Mark A Mandel wrote > Well, I guess it could depend on context. If my machine is connected to > the Internet and I get an alert when email arrives, even if I'm using a > local app, then I could say that I'm online in the sense of being > accessible by Internet, but not in the sense of where my attention is. This is the definition of online I was using. Approx. 80% of my work time meets this criteria. Add in 3-5 hours daily at my computer at home (thank God for wireless networking) and I get up to the 65 hrs/wk I estimated. I included all of the following. a) actively using a web browser. b) actively using an ftp client. c) actively using an email client to upload or download messages. d) using a newsreader to retrieve messages and headers (I rarely post to newsgroups). e) reading newsgroup messages. f) composing email on a client that checks 3 to 4 POP accounts once per minute for new mail g) engaging in other activity with same client running in the background, giving me a discreet message waiting indicator when new mail arrives. I don't do much with other protocols; no IM, no chat, a little bit of remote computing (NetMeeting, pcAnywhere, etc.) If I left off e), f) and g), my "online" time would be dramatically less -- probably someting like 20 hrs/wk.