July '97 Reader Survey Results

S/2's detractors have long insisted that OS/2 has too few native apps, while its proponents often maintain that there are plenty available. On top of this, many argue, OS/2's ability to run DOS and Win3.x apps gives OS/2 users a wider choice of software than anyone could possibly need.

We were curious about exactly what types of applications people had installed on their machines so last month we asked, "What programs do you use?"

Answers to our survey were accepted from July 16th until August 13th. We had a total of 2,041 replies to our questionnaire last month with 128 "spoiled" replies (replies were considered "spoiled" if they did not contain an e-mail address, if they were incomplete or if they were duplicates). This left 1,913 valid replies. The results were as follows:

How many native OS/2 programs do you have installed?

Overall, the responses to this question weren't surprising -- after all, we expected most of our readers had a fair number of OS/2 programs installed. And this is, in fact, what our survey showed; the two most popular answers to our first question were "11 - 20" and "21 or more" OS/2 programs installed, for a combined total 62.7% of our readers.

What was surprising though, was the one reader who told us that he or she had no OS/2 programs installed. Apparently Warp is such a great platform, you don't even need OS/2 programs to make it worthwhile!

How many DOS programs do you have installed?

When asked about DOS programs, our readers' answers peaked near the other end of the scale. The most common answer to this question (given by 37.0% of those who responded) was "1 - 3" DOS programs installed. Another 22.9% of those surveyed had "4 - 6" programs installed; only 27.6% of our readers had more than 6 installed.

Perhaps the surprise here, considering OS/2's excellent DOS support, is the large number of people (241, or 12.6%) that have no DOS apps on their OS/2 systems. Could it be that DOS's days are finally over?

How many Windows programs do you have installed?

A very similar pattern among our readers was revealed regarding the number of Windows programs installed. Again, a significant percentage (12.3%) had no Windows apps at all installed. And, like DOS programs, over a third of our readers (34.1%) had "1 - 3" Windows programs on their systems.

How often do you use Dual Boot or Boot Manager to run a DOS or Windows program?

When it comes to Dual Boot or Boot Manager, it seems our readers just can't be bothered. Possibly because Warp 4 (which most of our readers have upgraded to) handles DOS and Windows apps so well, the vast majority of you (80.2%) told us that you leave OS/2 for another operating system less than 3 times a week. In fact, the largest group of respondents (40.5%) answered that they never use Dual Boot or Boot Manager.

But that doesn't mean some people aren't fond of switching operating systems. Five people told us they switch out of OS/2 "11 - 20 times a day" and another 5 claim they do it "21 or more times each day". Didn't their mothers ever tell them that doing anything that much will make them go blind?

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That's it for last month's survey. Don't forget to fill out this month's questionnaire and check back in September for complete results!

Complete July '97 Survey Results

How many native OS/2 programs do you have installed? Category Count Percentage 0 1 0.1% 1 - 3 68 3.6% 4 - 6 256 13.4% 7 - 10 388 20.3% 11 - 20 576 30.1% 21 or more 624 32.6% TOTAL 1,913 100.1% Note: the extra 0.1% in the above table is due to rounding errors.	How many DOS programs do you have installed? Category Count Percentage 0 241 12.6% 1 - 3 707 37.0% 4 - 6 438 22.9% 7 - 10 223 11.7% 11 - 20 140 7.3% 21 or more 164 8.6% TOTAL 1,913 100.1% Note: the extra 0.1% in the above table is due to rounding errors.
How many Windows programs do you have installed? Category Count Percentage 0 235 12.3% 1 - 3 653 34.1% 4 - 6 464 24.3% 7 - 10 317 16.6% 11 - 20 158 8.3% 21 or more 86 4.5% TOTAL 1,913 100.1% Note: the extra 0.1% in the above table is due to rounding errors.	How often do you use Dual Boot or Boot Manager to run a DOS or Windows program? Category Count Percentage never 774 40.5% 1 - 3 times each month 483 25.2% 1 - 3 times each week 278 14.5% 4 - 6 times each week 176 9.2% 1 - 3 times each day 170 8.9% 4 - 10 times each day 22 1.2% 11 - 20 times each day 5 0.3% 21 or more times each day 5 0.3% TOTAL 1,913 100.1% Note: the extra 0.1% in the above table is due to rounding errors.

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