Microsoft Has Sold More Than 100M Windows 8 Licenses

By most accounts, Windows 8 isn’t all that popular, butaccording to Microsoft’s latest numbers, thecompany has now sold more than 100 million copies of the latest version of itsdesktop operating system. In January, the last time Microsoft provided updatednumbers for Windows 8, the company said that it had passed the 60 million mark. Windows 8 users are alsogetting used to using the Windows Store, it seems, as the total number ofdownloads for the first six months has now passed 250 million.

Microsoft Says It Has Sold More Than 100M Win8 Licenses, Blue Coming "Later This Year"

 
Unfortunately, 'sold' can have many meanings and invariably doesn't mean that 100 million consumers have purchased those licences, most probably reside with manufacturers as they buy licenses to pre-install on PCs etc.

I probably count for a dozen or so of those downloads and then have simply uninstalled most of them, as they are utter crap.
 

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    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
Can someone post Windows 7's marketshare at Microsoft's claim of 100 millions licenses sold so we can compare that data to today?

OEM licenses sold and consumer licenses are kind of different.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    ASUS
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    AMD FX 8320
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    Crosshair V Formula-Z
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    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
The word in this case is "Sold." It really doesn't matter if you are one of the people who have bought one of these licenses (or more than one), it still goes on the books whether you use them or not you still put out cash for the software thus Microsoft can say they sold you this OS.
 

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  • OS
    Win 8, (VM win7, XP, Vista)
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    PC/Desktop
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    HP Pavilion p1423w
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    Intel Core i5 3330 Ivy Bridge
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    Foxconn - 2ADA Ivy Brige
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    16 GB 1066MHz DDR3
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    1.3 (350 to 1024 if lucky)
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    MSE-Defender
Not quite, sold can refer to licences that an OEM has purchased, which they must, yet not one of their devices with a licenced copy of Windows 8 may be sitting in someone's home. There could be 50 million OEM licences sitting in warehouses that Microsoft considers 'sold'.
 

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Hi Ray,

They still are sold whether they are on a computer in someone's home or not. Just because the manufacture hasn't sold the computer doesn't mean the license hasn't been sold. The manufacture has already bought the OS they just haven't sold the computer it is install on as of yet.
 

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  • OS
    Win 8, (VM win7, XP, Vista)
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    PC/Desktop
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    HP Pavilion p1423w
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    Intel Core i5 3330 Ivy Bridge
    Motherboard
    Foxconn - 2ADA Ivy Brige
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    16 GB 1066MHz DDR3
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    ATI Radeon HD 5450
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    HD Realteck (Onboard)
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    Mitsubishi LED TV/Montior HD, Dell 23 HD, Hanspree 25" HD
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    1 SanDisk 240Gig SSD, 2 Samsung 512Gig SSDs
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    Original (Fans)
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    Microsoft Keyboard 2000
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    Microsoft Optical Mouse 5000
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    1.3 (350 to 1024 if lucky)
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    Firefox 19.1
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    MSE-Defender
However, that is a tad deceptive (though technically true), as it's how many licences that are actually in full time use that tells the true story of the success, or not, of Windows 8. As the old adage goes: 'There are lies, damn lies, and statistics'.
 

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    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
I stopped reading at "Microsoft says..."
 

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  • OS
    Win8.1 Pro, Desktop Mode
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    AMD FX-8150
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    Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
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    8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 (9-9-9-28)
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    AMD Radeon HD 6570
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    Creative X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    PX2710MW
    Screen Resolution
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    1x1TB Western Digital WDC WD1001FALS-00J7B1 ATA Device Caviar Black -

    4 x 2TB Seagate ST32000542A -
    1 x 4TB Seagate External
    Case
    Antec
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    Noctua NH-D14
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    Logitech Illuminated Keyboard K740
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    60meg cable
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    Cyberfox
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    AVG Security Suite
In other words, they GAINED 100M haters? :p I have OEM so I may not be counted here but I am fine. It's just my secondary system anyway.
 

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    Win 8 (64) : Win 7 (64) : Vista (64) : Android JB 4.2 : iOS 6
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer AX Series & HP i-5 2400s
    Screen Resolution
    Main PC - 2x Sony PS3 3D LED Displays + 1x 22" Philips; HTPC - 47" HDTV w/ 17" LCD secondary display
    Hard Drives
    Internal- 1TB on each system; 1x120GB SSD on main PC
    External (network attached)- 1x2TB Seagate backup; 1x1TB ext. storage; 1x500GB,
    Other Info
    http://tinyurl.com/br4uxrk

    http://tinyurl.com/cwj93pj
However, that is a tad deceptive (though technically true), as it's how many licences that are actually in full time use that tells the true story of the success, or not, of Windows 8. As the old adage goes: 'There are lies, damn lies, and statistics'.
True. Not that I am really bothered by how many people have/have not bought Windows 8, Martin says something similar here:

"One could say that Microsoft does not really have to care to whom they sell the licenses. But that is shortsighted as manufacturers who do not sell as many Windows 8 devices as hoped will certainly reduce future orders based on that. It all comes down to the end user adoption rate and all indicators suggest that it is lower than that of Windows 7."

Why Windows 8's 100 million license milestone is not the same as Windows 7's -
 

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Those figures are bad - even tho they come from MS.

The upside is - MS may be doing a U turn - that is a good thing.
There is no shame in responding to the customers.
On the contrary, it is the right thing to do.

Full story here:

http://www.eightforums.com/windows-8-news/24746-ms-might-get-right-soon.html

Again, I'm convinced that most people are indifferent about windows 8's new UI. They neither like it or dislike it. Just load the new OS onto new laptops and people will still buy them.

