Windows 8 growth slows down in November, despite 8.1's arrival

[Jos]

November marked the first full month of availability for Windows 8.1 since launching as a free update in late October. So how did this affect uptake of Microsoft’s latest operating system? Not much according to Net Applications. While Windows 8.1 continued to eat into Windows 8’s market share, collectively Windows 8.x gained a mere 0.05 points during the period, even less than Windows 7’s climb of 0.22 points.

As it stands right now Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 sit at 6.66% and 2.64%, respectively, for a combined total of 9.3%. Windows 7 managed to move up slightly from 46.42% to 46.64% at the end of November, while Windows XP still clings to 31.22% of the market even as the clock ticks closer to its end-of-support date. Meanwhile, Vista continued to drop 0.06 percentage points in November and now sits at 3.57%.

There were a few other interesting bits of statistical data in this month’s report. ZDNet’s Ed Bott pointed to the uptake of Microsoft and Apple’s free updates, for instance. Windows 8.1 now represents 28.4% of the total Windows 8.x install base while OS X 10.9 Mavericks is at 33.9% for all versions from 10.6 and above.

November was also one of the few months this year that Windows as a whole has gained market share (up 0.22%) to the expense of both OS X (down 0.17 points to 7.56%) and Linux (down 0.05 points to 1.56%).

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https://www.techspot.com/news/54865-windows-8-growth-slows-down-in-november-despite-81s-arrival.html

 

[Lurker101]

I know this is going to sound silly, but maybe, people just don't like Windows 8?

 

[VitalyT]

I know why I might dump it... I just got the latest Macbook Pro 15", which I think is an amazing thing. After several days waisted on trying to install Windows on it I'm about to throw in the towel. After all, I have almost everything on Mac that I need for software development.

 

[Guest]

It is not entirely correct to compare 8.1 update with Mavericks, because the latter is a major upgrade, not a service pack. As a Mac user myself, I personally hesitate to upgrade to Mavericks, because I'm not yet sure all my apps will work there, and I can't risk interrupting my work at this point, but I install minor updates (similar to Windows fixes and service packs) as soon as they arrive. The pace of adoption is generally a bit different for minor and major versions.

 

[Railman]

I know this is going to sound silly, but maybe, people just don't like Windows 8?

Some people like it but I've yet to meet anyone face to face who likes it! Often it is the IT professionals who hate it the most.

 

[Guest]

I'll stick with my copy of Windows 7. I don't see any real benefit of upgrading to Windows 8.1 at this current time. Microsoft seems to put out a good OS every other cycle. I'll upgrade to Windows 9 when it arrives.

 

[Guest]

I have only met people who have accepted it and learned to use it. That is not because they like it, but because it came with their computer and upgrading to Windows 7 is too complicated. The majority of people I know though have formatted and returned to Windows 7 on their new computers. Windows 8 is just not productive without a touch screen.

I find Canonical is going about integrating the desktop and tablet the right way. Maybe Microsoft will take a lesson from Ubuntu for Windows 9.

 

[Lurker101]

Some people like it but I've yet to meet anyone face to face who likes it! Often it is the IT professionals who hate it the most.

Mostly because it's the IT professionals who spend half an hour trying to find a function that has been put in the most stupid place possible, even though in previous incarnations of Windows, it would've taken at the very most, 4 mouse clicks.

 

[Vrmithrax]

I know this is going to sound silly, but maybe, people just don't like Windows 8?

Some people like it but I've yet to meet anyone face to face who likes it! Often it is the IT professionals who hate it the most.

Heh, I am a paradox. I absolutely love Win8 on the touch tablet platform (the Surface products are actually very good). But I hate Win8 on my desktop, so much so that I bought another Win7 license for the new gaming rig I'm building myself for Christmas. I want to like it, but even with the speed boost 8 brought about, it still feels too clumsy and cobbled into a desktop environment, rather than built for one. Don't get me wrong, 8.1 improved things here and there, and there are plenty of add-ons and mods that help it get back to a desktop feel, but it still feels too unnatural somehow (hard to define when it's just personal feel and preferences).

 

[Guest]

I already dumped Windows, and all my applications...

I switched to Mint Linux, and couldn't be happier! It's even free! I do donate to the developers, but am glad to do so!

 

[bexwhitt]

I know this is going to sound silly, but maybe, people just don't like Windows 8?

Some people like it but I've yet to meet anyone face to face who likes it! Often it is the IT professionals who hate it the most.

Heh, I am a paradox. I absolutely love Win8 on the touch tablet platform (the Surface products are actually very good). But I hate Win8 on my desktop, so much so that I bought another Win7 license for the new gaming rig I'm building myself for Christmas. I want to like it, but even with the speed boost 8 brought about, it still feels too clumsy and cobbled into a desktop environment, rather than built for one. Don't get me wrong, 8.1 improved things here and there, and there are plenty of add-ons and mods that help it get back to a desktop feel, but it still feels too unnatural somehow (hard to define when it's just personal feel and preferences).

just install startisback and ignore the modern UI then you get the speed advantages of windows 8 and the enhanced explorer without the ugly front end. well worth $3

 

[Lurker101]

just install startisback and ignore the modern UI then you get the speed advantages of windows 8 and the enhanced explorer without the ugly front end. well worth $3

Pay more money to make a product work like it's supposed to? No thanks. I think I'll stick with Win7.

