Posted on 09/02/2015 12:41:40 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) may have had several ups and downs following the release of Windows 10 last month, but statistics revealed by NetMarketShare indicate the company’s final OS is placed fourth among all desktop operating systems. According to a report by CNet earlier today, Microsoft’s latest OS has garnered 5.2% share of all web traffic generated from desktop-based systems this month.
Previously, Windows 10 was released as a technical preview since October. However, the preview did not help register many users until it was revealed as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1, starting July 29. In its first month as a full version, Windows 10 ranked fourth in web traffic behind Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Windows XP, but surpassed Mac OS X Yosemite and Windows 8.
The software giant has been looking to win back its desktop OS market share after the failure of Windows 8, which commanded just 1% of web traffic a month after its debut. Since Windows 8 was ineffective in catering to the desktop crowd when it rolled out three years back, the company has pulled all the stops now to make sure its core operation remains intact.
Windows 10 has been bolstered with a revived Start menu, Microsoft’s own Cortana voice assistant and numerous other modifications and tweaks to the layout and design of the latest OS. The new set of features has helped the company comfortably surpass Windows 8 in a similar length of time. However, Microsoft is hoping the success of the desktop OS can be translated onto Windows 10 Mobile to reel in more customers across its complete range of products and services.
Microsoft has been pleased with the fast adoption of Windows 10, with murmurs two days after the launch claiming the OS was already powering 14 million devices. Last week, the company confirmed that Windows 10 was running more than 75 million devices globally.
Among the Windows desktop operating system portfolio, Windows 7 tops the list with web traffic reaching 57.6%, followed by Windows XP at 12% and Windows 8.1 with roughly 11.4% web traffic.
Microsoft would have wasted a good opportunity if it had not boasted the quick adoption of the new OS. However, the new findings exclude the fact that Windows 10 is available as a free upgrade. Although Windows 8 took plenty of stick, in its defense, the OS was priced at an initial $40, making a comparison increasingly difficult. Therefore, it seems recent figures for Windows10 adoption are likely to level off after the free upgrade terms expire.
Windows 10's initial success can in part be accredited to a new Edge browser. Other reasons for its growing user base are easing privacy concerns and upcoming updates that will reduce bugs in the OS. The Microsoft browser has gathered a 2% cut of all browser traffic and is a vast improvement when compared to the slow responses of its predecessor, Internet Explorer. However, when it comes to a complete user experience, Windows 7 is likely to command the most users for the foreseeable future.
True dat.
Pent up demand since Windows 8 was such a clusterf*ck
It fixes the much-hated Windows 8.
Very few people pay for OS — it is usually what is installed on the machine (which these days is cheaper to buy a new one than upgrade an old one).
Window 7 Pro 64, and not planning to upgrade, free or not, until win10 has been out at least thru the first major service pack.
I finally managed to get all the “free upgrade” crap off my computer. Maybe 6 or 8 months from now I will give it another look.
I’m gonna buy a couple more SSDs and try out Mint and Debian as some here have suggested. Ubuntu with XPP in a virtual box seems to do very well on a 6yr old machine with a HD monitor.
Cortina is a memory hog with no discernible value.
Disable it and your system will run 2 or 3 times better!
I haven’t noticed any issues with Windows 10 yet, though I don’t know if it’s a resource hog like Vista was. Cortana seems useless, though.
As for Edge, they will need to include AdBlock functionality before people go back to Microsoft browsers.
I got the free upgrade from 7. I really like it. My computer experience is noticeably better.
I installed it, used if for a few hours, and Clonezillaed back to Windows 7. Couldn’t figure out how to get Remote Desktop to work. They changed it.
How many OSs are there?
Mac and Windows... and Linux.
And it’s 4th?
Same here, no plans to use Windows after 2019 when the support runs out. I would have already switched to Linux Mint if the installer would have worked properly.
The cost of the OS is factored into the overall price of the new computer.
Clonezilla is a lifesaver.
I’m still trying to kill her. (The Cortana service, that is).
Amazing how willing people are to turn over every keystroke to microsoft...
Upgrading to Windows 10 has caused nothing but problems with my Dell XPS 8700, every two weeks the PC crashes, had the motherboard replaced, had the video card replaced and still same issue..and on top of that with the new motherboard replacement my PC is no longer activated..Dell is of course ZERO help, PC isnt even 2 yrs old yet
“Among all desktop operating systems, Windows 10 ranked fourth in Web traffic last month, behind Windows 8.1, Windows XP and Windows 7 but ahead of Windows 8 and Mac OS X Yosemite.” It was beaten by three other forms of Windows.
I’ve had to use it at my work, and I wouldn’t choose to ever use it if it was my choice.
I’m not sure what the people who said this was an improvement over Windows 8 were smoking, but it’s definitely not. They took the same mistakes that went into the design of Windows 8 and doubled down on the stupidity. Windows 8, once you fix the UI with classic shell and classic start menu, is pretty usable. With Windows 10, I won’t be bothered even trying to fix the UI, because just being forced to use it for a few hours tempted me to throw the computer in the river.
Just one example of the stupidity: Windows Edge. This is the new default “browser” in Windows 10, but it isn’t actually a full browser designed for a desktop OS. It is more like a browser app for a mobile device, where you have virtually no options for customization or changing your settings.
Now they do install a full-fledged browser in Windows 10 (it’s IE, but still it’s better than Edge). However, they do NOT make that the default browser. Instead, they hide Internet Explorer so you will have to search for it and then force Windows to make it your default browser (another process they made more difficult). All these design decisions must have been deliberate, probably going through committee after committee at MS, and yet none of them make a lick of sense to the user.
In summary, Windows 10 takes away more stuff you like and gives you more stuff you don’t need. It’s so out of touch, it’s the Jeb Bush of operating systems.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.