.13%
No (724 votes) 57.87%
(Total Votes: 1251 )

What this is all about? With the popularity of the Internet we thought it would be interesting to see how many others were contributing to it with their own web site.

What does Computer Hope think? Well of course we would have voted "Yes" for this month's poll.

What do you use the computer for?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2003

Business (68 votes) 5.08%
Entertainment (208 votes) 15.55%
Communication (73 votes) 5.46%
Study (168 votes) 12.56%
All the above (821 votes) 61.36%
(Total Votes: 1338 )

What is this all about? With the wide available options a computer is capable of doing we thought it would be interesting to see what everyone uses their computers for.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors we also utilize our computer for each of these categories.

Which type of display do you have?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2003

Standard monitor (1516 votes) 73.17%
LCD display (455 votes) 21.96%
Plasma (53 votes) 2.56%
Projection (24 votes) 1.16%
Other (24 votes) 1.16%
(Total Votes: 2072 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity and decrease of price of LCD displays we thought it would be interesting to see what percentage of our visitors were using as their display.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of those of you who voted Computer Hope also has only Standard monitors, although does utilize LCD displays with its portable computers. We were surprised to see that only 21.96% of those who voted had a LCD display, we thought it would have been much higher.

Have you suffered from a computer stress related injury?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2002

Yes (432 votes) 44.49%
No (419 votes) 43.15%
Not sure (120 votes) 12.36%
(Total Votes: 971 )

What is this all about? With the popularity of computers and devices that require repetitive motion, it has been reported that there has been an increase of individuals that have suffered from stress related injuries. There are several different theories behind the causes and treatments to computer stress injuries and we thought it would be interesting to see how many of our visitors have suffered from a computer stress related injury.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope would have voted "No" this month as the majority of us have not suffered from any computer stress injuries. We were very surprised to see how many of you have suffered from a computer stress related injury.

Do you think computer games are addictive?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2002

Yes (1026 votes) 64.45%
No (168 votes) 10.55%
Sometimes (398 votes) 25.00%
(Total Votes: 1592 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of computer games, especially MMORPG games, we thought it would be interesting to see how many of you believe that computer games are or can be addictive.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope completely agrees with the majority of its visitors who have voted in this month's poll. As we mentioned earlier with the increased popularity of MMORPG games and the time requirements often required for those games. Many of these games and games like them can become addictive.

Which is your favorite search engine?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2002

AlltheWeb (55 votes) 1.95%
AltaVista (93 votes) 3.29%
Google (2254 votes) 79.82%
Yahoo (274 votes) 9.70%
Other (148 votes) 5.24%
(Total Votes: 2824 )

What is this all about? Computer Hope conducted this same poll back in September 2000. We thought with the improvements made by different companies in search technologies it would be interesting to see what people use for a search engine today, compared with what they used in the past.

What does Computer Hope think? With the available search options in Google, the page ranging and overall good results found by Google. Today, Computer Hope would have voted for Google as its favorite search engine.

What's your Internet connection?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2002

Cable (1237 votes) 41.66%
DSL (753 votes) 25.36%
Wireless (53 votes) 1.79%
Modem (840 votes) 28.29%
Other (86 votes) 2.90%
(Total Votes: 2969 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity, availability and options of broadband we thought it would be interesting this month to see if our users were using broadband connections and if so what type of broadband was being used.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope uses a broadband connection at work and at home. The majority of the votes for Computer Hope would have gone to Wireless broadband solution.

How many computer problems have you had in the last month?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2002

None (227 votes) 16.77%
1 to 3 (509 votes) 37.59%
4 to 6 (213 votes) 15.73%
7 to 10 (68 votes) 5.02%
Over 10 (337 votes) 24.89%
(Total Votes: 1354 )

What is this all about? Being a site devoted to computer support and help we thought it would be interesting to hold a poll to see how many issues, on average, each of our users are experiencing with their computer each month.

What does Computer Hope think? This question is difficult for us to answer because we commonly come across new issues when attempting to duplicate issues or testing new products. Overall the average of how many computer problems we had last month is well over 10. However, this is on multiple computers.

