XP Falls Below 25% Market Share While 8.1 Also Loses Ground

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Slowly the XP boat is sailing into the sunset, losing market share as it goes, that much was expected. What was not expected though, was Windows 8/8.1 actually lost shares while the soon-to-be-next on the chopping block, Windows 7, showed a slight gain.

Microsoft will likely one day struggle to woo users off Windows 7, just like it is currently trying to do with the headache that is Windows XP.
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One source of XP's share loss can be attributed to several applications dropping support for it. As an example, I just upgraded my CPA's systems to 8.1 (begrudgingly) because the IRS "forced" him to do so. The Mortgage Loan System (MLS) just recently moved away from XP as well, so I can only assume that this has something to do with it.
 
The difference between XP and win 7 is that win 7 isn't a headache. It's finally mature enough that it is pretty close to future-proof. There are just no compelling reasons to upgrade anymore.

The biggest problem with windows 8 was that almost the entire effort was put into making it tablet-compatible, adding very little value for the non-touchscreen user.
 
Man this is music to my ears. My wife has Win8 on her laptop and I despise it to the point I'll usually just use my Note 2 to look something up.

I'm hoping against hope that MS takes note of this and goes back to what worked best and what people obviously want. Otherwise I'll be on Win7 for as long as I can and then maybe finally Linux but I'll never use a tablet OS on my PC.
 
So people are installing Windows 7 or Vista on their Window 8 PCs. LOL!
 
Interesting. There's some pretty big divergence between Netmarketshare and Statcounter these days. Statcounter is now reporting Windows 8.x with more market share than XP, making 8.x #2 as of August. However it's reporting a much lower XP market share than Netmarketshare, 13.74% vs. 24.82% for July month end. Not sure why there's such a big gap between the two for XP as everything else is matches pretty closely. And in continued irony, the Steam Hardware Survey continues to show very solid growth for Windows 8.x which saw 1.8% in July market share growth.

What's really interesting in all of this is that even if we label Windows 8.x a failure, and it's reasonable to say at this point that it is by desktop Windows standards, nothing not called Windows on the desktop seems to have been able to take advantage of that failure.
 
BladeVenom said:
Yet you always quote Netmarketshare. Until now, when you don't like their results. :rolleyes:
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Not true. I've mentioned all three surveys many times previously and have often referred to the Steam Survey when the subject of PC gaming and SteamOS/SteamBox is discussed. As I said earlier, the difference between what Netmarketshare and Statcounter is reporting as Windows 8.x market share as of July is within a point. The BIG difference in numbers the two are currently reporting is XP. So much so that Statcounter with only about a 1.4% bigger difference than Netmarketshare in 8.x market share yet Statcounter is now showing 8.x as having more market share than XP. That's a pretty huge discrepancy which regardless of how one feels about Windows 8.x has to make one wonder why out of natural curiosity.

I have no idea which who is right. I was simply pointing out a difference between what the two are reporting and mentioning that for whatever reason the Steam Survey continues to show solid 8.x adoption, as I've pointed out many times before.
 
The war is over heatless, all your troops are dead or being uninstalled as we speak. Use this time wisely, to prepare for the next. :p
 
BladeVenom said:
Yet you always quote Netmarketshare. Until now, when you don't like their results. :rolleyes:
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Yup, totally noticed (and expected) something like that even before looking into the thread.

Anyhow, I hope Microsoft's people notice and fix what would otherwise have been a really nice upgrade from Windows 7 were it not for the Creepy Google levels of online integration and that awful touchscreen fad interface that had very limited market appeal. Then again, if they do the whole subscription-based software model for their OS versions in the future, I don't think that addressing the awful UI and the software store no one uses. That's okay with me since I've been super happy after switching to Linux Mint.
 
PornoSatan said:
The war is over heatless, all your troops are dead or being uninstalled as we speak. Use this time wisely, to prepare for the next. :p
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Ok, the war is over and Windows 8 lost. But what won? Windows 7? Doesn't seem to have been desktop Linux or OS X. In the area of gaming which is kind of a big deal around here, Windows 8.x actually kicked OS X and desktop Linux to the curb if the Steam Survey is accurate.

If you look at cyberspace, it would seem that everything Microsoft does is a complete failure, that they are losing billions and billions and are just one day away from bankruptcy. And then there's the truth which is usually in the middle.
 
When a company has the great majority of the market, the only war they care about is with themselves.
 
