Raw Data
Using Media
The average US resident spent 1,529 hours in frontof the TV this year and another 1,082 hours listening to the radio. True, these figures dwarf the time we spend reading print media. Yet books and magazines remain more popular than the movies and videogames that pundits predict will be the mainstay of the I-way.
Getting Wired
Growth in the number of US households that own PCs has begun to slow, but more households are buying peripherals such as CD-ROM drives. It's unclear how many of these devices are really being used. For example, modem sales are booming, but most customers discontinue their subscriptions after being online just a few times.
Software Piracy
Last year, US$7.4 billion of software was pirated worldwide. Cultural attitudes seem more likely to determine which countries are most apt to illegally duplicate computer programs. In law-abiding Singapore, 71 percent of software is legally purchased, while in wealthier but more free-wheeling Hong Kong, only 36 percent of software is legit.
Biotech versus Semiconductors
Clear parallels mark the US biotechnology and semiconductor industries. But biotechnology remains significantly less profitable, largely because of the incredible amount of research that is required for each product.
Sources: Veronis, suhler, & Associates; Jupiter Communications; Electronic Industries Association; Wilkofsky Gruen Associates; Info tech; Ernst & Young, semiconductor Industry Association; software publishers Association;
