Although PC manufacturers are still selling FireWire capable PCs , the future does not look promising for the new S3200.
-Updated Quarterly
This report tracks global installation rates across a wide number of music services. Windows Media Player,
iTunes, RealPlayer, Napster, Winamp, MTV Urge, Yahoo Music Engine, eMusic Download Manager, Kazaa, BearShare,
Morpheus, and many other applications are included.
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Welcome to PC Pitstop Research
The PC industry is constantly changing, evolving, and progressing. At PC Pitstop, we've been tracking for years the
trends in Windows, CPU's, hard drives, monitors, and
memory.
Since March 2000, PC Pitstop has created the world's largest PC
statistics database. With tens of millions of PC's in our database,
Pitstop's market research capabilities are unprecendented in terms of cost,
depth, breadth, and accuracy. We have a front seat to all the most exciting trends in computing.
We update all of the charts monthly, so please come back regularly.
We believe that our research capabilities are unparalleled in the PC industry and can complement your
existing research. Please consider us for your market research needs.
What's New
Vista Installed Memory Trends
April 25, 2008:
Memory manufacturers must be loving Vista. Vista PC's average installed memory show a significant increase over XP systems.
Graphic Card Market Share
April 7, 2008:
Vista's graphic requirements appear to be mixing up market share for video adapter manufacturers.
The emergence of multi-processor PCs
February 25, 2008:
PC Pitstop research takes a look at the prevalence of multi-processors in PCs. As of January 2008, almost 30%
of all PCs have more than one processor.
Do you have "people" or do you have a box?
January 31, 2008:
It's tax season again and the TV ads are back. An updated look at the seasonal ramping of U.S. tax preparation software. Also a new look at the prevalence of this software type based
on gender and age.
FireWire's Future?
January 11, 2008:
A look at the historical trends of PCs with FireWire capabilities. Even with the introduction of the new S3200 mode,
FireWire's future looks grim.
Monitor Size Trends
December 14, 2007:
Size does matter when it comes to your PC monitor. Our research shows
how monitor sizes have grown.
Drivers Survey
November 15, 2007:
Check out our initial analysis of the data from October's Driver Survey.
Maintaining Your PC Drivers
November 15, 2007:
What's your strategy for updating PC hardware drivers ? Our research shows that most people are not using the most current device drivers for some of their hardware.
Microsoft's Excel 2007's Calculaton Issue
October 10, 2007:
Our research shows that Excel 2007's calculation issue has the potential to affect a significant number of PCs.
Find out more.
You and Your PC Survey Results
October 10, 2007:
Our September survey results reveal that "geekiness" may be a gender trait. A significant number of males respondents
indicate that they built their own PC.
Spam and Phishing Survey Results
September 12, 2007:
The results of our Spam and Phishing survey reveal how bad the sitiuation is and how people are
dealing with the problem.
Comparison of US PC Technology Metrics
September 12, 2007:
A comparison of how individual states rank based on several PC technology metrics. Our research takes a look at average
download speeeds, RAM, CPU's and percentages for portables and Vista for PC that have run the PC Pitstop online performance tests.
Vista Migration Off to a Slow Start
August 8, 2007:
It's been over six months since Vista Home was launched. Microsoft isn't saying much, but our research shows that the migration to the Vista operating system is
significantly behind the historical XP launch numbers.
Windows Accessory Survey Results
August 8, 2007:
Do you have a favorite Windows Accessory application or tool? Our July, 2007 Windows Accessory survey reveals the most and least popular Accessory applications.
Backing up Your DVD Movies
July 11, 2007:
Our reseach shows a significant percentage of PCs contain DVD decryption and ripping software tools that can be used to
rip DVD movies onto a hard drive or other digital media.
Online Video Survey Results
July 11, 2007:
A look at how people are using online video streaming and downloading. The results of our online video survey results reveal what type of videos people are watching and
where they are going to download and stream video content.
Bloatware - A growing problem
June 8, 2007:
Our bloatware analysis reveals that Vista systems appear to be a target for
the presence of trialware titles. Perhaps its an attempt by the PC manufacturers to subsidize Vista's costs.
PC Gaming Survey Results
May 9, 2007:
Are you working or are you just playing games? Our April 2007 PC Gaming Survey results reveals that 96% of people regularly play games
on their PCs. The survey also reveals the most popular PC game genres.
The Case of the Missing Hard Drive Space
May 9, 2007:
Many people don't worry about their hard drive capacity until they start to run out of disk space.
Our research shows that some people have a totally unutilized area on their hard drive. Check out our research on
unused drive partitions.
Vista Survey Results
April 9, 2007:
PC Pitstop's February and March 2007 Vista survey results show that the Apple advertisements appear to be working
and that not all people are seeing the benefits for upgrading to the new operating system.
US Income Tax Software
March 7, 2007:
A look at just how popular those US income tax software applications really are. Surprisingly our research show that the
overall market for this type of software has been level for the past several years.
