Most U.S. adults find Internet access essential to daily life in today's economic climate, with some choosing it as a must-have over watching TV and other household pleasures. 65 percent of adults feel they cannot live without Internet access1, and even more 71 percent feel that it is important or very important to have Internet-enabled devices, such as laptops, notebooks and mobile Internet devices (MIDs) that can provide them with real-time updates on important issues including the state of the economy. Most U.S. adults also identify the Internet as a key tool in today's economy for managing personal finances, finding discounts and the best deals while shopping online, and many rated access to the Internet as indispensable compared to other discretionary items, such as dining out, shopping for clothes and gym memberships. gucci shoes Key Findings Internet Access Essential in Today's Economic Climate: Ninety-five percent of adults feel that it is very important, important or somewhat important for people to have devices that allow them to access the Internet. A majority (82 percent) agree that Internet-enabled devices help them stay up to date real-time on the state of the economy. Eighty-seven percent say that Internet access has helped them save money. Of these adults: Eighty-four percent have saved money by comparing prices online and finding the best deals before making purchase decisions. Sixty-six percent have saved money simply by shopping online. Sixty-five percent say the Internet has helped them save money by allowing them to search for coupons, discounts or special Internet promotions. ugg boots Move over Gym Membership, the Internet is a Must-Have: When asked to rate certain discretionary items on a scale of 1 (completely expendable) to 5 (cannot live without it), having Internet access ranks highest among the items listed, with 65 percent of U.S. adults reporting they cannot live without it.1 The following items and activities were ranked below Internet access in importance: Cable television subscriptions (39 percent) Dining out (20 percent) Shopping for clothes (18 percent) Gym membership (10 percent) gucci velcro shoes The Internet Trumps the TV: The majority (61 percent) of adult women would choose to give up watching TV for 2 weeks instead of giving up access to the Internet for only 1 week, and more than half of all U.S. adults (58 percent), both male and female, agree. Many shows and movies are available online, and laptops with powerful, energy-efficient processors make TV watching even when on the go possible almost anywhere. Sixty-seven percent of U.S. adults aged 18-34, 57 percent of U.S. adults aged 35-44 and 52 percent of U.S. adults aged 45 and older would rather go 2 weeks without watching TV than give up Internet access for a week. Life is better because of the Internet: Nine of 10 U.S. adults (91 percent) report that the ability to access the Internet has improved at least one aspect of their lives. Within this group: Seventy-eight percent say their ability to stay in touch with friends and family has improved. Sixty-eight percent say they are able to shop more effectively. Nearly half (47 percent) say they are able to manage their finances better because of the Internet through activities such as online banking and paying bills. gucci wedge shoes More and more you will hear about Internet Economies becoming prevalent in everyday financial decisions. The above points described personal usage of the internet. Common households are attaching to the internet because access is relatively low cost and with the advent of Cloud Computing, pc hardware will become less needed. The Internet has, in a short space of time, become fundamental to the global economy. More than a billion people worldwide use it, both at work and in their social lives. Over the past three decades it has grown from an experimental research network and now underpins a range of new economic activities as well as activities and infrastructures that support our economies, from financial markets and health services to energy and transport. classic short ugg boots The Internet is making economic activity more efficient, faster, and cheaper, and extending social interaction in unparalleled ways. Increasingly, the largest productivity gains for businesses come from using online networks in some form. The multinational food giant Nestl, for example, now receives all of its orders directly from supermarkets over the Internet. The shipping company UPS used online networks to optimize its delivery routes, saving 12 million liters of fuel in 2006 from nearly 100 000 trucks. The Internet has also brought unprecedented user and consumer empowerment as well as opportunities for new innovative and social activities. Individuals have greater access to information, which facilitates comparisons and creates downward pressure on prices. Internet users are extremely active, creating new content themselves and interacting in new ways. classic mini ugg boots The Internet is quickly permeating all economic and social domains, and most public policy areas. For instance, e-government has become the prime tool for supporting government functions and interaction with citizens and businesses. Healthcare systems are increasingly making use of the Internet and online networks to increase affordability, quality and efficiency, through electronic patient record systems, remote patient monitoring and healthcare delivery, along with improved diagnostics and imaging technologies. Educational performance is found to be correlated with home access to, and use of, computers all other things being equal. Moreover, environmentally-friendly technologies based on the Internet in buildings and transport systems and alternative power generating systems can help address climate change and improve energy efficiency. The influence of the network of networks is inherently global; helping to forge closer integration of our economies and societies. Moreover, as the Internet expands even further it can help the economic and social development of people of all countries. While there have been remarkable developments in recent years, much remains to be done: about 20% of the worlds population use the Internet, but over 5 billion people still lack access to it. classic cardy ugg boots Before the rapid development of the Internet, separate systems telephone, television and video, individual computer systems stored and transmitted voice, video and data. Today, these systems are converging onto the Internet. In addition to convergence of network platforms, convergence is also taking place at several other levels: at the content level with Video on Demand (VoD) and television over Internet Protocol networks (IPTV); at the business level, with companies offering combined television, Internet and telephone services to subscribers; and at the device level, with multi-purpose devices that can combine email, telephone and Internet, for example. THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET ECONOMY Indeed, this has become the era of converged media. Users upload some 10 hours of video per minute alone to the video sharing site YouTube. By 2008, nearly 300 million people are registered to use free VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software Skype, enabling them to make phone calls worldwide at little or no extra cost via their existing Internet access. Converged media are also increasingly becoming mobile with the expansion of wireless broadband networks. bailey button ugg boots As convergence takes place and investment in next generation networks (NGN) begins, the role of very fast optical fibre networks to the home becomes increasingly important given that emerging applications, such as high-definition television and video-on-demand, require increasing amounts of bandwidth.