How many hours a week are you on the Internet?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2002

Less than 5 (218 votes) 8.83%
6 to 10 (339 votes) 13.73%
11 to 20 (460 votes) 18.63%
21 to 30 (444 votes) 17.98%
Over 31 hours (1008 votes) 40.83%
(Total Votes: 2469 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of the Internet and the increased use of the Internet at most businesses and for school we thought it would be interesting to see how many hours everyone is on the Internet.

What does Computer Hope think? As you would have likely expected Computer Hope employees spend well over 31 hours on the Internet. Taking the overall average of around 8 hours a day on the Internet we commonly spend around 60 hours on the Internet each week.

Which version of Microsoft Windows is your favorite?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2002

Window 95 (117 votes) 3.18%
Windows 98 (1185 votes) 32.23%
Windows ME (278 votes) 7.56%
Windows 2000 (905 votes) 24.61%
Windows XP (1192 votes) 32.42%
(Total Votes: 3677 )

What is this all about? With the wide variety of Microsoft operating systems available to an IBM compatible computer user, we thought it would be interesting to see which Version of Windows you enjoy most.

What does Computer Hope think? When given the task to decide which Microsoft operating system we enjoy most we would have voted Microsoft Windows 2000. While this operating system is commonly used in a business environment and will soon be replaced by Windows XP. We enjoy Windows 2000 because of the overall stability of the operating system and the lack of overall changes that we have to manually change back to how Microsoft Windows used to operate. Overall We enjoy both Windows XP and 2000, we really just dislike many of the new features.

How many hours a week are you on the computer?
Conducted May 1 - 31, 2002

Less than 5 (94 votes) 3.35%
6 to 10 (205 votes) 7.31%
11 to 20 (360 votes) 12.83%
21 to 30 (428 votes) 15.26%
Over 31 hours (1718 votes) 61.25%
(Total Votes: 2805 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of computers we thought it would be interesting to see how often people are on their computers.

What does Computer Hope think? The Computer Hope staff spends a great amount of time on computers. We would have voted Over 31 hours.

What is the speed of your computer processor?
Conducted April 1 - 30, 2002

Below 200MHz (224 votes) 5.23%
200 - 500MHz (1086 votes) 25.33%
500 - 900MHz (1485 votes) 34.64%
Over 1GHz (1405 votes) 32.77%
Don't Know (87 votes) 2.03%
(Total Votes: 4287 )

What is this all about? Computer processor speeds continue to increase in speed. We thought it would be interesting to see how our poll voting visitors' computer processors compare. As you can see from the above results it was a close between the '500 - 900MHz' and 'Over 1GHz'.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope has several computers each with different speeds of processors. However, the computer this is being viewed on is a 800 MHz computer. Therefore we would have answered 500 - 900 MHz.

What do you do with your SPAM?
Conducted March 1 - 31, 2002

Delete it (2036 votes) 75.72%
Read it (47 votes) 1.75%
Respond to it (29 votes) 1.08%
Unsubscribe it (337 votes) 12.53%
Eat it (240 votes) 8.93%
(Total Votes: 2689 )

What is this all about? With the increase of junk e-mail or SPAM we thought it would be interesting to see what exactly people are doing with it.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our users we delete our SPAM, although occasionally we also eat it. Computer Hope also created CH000477 with additional information on how users can help prevent SPAM or junk e-mail.

Which Instant Messenger do you use?
Conducted February 1 - 28, 2002

ICQ / AOL (684 votes) 29.19%
Yahoo (436 votes) 18.61%
MSN (867 votes) 37.00%
Tiscali (12 votes) 0.51%
None / Not Sure (344 votes) 14.68%
(Total Votes: 2343 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of Instant Messengers we thought it would be fun and informative seeing what the majority of users are currently using as their Instant Messenger. This can be informative because Instant Messengers are currently not capable of speaking with one another, therefore it is a good idea to see which Instant Messengers are most popular.

What does Computer Hope think? In the past we have used ICQ / AOL, Yahoo and MSN Instant Messengers. However, because of time constraints we are currently using none.

Do you have your own home network?
Conducted January 1 - 31, 2002

Yes (877 votes) 58.47%
No (602 votes) 40.13%
Not sure (21 votes) 1.40%
(Total Votes: 1500 )

What is this all about? With the increased popularity of computers and more users getting more than one computer we thought after last month's poll that it would be interesting how many users have their own home network.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope has several computers and of course a medium size computer network. Therefore we would have voted Yes.

