statistics

Benchmarking-software industry remains profitable

Despite the fact the economy remains teetered on the edge of oblivion, software companies have increased their profitability dramatically over the last year, according to a recently concluded annual benchmarking study of the small and mid-sized software industry conducted by information services provider OPEXEngine.

Benchmarking is an important part of the software industry these days as companies look to ensure that they are providing what customers want and that your company meets the performance needs.

The 2010 benchmarks were developed in concert with SIIA and were based on the confidential data provided by approximately 50 small and mid-size software vendors … Read more

ComScore: Facebook has passed Orkut in India

New ComScore figures show that Facebook now has a traffic advantage over social network Orkut in India, one of the Google-owned site's long-lasting strongholds and a major target for Facebook.

Use of social networks in India grew 43 percent from July 2009 to July 2010, the numbers show. More than 33 million people in India (15 and older) are now using social-networking sites. That's 84 percent of all Internet users in that country. Traffic firm ComScore found that with 20.9 million users in India, Facebook now has a slight edge over Orkut, which has 19.9 million … Read more

U.S. wind energy popular, but lacks investment

Despite public approval, U.S. wind energy investment is slowing down instead of growing, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support a renewable electricity standard, and wind energy investment in particular, according to a poll of 600 likely voters conducted in March by Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Bennett, Petts & Normington.

Specifically, 89 percent of Americans said increasing the amount of energy the U.S. gets from wind is a good idea. Broken down by ideology, 84 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats, and 88 percent of independents support increasing the … Read more

The 404 629: Where there must be some magic clue inside these tearful walls (podcast)

If you have time in the morning, be sure to check out CNET's The 404 Podcast every day at 8 a.m. PT on CNET LIVE; that way you won't miss things like yesterday's post-show, where the three of us spent half an hour reminiscing about the glory days of ABC's classic TGIF programming lineup.

All of us connected to legacy sitcoms like "Full House," "Perfect Strangers," and "Boy Meets World," but join us this morning as we belt out a pitch-poor version of the "Family Matters" theme song, … Read more

Who will be Facebook's next 500 million?

Facebook isn't letting its milestone of 500 million active users around the world go unnoticed, with a big "Facebook Stories" user testimony promotion rolling out and normally press-shy CEO Mark Zuckerberg making a Wednesday evening appearance on the ABC World News broadcast in the form of an interview with anchor Diane Sawyer.

There will likely be a lot of talk about Facebook's roots as a wildfire phenomenon among college students in elite U.S. universities and how, thanks to its incremental spread through schools and offices and communities, there are now half a billion people flitting … Read more

Want venture capital? Come to California

Despite the fact that the state is constantly teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, California remains at the top of the venture capital heap churning out the most deals with the most dollar volume in the second quarter of 2010.

A new report from private company research firm CB Insights reveals that California companies took more than 50 percent of total venture dollars in the second quarter with financings breaking the $3 billion funding mark and more than half of those funds going toward health care and Internet companies. In addition to California, two other states--Massachusetts and New York--accounted for … Read more

Study: Facebook's tarnished brand has bounced back

Polling firm YouGov, which said in May that Facebook had experienced a notable drop in consumer confidence right around the time of all that negative press about its changing privacy policies, now says that public attitude toward Facebook has taken a turn for the positive. In fact, the social network is YouGov's top "improving brand" for its BrandIndex numbers in the month of June among U.S. adults age 18 and over.

Facebook climbed from a YouGov rating of 2 in the weeks of June 1-15, to 17.5 in June 16-30. To put things into perspective, … Read more

Math brain predicts World Cup winners

So much money has already been wagered on the World Cup finals, which started Friday in South Africa.

So few of these bettors, however, will have turned to the Institution of Engineering and Technology's magazine before risking their savings, their house, or the money they were keeping back to pay the divorce lawyer.

The magazine, you see, has helpfully published an analysis of the World Cup, written by a man for whom numbers say so much. You might experience conflict with your potato chips when I tell you that the University of Salford has an Economics of Gambling degree … Read more

Sunday is most popular day for online porn

Sometimes, statistics can go some way to defining the state of a civilization. This doesn't happen often, but there are small occasions in which even the most drunken, addled reader will sober up very quickly, as pertinent numbers begin to numb.

So please allow me to offer you some numerical information that might just make you rethink your life priorities.

You see, I have just come across this infographic, courtesy of Online MBA, a site "where business education meets the Internet." This is a business blog that tweets occasionally and even adorns its site with a Reuters … Read more

Virtual goods revenue continues to climb

New survey data from research firm Magid and Associates and in-game commerce provider PlaySpan shows that virtual goods sales continue to grow, with games leading the way to monetization.

Virtual goods remain a promising alternative to advertising, and even to subscription revenue for many games and social networks. As mobile games continue to play an important role in gaming revenue, I would expect to see the sales of virtual goods continue to skew toward mobile devices as users seek instant gratification and bite-sized chunks of high-quality gameplay.

The follow-up to last year's survey reveals that buying habits aren't … Read more