Windows 8 Market Share Increases to 2.2% in January

[CaedenV]

[citation][nom]shikamaru31789[/nom]I still have XP on my PC. I built this back in 2008, so I stuck with XP instead of getting crappy Vista. I haven't upgraded because there was really no reason to, none of the games I've played on here required Vista/7/8. However, I will be building a new PC later this year to play multi-platform and PC exclusive games that come out over the next few years, so I'll definitely be upgrading since the latest games require Windows 7 or 8.[/citation]
If it is for gaming then do yourself a favor and get win8. I have a funny feeling that MS is going to use the nextbox (which will also use win8 as the core OS) in order to lock new games into the win8 ecosystem. So if you purchase win7, you may end up being stuck buying 8 down the road simply to play current gen games.
The Windows arm of MS may not be that strong anymore, but the Xbox arm of MS has a whole ton of control on markets.

 

[leandrodafontoura]

Isnt 2.2% lower than Linux? thats really bad, but expected..

 

[loomis86]

[citation][nom]bison88[/nom]Windows 8 risesWindows 7 dropsWindows XP RISESWhat kind of bizzaro world is this lol? Only thing that makes sense is Windows Vista dropping.[/citation]

Makes perfect sense. Consider a business with 30 computers all running XP. One day the business needs to expand and add 10 cubicles with a new computer each. They want to keep everything the same and perfectly compatible so they go with 10 new computers running XP. Then a while later they decide to add laptops to some of those cubicles so their more important people can work while mobile. That's 10 more computers with XP.

 

[diddo]

2.2%
the market share (same source, same metric) conquered by the epic fail of Vista in its first month of release
w8 took 3 months to reach it
do the epic fail math: w8 squarepants is 3 more times epic fail than Vista

 

[diddo]

[citation][nom]SteelCity1981[/nom]Wndows XP an 11 year old OS is rising in market share. You couldn't make this stuff up and make it sound believeable if you tried. lol It just goes to show you that the avg consumer is perfectly happy with an 12 years OS.[/citation]
Make perfect sense. Corporations are still using XP. SOHO are going to buy tablets, not PCs.
So Vista/7 PCs are getting replaced by tablets, and you will not see it in the desktop OS stat.
XP machines, otherwise, are here to stay, as Ballmers MS lose any credibility with corporations: they did not bought Vista *hit and now are going to sink MS boat as soon as they will start replace XP machines in a decade with non balmmerwintel machines too (unless MS fires Ballmer).
They are just moving slower than soho market, that's why you are seeing more "modern" MS systems proportionally diminished in proportion to XP.

 

[alidan]

[citation][nom]Ragnar-Kon[/nom]They plan to cling to it as long as it continues to work.The Bank of America trading floor in New York City for example... they make millions of dollars every making trades off of 6-screen systems running Windows XP. Why bother upgrading the entire trading floor (100+ machines) to Windows 7 when it won't make Bank of America any more money than what they are already making from Windows XP.And that's the problem, for some people there is a compelling reason to upgrade. For other people, especially businesses, there isn't a compelling reason. You gotta be able to justify the cost.MS can't do that. Apple makes money off of the customer by selling them hardware, so they can afford to sell people their software for cheap. Microsoft is a software company, they don't make any money off the hardware when people buy their Dells and HPs. That money goes to Dell and HP.[/citation]

sell a home license for 30-50$
business license is where they make money,
also office

[citation][nom]juan83[/nom]If i want to use a fancy graphic desktop i use linux as i do EVERY DAY, else, i use windows xp. Why? because windows 7,8,9,10....99 can't get this graphic effects using less than 400mb of ram, and as you can see, linux + windows xp running on a virtual machine requires only 1.2gb, and windows xp alone less than 400mb.http://i50.tinypic.com/20gmaue.jpgfor all who don't have a dx11 capable graphic, xp is more than enough, steady, and reliable. it's a petty that some games won't run in this older windows, but i can't find a single person who tell me a good reason to upgrade to win 7, other than "win 7 it's cool... xp is a 10 years old OS... the windows are so lame in 2D" come on!![/citation]

i got win 7 for 64 bit driver support and because i got an ssd.
i didnt want to migrate to linux because i still use programs only on windows, and i would still need a 7 license.

 

[virtualban]

I got both XP and W7.
Comparison:
W7 is faster booting, less blue screens, can stay on longer (hibernate or simply on) while XP does need a restart now and then.
XP takes less clicks and mouse travels to do the same operations. Uses less memory. And works just as fast as W7 when it comes to benchmarks or games.

