AVSIM survey.

[Guest twsimfan]

They have a new survey going that can be accessed on the main page. So far 221 people have taken it and only one of those (me) has opted for FU. I will say that I am disappointed that you can't indicate more than 1 sim... I fly FS04 a lot.

[Guest effyouthree]

Well, now 3 have!Interestingly, I believe a lot of people have lied - about something, I'm not sure what. I spend a lot of time analysing statistics and those posted so far indicate some amazing things, like the majority:* Have a 2-3GHz PC with 768-1024Meg RAM and MSFS2004 yet only paid less than $500 for hardware and $200 in total on software !!!???!!* Earn in excess of $100,000 - the next highest group were students with no income...* Were professionally employedNow, I'm not currently residing in the US but my guess is that the majority of respondents are students (as they have no idea how much they truly spend on HW and SW) who'd just like to think they're earning $100,000 :-rollSome of the questions seem reasonable however it so far looks like a good advert for people to go buy the latest PC (for <$500), load XP and FS9 (for < $200) and enjoy.Sounds like Microsoft wrote the questions. Can we have a REAL set of questions that won't be hijacked by idiots? I applaud Avsim for asking the questions but with results (so far) like I'm seeing here, I don't believe Avsim will have much useful data to use.:-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Christopher Low 5,324]

Getting cynical in your old age, Jon ? :-lolI have just completed the survey, and the number of virtual pilots that rate the Flight Unlimited series as their primary flight simulator has now increased to EIGHT (that's 3rd after FS2004 and FS2002) :-eekAs for the processor speed question, that is somewhat misleading. Most people will equate this with overall performance, but I selected "1.6 to 2.0 Ghz". The problem here is that I have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU, which is considerably faster than the clock speed would suggest.Chris Low.

[Guest Motormouse]

I have just completed the survey, and the number of virtualpilots that rate the Flight Unlimited series as their primaryflight simulator has now increased to EIGHT (that's 3rd afterFS2004 and FS2002) :-eek Make that NINE just logged in with my opinions too!!As for the processor speed question, that is somewhatmisleading. Most people will equate this with overallperformance, but I selected "1.6 to 2.0 Ghz". The problem hereis that I have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU, which isconsiderably faster than the clock speed would suggest.Chris Low.And likewise my PIII 700 runs like clockwork, er, make that as fast as clockwork :-lol:-wavePete

[Guest qvdg]

Make that 10. :-)QvdG

[Chesney 0]

Make that 11!Ches

[Guest glidernut]

12

[Guest Ansgar]

Hi together,now we have 13 LG fan

[Guest twsimfan]

Jon,"Interestingly, I believe a lot of people have lied - about something, I'm not sure what."Funny... I had the same feeling. :-lol"* Have a 2-3GHz PC with 768-1024Meg RAM and MSFS2004 yet only paid less than $500 for hardware and $200 in total on software !!!???!!"Well my P4 is 2.8GHz with 1GB but my expenses were a tad higher. :-roll"* Earn in excess of $100,000 - the next highest group were students with no income..."I wasn't able to stretch quite to that category. :-("Sounds like Microsoft wrote the questions. Can we have a REAL set of questions that won't be hijacked by idiots? I applaud Avsim for asking the questions but with results (so far) like I'm seeing here, I don't believe Avsim will have much useful data to use."Agreed. :) And I still feel that on many of the questions more than one answer should have been allowed. I don't use just one sim and on many of the others I could have easily fit into several categories. I don't buy software to the exclusion of hardware. On the type of plane I would have liked to have checked half the list and the same goes for the types of flying. Sorry Tom A. but IMHO the questions were too narrow in focus. ;)

[agtim 0]

now 14 for FU3 :-wave agtim

[JimmiG 244]

"* Have a 2-3GHz PC with 768-1024Meg RAM and MSFS2004 yet only paid less than $500 for hardware and $200 in total on software !!!???!!"That's very easy to achieve. I bought my current system over 1.5 years ago: AthlonXP 2400+ at 2.2 GHz (from stock 2.0 GHz), 512MB RAM, Radeon 9700 Pro. Back then all this stuff was quite high-end but the total for the "barebones" system was probably not more than $700-800. I have added bits and pieces since then but it's easy to build a good flightsim system for about $600-700 if you choose components carefully. Mine still runs FS2004 just fine and I have no intention of upgrading until the Athlon64 reaches about 4000+ or more.

[Hans_Petter 1]

# 14 may be me. I use FU3 and FS2004 :-) The problem with boxes to check (or "tick" to some of you) is that we can select one only. I rarely fit into one category. Most of the questions should really allow multiple entries. For instance, when selecting Avsim's most important service we're forced to select forums or library. Multiple choice always ends up as limited choice :-)Hans Petter

[Guest effyouthree]

Sorry for sounding negative folks!I think many of you appreciate where I'm coming from. Every day, statistics are garnered from every possible corner of the globe and applied to everything. What has become apparent over the past 20 years or so is that the 'quality' of the statistics, as they are gathered means little, because those who apply them will extract what information they want. :-roll Any statistician can 'prove' how Catholic churches cause cancer - simply count the number of cancer patients who live within 10 miles of a church, then count those who don't. The result will show that most cancer patients live within 10 miles of a church. Next, they'll tell you that attending church reduces your life expectancy! Heck, your insurance company will probably 'up' your health insurance or reduce your benefit...Make sense? It shouldn't! If I answer a survey in a ski shop, do I expect better service or lower prices from it? No, the only expectation I have is that the ski shop will use that data to fine-tune their marketing to extract even more money from me! Failing that, they'll sell it!From what I read of the Avsim survey, they should close down support for all but MSFS2004 and start charging for their downloads! Add the output of questions 14, 21 & 22 and you'll see how most 'simpleton' statisticians would interpret it. The $100,000 income would only cement their opinion.I'd love to see what Avsim's preamble for these questions was. With a better idea of what's being asked, we'd end up with better questions. I'd like to help in the future as well, because these stats are about US. They can be a powerful tool in the right hands. For example, if the question range was widened (and the intention and question content was less ambiguous), Avsim could reasonably 'sell' the info to the simming development community on the condition that 'buyers' donate a sum to Avsim. Of course, the data couldn't be 'raw' (i.e. open to interpretation) or it would be useless. That's a way we'd all benefit ;)And receivers of the data would know why Avsim is 'King'. Right now, most 'outsiders' can't figure out why we are here when 'their' site offers 'premium $ervice$', FTP downloads, Paypal member accounts etc. The reason is simple - Avsim supports us ALL by providing equal opportunity, regardless of your simming interest - something entirely missing from most sites.Geez... I go on, don't I? Sorry :-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Christopher Low 5,324]

Jon,I see PayPal accounts as a NEGATIVE, not a positive :-)Chris Low.

[Tom Allensworth 1,532]

Jon and All,All your points are well taken. And Jon, by raising that meaty little hand of yours, you now have a volunteer position on AVSIM. We are firing our resident statistician (me) and you get the job. Please contact me via email when you get a chance, and we can talk about our poll and future versions of it. And you are absolutely right, AVSIM supports all in the hobby of flight simulation. :)