The average is 62.4 percent nationally.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mississippi barely cracks 50 percent and ranks dead last in the category — just 51.1 percent of Mississippi residents have Internet access.

Of New Mexicans who have Internet available to them, 61.3 percent have Internet access in their homes. This ranks 40th in the nation. Again leading the pack are Alaska and New Hampshire, this time switching the top slot. Of those with Internet access in New Hampshire, 82.6 percent have Internet access in their homes. In Alaska, that number is 78.5 percent.

And once again Mississippi brings up the rear: Only 52.6 percent of Mississippi residents that have internet access available to them have it available in their homes.

Some nationwide numbers are interesting as well.

Among races and ethnic groups, Hispanics are at the back of the pack. Only 41.6 percent of Hispanics have access to the Internet in some location, compared 50 percent of blacks, 64.4 percent of Asian Americans and 68.9 percent of non-Hispanic white residents.

Barely over half of all American “householders” have broadband Internet in their homes — 50.8 percent. Only 35.2 percent of Hispanic householders have broadband in their house, compared to 36.8 percent of black householders, 54.9 percent of white, non-Hispanic householders and 60.2 percent of Asian American householders.

“As access to high speed connections have become more prevalent, so too have the number of people that connect to the Internet at home,” said Thom File, a statistician with the Census Bureau Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. “These data give us a better understanding of who is using the Internet and from where.”

These numbers are well up from 1997. In 2007, 64 percent of individuals 18 and over used the Internet from any location, while only 22 percent did so in 1997.

In his fourth annual Pogie Awards, David Pogue listed some cool tech ideas from this year — not necessarily the best products. “In fact,” Pogue writes, “sometimes they’re terrific ideas wasted on dumb products.” So what are these great tech ideas?

The first idea on the list of the awards is something timely for the Christmas season — “frustration-free packaging” from Amazon.

You know how so many products come in clear hard plastic packages, impossible to open without a flamethrower and the Jaws of Life? Everybody complains about them, but nobody does anything about it.

Until now. Amazon.com figured: “Hold on a sec — those are anti-shoplifting packages. But we don’t have a shoplifting problem — we’re mail order!”

The annual Christmas tradition of searching for a hacksaw to open up the plastic packaging may soon be a thing of the past. Unless you buy that iPod at Best Buy. Pogue does note, however, that the frustration-free packaging is only on a small number of products currently. But that could change by the time Santa Claus comes to your house in 2009.

Another one is timely for iPhone owners who live in cold climes. The Freehands gloves solve the problem of texting with gloves on — by a flip-back tip on the thumb and index finger that allows you to text or send that e-mail from your BlackBerry with ease.

Or as Pogue writes, “Tap away, get your text message out, then flip the tips back on before you get BlackBerry frostbite.”

And to charge those BlackBerries and iPhones, Pogue cites the mini-USB charging jacks that now can be used to charge your portable device from your computer. My BlackBerry is charging via one right now. “It’s the dawn of the universal, fully interchangeable power cord,” Pogue declares.

A pretty good year for technology ideas if Pogue’s list is any indication.

Or should i say “ppl who lv in ABQ n SF r rly prolific txtrs?”

The national average for adult cell-phone users who text-message is 48 percent, and the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area comes in at 50 percent, according to the research firm’s local market profile (pdf download).

The Albuquerque/Santa Fe area is tied for 17th place among the 100 areas tested. It’s tied with New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego and Houston among other areas.

So which area loves texting more than any other in the United States? The El Paso, Texas, area, where 57 percent of adults text.

Personally, almost everybody I know is now on the texting bandwagon; the “unlimited” texting option is almost a necessity for many nowadays. Who wants to talk on the phone when you can instead spend a few seconds sending a text saying, “What are you doing?”

From the report:

“Text messaging could be largely disproportionately appealing to marketers because it delivers a young, multicultural audience. Additionally, texts can provide a very locally targeted vehicle for marketers wanting to reach people in the right place at the right time, ready to make a purchase,” said Gary Meo, senior vice president, digital media services, Scarborough Research. “Texting is becoming a ubiquitous cell phone function. Local market data, such as that from Scarborough Research, can enable marketers to better understand the texter as they exist in their ‘real world,’ thereby leading to more effective targeting with marketing messages.”

In that vein, the latest text in my phone? “Yeah. You?”

Ah, technology.