This is the chart that Microsoft really needs to worry about..

mm_pres_os_market_share.png


(one slide of Mary Meeker's 2013 "The State of the Internet")
 
PornoSatan said:
The war is over heatless, all your troops are dead or being uninstalled as we speak. Use this time wisely, to prepare for the next. :p
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heatlesssun never loses. He's always right in the end. It doesn't matter what argument/what topic it is. Everyone else is just misinterpreting reality. Does Windows 8 RT really suck? Well... there is this other point you made that has problems.....
:p
 
Insula Gilliganis said:
This is the chart that Microsoft really needs to worry about..
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Quite right. And if Windows 8 had been the greatest desktop OS in history, little on that chart would have changed. I know that a lot of people think that tablets are crashing, but they experienced such rapid growth and have now come down to a more sustainable level. Tablets are still outpacing PCs overall they eventually will outsell PCs in the coming years if trends continue. And the smartphone market, that's just going to be an order of magnitude greater than PCs.
 
I am glad I get to enjoy it all without I hate 8 shit colored glasses on. Oh well, guess I understand what real problems are, not made up crap
 
I hope that this happens more; XP and 8 losing shares, but 7 gaining. I would absolutely love to see an official statement from Microsoft then... even more so if Windows 9 never takes off and Windows 7 just gains more.
 
Just roll out windows 7.1 to to tide over till windows 9 man...
 
temujin987 said:
guys, this will be the decade of linux!
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I would actually say this *is* the decade of Linux for one big reason: Android. Android is the reason why the first bug in Ubuntu's bug tracker is considered resolved. Linus once said 'If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.' ... Microsoft has Office for Android now.
 
heatlesssun said:
Quite right. And if Windows 8 had been the greatest desktop OS in history, little on that chart would have changed. I know that a lot of people think that tablets are crashing, but they experienced such rapid growth and have now come down to a more sustainable level. Tablets are still outpacing PCs overall they eventually will outsell PCs in the coming years if trends continue. And the smartphone market, that's just going to be an order of magnitude greater than PCs.
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Problem with that graph is that it only shows market share and nothing about market volume.

Microsoft is still putting it OSs on 60% out of the hundreds and hundreds of millions of computing devices sold in the last single year compared to 90% out of the tens and tens of millions of computing devices sold COMBINED between 1985-1995 just before Win95 released. Meaning, they are still selling a shitload of more licenses each single year lately than they did for the entirety of the 80's and 90's. I don't feel bad for them, especially since I have been a paying Microsoft customer since the mid 90's.

http://techland.time.com/2013/05/07/a-brief-history-of-windows-sales-figures-1985-present/
 
techrat said:
I would actually say this *is* the decade of Linux for one big reason: Android. Android is the reason why the first bug in Ubuntu's bug tracker is considered resolved. Linus once said 'If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I've won.' ... Microsoft has Office for Android now.
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I always find it interesting when some people complain about Windows 8 trying to be like a tablet OS and then compare it to Linux via Android which is a tablet OS and is even less suited for desktop use than Windows 8.x.
 
BladeVenom said:
And no one wants Windows on their smartphone. Windows market share is down to 2.7%.
-- http://blogs.strategyanalytics.com/...f-Global-Smartphone-Shipments-in-Q2-2014.aspx
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Fair enough. This is a HUGE problem for Microsoft. Far, far bigger than whatever issues there are over Windows 8 in a market where Microsoft still has about 90% market share. Again what's interesting about the Windows 8 debate is how many things get conjoined in the discussion. Windows 8 is a failure, but no other desktop OS seems to have been able to take advantage of that except if you count Android, which is a tablet/smartphone OS and that's what Windows 8 has been criticized for being, but Linux is ruling the world. As long as it's running on a tablet or smartphone.
 
heatlesssun said:
I always find it interesting when some people complain about Windows 8 trying to be like a tablet OS and then compare it to Linux via Android which is a tablet OS and is even less suited for desktop use than Windows 8.x.
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Can what people do on their smartphone replace their need for a desktop? Yes. Majority of what people do online can be done on the phone now.

Can what people do on their desktop replace their need for a smartphone? Nope. Desktops aren't portable, cheaply replaceable or come with their own data connections.

For people who bought desktops solely for the purpose of sending emails to the grandkids or looking up recipes online, tablets and smartphones have replaced the PC.

