Don’t Touch

Cognitive Daily conducted a 900-person survey asking people whether they allow friends to examine and play with their new gadget purchases, and if so, for how long. The results show a significant difference between Windows users (who are more likely to allow their new stuff to be played with) and Mac and Linux users (who are more likely to be stingy with their gadgets).

They miss the obvious explanation for the discrepancy: Mac and Linux users are a self-selecting group of people who tend to care about their computers. There are many Windows users who care about their computers, too (and I suspect those Windows users gave answers to the survey that were similar to those from Mac and Linux users), but most people who don’t care deeply about their computers use Windows.

★ Monday, 2 June 2008