Windows XP clings on as dominant OS

Windows XP may be an older operating system, but to Microsoft's dismay, there is still a large percentage of users that haven't upgraded yet.

After 10 years, Windows XP is still the most popular OS.
(Credit: NetApplications)

The decade-old OS has slowly been losing more users to Windows 7, but January marked a small resurgence in its grip on the market, according to stats out recently from NetApplications.

For the month, Windows XP grabbed 47.19 per cent of all OS users, inching up from 46.5 per cent in December. At the same time, Windows 7 saw its market share dip to 36.4 per cent from almost 37 per cent the previous month.

Obviously, a fraction of a percentage point is nothing for XP to crow about, especially since its overall share has dropped from almost 58 per cent a year ago. But it does point to the continued popularity of an OS that Microsoft would like to see kick the bucket.

The folks in Redmond have been pushing both consumers and companies to jump ship from XP to Windows 7.

As part of that push, Microsoft has been constantly reminding people that support for XP runs out in April 2014, at which time security patches and other updates will no longer be available. Though that gives individuals plenty of time to upgrade, enterprises face a longer path to migration, putting more pressure on them to switch to Windows 7 before too long.

Microsoft has even advised companies still on XP not to wait for Windows 8 and instead plan their moves to Windows 7 now.

Despite the minor drop in Windows 7's market share last month, more people may be following Microsoft's message.

The current flavour of Windows has seen its cut of customers rise from 23 per cent a year ago to its present 36 per cent.

Of course, as more people buy new computers outfitted with Windows 7, the percentage naturally grows, but probably not fast enough for Microsoft's taste.

Windows 8, which has been available as a Developer Preview since last September, saw its share of users actually dip to 0.2 per cent from half a percentage point last month. Fewer people may be checking out the Developer Preview in anticipation of the beta version, which is due to launch sometime this month.

Among operating systems in general, Windows remains in top place by a long shot with an overall share of 92 per cent. Apple's Mac OS X grabbed 6.39 per cent of users last month, a minor increase from December and around a one percentage point bump from a year ago.

Via CNET