i have noticed that many places simply pull the plug instead of "properly" shutting down the computer. is this better? does this somehow circumvent the process of accumulating cludge that eventually slows down your computer?

No - it's worse - especially if your disk drives have a cache and you've been using them recently... (as in you could lose data - on one occasion a power cut where I left my PC on overnight, so that the UPS ran out of juice before I realised what the beeping noise waking me up was, resulted in me having to reinstall my operating system).

Internet cafes can possibly get away with it because you can't really do much on them. (browse the web, play games, etc. - you're not actually installing software, or saving files to disc that you need to keep).

Whoever is doing this sounds too lazy to do proper shutdowns. This can definitly damage your system. Most internet cafes have lots of pirate software to use, and don't need to worry about preserving files.

cv

For the reasons bkk_mike and cdnvic have both indicated, shutting down a computer by "pulling the plug" is not a wise practice.

In the case of a desktop, pulling the power plug (or equivelant) will result in much faster discharge of the internal CMOS battery, than if the system were left plugged-in, then shut down normally. (Somewhat akin to your clock radio running down its "time-memory battery", when there is a power outrage.)

For the reasons bkk_mike and cdnvic have both indicated, shutting down a computer by "pulling the plug" is not a wise practice.

In the case of a desktop, pulling the power plug (or equivelant) will result in much faster discharge of the internal CMOS battery, than if the system were left plugged-in, then shut down normally. (Somewhat akin to your clock radio running down its "time-memory battery", when there is a power outrage.)

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Sorry that last bit about the CMOS is totally wrong.

The CMOS battery retains the CMOS memory all the time the power is off,

whether it was clean shutdown or a plug pull, makes no difference at all.