Internet Explorer users are dumber, study shows

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Most of us on this forum don't use IE except for the obligatory MS updates so that means we really are smarter that the average bear, right?

Fox News

Bob

Very interesting, Bob -- appreciate the info and the opportunity.

You might enjoy this research as well: http://ledaro.blogspot.com/2010/12/fox-news-dumb-and-dumber.html

Ben

I'd say if you use Windows on the Internet you're dumb and if you also use IE you're even dumber!

From the study: "These results aren't surprising because browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Opera are generally used by professionals and other assorted "geeks," while Internet Explorer is the default option on Windows computers and is mostly used by the inexperienced and those who don't even know there are other options."

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I'd say if you use Windows on the Internet you're dumb...

Couldn't disagree more. I know you and Oren are two of the Jedi Masters of Linux on this forum and that's great. But...In something like 12 years of being on the internet using 4 or 5 different PC's running <gasp> Windows, I've never, ever, not once has a verified virus attack or infection. Same at the office, we have a network and 8 to 12 of us are on the internet all day long using IE and Outlook because we're not allowed to install anything not even Firefox. Between all of us we get around 200 emails a day. Never had any virus problem but we're all required to do our regular workstation updates including MS Essentials. The boss gets really pissed if someone misses an update for more than a couple of days. At home I am careful of what websites I go to, I never open email attachments unless I know for a certainty what's in them and I always have one of the good freebie AV and anti malware softwares installed and use them regularly. I've certainly had my share of various lockup's and glitches but nothing that required me to reinstall Windows. Either I did it or with some help was able to simply fix it and move on. And none of those past problems were verified as a virus.

I believe in insurance though. I have a clone of my system drive sitting right here but you know the old joke about insurance, if you have it you never need it but go without it for one day...

My theory is far too many people think when they have a problem with a BSOD or some kind of lock up they have a virus, freak out, reinstall everything and spend the next year telling everybody how dangerous the internet is. It's mostly bs that frightens old ladies and small children. Something happened totally unrelated to getting a virus, they installed something wrong, there was a glitch in their browser, they powered down in the middle of a critical update, they had 32 windows open, ran out of ram and their system locked up, hadn't defragged is 5 years, whatever. They have no clue how this stuff works so the go-to excuse is "I caught a viru, man, and it totally hosed my system!!!" (cue the whiny crying here and pass the cheese). Look at how many noob's right here post about Biab/RB not doing what they think it should and the first thing they did was to reinstall it when the real problem was a basic config thing. Total waste of time in most cases.

Don't fall for it.

Bob

John,

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I'd say if you use Windows on the Internet you're dumb and if you also use IE you're even dumber!

I guess that makes me “dumb” and “dumber”. It probably also makes a lot of other PG forum members “dumb” and “dumber”.

I thought that since I’ve been building my own computers for the last 12 or 13 years, and fixing friends and family members computers for them, that meant I was computer literate, or at least “smarter than the average bear”, as Yogi would say. Add to that the fact I’ve never gotten a virus or had my computer hacked, I thought I was doing things right!

I’ve used all of the other browsers mentioned, and still occasionally use Google Chrome, but I prefer IE. (Familiarity doesn’t always breed contempt).

Maybe your comment was a failed attempt at humor, (it happens to me all the time), and if not, it was a pretty arrogant and unjustified slam to all who fall into your criteria.

Bob,

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My theory is far too many people think when they have a problem with a BSOD or some kind of lock up they have a virus, freak out, reinstall everything and spend the next year telling everybody how dangerous the internet is. It's mostly bs that frightens old ladies and small children.

Don't fall for it.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

All this supports my theory that if someone could come up with a way to end all prejudice tomorrow morning, mankind would find a new basis for it by twelve noon...

--Mac

I’m one of the dumb and dumber!

