We have 8 computers and they are all on all the time (only 4 monitors, though). We never turn them off except to reboot. Since we have a cable modem, they are also all online all the time. Back in the stone ages when we had to dialup, we would dialup in the morning and leave it connected until we went to bed. That is, if we disconnected then.
Also, the place that I sit when at home is in front of my computer. actually two computers, three if I have the laptop with me. I have a very comfy chair and I’m right by the couch in the living room so I’m able to watch TV, talk with my family, play with my son, etc… all within arm’s reach of my computer(s). If I’m awake, and I’m home (which I almost always am) then I’m at my computer. Even if I’m not really doing anything, it’s still right there.
Clearly you know more about 'puters than I do, but we turn ours off somewhat regularly, but that is because out here in the rural wilds of Colorado we have a very questionable power supply. We have periodic “brownouts,” and surges and the occasional blackout.
While we have electronic devices that are supposed to defend against these eventualities, our computer guy said it could add one more layer of protection if we turned them off at dangerous times and when not in use for extended periods.
Clearly you know more about 'puters than I do, but we turn ours off somewhat regularly, but that is because out here in the rural wilds of Colorado we have a very questionable power supply. We have periodic “brownouts,” and surges and the occasional blackout.
While we have electronic devices that are supposed to defend against these eventualities, our computer guy said it could add one more layer of protection if we turned them off at dangerous times and when not in use for extended periods.
I rarely turn the computer off, but I don’t stay on-line constantly. I play a lot of computer games or do other things on the computer, which makes staying on-line inconvienient. I don’t sit in front of our computer unless I am using it, as it requires putting my back to the rest of the room. Our chair is not at all comfortable, unless you are like my SO - a 6’5, medium-large build, who likes to constantly be in the reclined position. He has actually broken the chair, so it is constantly reclining. I do a fun little balancing act, with one leg bent up beside me, the other stuck way out in front, to keep the chair in an upright position.
I don’t complain though, as I am a computer-hog. I also steal his games and beat them before he does, so I quietly balance this hapless chair and say nothing.
Here we have 2 PC’s, two Silicon graphics Indigo 2 R10K’s, a file server, a firewall, a laptop, a ‘media’ machine for watching movies, and an arcade machine running MAME. We also have a cable modem.
All of the machines besides the arcade machine and living room movie machine stay on all the time.
We haven’t had the heating on all year and we’re in Scotland.
I don’t think it’s strange/unusual. Just let people get used to it!
I’m like you Opal. Cable - always on. Computer - only shut off for a reboot, and with Win XP that means only when I install new software that requires a reboot. We have been having a lot of T-storms lately (every night, and the tornado sirens went off at 11:30 PM last night) so I shut off briefly for those - but only if the storms are close.
From my computer chair (I just got a really nice new chair last night BTW), I can see our big screen TV and talk to my SO, we’re both in the same room. So i can do other things, but my computer chair is like where I sit when I’m not cooking or doing house work.
I generally turn the computer off at night. We get a lot of electrical storms in Florida, so I don’t really like to leave it on unattended for long periods of time.
However, I do some ray tracing, and the renders can take many hours (or sometimes even days) to finish. In those cases, I’ll let the ray tracer run overnight.
Computer in my room always goes off at night, unless I’m downloading stuff. My room’s warm enough as it is. The two out in the livingroom go off, too. Don’t know about the one in my sisters’ room.
We always turn off our computer when we go to bed. I don’ tknow if it makes a difference on our electrical bill to have it off while we’re sleeping or not home, but in my head it does, so that’s all that matters.
We have a dial-up right now, and when we’re home, we’re online. Even if we’re watching TV or doing something else non-computer related. Mainly because I don’t want people to call me.
We leave our computer all on the time unless we’re leaving the house for an extended period of time. Usually, there’s somebody on the computer, so it would be a bit silly to turn it off, turn it back on five minutes later, etc.
We have a cable modem as well and it stays on. Unless the darned service is down (usually around midnight when I’m happily in the middle of everything online) and then I curse a lot and turn it off because the little blinking lights are annoying.
The computer with internet access (also a cable modem) stays on pretty much all the time- mostly because something is nearly always being downloaded on it. The other two computers- in my room and my brother’s room- are only on when they’re being used. There’s no earthly reason to leave them on and idle all day and night.
I turn mine off at night, and if we’re going to be out all day. It’s less of a concern during winter, but I don’t like to leave it on during thunderstorms, and if I’m gone all day, I don’t want to start worrying about a storm brewing.
We have a cable modem too, so my instant messaging programs are on all day. I usually remember to change to status when I get up from the computer, or sit back down.
Unless my computer is downloading something, I turn it when I know I’m going to be away from it for more than an hour or so. If I’m upstairs playing the PS2, then I’ll leave the computer on and connected (via dial-up). If I’m out of the house or asleep, then off it goes. Every little bit off of the electric bill helps, and I grew up during the energy-conscious 70s.
We tend to turn off the 3 computers we have at night, and they usually stay off during the day when we are at work. It’s mainly a power thing - we don’t want to pay if we aren’t using it, and although I know that computers don’t take THAT much power, its still our main reason.
If I know I’m gonna be away from the computer for more than a couple of hours, I shut it off. Partly to save on utilities, but also because thunderstorms pop up pretty regularly around here. I’m in a rural town, and we often have surges/brownouts from storms that may not even track directly though our part of the county. When I am home, the computer goes off if I see storms approaching off to the west on the radar, and they appear to be less than, say, 20 miles away.
I have one PC (an IBM Thinkpad) and I rarely turn it off. I am always online (cable modem = yay!) It ususally only goes off when I don’t want it too, i.e., I have to reboot because of a crash. If I am leaving for a long time I will turn it off. I don’t even turn it off in a thunder storm. We have a circuit braker in the house, and the laptop is plugged into a surge protector, and I am pretty sure that somewhere outside the house, on the telephone poles, they have safeguards against lighting strikes. So two or three levels oof protection satifies me. Besides, if something gets blown, it’s just my $15 AC adapter (under warrenty still), not a $100 power supply.
and we’re in Scotland.