study

Evidently, Apple's flashy advertising and sleek product design has attracted customers willing to pay high prices for its products. Over the past few years, Apple climbed to the top of the market on high-end desktop and laptop sales, according to a ... recent report by market research company NPD Group. Of all computers costing more than $1,000 sold in 2007, 70% were Mac desktops and 64% Mac laptops. (Source: arstechnica.com ) An interesting report, indeed. Problem is, it doesn't adequately reflect the realities of the industry. Anyone browsing the Apple website will quickly see that there are ... (view more)

Apple products may be fantastically marketed and look great, but according to a recent study by environmental watchdog Climate Counts, the company is a serious environmental offender. Although its website states that the company "recognizes its ... responsibility as a global citizen," Apple scored a pithy 11 out of 100 points on Climate Counts' 2008 survey of the environmental policies of large companies. Through attempts to identify problem areas, the Apple jumped up 9 points from last year's survey . However, the company lost huge marks for not acknowledging the extent of its carbon footprint. ... (view more)

Facebook has come under much scrutiny since its popularity exploded during 2007. With the year rounding out, we can think back to all the buzz created by a social networking site that asked for an individual's private details and then neatly handed ... them to Microsoft's advertising division. Questions of voyeurism and greed continue to dog Facebook. Now, a controversial study is examining the controversial web site. Researchers at Harvard University have decided that they'd like to know what the racial and ethnic interests of Facebook users might be. The analysts recently gained access to the ... (view more)

Part of the appeal behind Nintendo's stylish little Wii this holiday season comes from the nature of its gameplay. Boasting motion-sensitivity, it challenges gamers to swing and swipe their way to victory in Wii Sports tennis or boxing. With kids ... and parents alike getting off the couch, Nintendo has advertised the console as great exercise and a healthy alternative to those lazy systems from Microsoft and Nintendo. But, is it true? According to a study by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University in England, not so much. The study examined boys and girls aged thirteen to fifteen, ... (view more)

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, have dismissed a Microsoft study claiming Internet Explorer has fewer security problems. The study was produced by Jeff Jones, a Microsoft security researcher. He compared the publicly-announced ... problems of both new and old versions of both browsers. His figures say that in the past three years, Internet Explorer has had 87 'vulnerabilities' (potential security problems that need fixing), while Firefox has had 199. He also found that Microsoft was improving security at a quicker pace; looking at vulnerabilities for each version of a browser in ... (view more)

Bet you never thought Windows Vista was a great deal; however, the new operating system from Microsoft, which ships in its cheapest, non-upgrade form for a substantial $200, is being touted as very economical by the company behind its creation. More ... cost-efficient, in fact, than even XP. (Source: bestbuy.com ) The story is emerging from a recent Microsoft-commissioned study delving into the total cost of using its operating systems on a mobile PC. According to MS, owning Vista in this capacity is a reported $605 cheaper than its older OS, Windows XP. The mobile prices themselves are quite ... (view more)

A usability study by consulting firm User Centric has found that average cell phone users are more efficient when using a QWERTY keypad than Apple's new iPhone design. The study involved 20 participants who said they sent text messages at least 15 ... times per week. Half of these participants owned a QWERTY keypad, and the other half owned a phone with a numeric keypad. None of them had ever used an iPhone. All participants were asked to copy 12 standard messages that had been created for the study using their own phones. Then the participants were asked to copy the same messages with an iPhone ... (view more)

Are you left handed? According to one research team, it could mean you're also a looney tune. The Wellcome Trust for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford has recently completed an international study of southpaws. The findings are a bit ... startling: the same gene that leaves one left-handed may also lead to the development of schizophrenia, a mental disorder that impairs perception and affects approximately 1% of the global population. It's all about brain symmetry. The gene in question, labelled LRRTM1, modifies that symmetry in the human brain. Although in most humans the left side of ... (view more)

Up until now, few have questioned the success of the iPod and iTunes. However, the future of Video iTunes has now come under criticism, as more channels have begun streaming their own free content. Is there a future for iTunes? (Source: slashdot.org ... ) While sales of movies and television shows are expected to almost triple this year, a new study by Forrester Research found that unless the average consumer begins paying for online content en masse (which -- let's be serious -- is not likely to happen), growth in sales will likely begin to diminish next year. This could spell out bad news for ... (view more)

Own an Xbox or a Playstation 2? According to one research firm, your answer to that question could reveal a number of things about your personality, including gullibility, confidence, and distrust. It's a pretty remarkable study of the things we've ... ALL used at one time or another -- toys. By combining radically new text mining software with the work of personality psychologists, research consultants Anderson Analytics believe they have found a legitimate way to interpret the subconscious thoughts of children (and in the case of many video game players like myself: immature young men). As you ... (view more)