There must be some happiness in Redmond. Microsoft’s Windows 8 is finally more popular than the reviled Windows Vista. Windows 8 has been available since August 2012, which means it took Microsoft‘s (MSFT) latest operating system nearly 11 months to surpass the highly unpopular Windows Vista.
PCWorld cites data from Net Applications’ NetMarketshare tracker, which found that Windows 8 captured a whopping 5.10 percent of all desktop systems the firm tracks for the month of June. Vista’s market share now stands at 4.62 percent. Of course, both will need a few months (or years) before they pass Windows XP and Windows 7, both of which dipped about half a percentage point’s worth of share to finish the month with 44.37 percent and 37.17 percent, respectively.
NetApplications
Both Windows 7 and Windows XP’s sales are on the wane, Net Applications says, but it will be several years before Windows 8 passes them by. The article reports new momentum for Windows 8, which has struggled to lift its head above both third-party operating systems, as well as its own rivals in the Microsoft nest.
Microsoft’s Windows 8 passed Apple’s (AAPL) Mac OS X 10.8 in February 2013. PCWorld calculates that if Windows 8 continues to increase its share at its current pace of about 0.5 percentage points per month—and if Windows XP continues to decline at about the same rate—Microsoft would need roughly 32 months, or until about February 2016, for Windows 8 to pass Windows XP.
The author also reports that analytics firm StatCounter showed similar results in June 2013, from its worldwide measurements of browser data which confirms that Windows 8 has increased its market share over Windows Vista. StatCounter said that Windows 8 captured 6.44 percent of all PCs, versus 5.94 percent at the beginning of June. StatCounter said, however, that the versions of Mac OS X combined, at 8.52 percent, were still higher than Windows 8.
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The good news for most in Redmond (except those who were recently re-org’d) is that Windows 8 has finally gained more ground than Vista on desktops. Back in 2006, Vista had the same problem Windows 8 now has, but for different reasons. Windows Vista just did not work and now Windows 8 is confusing to consumers who don’t know what to do with the “Modern” touchscreen interface on their mouse-based systems.
MSFT might be trying to kill the desktop to join the “post-pc era” with the Metro apps in favor of touch tablets, laptops, and phones it has not worked out really well so far. To a degree, MSFT has caved in the pressure for a more traditional desktop experience with the recent free update to Windows 8.1 which restores some of the Start Button functionality.
Does it matter to you that it took Windows 8 nearly a year to become more popular than Vista?
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.