Jazzmammal said it best. I’ve been on MS stuff for years with very little problems. Like Bob said that with good anti-virus, firewalls (both hard and software), anti-malware and a little common sense (that’s what’s lacking in many computer users) you can do just fine with MS stuff.

Common sense is the big thing. When I was working at the computer store you would be surprised at how many infected computers had illegal software (programs, music, movies) on them. Many also had URLs to porno sites. My theory is stay away from porno sites and don’t DL illegally and your chances of getting infected are greatly reduced.

Just my USD two cents – now worth 1.25 cents

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All this supports my theory that if someone could come up with a way to end all prejudice tomorrow morning, mankind would find a new basis for it by twelve noon...

--Mac

Amen brother Amen!

I have run Windows for years, and still do at work. I had three viruses at home all linked to my wife opening up the "you have a virus click here to remove" hoax.

I started running Firefox on Linux Fedora and never a glitch, or problem since.

Still i run windows at work and have for years never had a virus. I keep up to date protection. and surf smart.

It is how you use computers that matters.

Many of my oldest friends are farmers, and we share an interest in big motorcycles, pickup trucks, firearms, snowmobiles - rednecks, Canadian-style.
Three of us were sitting at table, one night, arguing the merits of our chosen brand of pickup truck; mine was an old Dodge, and the two other fellows favoured Ford and General Motors respectively. The three trucks were parked out in the yard, and each of them ran remarkably well, considering the year - and considering the fact none of us had any formal education in auto mechanics.

Bottom line after some heated discussion: it's not the truck that matters, it's who's looking after it that counts.

(and thirty years later, I still prefer Dodge trucks...

)

Good analogy Oren. What may be missing is that no one has the right to call you "dumb and dumber" just because you like a Dodge.

I don't know ever read the statistics on problems with Dodge products? Just sayin'

I drive a Ford F-150, but i have always had a soft spot for a Dodge Truck!

For years i drove Chevys

No wait i have also had two Toyotas, and on Nissan.

Know what, it looks like I am the dumb one, I can't make up my mind!

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I had three viruses at home all linked to my wife opening up the "you have a virus click here to remove" hoax.

Yeah, my lady did the same thing. Thanks to John (see no hard feelings buddy),

I created a Linux disc and removed it. That was about two years ago and she hasn't done that again. Three times eh? Hmmm...

The problem is PC's are advertised like they're toaster's or something. Just plug it in and have fun. Not that simple and software is the same too. "Band in a Box is so easy to use".

I know, I know.

Advertising is what makes our world go 'round and that's ok, the courts said many years ago "puffery" in marketing is fine, outright lying not so much. It's up to users to study, use common sense and figure this stuff out.

Bob

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The problem is PC's are advertised like they're toaster's or something. Just plug it in and have fun. Not that simple and software is the same too. "Band in a Box is so easy to use". I know, I know.

Bob

BiaB is so easy to use.

It's my toaster that I can't get to work

I was only being sarcastic here friends.Just kidding around.
Yes I do prefer Linux for my Internet machine but that's just me.

Yeah John i see the Johnism in the comment. I tend to agree, all though with out the dumb label thing I have had an overall great experience with Linux.

There are a few things it does not do well, but it is a solid system. That updates itself regularly for both function and safety, and it runs almost everything i need as good or better than windows.

One thing i like is i get a solid reasonably fast computer with a 8 year old machine. I have not had to upgrae the home machine in a long time, and it is fine. I downloaded all the BiaB stuff on the 2011.5 upgrade with no issues.

I actually prefer IE at work due to features over firefox, but it has really slowed down recently due to the latest update package.

Never used chrome google, and most likely never will.

I always wonder if articles like that are actually advertisements disguised as press releases. Advertisers know that people are more inflenced by "research" than by paid ads. There has been a real trend toward ads disguised as investigative reporting.

There are two camps in the IT world... one is adamantly Microsoft based, and the other is anti-Microsoft. They both evangelize their points of view.Depending how the survey was targeted, it would not be hard to find a majority in either camp.

