Now that the average consumer has no choice but to buy a machine with Windows 8 or 8.1, the number of PCs running Win 8.1 has hit 10%. The increase beginning in November represents the official end of the availability of machines with Win7 preinstalled although you can see that this has not had much effect on the number of Win7 machines still running. The majority of users seem to be switching from WinXP which reached its extended EoL in April of this year. The other main point to take away from the data that The Register linked to is that those who bought Windows Vista are a stubborn crew, the number of desktops running Vista have dropped 2% but there are still a fair number of machines running the much maligned OS.
"Windows 8.1 broke the global 10 per cent market-share barrier a year after general release, and has now hit 10.95 per cent, according to latest data from StatCounter."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Bluetooth 4.2 looks to the Internet of Things with direct IPv6 internet connection @ The Inquirer
- Intel appoints Robert Swinnen as new head of Asia Pacific branch @ DigiTimes
- Iranian CLEAVER hacks through airport security, Cisco boxen @ The Register
- US parking operator: YEP, hackers got your names, credit card numbers, secret codes… @ The Register
- Overclocking Competitions: About the Player not the Hardware @ Hardware Asylum
- Fixing An NES For Good @ Hack a Day
- COMPRO TN2200 Mini-Dome Cloud Network Camera Review @ NikKTech
- Gangnam Style BREAKS YouTube @ The Register
Sebastian Anthony is a hack,
Sebastian Anthony is a hack, not a journalist, certainly not a tech journalist. Go read his article today where he describes a TRS-80 Model 2, as a model 4, and wince as he describes 5 1/4 in floppies, on a machine that has 8 inch floppy drives! how can this person continued to be employed! HOW!
Go before sheer embarrassment, forces an Edit!
It is a 4p, but the floppy
It is a 4p, but the floppy drives are 8, but still it shows a lack of research, so not such an big mistake!
You totally missed the point
You totally missed the point which is that the lack of research is the big mistake, especially so when it is published journalism!
Congrats, that has to be one
Congrats, that has to be one of the most confusing comments to one of my posts yet, that is not an easy accomplishment
Are you trying to insult a
Are you trying to insult a reader? I mean, sure, argue with the guy and defend your position, but going after him in this way is crossing the line for any legitimate journalist.
Perhaps due to the fact that
Perhaps due to the fact that I am not Sebastian Anthony, have no affiliation with Extremetech nor recall talking about TRS-80s or floppy drives?
And how is that even relevant
And how is that even relevant to your interaction with said user above? In the real world, that type of conduct will not get you far. Treat the readers right, it will help you in your career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ARuoSFflc/
why do you post something
why do you post something about Anthony to a text from Jeremy Hellstrom?
I bought it just because I’m
I bought it just because I’m an early adopter type for OS’s but I still don’t like it.
It boils down to the OS making me do more work for simple things. Or just functionality that’s not there.
Why is it that on the start screen only certain items can have a bigger tile? Why can I not drag a program that I’ve searched onto a group of tiles in the start screen? Even the dam login screen. I have to hit a key before I can start typing my password to login.
win8.1 for smarties. win7 for
win8.1 for smarties. win7 for those learning impaired types.
Windows 7 for enterprises,
Windows 7 for enterprises, and those that do productive work, and Windows 8/8.1, for those that utter most frequently at their place of employment “Would you like fries with that.”
Remember for enterprises every hour spent in training, is an hour of time not spent doing actual work, and the many hours spent in recertification of a new OS for that enterprises essential mission critical software applications, can cost in the millions of dollars, if not billions. Time is money if your are a professional, be it an independent contractor, or small business, those employees do not work for free, and just try requiring them to learn at home on their own time, and see if that does not come back to bite one in the A$$, employees must be paid for work/training done while employed by any company, short of the employee taking a leave and perusing a degree on their own.
Yes you can work for free helping those “learning impaired”, and while you are at it be sure to cover their wages/salaries/benefits, as well as the lost productivity dew to the unnecessary change of the UI. And be sure to drink lots of coffee, because the regression testing/software certification work will leave you with no extra time for sleep, while you work pro bono in the IT/software department! Be sure to take that Multibillion dollar loan along to help those “learning impaired types” cover the OS migration/certifications costs!!!
“smarties” are running
“smarties” are running GNU/Linux.
Windows 8, or 8.1, could
Windows 8, or 8.1, could hardly be described as becoming more popular, or for that matter any M$ OS, considering the forced nature of most windows installs on new hardware. With all of M$ OSs it is more a matter of which one you hate the least, and that would be windows 7! If anything having more to do with 8/8.1 gaining market share it is more to do with the forced installs/8 licensing, and XP’s EOL. One must take into consideration that any consumer Laptop/PC must come with a windows 8/8.1 license, even the SKUs that come from the factory pre-downgraded from 8/8.1 PRO to windows 7 pro, so my laptop came factory pre-downgraded but with a windows 8 sticker on the bottom, and 2 sets of recovery DVDs one for W8 pro, and one for windows 7 pro! Most enterprises are using their enterprise licensing, and options to continue using 7, so with most new consumer hardware, windows 8/8.1 is the only option on any new hardware not shipped with 7 downgrades on those devices, or with the 7 installs that remain in stock, and most users now may be waiting for 10, rather than going the more expensive and time consuming method, of getting a Win 8/8.1 Pro license and exercising downgrade rights, if the UEFI secure boot disable option has not been too obfuscated by the device’s OEM!
A true real popularity measure would require consumer choice at purchase to obtain the OS of choice at the time of purchase, or an option to forgo the installed OS at bootup, and instead download and install, or have installed from a DVD/CD an alternative OS, and not be forced to purchase the OS with the Device.
So maybe in any one country that has this requirement of OS choice on new hardware, the figures may hold some weight, but not in most places.
XP is shrinking, and has been deprecated, the install base will never be able to grow, 7 will remain more popular, even after 10’s release, just because of the migration, certification, and retraining expenses from OS to OS in the enterprise, and most consumers just keep the OS that came with the device, and only get a new OS when they purchase a new device. This leaves system builders, and the OEM licenses, and that is a smaller segment that for the most part may or may not go with 8/8.1.
I guess M$ forget, or refused to believe that one of the reasons that they were tolerated by so many, as opposed to the Apple PC/Laptop devices, is that M$ was the lesser of two ecosystem evils, and M$’s customers as a whole do not want to be forced into an app store Closed Ecosystem. Windows 10 better be rid of any baked in App(non Desktop Application) ecosystem, runtimes, APIs, or assemblies. Let that all be an optional download and install, only for those that want it, or Windows 10 will have to wait for windows 11, and most 7 users will probably wait for 11 anyways, those that are on 7 currently, and do not have any compelling reasons to switch.
All you need to do is install
All you need to do is install Classic Shell and find some other trivial thing to complain about.
Well, it’s not really a
Well, it’s not really a trivial thing; stock Windows 8 on a non-touch device is horrible.
But it is easily fixed. Add either Classic Shell or Start8 + ModernMix and configure to your taste, and you have something that’s genuinely better than Windows 7 in most ways.
I must be in the distinct
I must be in the distinct minority, since I don’t think 8.1 (post update 1) is at all bad, once you turn off some features, and rearrange the tiles to your liking.
Charms is annoying, but the only real beef I have with 8.1 is the stupid “All Apps” layout.
Something on this graph is
Something on this graph is bugging me: I see IOS but not android or Linux, so I am forced to assume that android/cromeOS/Linux are bundled as “other” wich would imply that there are more systems using iOS than all other unix systems combined …. seems impossible