It's now official: Windows 7 is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, finally surpassing the old warhorse, Windows XP. And given that Windows 8 was built more for tablets than traditional PCs, Windows 7 will likely reign for many years to come.
Net Applications reports that in August, for the first time, Windows 7 beat the 11-year-old Windows XP in market share, 42.76 percent to 45.3 percent. Less than a year previously, in October 2011, XP was ahead of Windows 7 by 48.03 percent to 34.62 percent.
As Computerworld points out, StatCounter, Net Applications' rival, reported back in October 2011 that Windows 7 was well ahead of Windows XP, by a 51 percent to 29 percent margin. Now, with both big analytics companies reporting Windows 7 is the leader, it's clear that it's there to stay.
Don't expect Windows 8 to ever beat out Windows 7 for desktop market share. It will remain and also-ran, just as the ill-fated Windows Vista never managed to become the most popular desktop operating system.
A recently released IDC report also warns that Windows 8 is "a dramatic departure from existing PC paradigms" and so is not likely to spur a buying spree of new computers. The report says about Windows 8:
"Buyers must acclimate themselves to an operating system that is a dramatic departure from existing PC paradigms. The PC ecosystem faces some work to properly educate the market."
Windows has been around for decades. A version of it that requires vendors to teach people how to use it will likely never become exceedingly popular.
Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld, and the author of more than 40 books, including "How the Internet Works," "Windows XP Hacks," and "Windows Vista in a Nutshell" and "NOOK Tablet: The Missing Manual." You can follow him on Twitter or Google+.