Asking which is better is somewhat like asking about the options available in the game paper-rock-scissors. If rocks are your biggest problem, then paper is the superior choice.. etc etc etc

It is interesting to me that intelligent people on both sides of any discussion can research the facts diligently, yet come to different conclusions about what is "best"

"Best" is a function of the criteria used to make the decision, and everybody makes decisions for their own reasons.

addendum:

I am especially suspicious of any article that paints one group as being "smart" and another group as being "dumb". There is a large body of research on human motivation, and this is a textbook example of trying to manipulate public opinion by making people who think one way feel out of synch with reality.

This kind of behavioral manipulation is the basis on which herd mentality is built. Make people afraid to think for themselves or have a disapproved opinion, and you have them right where you want them. Once herd mentality is created, and the members of the herd start to enforce the "rules" on the other members, whoever is driving the ideology can then tell the herd how to vote, which products to buy, what to believe (or disbelieve), who to persecute, who to admire etc.

The only way to avoid the herd is to think for yourself and don't let anybody else validate or dismiss your opinions.

But that's just my opinion, you can think, mooo or baaa differently if you want.

There is an old engineering bromide that says, "If you torture the data long enough, it will admit to anything!"

--Mac

As a long-time Firefox user, I finally feel validated as a person.

A problem I sometimes have online is that I don't know the meaning of the word I'm going to use.

I usually look up some words before I post because a many times I'm wrong about the meaning.

When "I was only being sarcastic here friends.Just kidding around", was posted, I looked up the word "sarcastic", because it kind of jolted me.

The definition of "sarcastic" is, "Expressing or expressive of ridicule that wounds." That's a pretty harsh word and I wouldn't want any of us here to get more upset than it is.

Wayne, ( I use IE8, I'm a majority...

well maybe not here...

(I know, so long, just to define sarcastic)

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There is an old engineering bromide that says, "If you torture the data long enough, it will admit to anything!"

Wasn't that the robot-guy from the StarTrek movie?

When words get used incorrectly for a long enough time, people start to accept the wrong definition. SARCASTIC is one of those words. The dictionary definition is much more negative than is the intent of most people who use the word. It is frequently used when people really mean "facetious" (saying something in a non-serious way for the sake of humor)

I would bet that John did not mean it in the dictionary sense of purposefully trying to inflict damage.. Based on the context of the thread, I'd guess he probably meant FACETIOUS.

But, on a related topic:
My favorite defition of SARCASM is "the protest of the weak"
because those who are impotent to change their situation generally indulge in commentary intended to verbally damage some person or institution they can't hurt in any other way. When I hear true sarcasm, I generally regard it as an admission of defeat

Absolutely Pat. I was not implying that at all.
I just made that point because I was surprised at the definition of the word. I got myself inot a big mess a couple of years ago, not know what a word meant.

In no way was I saying anything about what he was saying. Basicly I was just recalling how easy it was when I got myself into a really bad situation with someone who isn't here anymore. They went nuts on me. I had to have someone intervene.

It was like I said I really think there should be less cowbell and they said, I'm going to find you and burn your house down and kill you!

And when I say that person isn't here anymore, I mean he died. Maybe his head exploded.

Wayne, (like Eric Burden sang, Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood)

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Absolutely Pat. I was not implying that at all.

Hi Wayne,
your message didn't come across as though you were implying anything
about John's post at all. I thought it was an excellent observation
about how people sometimes interpret words differently, and how that
can impact the results of written communication. In a forum like this,
that's good information to keep in mind. Thanks for posting it!

My comment was just intended to expand on what you already said.
I think we're we're on the same page.

Everybody who hangs out here knows there isn't a mean bone in John's body,
and he has a wry sense of humor. It's part of why we like him.

(to John: please never change!)

Hi Pat,
Thanks, I was afraid I was misunderstood. That story I posted is true. It was scary. I changed my handle a long time ago.

