I've been thinking about how different people use their computers. It occurs to me that there are at least three different ways that people use their computers: as a platform, as an appliance, or as a browser.
Some people use their computer as a platform. They get the computer with some base operating system and a handful of applications. Then, over time they continue to download and buy software to suit their needs and desires. Gamers certainly do this as they download and install new games. Photo and video buffs sometimes do this as they buy the newest multimedia editing software. As new software comes out, they buy or download it and get different uses out of their computers.
Some people use their computer as an appliance. They get the computer with an operating system and a handful of applications. Maybe they add a few more applications soon after original purchase. But once they get it set up, they pretty much use the computer "as is" for the rest of its lifetime. They may do a handful of things such as run a word processor, use email, and browse the web. I'm calling this an appliance because it's used in the same way again and again after the initial setup.
Some people use their computer primarily as a browser. Think about how much time you spend running applications on your computer (e.g., a word processor) vs. how much time you spend on services through your browser (e.g., in facebook, gmail, and flickr). Those who spend more than 80% of their time in the network are using it as a browser.
How do you use your computer?
What types of people use their computers in these different ways?
Do you agree with this classification? Is this set of modes complete or are their other major modes of use to add to the list?
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