How many computers do you own?
Conducted December 1 - 31, 2001

1 (507 votes) 19.46%
2 (706 votes) 27.10%
3 (565 votes) 21.69%
4 (302 votes) 11.59%
5 or more (525 votes) 20.15%
(Total Votes: 2605 )

What is this all about? With computers becoming cheaper and users wishing to run faster programs or just have a new computer we thought it would be interesting to see just how many computers people personally own.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope would have voted 5 or more as we have 5 or more computers.

What is your favorite computer related movie?
Conducted November 1 - 30, 2001

WarGames (298 votes) 26.03%
Hackers (339 votes) 29.61%
Sneakers (171 votes) 14.93%
Tron (210 votes) 18.34%
Other (127 votes) 11.09%
(Total Votes: 1145 )

What is this all about? We have always enjoyed computer related movies and thought that it would be fun to see what computer related movie is your favorite.

What does Computer Hope think? All of the movies listed in November's poll are great Computer related movies even those not listed such as Matrix or Swordfish. However, like the majority of the voters we would have voted that hackers is our favorite computer related movie. Even though some may argue that hackers is not realistic

How many MP3 files do you have?
Conducted October 1 - 31, 2001

None (308 votes) 18.75%
Under 100 (248 votes) 15.09%
100 - 300 (313 votes) 19.05%
500 - 1000 (263 votes) 16.01%
Over 1000 (511 votes) 31.10%
(Total Votes: 1643 )

What is this all about? With the popularity of MP3 music files we thought it would be fun for our visitors to see how many MP3 files other users have.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors we also have over 1000 MP3 files. The majority of our MP3 files are a collection of our favorite songs off of our CD collection.

Do you read software license agreements?
Conducted September 1 - 30, 2001

Yes (133 votes) 10.27%
No (824 votes) 63.63%
Sometimes (329 votes) 25.41%
Not sure (9 votes) 0.69%
(Total Votes: 1295 )

What is this all about? With the recent news of computer companies having obscure license agreements, we thought it would be fun to have a poll to see how many people really read through a complete license agreement.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of most of the visitors who voted, Computer Hope would have voted No. While we occasionally glance through a license agreement, because of the length of most license agreements and the wording of those agreements we rarely read from beginning to end of a license agreement.

Do you have a broadband Internet connection?
Conducted August 1 - 31, 2001

Yes (813 votes) 61.73%
No - not needed (135 votes) 10.25%
No - not available (322 votes) 24.45%
Not sure (47 votes) 3.57%
(Total Votes: 1317 )

What is this all about? As broadband becomes more popular and more available we thought it would be interesting to see how many out there have a broadband Internet connection.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of our visitors who voted we too have a broadband Internet connection.

Do you plan on upgrading to Microsoft Windows XP?
Conducted July 1 - 31, 2001

Yes (354 votes) 24.38%
No (893 votes) 61.50%
Not applicable (13 votes) 0.90%
Not sure (192 votes) 13.22%
(Total Votes: 1452 )

What is this all about? With all the controversy concerning Microsoft Windows XP we thought it would be interesting to see if the controversy would prevent users from purchasing Windows XP.

What does Computer Hope think? Like the majority of users voting on this poll we would have also either voted No or Not Sure. Computer Hope does not necessarily like some of Microsoft's new ideas and plans for Windows XP, although now many of the real controversy new features such as 'Smart Tags' at this time are not being included.

How many years have you used a computer?
Conducted June 1 - 30, 2001

0 - 1 years (92 votes) 4.49%
2 - 5 years (441 votes) 21.54%
5 - 8 years (370 votes) 18.08%
8 - 9 years (131 votes) 6.40%
10 or more years (1013 votes) 49.49%
(Total Votes: 2047 )

What is this all about? We thought it would be interesting to see how long users who are connected to the Internet have been using a computer.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope has been using computer for the last 16+ years. We thought it was interesting to see that the majority of users who voted have been using a computer for 10 or more years. As computers become cheaper and more widely available and more users connect to the Internet this poll will likely change.

Would you trust Microsoft with all your personal data?
Conducted May 1 - 31st, 2001

Yes (152 votes) 8.46%
No (1492 votes) 83.03%
Maybe (100 votes) 5.56%
Not sure (53 votes) 2.95%
(Total Votes: 1797 )

What is this all about? With Microsoft's new .NET strategy and Hailstorm and its possible plans of taking a good majority of individuals personal information and placing it into the Microsoft Passport, we thought it would be interesting to see how many individuals would trust Microsoft with his or her personal information.