And I don't have mean bones either. Just old broken ones. Not from a person. I got hit by a truck. My, aren't I spilling my guts out today.

Wayne, ;-)

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And when I say that person isn't here anymore, I mean he died. Maybe his head exploded.

One possible preventative measure he could have taken to prevent the age old problem of having your head explode would be to follow this genius’s example:

Local boy done went and made the national news! He was still wearing his clever disguise when the cops caught him after the liquor store robbery, but his head remained intact, (except for a little surface area and hair when the disguise was removed).

Here’s the Duct Tape Bandit’s take on the whole situation. Be sure to watch till the end and listen to the words of the short song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUB-90bCm6U

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Everybody who hangs out here knows there isn't a mean bone in John's body,
and he has a wry sense of humor. It's part of why we like him.

(to John: please never change!)

Exactly, when I wrote I disagreed with him, that's all I meant. No hidden meanings, no implied insults, no parsing of words looking for hidden definitions or any of that, just a simple disagreement.

It means squat in the big picture.

As to the original article based on a research study, here's a personal anecdote about that. My lady has a BA in philosophy and a Masters in learning disabilities. She's an existentialist and very smart. Don't even think about uttering the phrase "I think, therefore I am" if you don't have two hours available to listen to all the reasons why that is an invalid statement. She'll make your teeth ache with that. But, she's also talked about how one of her professors had the class review the conclusions of various research studies and write about all the inconsistent logic and bad judgement shown in most of the studies. A few made sense with their conclusions. She can make a compelling argument about how most research studies are a waste of time based on their faulty conclusions. This ties into Mac's comments about statistics and that famous quote about "there lies, damn lies and statistics". Does that research study about smarter people not using IE have any merit? Who knows,I thought it was interesting.

Bob

Did you hear him speak? I think his IQ is the same as his age. What an idiot.
Thanks, that was really strange but interesting and a good preventative measure.

Thanks again, only here would I get to see something like that. I need to stay in more.
I wonder what browser he uses..lol

Wayne,

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I wonder what browser he uses..lol

The only thing he's browsing now is the confines of the KY State Penitentiary.

P.S. No doubt, ..... when he gets out, he'll be a Firefox user!

The original article was ridiculous. I was poking fun at it.I don't really think Bob the OP meant for it to be a serious piece of information.

John,

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I don't really think Bob the OP meant for it to be a serious piece of information.

I'm sure he didn’t. This article could have been written by the “Duct Tape Bandit”, …… with the help of spell check and an English teacher.

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Exactly, when I wrote I disagreed with him, that's all I meant. No hidden meanings, no implied insults, no parsing of words looking for hidden definitions or any of that, just a simple disagreement.

which is the best case scenario any time intelligent people who think for themselves derive different opinions from the same evidence. I thought your response was quite gracious and informative.

In fact, I've enjoyed reading ALL the different points of view on this thread.

Pat,

I think we can all agree that John was just making a joke, which can easily be misunderstood in a written format. No big deal.

I use Opera.

Me and the fat lady....

Has she sung yet? ......

Fine then it must be over!

Sup Eddie, ever cool down in the studio?

I maybe dumb to use IE, but I'm not dumb enough to watch the Fox channel.

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Sup Eddie, ever cool down in the studio?

The weather in general has gotten better, with less humidity, so that room changed accordingly. It is still hot up there (warm air rising and all that physics stuff I slept through) but when I go up I put an exhaust fan in there for a half hour before sitting down to work. I need to have booster blower motors put into those 2 ducts and will do that next year once I get out of the financial hole this stretch of unemployment has caused.

And yes, the fat lady DID sing. And now, in fact, I am dating her.... that's how I know when "it's over"....

I always seem to be a little more than late to the party, but when Tabs in browsers came out, I didn't use them because I was stubburn and wanted them to do exactly what I wanted them to do.

