Microsoft: Over 600 million Windows 7 licenses sold

Jos

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Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of OEM Steven Guggenheimer shared an interesting nugget of information today during a keynote address at Computex: the company has sold more than 600 million licenses for Windows 7 in the three years it has been on the market. That’s up about 75 million since Microsoft’s last announcement in January of over 525 million licenses sold.

Windows 7 is currently the operating system on nearly 40% of internet connected devices, according to Microsoft figures. Although that’s still behind Windows XP’s estimated 45% of the market, the trend is clear and it doesn’t seem like the forthcoming release of Windows 8 is slowing sales in the meantime.

In contrast, Windows Vista has faced a rapid decline over the past couple of years going from around 15% in July 2010 to less than 7% today, according to figures gathered by NetApplications.

Now that Microsoft’s focus is shifting towards Windows 8, the company will face a significant challenge introducing the changes that come with the new OS, including the revamped Metro user interface and its touch oriented design. Only time will tell if it’ll be a smooth transition for consumers and businesses.

This is “the biggest launch time in Microsoft's history,” according to Guggenheimer. “In addition to updating Windows client, Windows Server, phone and embedded platforms, there's a massive wave of software and services coming to market, from Windows Azure, to Office 15, Xbox games, Skype and Bing."

The company also showed off the video above which highlights the evolution of Windows 7 devices.

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Companies go up and down, but its numbers like this that make statements predicting MS's imminent demise pretty *****ic.
 
And another 600 Billion downloaded :D. Also most of the bought Windows 7 were on the laptops I guess :p
 
This is how its been for years with MS. they post record quarters and billions of revenue yet everyone says they're sky is falling.
 
I wonder how many of those are in use on a tablet... How many Windows 8 will be used on a tablet...
 
That will be -600 million when the general public gets ahold of windows 8 and notice they don't know how the f**** to use it :p

I don't know about you guys but I'm already waiting for windows 9 or Win 8 SE with a proper keyboard and mouse interface!
 
That will be -600 million when the general public gets ahold of windows 8 and notice they don't know how the f**** to use it :p

I don't know about you guys but I'm already waiting for windows 9 or Win 8 SE with a proper keyboard and mouse interface!
Windows 8's main goal is to take the mobile/tablet market. Sure, Microsoft would love every desktop user to buy Win8, why wouldn't they? But they don't NEED every desktop user to buy Win8. What they really need is break big into the mobile/tablet market and that is what Windows 8 is designed to do and will likely do very successfully. Meanwhile, Windows 7 will continue to have an iron grip on the desktop market for quite a few more years.
 
That will be -600 million when the general public gets ahold of windows 8 and notice they don't know how the f**** to use it :p

I don't know about you guys but I'm already waiting for windows 9 or Win 8 SE with a proper keyboard and mouse interface!
Windows 8's main goal is to take the mobile/tablet market. Sure, Microsoft would love every desktop user to buy Win8, why wouldn't they? But they don't NEED every desktop user to buy Win8. What they really need is break big into the mobile/tablet market and that is what Windows 8 is designed to do and will likely do very successfully. Meanwhile, Windows 7 will continue to have an iron grip on the desktop market for quite a few more years.

exacly.
 
That will be -600 million when the general public gets ahold of windows 8 and notice they don't know how the f**** to use it :p

I don't know about you guys but I'm already waiting for windows 9 or Win 8 SE with a proper keyboard and mouse interface!
Windows 8's main goal is to take the mobile/tablet market. Sure, Microsoft would love every desktop user to buy Win8, why wouldn't they? But they don't NEED every desktop user to buy Win8. What they really need is break big into the mobile/tablet market and that is what Windows 8 is designed to do and will likely do very successfully. Meanwhile, Windows 7 will continue to have an iron grip on the desktop market for quite a few more years.

I hope for everyones sake you are correct.
 
Sold does not mean used. Best Buy probably bought a million, but sold 500,000 to actual users.
 
"I don't know about you guys but I'm already waiting for windows 9 or Win 8 SE with a proper keyboard and mouse interface!"

I just saw Ridley Scott's Prometheus, there were these advanced aliens, eons advanced, they turne don their alien computer....and it had a start button... (snicker)

Seriously, get over the start button, it's evolved into the start menu. You can name groups of apps and folder shortcuts, typing into metro and clicking the appropriate app on right hand side will bring you search results for that app, you can still PIN apps on your taskbar if you want.