What does Computer Hope think? With the increase amount of security flaws and cyber break-ins and back doors occurring at Microsoft and various other companies we would have voted No on this poll. We would like to keep as much as possible personal information, personal.

Have you received all your submitted computer related rebates?
Conducted April 1 - 30th, 2001

Yes - All (147 votes) 27.84%
Yes - Some (200 votes) 37.88%
No - Never (147 votes) 27.84%
Don't know (34 votes) 6.44%
(Total Votes: 528 )

What is this all about? With the increase in computer rebates and promotional methods of helping sell computer products we thought it would be interesting to see if everyone has or has not received the promised rebate when purchasing computer products.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope would have voted 'Yes - Some'. We frequently purchase computer products with rebate offers, unfortunately like many other individuals we have not received all of our rebates as promised until we confronted the company in regards to not receiving the promised rebate. Unfortunately, even after confronting the company we still sometimes do not receive the rebate.

Do you have a DVD player in your computer?
Conducted March 1 - 31st, 2001

Yes (691 votes) 44.35%
No, but plan on it (320 votes) 20.54%
No, don't need it (506 votes) 32.48%
Don't know (41 votes) 2.63%
(Total Votes: 1558 )

What is this all about? With the drop of prices of DVD drives and the increase (although very little) of available DVD computer software we thought it would be interesting to see how many individuals have or plan on purchasing a DVD drive with the wide availability of other options such as CD-R / CD-RW / CD-ROM drives.

What does Computer Hope think? While Computer Hope has more than one computer we do have some computers with DVD drives, although honestly we seldom use the actual drive to read DVD discs. We would love to see more computer software companies releasing or making available software on DVDs instead of multiple CDs.

Do you turn off your computer at night?
Conducted February 1 - 28th, 2001

Yes (1449 votes) 65.57%
No (761 votes) 34.43%
(Total Votes: 2210 )

What is this all about? With the current issues that California in the United States is experiencing with power (lack of power) we thought that it would be interesting to see how many individuals turn off their computer.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope turns off all of its computers each night unless that computer must remain on (a server for example).

Additionally we received several questions regarding if it was ok or if it harmed your computer to turn it off each night. While this is a regularly debated question we have created an issue out the question and posted it on document CH000390.

What do you dislike most about the Internet?
Conducted January 1 - 31st, 2001

Frames (35 votes) 2.76%
Popup Windows (914 votes) 72.20%
Advertising (103 votes) 8.14%
Broken links (121 votes) 9.56%
Spam (93 votes) 7.35%
(Total Votes: 1266 )

What is this all about? We thought it would be great to see what people do not like on the Internet. Our hope is to possibly help prevent our visitors and visitors of other web pages from encountering what they do not like.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope could not agree more with what our visitors overwhelmingly do not like to see 'Popup Window'. We highly dislike Any site that brings up a popup window when we open a site or close or move to another site. We are happy to report that Computer Hope only has one Popup Window on its complete site, and will never popup advertising or any information when a visitor visits any of our pages or goes to another site.

We would also like to mention that during the month of January we also worked on resolving all of our 404's and we are happy to report we have corrected 97% of all bad links on Computer Hope and pages that Computer Hope links to.

Finally, Computer Hope does not solicit or participate in Spam its visitors. We do not have any frames on our web site. While we do have advertising and unfortunately some time in the future may get more this is what helps fund Computer Hope and we feel that it would be better to have a free service than require a membership fee or users to pay for information like many sites on the Internet.

Do you plan on buying online this holiday?
Conducted December 1 - 31st, 2000

Yes (128 votes) 33.68%
No (115 votes) 30.26%
Already have (119 votes) 31.32%
Undecided (18 votes) 4.74%
(Total Votes: 380 )

What is this all about? With the increase of feeling safe when shopping online and more users coming familiar with the Internet and its capabilities we thought because of the holiday season that it would be advantageous to conduct a survey to see if our visitors planned on purchasing online this season.

What does Computer Hope think? Being familiar with the Internet and security on the Internet Computer Hope as a company and individual would have voted Yes as we purchase the majority of our goods online as a convenience of time and price comparison.