I am careful how I use computers. Easy hackable is a non-issue for me. UAC is nice but not necessary. ClassicShell and CubicExplorer compensate for some of the shortcomings of W7 (and W8 too), but I should not be searching for new tools to do the same work the same way.

Conclusion: if you have an existing XP license, use it. If the computer comes with W7, keep it. If in need to get a new OS, get windows 7 64 bit. And if anything comes with windows 8, you do need a new OS, W7x64 should be that OS.

 

[virtualban]

p.s. I do have DX11 graphics, but still only play games at DX9, not enough visual difference, but enough performance difference.

 

[darkavenger123]

[citation][nom]juan83[/nom]1- I do use windows xp 64bits and works fine, like 32 bits does. it can address up to 64GB.2- I boot my computer on xp, let's say once in a month, and i every time i shutdown i have to wait till the f*** updates finish installing. There are updates! who told you there aren't?3- I don't have a dx11 graphic card.. so.. win 7 (in my case) is useless.4- software takes advantage of your hw, windows barely does. (even if you use w7, unless you use sw that takes advantage of quicksync, avx, etc.. you are not going to see any difference)5- you are right, many applications doesn't work with xp, i can get lots of alternatives.. you don't have to marry with one particular.. (i am a linux user and a sw developer, that is no problem to me)6,7,8 - yes, xp is 12 years old!! all those things.. i don't have it! it doesn't make any difference which OS i use, and the start procedure of windows xp doesn't takes advantage of more than 1 core when win 7 does!! simply.. i just don't care, the boot selector takes 8 seconds and i was considering rising it to 10 or 12.. but hey! W7 is faster when it is just installed.. in 3 or 4 month takes much longer than xp..[/citation]

Linux user...no wonder...then you better stick back to linux. Your last statement. Like XP boot time won't slow down when there's tons of apps installed......Win 7 boot time remains pretty fast compared to similar load on XP which goes down way faster.

 

[weaselman]

Thanks but, I will stick with windows 7.
Did not move to windows 8, Metro put me off, and besides even if I did buy windows 8 I would use the old style UI like windows 7, Metro works ok with touch devices.
But since I don`t have one why bother, anyway I think it`s always best to see how things pan out with a new Os like 8. Windows xp was ok for the time though.

 

[diddo]

My 2c.
XP good for its time, not good on SSD as recent systems, decent on old hardware when 7 is fastest on modern hardware, awful Luna theme, they should have to stay to simple and plain theme like they did with 8, one of the few things I really appreciate of 8 squarepants.
Vista was the root of the doom for MS, no investments on CE let the embedded/low power market go away turning to Linux (root of Android success), Java machines, and letting an open niche for iOS and Android, all the work in 7 and 8 is in making Vista lighter... with the result a wannabe ultramobile OS taking 40GB space... absurd.

 

[lradunovic77]

DX11.1 is useless just as DX10.0. Microsoft made those features exclusively available on Windows 7 and Windows 8 but infact they focused on XBOX 360 Console and pretty much did everything to kill gaming on PC. All we play are bad ports from Console. So yeah for a lot of people Windows XP is enough for gaming and professional work. Ballmer and Ribbon lady need to GTFO Microsoft and put some people who will know wtf it needs to be done. And yes Metro sucks and nobody ever wanted it.

 

[Fokissed]

[citation][nom]virtualban[/nom][...] but I should not be searching for new tools to do the same work the same way.[/citation]
... said everyone for every new Windows ever.
3.1: Windows? I have to use my mouse now.
95: DOS Programs don't work.
98: Unstable, takes too much RAM, bloated.
ME: LOLOLOLOLOL.
NT: The rest of the DOS Programs don't work.
XP: Bloated NT.
Vista: OMGWTFBBQ eats all the RAM.
7: Same as Vista, without the teething problems.
8: WTFFullscreenWindows.

 

[lradunovic77]

From Business point of view Windows Vista/7/8 do not offer anything over XP and that is why XP is just fine.

 

[virtualban]

[citation][nom]Fokissed[/nom]... said everyone for every new Windows ever.3.1: Windows? I have to use my mouse now.95: DOS Programs don't work.98: Unstable, takes too much RAM, bloated.ME: LOLOLOLOLOL.NT: The rest of the DOS Programs don't work.XP: Bloated NT.Vista: OMGWTFBBQ eats all the RAM.7: Same as Vista, without the teething problems.8: WTFFullscreenWindows.[/citation]
LOL!
True.

