What do the “Lawyer Cat” meme and Windows 11 have in common? They both require a tech upgrade. The not so tech-savvy lawyer who accidentally made his face into a cat avatar during an online meeting due to his older PC and lack of tech knowledge could be one of many who need an upgrade. Windows 11 is likely to need users to have newer home PCs than what they’re actively using today. This TUPdate reports on the age, household size, usage, and employment roles of online adults using older home PCs.
PCs for work before and through the pandemic [TUPdate]
Working remotely from a personal computer is not a new phenomenon—and it took hold long before the pandemic. Most home PCs have already been allocated to work-related activities, but the type of work differs, and has been shifting since the pandemic caused a larger variety of workers to stay at home.
This TUPdate reports on the penetration of home PCs among employees, which activities employees use their home PCs for, the prominence of work-provided PCs, the age of the home PC-using employee, and work-from-home status. It measures online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan in 2019 and 2020.
Communication platforms – fast, now, or visible? [TUPdate]
Has the increased demand for synchronous, high-bandwidth activities—like video meetings—affected device use? Are people choosing one device over another for such activities? This TUPdate reports on synchronous and asynchronous communication levels by country alongside device type (smartphone, home PC, or tablet), activity type (phone/video calls, text message, email, and web-based group meetings), and age group. This TUPdate considers online adults in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan from TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Employees in video calls/conferences by employer size [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 30, 2020
Meetings! They don’t stop because of video conferencing, video calls, or group chats. This MetaFAQs details the share of employees that regularly connect online using any of their smartphones, PCs, tablets, or even game consoles. The results are split out by employer size to show whether there is a difference between smaller or larger employers.
Work-life balance – back to the future or the past? [TUPdate, MetaFacts Pulse Survey]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, May 15, 2020 Progress toward work-life separation, until sudden integration I will admit to having recently used more than one cliché about these being “unprecedented times” or even that we’re headed towards a “new normal”. When it comes to work-life balance, what was “normal” is all-too “precedented”. For years, PCs…
Don’t let seniors fool you as they Zoom from behind [TUPdate, MetaFacts Pulse Survey]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, May 5, 2020
Ageism is widespread in the tech industry. Many younger computer experts had a good laugh when a recent call went out for COBOL programmers, piling snark on classic tools as passe. That was until these relative newbies realized how many citizens would be left waiting for financial support after the recent surge in demand for unemployment checks. Younger computer experts were even more chagrined when they heard about the hiring bonuses being offered and realized they did not have relevant skills.
MetaFacts work from home study – [Highlights, MetaFacts Pulse Survey]
This TUPdate investigates and profiles working Americans who are working from home. With the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shifts taking place now, many are not technologically ready for a work-at-home or stay-at-home experience.
MetaFacts conducted a series of surveys during the periods March 26-30, 2020, and April 8, 2020.