Canadian Pirates
February 14, 2007:
A recent article suggests that Canadian coyright laws contribute to a movie piracy problem. Check out what our research
on the prevalence of PC digital copying software shows.
Printer Survey Results
February 8, 2007:
Is the printer market overdue for a revolution? Our Printer Survey results provide an intriguing look at the printer usage and
printing supply related purchase motivations of our respondents.
Microsoft's Zune Media Player
January 12, 2007:
Is Apple's iPod market share in danger? See how Microsoft's Zune media player is doing based on PC Pitstop's
installation rate analysis.
Courting Hard Drive Disaster
January 9, 2007:
The responses to our Storage & Backup Survey suggest that an amazing number of people are
willing to take their chances with their hard drive data.
Monthly Digital Media Reports
December 22, 2006:
Get the latest trends and industry insight on Digital Media applications. PC Pitstop has teamed up with Digital Music News in the production of a monthly report
which provides installation rates across a wide number of music services.
Password Managment
December 6, 2006:
Our recent password survey shows that over 55% of PC users have six or more different password protected accounts.
Check out how your password management habits compare to the survey results.
Our research team also took a look at password management software trends for PCs running our on-lines tests. Maybe it's time for you to try one
of these tools to help you manage your list of passwords.
Exclusive Software Trends
November 21, 2006:
Are Microsoft and Symantec slipping? Can Google be stopped? How high can Skype
fly? Our research team digs deep to provide answers to these questions and more
in this exclusive report.
Analog Modem Trends
November 8, 2006:
Once a mainstay for internet access, the analog modem is disappearing from many PC's. Our research shows that
over 40% of desktop PC's do not have a modem installed.
PC Safety Survey Results
November 3, 2006:
Our PC Safety survey results offer a unique look into how users
are responding to the dangers of portable computing. Learn More
Wireless Survey Results
October 10, 2006:
The results of our September wireless networking survey are in and the responses
provide intriguing insight into the world of wireless networking.
Portable Battery Power
October 6, 2006:
We analyzed our on-line test data to see how people are powering up their portable PCs.
RSS Reader Trends
September 8, 2006:
Our research shows that over 28% of PCs have RSS Reader / Aggregator capable software installed.
Digital Music Survey
September 8, 2006 :
An updated detailed analysis of our Digital Music Survey shows the differences in digital music preferences and usage by age groups.
Windows Live OneCare
August 7, 2006:
A look at PC users' acceptance of Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare all-in-one security product.
OpenOffice.org Productivity Suite
July 11, 2006:
The OpenOffice.org open-source productivity suite is gaining popularity. Since the release of version 2.0 in October 2005,
attach rates for this suite have grown approximately 300%.
Keyboard Shortcuts Survey
June 26, 2005
Our survey shows which keyboard shortcuts Pitsters prefer.
Vista Readiness Analysis
June 9, 2006:
Most PC Pitstop users' systems come up short in meeting Microsoft's Vista recommended hardware requirements.
eMail Client Prevalence Trends
May 19, 2006:
PC Pitstop analyzes the attach rates of email client applications .
Anti Spyware Software Prevalence Trends
April 17, 2006:
A look at the prevalence of Anti Spyware Software by region. Most users of Anti Spyware have more than one title installed.
P2P File Sharing Software Trends
March 17, 2006:
Worldwide region analysis shows that the U.S. trails the pack in P2P file sharing penetration. Also a look
at home vs. business prevalence.
Hard Drive Fragmentation
February 16, 2006:
A significant increase in free hard drive space doesn't necessarily mean a significant reduction in hard drive fragmentation.
Digital Right Management
January 16, 2006:
A look at the prevalence of XCP and MediaMax audio CD copy protection.
Worldwide Regional PC Technology Trends
January 16, 2006:
In a regional comparison of key PC technology indicators, Europe is differentiating itself as a leader in PC technology.
The results of our regional analysis of processor speed, CPU manufacturer, installed RAM, hard drive size, optical drive capabilities, Windows XP penetration and broadband connectivity may surprise you.
Wide Screen Display Trends
December 15, 2005:
Displays are moving towards a Wide Screen format. Approximately one third of all portable PCs now utilize wide screen aspect ratios.
Anti Spyware Software Trends
November 2, 2005:
We take an in depth look at whether the pay anti spyware applications are making any headway
against the free anti spyware software makers.
Skype on the Rise
October 3, 2005:
We were surprised to see how quickly
Skype was growing. Good news for eBay.
New Bandwidth Report
October 3, 2005:
We added a new
bandwidth range report to further highlight how the internet is getting faster.
Optical Drive Analysis
October 3, 2005:
This new analysis looks at the trends in optical drives. Over 30% of PC's now can burn
a DVD.
Gator - When U Survey Results
October 3, 2005:
Still an apalling 70% of respondents were unaware their software was installed on their
system.
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