Well I just turned them on a couple of days ago, they are so cool. I bounce back and forth now all the time. I used to have like 3-4 browsers open at once. What a dope.

Ignorance is bliss, but finding out that something works for you is better.
Wayne,

Just for giggles, I thought that I would wade into this nonsense and point out that the only thing remarkable about this “research” is how flawed the entire process was. I could write an entire paper on the lack of scientific method that led to the conclusions drawn by these faux researchers, but I’ll limit my remarks to a just a couple of blatant problems with this report.

If you follow back to the primary source of the information, you will find that it is not a legitimate peer reviewed research paper, but an online paper http://www.aptiquant.com/IQ-Browser-AptiQuant-2011.pdf published without outside review or comment by a company that hopes to make money from the results of this research by advising software developers. The researchers themselves are therefore not unbiased although there is nothing particular that would make them biased for or against MS products.

The MAJOR problem with this research is their (incorrect) ASSUMPTION that the average person who took the online IQ test had decision making power over which browser they would use on the computer that they used to take the test. (I won’t even go into the opinion that most professionals have about the validity of online IQ tests). Here is the problem with that assumption. The vast majority of personal computers sold (79%) are owned by companies, not individuals. During any given day, the average business computer is turned on and connected to the internet for far more hours than a privately owned computer. Assuming a normally employed population, the vast majority of people would have taken the test from their work computers, not their home computers.

Now, the issue becomes who decides what browser is used on the average business computer. I can give you some insight into what happens at my company which has over 450 desktop computers and another 100 or so tablets or laptops. We, like many companies only allow IT administrators to install software on all company computers and that includes the operating system, browsers, and all other software. The choice of browser in our company is driven by about 6 major browser based applications and the software developers of those applications specify to us not only which browser they will support but also the version. Not one of the six supports a browser other than IE. One of the most recent letters that I received from Garrison Enterprises, which provides our inspection and permitting software and database specified that they would support only 2 specific versions of IE for the upcoming year and the MIS department decided that they would go with version 7. So, no matter what the IQ of the user, any of the 550 computers used at our company is going to have IE 7 on it with no ability on their part to change that , and the same kind of decisions are made everywhere for the same reasons, pointing to the basic problem with the assumptions of this “research”.

I agree with what you said completely. Every business here in Upstae NY where I stilluses Windows XP and IE7.
Even our NY State Library system uses the same. The Police Dept and the State Troopers. Every major business which includes Amphenol Aerospace and Mead-The paper products manufactuers. All the same.

I keep waiting for any of them to change not just the browser, but upgrade from XP. I asked the Library and the police, who I know, in a good way, not the bad way, and they all have no plans to change anything.

I almost forgot, the school system too. The Middle school students used to use Macs, but they got rid of them and switched to PCs now for years.

Wayne,

KeithS - you got it right:
Elaborate hoax...

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KeithS - you got it right:
Elaborate hoax...

It can't be a hoax - it was on the Internet!

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I always seem to be a little more than late to the party, but when Tabs in browsers came out, I didn't use them because I was stubburn and wanted them to do exactly what I wanted them to do.

Well I just turned them on a couple of days ago, they are so cool. I bounce back and forth now all the time. I used to have like 3-4 browsers open at once. What a dope.

Yep. Tabbed browsing rocks. I have 8 tabs open right now. I am using Chrome on this computer, but the other one that has Opera on it allows me to have all the tabs open in little windows so I can actually see all the browser sessions at once should I choose to. Of course with 60 year old eyes, that does me little good as I can barely read the 17" screen on this laptop, so..... just sayin'.

Chrome is really good. I don't know what you use but Google Chrome with their Speed Dial plugin is great.

78% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

--Mac

Yes it is cool. I stayed away from it since it came out which has been years. I'm using IE8, (I no) I can click a button up there and get what it says is quick tabs, it shows at least 6 open, I haven't tried more yet.
But like you, I have a 22" monitor but I can't see them either anymore with these old eyes. I can make out what they are though. They're pretty clear. Both our computers have the same Acer Monitors, but hers has a VGA port and this one is a Nvidia something. Much sharper with graphics and super clear with text.