In those cases, it's invalid to bring up the "Android is less suited for desktop than X" argument.
 
techrat said:
Can what people do on their smartphone replace their need for a desktop? Yes. Majority of what people do online can be done on the phone now.

Can what people do on their desktop replace their need for a smartphone? Nope. Desktops aren't portable, cheaply replaceable or come with their own data connections.

For people who bought desktops solely for the purpose of sending emails to the grandkids or looking up recipes online, tablets and smartphones have replaced the PC.

In those cases, it's invalid to bring up the "Android is less suited for desktop than X" argument.
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Hey, give that guy a break *sarcasm

hes anal-ing himself constantly with his own blood ever since M$ stopped giving him win8 lube...

:D
 
techrat said:
Can what people do on their smartphone replace their need for a desktop? Yes. Majority of what people do online can be done on the phone now.

Can what people do on their desktop replace their need for a smartphone? Nope. Desktops aren't portable, cheaply replaceable or come with their own data connections.

For people who bought desktops solely for the purpose of sending emails to the grandkids or looking up recipes online, tablets and smartphones have replaced the PC.

In those cases, it's invalid to bring up the "Android is less suited for desktop than X" argument.
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So people don't need as many desktops and laptops and are using more portable devices for their computing needs. Agreed. So lets compare Android to desktop Windows. That makes sense. But damn Windows 8 for making a desktop more like a tablet/smartphone?

The debate over Windows 8 isn't always clear. There are those that say that a desktop OS is a desktop OS and tablets are toys so keep the tablet stuff away from my desktop. And then there are those that say a computer is a computer, desktop, laptop, tablet, it makes no difference. Android and iOS do the same things was a desktop OS so lets compare them to Windows. Oh No! Windows 8 sucks because it's like a tablet OS and is losing market share compared to a tablet OS!
 
Put Windows 8.1 on my desktop a few months ago. I ain't even mad. I boot straight onto the desktop anyways, so really haven't had any problems with it. I don't really care for the Metro interface, I tried to use the Skype app but it was just a PITA since it wastes a whole monitor. Windows 7 is still the best OS I've used so far, but 8.1 is fine for me. No need to go to 7 again.
 
Win8 is dead, over, kaput.
Hopefully MS learned you can't force a touch OS on your typical keyboard and mouse user in hopes of making us familiar with and want to use Windows on a phone or tablet.
Hell, Apple is smart enough to keep an OS for desktops/ laptops and one for phones/ tablets. Linux keeps it separate.
 
heatlesssun said:
The debate over Windows 8 isn't always clear. There are those that say that a desktop OS is a desktop OS and tablets are toys so keep the tablet stuff away from my desktop.
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Well, this is more a preference debate.

And then there are those that say a computer is a computer, desktop, laptop, tablet, it makes no difference. Android and iOS do the same things was a desktop OS so lets compare them to Windows. Oh No! Windows 8 sucks because it's like a tablet OS and is losing market share compared to a tablet OS!
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Since Win8 is a hybrid OS, it needs to be compared to both mobile and desktop OS market share.
 
I went from XP to 7. Skipped Vista and 8 completely. Probably move again for 9, no sooner
 
Still rocking XP on a old P4 due to some programs that I can't move.
I have 7 on other machines and once you use it for awhile then go to XP it feels a bit archaic.
It still works fine, just not as polished and smooth mostly due to aero.

I still have a buttload of old games that just cannot be run with 7 which sucks but then again I have not played those games in ages, most I beat more then once so in that sense I don't know what I am really missing.

The dropping support is the real nail in the coffin as times goes on. Many are still offering patches and fixes for XP for now.
 
Ashbringer said:
Just wanna point out that Linux now have native DX9 support. There's a video of one of the developers playing GTA IV through Wine with DX9 at nearly the speed of Windows. What is now being called Wine Nine.

We're almost there to never needing Windows.
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You're running a six-year-old game on a twelve-year-old api? Wow. At that rate you should be enjoying Skyrim running smoothly as soon as the 2020s.
 
Glad to see 7 gaining share, I decided to reinstall Windows 7 on my main PC, don't get me started with those issues I encountered in Windows 8 which didn't exist in Windows 7, updating to 8.1 didn't resolve it either... what a nightmare. The only thing I miss about Windows 8 is the Ultra Fast Boot.
 
If history repeats itself, windows 9 should be a hit. Although I wish they would use a code name instead of a number scheme. Might be easier to market that way.
 
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