Come on guys, you call yourselves l33t power users? Pffft My 9 and 10yr old picked up windows 8 with no problems, they're playing wizard 101 desktop app game with tunein metro app docked on the side. You guys whining about the start button..get OVER it already.
 
I enjoy reading the comical replies the windows 8 choir is playing, keep it up and eat your words later on please.

Much was the same with Vista and we all know how well that went.
 
Most of these licences are sold through OEMs, retail sales of windows make up a tiny proportion. So the figures don't mean much as the end user doesn't really have a choice unless they opt to build their own computer. It's why it's often referred to as the "microsoft tax"...
 
"I don't know about you guys but I'm already waiting for windows 9 or Win 8 SE with a proper keyboard and mouse interface!"

I just saw Ridley Scott's Prometheus, there were these advanced aliens, eons advanced, they turne don their alien computer....and it had a start button... (snicker)

Seriously, get over the start button, it's evolved into the start menu. You can name groups of apps and folder shortcuts, typing into metro and clicking the appropriate app on right hand side will bring you search results for that app, you can still PIN apps on your taskbar if you want.

Come on guys, you call yourselves l33t power users? Pffft My 9 and 10yr old picked up windows 8 with no problems, they're playing wizard 101 desktop app game with tunein metro app docked on the side. You guys whining about the start button..get OVER it already.


I don't think you get it.

I run both win 7 and win 8 on a spare HD.

Some simple task in windows 7 that takes a few click is now 3x as much work on windows 8.

Which affects my productivity.

There isn't even a goddamn shutdown button visible on that god awful metro start screen. I had to go searching for it.

I can deal with no start button I cannot deal with doing 3 times the work for simple task in win 8. I will not deal with switching between metro and the desktop constantly.

windows 8 will be great on a tablet pc but it will never be my primary OS.

As for what your 10 year old does on their windows 8 pc that is great for them. When they start developing databases then talk to me!

There is nothing to get over I will not purchase windows 8 period. I will run windows 7 until windows 9 comes up which should be a better version of windows based on microsoft's history.
 
"Some simple task in windows 7 that takes a few click is now 3x as much work on windows 8.
Which affects my productivity."

Care to list what exactly these tasks are? You can still pin apps on the taskbar and KB shortcuts still work in win8 as they did in win7. You can almost never go to metro unless you want to. ALT+TAB still works. You can use the windows key on your keyboard to shift quickly from desktop to metro and back.

"There isn't even a ****** shutdown button visible on that god awful metro start screen. I had to go searching for it."

Then create one, create a shortcut on your desktop to "C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00" and pin it on your taskbar or metro start menu.

You can even run classicshell or start8 to get your precious start button back, they're both free but apparently someone who "creates" databases can't bother enough to lookup free startmenu alternatives?

here let me give you some links:

start8
classicshell

p.s. for someone that "create databases", I suggest you force yourself to adjust to change, because in I.T. , the only constant is change. If you can't adapt to new toolset chains, or think "outside the box", or adjust to different software, you're just holding yourself back and risk getting supplanted by someone that can. A true power user is multi-talented and multi-faceted and adjusting to change is a big part of it.

p.s. please read "who moved my cheese" should give you better insight.
 
"Some simple task in windows 7 that takes a few click is now 3x as much work on windows 8.
Which affects my productivity."


From classic desktop, if you hover the mouse over the lower left side menu (to show the metro start button) and right click it, it will bring up a list of most used classic windows dialogs.
 
"Much was the same with Vista and we all know how well that went"

And we all know how well Windows XP/7 did on touch tablets right?
Let me ask you this, when we jumped from windows 3.1 (no start button) to windows 95, did you have a similar hard time adjusting to change?
 
"Some simple task in windows 7 that takes a few click is now 3x as much work on windows 8.
Which affects my productivity."

Care to list what exactly these tasks are? You can still pin apps on the taskbar and KB shortcuts still work in win8 as they did in win7. You can almost never go to metro unless you want to. ALT+TAB still works. You can use the windows key on your keyboard to shift quickly from desktop to metro and back.

"There isn't even a ****** shutdown button visible on that god awful metro start screen. I had to go searching for it."

Then create one, create a shortcut on your desktop to "C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00" and pin it on your taskbar or metro start menu.

You can even run classicshell or start8 to get your precious start button back, they're both free but apparently someone who "creates" databases can't bother enough to lookup free startmenu alternatives?

here let me give you some links:

start8
classicshell

p.s. for someone that "create databases", I suggest you force yourself to adjust to change, because in I.T. , the only constant is change. If you can't adapt to new toolset chains, or think "outside the box", or adjust to different software, you're just holding yourself back and risk getting supplanted by someone that can. A true power user is multi-talented and multi-faceted and adjusting to change is a big part of it.

p.s. please read "who moved my cheese" should give you better insight.

