our office will also upgrade to windows 7 on first quarter next year.
sure that will continue to go down as they've discontinued their support.

That's why you should consider LINUX - Linux only has about 1 % of the market but 1 % is a lot of people using LINUX.

Operating System free
No viruses
Makes an old computer run like lightning
Free office, graphics, music, accounting and other software - 32000 free programs in all

go to youtube and check out some LINUX desktops like Ubuntu, Fedora or SUSE. You will be amazed what your 'old' laptop can handle.

www.opensourcesolutionsni.blogspot.com

And they know that, They want us in a fast paced buying cycle and I refuse to do that. Either use common sense hardware upgrade timetables or wait for me.

I was one that was holding on to my old XP, but eventually I decided to take the plunge and buy Windows 7 and I don't regret it. I partially done it because I am a programmer and some people that were playing a game I made were running Windows 7. I couldn't upgrade the game without having the OS. After looking into it I was pleasantly surprised at just how cheap Windows 7 was. Koodos to Microsoft for making it so affordable. I definitely love Windows 7 now. It's more secure without being anal about it. As for speed, I have no problems. Over time I expect to see more and more software made for 64bit and I expect they will run much better, but I don't see any problems.

This is the same old story we have seen time and time again, whenever we get a major upgrade and technology change like we have had, there is a settling in period. We no longer use 16bit, pretty soon 32bit will meet the same fate. Upgrade and get used to it, you'll have to sooner or later.

As for a "fast paced buying cycle" ummm, XP has been around for something like 10 years now, I wouldn't call that fast paced. And Windows 7 is probably the Cheapest windows I can remember while being the most impressive version.

As for Viruses, I don't even run a virus checker anymore, I just use common sense and I haven't had a virus in a very very very long time... in fact, I don't think I have EVER had a virus, so the old "Use windows instead of Linux and you'll be plagued by viruses" is a crock... Linux will never take off, it's simply not user friendly not matter how much you try and cover it up. There is no way I would recommend the average user at home install Linux over Windows 7.

So what's the source where these stats came from?

I have a problem with this article because it doesn't tell what method was used to arrive at these numbers? I have a feeling that Linux has a larger market share since it is difficult to pin down the exact numbers when it doesn't require a serial number. This article seems more like an advertisement for Windows than a serious discussion about market share.

Maybe an upgrade would be more appealing if it didn't require a hard drive reformat and Windows 7 full license didn't cost so damn much. I still haven't activated my copy, and I don't plan to.

I am curious example, How long have you been using XP for?

There always one guy pushing linux Personal use maybe but for corporate use, nope!

Win 7 has got to be the best OS i have ever used. i recommend it to everyone

I lol'd

What do you mean, "UPGRADE now, you will have to sooner or later"-
It is like saying, DIE now, you will have to sooner or later.
As for me, I rather die later instead of now, same as upgrading
heck by then win 8 will be out maybe even win 9 or 12 so what's the rush

I guess this percentage is a lot higher in developing countries, like south america. Here in Bolivia I'd say 90 % are still using Windows XP (without having exact numbers, of course). There are internet cafes on every corner, and they all run Windows XP (and usually a very virus-infected version... ). The only exceptions are new laptops that comes with Vista or Win 7 pre-installed.

Linux on the desktop PC?

(walks away laughing out loud)

Nobody cares about Linux market, and this topic is about Windows 7 vs XP, not Windows vs Linux because it's obvious who will win.

And if Linux is 1%, what are the "Others" that account for almost 6%?

Oh my god! You obviously work for Microsoft! This is such a ridiculous attempt at advertising. There's a reason why Microsoft is such a horrible company, and this is it.

Actually we are talking about the operating system, and not the company... I have installed Windows 7 since last June (replacing my older XP which I used for the past 4 years). It actually performs better.

Fighting the good fight meant using Mac OS or Linux? How did you arrive at that conclusion?

A Mac OS X is good, but it is only restricted to one type of hardware, the Macintosh. Which is why the Market share is low, there are lot of Personal Computers out there that can use the other Operating Systems.

As for Linux, it's good as a server or for doing specialized computations, but not really for home use. I think most of the desktop linux users are developers or programmers, who spend most of the time compiling the Kernel or tinkering for optimization. You cant ask my mom to run a sudo command from the terminal you know, or ask my 14 year old niece to install a program from the command line.

I think for the home users, Windows XP will continue to persist, unless newer programs will start not to support it.

just use the damn 64 bit version of windows xp , runs great here , can see up 128 gigs of ram