Only One Quarter of the Planet To Be Online By 2012 206
Stony Stevenson writes "Researchers are predicting that one quarter of the world's population will be connected to the internet within the next four years. According to the report by Jupiter Research, the total number of people online will climb to 1.8 billion by 2012, encompassing roughly 25 percent of the planet. The company sees the highest growth rates in areas such as China, Russia, India and Brazil. Overall, the number of users online is predicted to grow by 44 percent in the time period between 2007 and 2012." Is it just me or does that seem incredibly small?
It's not bad at all considering. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Not small at all (Score:3, Informative)
"IPv4 uses 32-bit (four-byte) addresses, which limits the address space to 4,294,967,296 (232) possible unique addresses. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv4 [wikipedia.org]
Thats alot of people using a system that never really intended to accommodate such a massive volume of users.
Illiteracy (Score:4, Informative)
Tool or toy. (Score:4, Informative)
Firstly you need to think of how many third world countries there are and also developed nations where there is a vast agricultural society where the internet is just an irrelevant "fancy" for city dwellers to keep themselves entertained. You and I might find the internet a necessary tool for our trades and daily lives but going back 20 or 30 years, could you see yourself becoming so dependent on such a device as a people? Instant information and communication have become woven into the very fabric of who we are but there are many more people out there that simply have no use for it. It steals idle time like heroin steals life. You only need to walk away from it for a few days, or hours in some cases, to feel its draw. Many that have fell into its grasp cannot free themselves, their very livelihood depends on it. For others, the majority it seems, it is simply a useless tool or senseless toy to occupy the minds of those who have access to it. To them it's as useful as a canoe is to a desert goat herder.
Re:Eee etc... (Score:3, Informative)
I don't think you realize the true definition of poor.
No one is going to by an Eee on $3/day. No matter what the price.
Re:Lucky (Score:3, Informative)
But seriously...I don't need this stuff, and I don't need you. I don't need anything except this ashtray.
Re:It may be small... (Score:2, Informative)
http://williamwnekowicz.com/pictureoftheday/?p=40 [williamwnekowicz.com]
Those tarps are where people live. It's monsoon season in India.. they don't hold up very well in the rain.
Only 1.8 billion? (Score:3, Informative)
1.8 billion people online is fantastic. Sure we want more, but let's not forget that a whole lot of people!
1.8 billion people communicating outside there immediate sphere of influence. The lower the bar to knowledge, the better the global society will be.
I predict... (Score:4, Informative)
that in 2008 only 50% of the planet will have a telephone.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/med_tel_sub-media-telephone-subscribers [nationmaster.com]
Re:Eee etc... (Score:4, Informative)
Most people in industrialized nations has access to TV today
There, fixed it for you.
Re:25% of the Planet? (Score:3, Informative)
No, 75% of the Earth is covered by almost 100% water.
Thanks, I will be here all day :)