When I get home I will post back with some of the task I was talking about.

Why am I going to create a shortcut to shutdown something that is one click away in windows 7

how is that progress?

Microsoft says they will be ripping out all the legacy code for the start button by the RTM release so non of those
classic shell or start 8 will work!

You may want to update your knowledge instead of posting links to stuff I'm already aware of!

Ive been in this industry for quite sometime and change for the sake of change is not always a good thing. Ive been adapting quite fine to the changes in this industry for 15 years the reason I'm still in it. So I'm not really concerned about what you think of my ability to roll with the punches as they say you don't know me!

There is nothing that I've seen in windows 8 that shows me its better than 7 for my workflow.

I've owned almost every copy of windows and this is the first version I'm am not impressed with at all.
 
"Why am I going to create a shortcut to shutdown something that is one click away in windows 7

how is that progress?"

Because you're the one missing the shutdown button. You can also shut down windows 8 using the power button on your laptop or pc, one less step than moving your mouse ,click, then shutdown, click.

Btw if u "have to go home to see what tasks are harder in win8" then maybe it's because you don 't know win8 enough to make that evaluation. As with all new tools or software, you have to learn the os and paradigm/shortcuts to appreciate why they did it. This is Sinofsky's baby, you can bet that he, other programmers and designers, and business people at Microsoft are using it Inproduction. Microsoft is well known to use their own tools to improve it.

You can even put desktop app shortcut in win8 startup, so it goes straight to desktop when you boot.

Come on man, nowyou're just fighting meto without learning how to properly leverage it to good use.

Win8 keyboard shortcuts

http://www.itworld.com/software/203881/windows-8-metro-keyboard-shortcuts-and-tips
 
"Why am I going to create a shortcut to shutdown something that is one click away in windows 7

how is that progress?"

Because you're the one missing the shutdown button. You can also shut down windows 8 using the power button on your laptop or pc, one less step than moving your mouse ,click, then shutdown, click.

Btw if u "have to go home to see what tasks are harder in win8" then maybe it's because you don 't know win8 enough to make that evaluation. As with all new tools or software, you have to learn the os and paradigm/shortcuts to appreciate why they did it. This is Sinofsky's baby, you can bet that he, other programmers and designers, and business people at Microsoft are using it Inproduction. Microsoft is well known to use their own tools to improve it.

You can even put desktop app shortcut in win8 startup, so it goes straight to desktop when you boot.

Come on man, nowyou're just fighting meto without learning how to properly leverage it to good use.

Win8 keyboard shortcuts

http://www.itworld.com/software/203881/windows-8-metro-keyboard-shortcuts-and-tips

I want to do it from home because I can run both os's side by side and provide a detailed post! As of right now I would be doing it from memory and that won't help to make my point.
 
"Microsoft says they will be ripping out all the legacy code for the start button by the RTM release so non of those"

Why don't we wait until final release to be certain? Works in release preview now.

http://betanews.com/2012/06/04/dont...ve-a-start-menu-on-windows-8-release-preview/

If only you knew how much better it is to use metro menu, especially searches just by typing and specify app, files, or other

I don't need to wait for the RTM to know its true. Everything MS has said so far indications this is there course of action because metro is what they want. I do however know anyone that actually uses their computer for productivity and content creation isn't remotely interested in it after using it.

I don't need you posting me links trying to convert me. That is straight from the mouth of people I work with that do this on a daily basis.

"If only you knew how much better it is to use metro menu"

you keep posting this after I told you I run both os's at home.

I don't find the search better in windows 8 and whatever improvements they have made is not enough for me to dump 7 for it. I have no issues with the search functionality in windows 7.
 
if you tried the search in windows 8 you WOULD find it better - none of the problems you encounter with search in windows 7
 
The windows button is a key feature here, it is the way to get back to the root menu or "metro". This is no different than when people became familiar with the single home button in android and iOS. Metro is a start menu pure and simple, instead of clicking the start button, you click the windows key, or hover and click.

"I don't need you posting me links trying to convert me. That is straight from the mouth of people I work with that do this on a daily basis."

You remind me of that Tex Avery cartoon "Jets Jets! Jets!"

Little Johnny Jet 1953 Tex Avery

BTW, this message is from Neo of the Matrix:

"I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world … without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries; a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you."
 
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