I still would rather have, for example, a search function in windows explorer that does not remove the content of the window, such as good old "right click > search..." and a new window opening.
A few small things that are done daily.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]lradunovic77[/nom]DX11.1 is useless just as DX10.0. Microsoft made those features exclusively available on Windows 7 and Windows 8 but infact they focused on XBOX 360 Console and pretty much did everything to kill gaming on PC. All we play are bad ports from Console. So yeah for a lot of people Windows XP is enough for gaming and professional work. Ballmer and Ribbon lady need to GTFO Microsoft and put some people who will know wtf it needs to be done. And yes Metro sucks and nobody ever wanted it.[/citation]

Direct X 10 and 11 can't be on XP for a simple fact, they aren't DirectX.

 

[Fokissed]

[citation][nom]virtualban[/nom]LOL!True.I still would rather have, for example, a search function in windows explorer that does not remove the content of the window, such as good old "right click > search..." and a new window opening.A few small things that are done daily.[/citation]
Actually Windows 8 allows you to shift-rightclick a folder to open a cmd prompt there. You can then search using "dir /s *.*" or so.

 

[Pherule]

[citation][nom]internetlad[/nom]can't believe nearly 40 percent of computer users are still stuck on XP.How long do they plan to cling to this now-ancient standard? Windows 7 offers more than enough compelling reasons to upgrade.I suppose if all you're doing is internet browsing and email, you don't need much.[/citation]
Windows XP runs all my games.
It runs all my software.
Backing up and formatting just to upgrade to Windows 7 or 8 would require a lot of time and effort that I don't have.
I don't do upgrade installs, only fresh installs, so no, formatting is not optional, it's essential.
What's wrong with XP. Sure, sure, I see benefits for upgrading, but I stand to lose more than I gain.

But I do plan on buying an SSD sometime this year, and if so, I'll probably be choosing between Windows 8 or a Linux distro. It would help greatly if Windows 7 & 8 had an XP-mode. For instance:

Control panel - has been completely f****d up in Windows 7 & 8
Right click desktop, properties. All my desktop stuff is consolidated in one menu in XP. Windows 7 & 8 are so confusing, I can't stand modifying desktop settings with them.
Taskbar - yes I admit there are some benefits of the new taskbar. I still like XP's. If I open an application I don't want its taskbar position to be on the shortcut, I want it to make a new, elongated button on the right. Yes I know Windows 7 & 8 can probably be modified to do this, but meh.
Task manager in Windows 8 - have they completely lost it? I hate the new task manager. Why isn't there an option for an old-style task manager.
Where is the Windows 9x skin/theme in Windows 8?
Where is the Windows XP Luna theme in Windows 7 & 8? I love the Luna theme and I really don't want to change it. Yes I get there are probably addons to simulate it, but it's not the same.

Another problem I have is some 32-bit software doesn't work in 64-bit Windows 7 & 8. They're supposed to be backwards compatible, but they aren't doing it right.

The reasons for upgrading are slowly but surely increasing, but Windows XP is not yet dead, and for good reason.

 

[battlecrymoderngearsolid]

Windows XP: Sucess
Windows Vista: Sucks
Windows 7: Sucess
Windows 8: Sucks
Next Windows: Sucess?

 

[diddo]

[citation][nom]battlecrymoderngearsolid[/nom]Windows XP: SucessWindows Vista: SucksWindows 7: SucessWindows 8: SucksNext Windows: Sucess?[/citation]
At this rate of adoption, probably there will not even be a next Windows.
Unless, you know, they fire Ballmer.

 

[matt911]

[citation][nom]bison88[/nom]Windows 8 risesWindows 7 dropsWindows XP RISESWhat kind of bizzaro world is this lol? Only thing that makes sense is Windows Vista dropping.[/citation]
[citation][nom]Anonymous[/nom]Using the Metro interface is really not that hard. I switched 3 weeks ago and see absolutely no reason to switch back to Windows 7.[/citation]

This can make some sense if you consider that some people using Windows XP were able to use the Windows 8 beta or evaluation versions for awhile. That raises the Windows 8 count while lowering Windows XP, but if that evaluation runs out and they decide that Windows 8 isn't worthy of actually buying they put Windows XP back so the XP percentage goes back up. Windows 7 down and Windows 8 up is just normal end-user redistribution as new computers are purchased to replace old or broken ones and the ISVs typically put whatever is the latest OS available on their new systems. A small percentage of people will adopt Windows 8 every month over time whether they like it or not because of this.