While we can understand that not everything is good to purchase online (such as perfume or clothes) we found it very interesting that a good percentage of individuals are not planning on purchasing anything online.

What do you use the Internet for?
Conducted November 1 - 30th, 2000

Chat (29 votes) 6.18%
E-mail (84 votes) 17.91%
Research (229 votes) 48.83%
Downloads (79 votes) 16.84%
Other (48 votes) 10.23%

What is this all about? The computer is becoming one of the most commonly used components in the house and office as well as the favored activity over the Television among many people. Because of its popularity we thought it would be interesting to conduct a poll to see what you use the Internet for.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope primarily uses the Internet for research, to help in researching computer issues as well as other issues. However, also heavily uses e-mail as we answer our visitors computer questions for free. While we use the Internet for both research and e-mail we would have voted research.

Do you believe it is ok to pirate software?
Conducted October 1 - 31st, 2000

Yes (315 votes) 35.59%
No (282 votes) 31.86%
Sometimes (103 votes) 11.64%
Yes, to test (132 votes) 14.92%
When money is short (53 votes) 5.99%

What is this all about? Computer Piracy is a term to define users who copy software that they did not legally purchase and today is the largest issue with the computer industry.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope does not Pirate any software and therefore would have voted No. While we understand reasons why individuals may need to pirate we also understand the time, money and effort that companies and many individuals put into software programs and without purchasing software these companies would not exist.

Additional information about Computer Piracy and other illegal items and precautions and reasons why not to participate in such activities can be found on our Underground section.

Which is your favorite search engine?
Conducted September 1 - 30th, 2000

AltaVista (136 votes) 21.62%
Hot Bot (34 votes) 5.41%
Excite (35 votes) 5.56%
Yahoo (173 votes) 27.50%
Other (251 votes) 39.90%
(Total Votes: 629 )

What is this all about? With the wide variety of search engines available today we thought it would be beneficial to see which search engine each of you like the best. As shown in the above poll you can see that many users are currently using and enjoy other search engines that are not the top search engines.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope utilizes several search engines. However, to not avoid the question Computer Hope would have voted for Other. Our current favorite search engines are Goggle, Ask Jeeves and AltaVista.

Do you think violent games provoke violence?
Conducted August 1 - 31st. 2000

Yes (232 votes) 33.48%
No (319 votes) 46.03%
Sometimes (124 votes) 17.89%
Uncertain (18 votes) 2.60%
(Total Votes: 693 )

What is this all about? With the increase of violence in schools, the media and other, individuals are looking for possible causes to what are causing children to express this violence. One of the controversial ideas is that Computer Games are one possibility that could be causing this violence.

What does Computer Hope think? The Computer Hope team have been game players all their lives and do not believe that Computer games, regardless of their content, provoke violence. While it is unfortunate that games are getting more and more violent we believe that it is not a game that provokes violence it is the individual and his or her environment and mental well being.

Which operating system are you using?
Conducted July 1 - 31st, 2000

Windows 95 / 98 (539 votes) 61.95%
Windows NT / 2000 (198 votes) 22.76%
Mac OS (38 votes) 4.37%
BeOS (11 votes) 1.26%
Unix / Linux (84 votes) 9.66%
(Total Votes: 870 )

What is this all about? With the recent ruling on Microsoft and the ever-growing popularity of Unix / Linux we thought it would be beneficial to see how Unix / Linux is gaining additional users as well as help understand what the next operating system should be to expand into our database.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope is currently mainly running Windows 98 SE as well as have several other computers running Windows ME, the upcoming Microsoft operating system as well as experimenting and using Red Hat Linux for our upcoming Red Hat Linux section.

Do you think you have enough privacy on the Internet?
Conducted June 1 - 30th, 2000

Yes (50 votes) 12.82%
No (259 votes) 66.41%
Yes and No (57 votes) 14.62%
I don't know (24 votes) 6.15%
(Total Votes: 390 )

What is this all About? With the growing popularity of the Internet and ability of companies storing their customers information or selling their information to other companies, Internet privacy is becoming a big issue.

What does Computer Hope think? While Computer Hope was designed for and built for the Internet we believe strongly for Internet Privacy. While we believe it is ok for businesses to obtain information on its visitors we do not think it is ok for businesses to associate that information with a name, address or other personal information that may harm that individuals privacy.

