Windows 8.0/8.1 Growth is Slow!

Windows 8.0 and 8.1 is not exactly “taking off!” Could it be Microsoft’s stupid determination to not have a real Start Button be the reason for it? Well, as I always point out, you should use ClassicShell from classicshell.net.

Windows 7 gains more market share than Windows 8 and 8.1

The Inquirer – “Microsoft’s Windows 7 still holds more market share than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 combined.

Even more disturbing, for Microsoft, is that Windows 7 has actually gained more market share that the newer versions of Windows.

Statistics provided by Netapplications in its Netmarketshare report for November show that Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have gained a mere 0.05 percent, with Windows 8 reaching a satanic 6.66 percent.

This is hardly market saturation 13 months after release. Compare that to Windows 7, which despite being over four years old and just 18 months from End of Life still has 46.64 percent of the market. That’s just a tiny increase of 0.22 percent, but it’s a clear demonstration that most most PC users are avoiding Windows 8.

There are of course several possible reasons for this. We know that the PC market is slowing quite significantly. There are a lot of computer shops that might have old machines in stock. When we popped down to our local independent shop, it was selling Windows 7 laptops at hefty discounts.

Then there are those who buy shiny new laptops and are so determined not to use Windows 8 that they buy Windows 7 separately and downgrade manually.

The breakdown is as follows:

Windows 7 46.64 percent
Windows XP 31.22 percent
Windows 8 6.66 percent
Windows Vista 3.57 percent
Windows 8.1 2.64 percent

With Windows XP set to reach full End of Life including security updates in a mere four months, we can’t imagine what Microsoft can do to persuade PC users to upgrade their machines, especially since Windows 8 simply hasn’t caught on.”