Windows 8 gains market share as XP drops slightly

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Each month, the folks over at Net Applications keep tabs on the usage share of various operating systems based on their wide network of meta data. And seeing that the month of August is now behind us, we can take a look at the usage share for desktop operating systems for that month.

The two charts you see at the top of this post are for the month of August (left) and July (right). Based on this data, we can conclude that Windows 8 and 8.1 have grown slightly in the number of users who are actively using the platform while Windows XP has dropped roughly one percent during the last month.

During the same time period, Windows 7 usage remained flat which means that those who have left Windows XP have either gone to Windows 8, or possibly to rival platforms.

Source

A Guy
 
I think everyone just needs to let these numbers go. Microsoft is hard at work on Windows 9, and creating a buzz for it. The fact that the preview will be open to the entire public speaks volumes about the company's own views on the success of Windows 8.X. Not to mention the departure of Steve Ballmer.

I do think it's interesting that many companies are starting to announce new hybrid machines that appear to pack a lot more power for a better price. Given the direction of Windows 9, it will be interesting to see how these devices play out. For instance, when they are detached the start screen would be the obvious choice. However, when a keyboard and mouse is attached will Windows default to the desktop? Would that even be an option? It would be a cool feature, but based on the current rumors it looks like you will have one or the other but not both if you want it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7/8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-3770k
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia 630
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 23 inch LED
    Screen Resolution
    1680X1050
    Hard Drives
    1 internal 1tb, 1 external 3tb
I know it's all pure speculation. But for me one thing is important: Please MS, stop trying to force me to use the UI of your choice. I and only me know what's best for me. If I feel like using the start screen I want to do so, if I want to have a start menu you better let me have it. I can see that it makes sense to limit Windows to the start screen when using it on a tablet with arm processor. But on AMD64 platform it has to be my choice. If I want to use the start screen with mouse and keyboard, well that's my decision. If I want to use the desktop and start menu, why should MS care. If I can do all that on my pc I will gladly upgrade. But if MS limits my choice I will stick to Windows 8.1 because there I can do exactly as described above (thanks to Classic Shell, not MS). That's just how I think about it. Windows has always been about choice. Why should I accept less. If I do I could also go Apple ;-)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update 1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    self built
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 Rev. 3
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Zotac GTX 770 Amp 2 GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
Windows 8/8.1 at 13.4% of the market is a pretty good number.
Very surprised at Linux. 1.67% is very low. I thought Linux would be at least as popular as MacOS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell E6410
    CPU
    Core i7 M560
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia NVS3100
    Hard Drives
    120 GB SSD
Windows 8/8.1 at 13.4% of the market is a pretty good number.
Very surprised at Linux. 1.67% is very low. I thought Linux would be at least as popular as MacOS.
I have read (somewhere recently) that the data aggregator only detects commercial versions of Linux Distros (e.g. Red Hat).

If true, this means the Linux figures are totally unreliable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
It is a very poor show for MS. Probably the worst any os of theirs has ever done.

Still, win7 oem machine sales will end soon. That removes the main competition form the shelves. They must be hoping the cheap machines which are about to flood the market will pick up at least a vaguely decent number of sales.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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