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I want to know which countries had the biggest rise in laptop and desktop computer users. In many 3rd world countries people only use the Internet to access Fa

I want to know which countries had the biggest rise in laptop and desktop computer users. In many 3rd world countries people only use the Internet to access Facebook and WhatsApp on their smartphones.

missedthecue 5y ago
Average smartphone is $160 in India, but many are much cheaper. A sim with two gigs of data is $0.33 cents. A laptop and broadband connection are going to cost a lot more. A desktop is simply going to be out of reach for most of the poorer population.
Ericson2314 5y ago
What hellishness. Hope the world gets it shit together to end such immiseration someday.
- notsureaboutpg 5y ago
vbezhenar 5y ago
In my country Instagram is nightmaringly popular. I hate it, but I'm forced to use it, because more and more businesses have their Instagram account as their webpage with prices, contacts, etc. It seems ridiculous. UX is so terrible. It's not indexed by Google. I can understand when some girl publishes her selfies, probably Instagram is good for that, but not for business web presence.
- sweetheart 5y ago
  It’s clearly fulfilling something important for the businesses.
- indigochill 5y ago
  The "developer" experience is pretty great compared to the alternative, though. If you can set up your corporate presence on a social media platform that means you're paying nothing for (and not dealing with the hassle of) hosting or domain name registration or even email (if you only communicate via your platform of choice). Sure, you're a slave to Instagram, but -practically- that doesn't matter to most businesses that choose this path. The only way to break this I can imagine would be for someone to provide a pipeline that seamlessly automates the domain name registration and hosting for these businesses (similar to how Let's Encrypt popularized HTTPS by reducing the technical hoops to jump through). It would probably have to be funded similarly to Let's Encrypt as well, because in countries where Instagram is the de facto business platform, they're certainly not going to pay for this service.
  - sofixa 5y ago
    Wix, Squarespace already do this pretty well, and some alternatives like WordPress.com have free hosting and (sub)domain.
- tshaddox 5y ago
  The UX might not be great, but at least it establishes a floor for how bad the company’s web presence will be. I can’t count the number of supposed company websites I’ve encountered that are totally broken, or replaced by a parked domain because they probably haven’t paid their bills for 10 years, or literally using a flash embed that browsers don’t support any more, etc. I’d honestly rather see the social media profile. It’s unlikely to be broken and it’s more likely to be up to date.
  - londons_explore 5y ago
    This is key. For small businesses, their web presence must require no ongoing costs, be in the same walled garden that the users look in, and no expertise to set up or edit. Small businesses that have paid a web developer to make them a website rarely get a good return on their investment.
    - tentacleuno 5y ago
      > Small businesses that have paid a web developer to make them a website rarely get a good return on their investment. What if they make their own website? It's relatively easy these days, depending on what you want to do (and if it isn't, there are packages to help!).
      - type0 5y ago
        Let's say a barista have to update the instagram account their cafeteria, requiring them to update a WP site is millions more effort taxing on the employee and means they won't do it (at least not on their private phone as it's expected). Must be one of the reasons I often see those overly huge signs "follow us on instagram" so often.
      - AussieWog93 5y ago
        I've been in this position myself (as someone with an engineering background!!), and it's a matter of effort vs. return. Far fewer customers care about a website than an active social media profile, and the effort required to maintain them, secure them and set them up is orders of magnitude higher. If you're a growing small business, there are typically much better ways to invest your time.
wolverine876 5y ago
> I want to know which countries had the biggest rise in laptop and desktop computer users. When the pandemic began, IIRC US public school districts serving poorer students discovered that only 50% had laptops or desktops in their families.

missedthecue 5y ago

Average smartphone is $160 in India, but many are much cheaper. A sim with two gigs of data is $0.33 cents. A laptop and broadband connection are going to cost a lot more. A desktop is simply going to be out of reach for most of the poorer population.

Ericson2314 5y ago

What hellishness. Hope the world gets it shit together to end such immiseration someday.

notsureaboutpg 5y ago

vbezhenar 5y ago

In my country Instagram is nightmaringly popular. I hate it, but I'm forced to use it, because more and more businesses have their Instagram account as their webpage with prices, contacts, etc. It seems ridiculous. UX is so terrible. It's not indexed by Google. I can understand when some girl publishes her selfies, probably Instagram is good for that, but not for business web presence.

sweetheart 5y ago
It’s clearly fulfilling something important for the businesses.
indigochill 5y ago
The "developer" experience is pretty great compared to the alternative, though. If you can set up your corporate presence on a social media platform that means you're paying nothing for (and not dealing with the hassle of) hosting or domain name registration or even email (if you only communicate via your platform of choice). Sure, you're a slave to Instagram, but -practically- that doesn't matter to most businesses that choose this path. The only way to break this I can imagine would be for someone to provide a pipeline that seamlessly automates the domain name registration and hosting for these businesses (similar to how Let's Encrypt popularized HTTPS by reducing the technical hoops to jump through). It would probably have to be funded similarly to Let's Encrypt as well, because in countries where Instagram is the de facto business platform, they're certainly not going to pay for this service.
- sofixa 5y ago
  Wix, Squarespace already do this pretty well, and some alternatives like WordPress.com have free hosting and (sub)domain.
tshaddox 5y ago
The UX might not be great, but at least it establishes a floor for how bad the company’s web presence will be. I can’t count the number of supposed company websites I’ve encountered that are totally broken, or replaced by a parked domain because they probably haven’t paid their bills for 10 years, or literally using a flash embed that browsers don’t support any more, etc. I’d honestly rather see the social media profile. It’s unlikely to be broken and it’s more likely to be up to date.
- londons_explore 5y ago
  This is key. For small businesses, their web presence must require no ongoing costs, be in the same walled garden that the users look in, and no expertise to set up or edit. Small businesses that have paid a web developer to make them a website rarely get a good return on their investment.
  - tentacleuno 5y ago
    > Small businesses that have paid a web developer to make them a website rarely get a good return on their investment. What if they make their own website? It's relatively easy these days, depending on what you want to do (and if it isn't, there are packages to help!).
    - type0 5y ago
      Let's say a barista have to update the instagram account their cafeteria, requiring them to update a WP site is millions more effort taxing on the employee and means they won't do it (at least not on their private phone as it's expected). Must be one of the reasons I often see those overly huge signs "follow us on instagram" so often.
    - AussieWog93 5y ago
      I've been in this position myself (as someone with an engineering background!!), and it's a matter of effort vs. return. Far fewer customers care about a website than an active social media profile, and the effort required to maintain them, secure them and set them up is orders of magnitude higher. If you're a growing small business, there are typically much better ways to invest your time.

wolverine876 5y ago

> I want to know which countries had the biggest rise in laptop and desktop computer users. When the pandemic began, IIRC US public school districts serving poorer students discovered that only 50% had laptops or desktops in their families.