Why do we believe it is ok for businesses to obtain some information? When conducting business on the Internet many companies will not fund or support your origination without some type of proof showing that visitors are visiting your site. In addition businesses will improve their effectiveness if some information is obtained, an example would be our search engine, information is gathered to help correctly point individuals to the right location on our site.

For users concerned with their privacy we recommend the following:

  1. Make sure the companies you are doing business with have a Privacy Policy posted, ours is found at http://www.computerhope.com/legal.htm
  2. Verify that no personal information is given to other companies without your consent, and read carefully when submitting information some companies may be tricky and have boxes checked automatically for your name to be distributed. If this is the case and you do not want it to be distributed uncheck the box.
  3. If the company has advertising verify that there advertising company has its privacy statement posted.

Which Internet Browser do you prefer?
Conducted May 1 - 31st, 2000

Internet Explorer (617 votes) 46.71%
Netscape (602 votes) 45.57%
Opera (63 votes) 4.77%
Other (39 votes) 2.95%
(Total Votes: 1321 )

What is this all about? Microsoft and Netscape have been conducting what the media is calling the browser wars. Many people believe this war is over; we thought it would be beneficial to see the overall results of what browsers people are using.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope did not believe that this war was over, however was under the assumption that the majority of the people were going to be voting for Internet Explorer (although we do use both Internet Explorer and Netscape). Surprisingly Internet Explorer and Netscape were extremely close in results showing that both browsers are almost equally used. With the upcoming Netscape 6 these results may very will change if we were to conduct this again.

Do you think Microsoft is a monopoly?
Conducted on April 1 - 30th, 2000

Yes (688 votes) 44.94%
No (675 votes) 44.09%
Sometimes (46 votes) 3.00%
Don't Care (122 votes) 7.97%
(Total Votes: 1531 )

What is this all about? Microsoft and the DOJ have been battling this issue for quite some time trying to work out an agreement to determine if Microsoft is a Monopoly. At the end of April the DOJ did decide that Microsoft was a Monopoly and proposed plans to break up the company into two different companies. One being the operating system company and the other being everything else.

While nothing as of yet has been finalized by the end of April it is still possible that this ongoing saga will continue.

What does Computer Hope think? Computer Hope would have voted No for this Month's Quiz as its overall belief is that Microsoft is not a monopoly but instead a strong competitor.

Do you think there should be Internet Taxes?
Conducted on March 1 - 31st, 2000

No (2531 votes) 71.99%
Yes (103 votes) 2.93%
Yes with reason (875 votes) 24.89%
Undecided (7 votes) 0.20%
(Total Votes: 3516 )

What is this all About? This can be a touchy subject for Internet stores, Internet users and regular businesses. The plan is to create some type of Internet Tax allowing the United States government and possibly other governments to generate additional revenue.

What does Computer Hope think? As you can probably imagine being primarily ran on the Internet Computer Hope like most companies does not believe their should be taxes on the Internet. We believe that while the government may have helped start and develop the Internet that the Internet has really became popular from regular individuals from all over the world having the freedom and capability of easily setting up their own web sites and being able to sell products over the Internet.

If Internet Taxes does manage to implement itself onto the Internet globally we believe that this will constrain the amount of uniqueness and freedom that the Internet has to offer making Internet Prices go up because of the difficulty of implementing a tax system for stores on the Internet in addition preventing many small startups from possibly not starting up on the Internet.

As you can see the results from this poll the overwhelming majority of individuals that voted appear to believe as we do.

What would you like to see on Computer Hope?
Conducted on February 1 - 29th, 2000

More content (122 votes) 37.42%
Reviews (23 votes) 7.06%
Overclocking info. (123 votes) 37.73%
Forms (10 votes) 3.07%
Anything (48 votes) 14.72%
(Total Votes: 326 )

What is this all About? Computer Hope wanted to see what individuals would like to see on its site therefore as its first poll it conducted the above poll.

What does Computer Hope think? Like its visitors Computer Hope also believes that more content would be beneficial as not many sites on the Internet have the type of support information and help that we are able to offer. At the same time Computer Hope does believe that Overclocking Information would also be a new great thing to explain and help with as many more users are experimenting in this arena.