Most people are tech illiterates. They will use whatever you give them.

Only a hand full of people care either way whether there is a start button or not.

Added by edit.

I suspect that the reason for low 8 sales is they topped out with windows 7. When vista came out, people still thought xp was amazing so most people just keep on living without upgrading. By the time windows 7 came along, xp was already too old and that's why there was a sharp increase in people upgrading to windows 7.

I am convinced that we're seeing the same thing here. Windows 7 is still fresh in most people's minds, so there's no hurry to upgrade to 8. It will be the next OS, either 8.1 or 9, that will see a sharp increase in sales.
 

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    windows 8
MS have decided different.

They have decided the os needs to be significantly different for people to buy it.

“We can always count on MS to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.”
 

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  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
The word in this case is "Sold." It really doesn't matter if you are one of the people who have bought one of these licenses (or more than one), it still goes on the books whether you use them or not you still put out cash for the software thus Microsoft can say they sold you this OS.

Exactly. Get tied of the "but what does sold mean" argument.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro w/Media Center, Windows RT
MS have decided different.

They have decided the os needs to be significantly different for people to buy it.

“We can always count on MS to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.”

It's just a PR stunt. Big corporations like MS never listen to user input. And I mean never. The reason is simple. They only look at the big numbers, the big picture. They don't care about what you think.

The start button is a fictional problem. Only a hand full of techies care either way. To date, everyone I know that have recently bought a laptop with windows 8 doesn't care either way. Most people don't care. You would think that if this is such a widespread problem that that I'd be able to find one live person who has windows 8 and hates it. Just counting the people I can see and touch (not from the internet), I'm the only one that really likes windows 8. I know of no one that hates it. Everyone else is indifferent about it.

Just how many people aside from the internet do you know that actually hates windows 8? I'm willing to bet none. This is a manufactured problem. It's fictional. This is a case of a few loud mouths making people believe they represent the majority.
 

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System One

  • OS
    windows 8
All this really means is that there are 100 Million Windows 8 MACHINES gathering dust on the shelves of Worst Buy, Radio Shack, and in the vast vaults of CompUSA/Tigerdirect and NewEgg.com.

This same thing was said about Vista, that an inordinate amount of copies had been sold. Funny, I didn't notice back then that 3 in 4 systems had Vista on them, which is what that amount of sales would be reflected as. Apple iPhone 5's are only 40 Million in sales, yet 1 in 4 people have iPhones and 2 in 4 iPh9one iusers have iPhone 5s. So how can an item that sold only a mere 40 million units or copies be more visible than one that has only sold over 100 million? We should be swimming in Windows 8 disks by this account, ironic then that I have yet to see even ONE real Windows 8 "copy" anywhere I see Windows 8? Because they are not giving the actual disks with the PCs that have it installed.

But at the stores, I see rows and rows of poor unsold Windows 8 machines. This is the fallacy of Microsoft - They equate a machine that has had Windows 8 Preinstalled as a "Sale" of Windows 8. In a way it is a sale, cos HP and Acer bought bulk Windows 8 Licences. But it far from means there are actually 100 million Windows 8 Platters flopping around in our DVD drives, much less people who have BOUGHT it. I'd say, it's more around 20 million. MS Pi$$es me off with this cack, they did it BIG time with Vista to "Prove" to us it was not as much as a dog as it was and is. But in reality, you see mroe Vista machines being tossed in the garbage with Vista still in it - Working machines. This is where I get a lot of my machines, two of them were just sitting on the side of the road.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
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    Works 550w
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    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Again people like to play with verbiage. Why, because they feel it will help state their point in a way that will help people believe what they have to say is real/true.

Example: I go into such and such store and see rolls and rolls of unsold win 8 computers. Now lets use Apple computer stores for an example of this; Apple will have iMacs and Macbooks on display for people to play around with so that the possible buyer can get a feel for what they will be paying for. Now Apple is not going to sale the display models they are there specifically for the possible buyer to demo. The actual computer that a buyer is going to pay for is going to come from the storeroom.

So if you go into a such and such store to buy a Win 8 computer you will find the same situation. The display models are there for the customer to demo before buying.

Question: would you buy one of those computers that are sitting in all those rolls knowing that someone as been demoing them (not sure how it has been treated)? = NO WAY!!!!!!!!
 

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  • OS
    Win 8, (VM win7, XP, Vista)
    Computer type
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion p1423w
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 Ivy Bridge
    Motherboard
    Foxconn - 2ADA Ivy Brige
    Memory
    16 GB 1066MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
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    HD Realteck (Onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Mitsubishi LED TV/Montior HD, Dell 23 HD, Hanspree 25" HD
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    Mit. 1980-1080, Dell 2048-115, Hanspree 1920-10802
    Hard Drives
    1 SanDisk 240Gig SSD, 2 Samsung 512Gig SSDs
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Original (Fans)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Keyboard 2000
    Mouse
    Microsoft Optical Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    1.3 (350 to 1024 if lucky)
    Browser
    Firefox 19.1
    Antivirus
    MSE-Defender
Good Point, but in each of the stores where I saw said rows, these were not Demo models, they were all for sale.
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
I expect there is a lot of stock hanging around.

This evening I found another person irl who has tried 8. He can't stand it. That is 3 out of 3.

I am still trying more who have actually had a machine with 8 on it. If I look long enough, I might find the exception that proves the rule.

Most people I know haven't tried it - either because they use macs - or because they aren't looking for a new laptop. Of course, those people don't care.
 
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  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
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    PC/Desktop
This thread is funny. The general theme of the posts is like; 'Microsoft sold 100,000,000 licences. Here's why that's unbelievably, totally terrible'

lol
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Other Info
    Surface RT
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