TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Survey Challenges Conventional View of Home PC Market: Only 27% of the nation’s households have personal computers, according to a market report that challenges conventional wisdom about the size and growth of the PC consumer market. It is widely believed in the computer industry that PCs are now in about a third of the 96 million U.S. households. The study, conducted by a relatively new research firm called Odyssey, relied on a phone survey rather than the manufacturers’ sales data typically used. Nick Donatiello, president of the San Francisco firm, said the survey’s random sampling of 1,500 households probably produced a more accurate measurement of home PC use. It tried to allow for multiple PCs in some homes and replacement purchases, he said.