When my wife and I got 22" monitors we thought how cool, because we use the PC for all our entertainment. We got rid of cable over 5 years ago. And it's great, the DVDs are razor sharp and we stream in HD, But, here's the kicker. Little did we realize that by upping the resolution to HD for PC stuff make the type or text got real tiny. We have the resolution set lower than the suggested and I keep the browser at %125. Otherwise I can't read a thing.

This doesn't change any of the video quality. That stays whatever it is. DVD is super clear and HD streaming is HD. Plus one time when my wife went away for awhile I hooked up both 22" monitors to the Nvidia card. It has 2 DVI outs. I think they're called DVI. They aren't the vga. It was awesome. It was like having a 3-4 foot monitor. You just drag a window over to the right screen and open something else in the left one. I would play a movie on the left and be on the internet on the right. Like having two PCs. I felt like a wizard.

But yes, the tabs are great. I feel so stupid that I never bothered with them. In 2 days I can't live without then. There's only so many browers I can open till my PC throws a tantrum. Now I just open one.

I'm going to see how many I can open. Oh I forgot the Portrait made. Looks very cool, but too narrow for most things and too long for the rest. But it's cool.

I love computers. Man I am a dweeb.....lol
Wayne,

OK, I've been opening up tab after tab, I'm up to 16. I have the feeling this could go on a long time. I'm getting tired of picking out sites. It never fills up. It just reformats a little and fits more in. It's insane.
I feel like a kid
Wayne,

OK, I got up to 25 and things got a little too slow so I closed them all and reopend the 3 I use. Pretty cool. Of course I could make out the little windows, good thing you just click on them to open, because after 15 the tabs are so small you can't read anything.

I am a child. I'm going to get a bowl Of Ice Cream now. because I'm just not fat enough......

I think there are %10 less Mac users than they say there are. Statistically speaking.
I just made that up.

Personally i thing all COMPUTER users are less intelligent!!

Ooooohhhh did he really say that ?!?!?!?!?!?

A hoax!?! Oh noooooo...

Bob

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Personally i thing all COMPUTER users are less intelligent!!

I know that I was a lot smarter before computers. I know I'm getting older, but computers have really dumbed me down.
Hard to believe I could keep getting dumber, believe it. Check last years posts I was much smarter. Now I'm really a dummy.
Wait till next year, we'll all be crying "We want our milk and cookies"
(oh,I do that already)
Wayne.

There's milk 'n cookies? Where?

Waaah, I want my milk 'n cookies!

I bet this is just yet another Internet Hoax, right?

--Mac

Hey, if you read it on the internet, it HAS to be true. You can't lie on the internet.

A computer can make more mistakes in .0001 seconds than a man can make in 100 lifetimes.

Remember, a computer only does what you tell it to do...

...except for when it doesn't.

First two things I learned about computers:
1. they're real fast
2. they're real stupid

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First two things I learned about computers:
1. they're real fast
2. they're real stupid

Like most college track athletes...

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First two things I learned about computers:
1. they're real fast
2. they're real stupid

Like most of my old drummers. And they got all the girls.

Upgrade! Internet Explorer is old and broken. Safari ftw

I heard a rumor about a hoax but it turned out not to be true.

Surveys show that four out of five internet users leaves one.

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Surveys show that four out of five internet users leaves one.

And every woman I have ever been with eventually leaves me.....

117% of men like cold beer

Don't you mean 200% John ? We all lead a double life .

I’m with you TommyC, however John may drink light beer

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I’m with you TommyC, however John may drink light beer

I just drink it, never bother to weigh it first.

I weight afterwards! 12 ounces of beer = 16 ounces of .... er .. well lte's just say after beer!