 

[Guest]

You don't have to switch to Mac or Linux just because Microsoft released a shitty OS. Just stay on Windows 7 or upgrade from 8 to 7 if you haven't already.

 

[hahahanoobs]

I HATED the Metro UI when I first tried it and didn't think I would ever like it. I was totally prepared to stay with W7, but with the ability to boot directly to desktop in 8.1 and Startisback, I no longer had a reason to stay with it. As a techie, staying with old *** W7 didn't make sense to me if I wanted to get the most out of my hardware.

I had the same feelings when Vista came out, but when SP1 came out and the software compatibility was a LOT better I left XP for good and never regretted it.

 

[EEatGDL]

I don't know if just my family has bad luck but when I updated from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 in my mom's work PC and my brother's brand new notebook (I updated it the day after he bought it) they got some annoying problems: my mom's network adapter would intermitently say there's no cable plugged in and solved only by actually unplugging it and plugging it again and my brother's notebook camera is no longer detected after the update. I think I read something about mouse acceleration problems and other hardware-related problems with Windows 8.1, I really don't know how can they screw up the hardware side of the OS when Windows 8 worked fine in that part.

 

[RH00D]

Some people like it but I've yet to meet anyone face to face who likes it! Often it is the IT professionals who hate it the most.

Mostly because it's the IT professionals who spend half an hour trying to find a function that has been put in the most stupid place possible, even though in previous incarnations of Windows, it would've taken at the very most, 4 mouse clicks.

In my circle of people I know, it's the IT folks who love it the most because like real power users they use keyboard shortcuts and the CLI and keyboard shortcuts are vastly improved in Windows 8.x and the CLI works the same as always.

Windows Key + X is the bee's knees.

Shutting down is only a matter of right-clicking the start button (or pressing Win Key + X) and selecting shutdown.

 

[wastedkill]

Tbh I am on a cracked 8.1 as 1. I am on a desktop not a laptop, 2. I love the new features that enhance task manager and file transfers along a few other stuff I will actually use but metro.. I hate it so I installed that start menu and I never have to see it again thank god!

 

[BMfan]

I'd love to know what extra speed people keep talking about with 8\8.1.

I've done tests(using bootracer) and it is quicker from Time to Log-on by about a second or 2 but from Time to desktop it's about 15 seconds longer.

Windows 7 averages about 16 seconds total to desktop.
Windows 8.1 averages about 28 seconds.

Exactly same setup and even tried on two different SSD's.

 

[WAHID]

In few simple words Windows 8.X is the worst OS that Microsoft ever made.

 

[Guest17]

After suffering through Win8, then 8.1, I finally bit the bullet and up/downgraded back to Win7. Even with StartIsBack, I found W8 atrocious, with the only saving grace being faster boot times. What I've never seen mentioned, however, is that is boot times while upgrading were factored in to aggregate boot time averages, W8 would be like molasses on a tree trunk. Many times, I've waited six, seven, even ten minutes to boot while upgrades were being installed.

Now with W7 installed on my fairly robust desktop, I feel like a ex-junkie with the monkey finally off my back. BMfan's stats are on the button: 16 second average boot times on a desktop that now is clean and unencumbered. What a relief.

 

[nazartp]

Honestly, I tried the RC for Win8 and just hated it. Then had Win8 installed on the media PC because Metro tiles are easy to see from the couch. Recently bought ASUS T100 with Win 8.1 pre-installed and actually really like it. Except for some functions hidden in new places, for everyday use, the system is really good and way snappier than Win 7. For tablet use, I, actually, strongly prefer Win8 metro interface to either iOS or Android. Ease of multitasking is unparalleled and gestures are intuitive and natural. BTW, iOS 7 is just cartoonishly ugly.

 

[Railman]

I was very surprised today because I was told by a surveyor he was given a brand new laptop that had been downgraded from W7 to XP. It would seem that the companies custom software will not work in newer OS versions. I am not surprised that W7 is outselling W8 as very few companies see any benefit moving to W8 and I suspect the Xmas consumer market is dominated by tablet sales. Not good news for the Surface!

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I HATED the Metro UI when I first tried it and didn't think I would ever like it. I was totally prepared to stay with W7, but with the ability to boot directly to desktop in 8.1 and Startisback, I no longer had a reason to stay with it. As a techie, staying with old *** W7 didn't make sense to me if I wanted to get the most out of my hardware.

I had the same feelings when Vista came out, but when SP1 came out and the software compatibility was a LOT better I left XP for good and never regretted it.

Please explain what hardware you are talking about that is being hindered under the Windows 7 operating system?

But it does make sense to you to upgrade to an operating system that was developed, first and foremost, for tablets. But the fact that you have managed to jam a square peg through a round hole(by installing third-party software) makes you happy?

Okee then.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Please explain what hardware you are talking about that is being hindered under the Windows 7 operating system?

But it does make sense to you to upgrade to an operating system that was developed, first and foremost, for tablets. But the fact that you have managed to jam a square peg through a round hole(by installing third-party software) makes you happy?

Okee then.

LOL I don't have to prove anything to you.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

LOL I don't have to prove anything to you.

True enough. And you actually didn't prove anything. You made a claim about Windows 8 that you simply have no explanation for. Good job soldier.