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Even though Windows 7 rocks the socks off the decade-old XP and the lackluster ball of consumer disappointment known as Vista, Microsoft has had a hard time convincing PC users to make the switch to their new (well, two years old) operating system. When 2011 first rolled around, less than one in ten North American PCs rocked Redmond's latest offering. Expect that number to look a whole lot different by New Year's; one leading analytical firm says Windows 7 will be the most common OS in the world by the time 2012 rears its ugly head.
Chalk the gargantuan increase up to enterprise adoption, Gartner says. After two-ish years of preparing to roll out Windows 7, businesses are finally getting around to actually doing it. As a result, Gartner predicts that 94 percent of all PCs shipped this year will be equipped with Microsoft's baby, which will boost Windows 7's overall penetration to 42 percent of the market – making it king of the OS hill. The biggest boosts should come from North American and Asian businesses.
Not a Windows 7 fan? Gartner says Macs have started selling briskly, or at least as briskly as Macs have sold in recent memory; expect to find Apple's OS on 4.5 percent of all computers shipped in 2011. Gartner only expects Linux to grab 2 percent of the global market in the next five years, and that number drops to one percent on consumer rigs.
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Deviate
August 10, 2011 at 9:15am
I said the same thing about XP when it first came out while I was still using 98 SE.
Sure, presently XP is still useful, it's just antiquated, less pretty, and less secure than Win 7, that's all.
Vista.. forget about it. It's rotting in OS purgatory right next to Win ME.
Hondoe1950
August 10, 2011 at 8:14am
I don't understand why PC pundits are puzzled by Windows XP's incredible endurance. The only way Windows 7 can replace it is by force, i.e. by making XP no longer available.
Why, because there is nothing you can do on a Windows 7 PC of any note that you can't do on an XP PC.
Don't get me wrong, I use Windows 7 now and enjoy it. But "rocks the socks of XP"? I don't think so.
Not nearly.
dracx619
August 10, 2011 at 6:14am
its funny, i remember asking one of our IT guys if he had seen the windows 7 demos (when they were first released way back before the builds with the new Ui were leaked) and he said "windows 7? why? XP is all ill ever need." hes eating his words now thats for sure. we finally did get all of our windows computers upgraded to windows 7 after IT got fed up with all the malware my coworkers were unknowingly loading onto them. im not surprised most of my coworkers are seeing windows 7 for the first time while a few of them are happy to finally have it. unfortunately for me, im stuck using final cut on a mac
Holly Golightly
August 09, 2011 at 10:56pm
Well... While Windows 7 is becoming the mainstream, I am ready for Windows 8! Freaking love that design.
PCLinuxguy
August 10, 2011 at 12:20pm
I do too actually, I'm not sure if you're a fan of the ribbon (MS Office 2010) but I think it's a good fit, should've been in W7 actually. They should've found a way to merge Vista and 7 since 7 is just Vista with all the bugs and problems fixed.
Holly Golightly
August 11, 2011 at 10:50pm
Yes, I am familiar with the ribbon, and I love it. I only got to play with the MS Office 2007 edition. So I know it is much better on the 2010 version. I do not know why so many people banter against it. I like both modes to be honest.
Windows 7 and Windows Vista look nearly identicle. I really do not know why they just could not give Vista a service pack upgrade and just fix the damn bugs. I am using Vista on my desktop and 7 on my laptop... Other than the minor upgrades, they are the same thing that costed me an extra $100.
I think Windows 8 will be a revolution like Windows 95 once was. A break against tradition. For the better.
winmaster
August 09, 2011 at 5:22pm
"Windows 7 will be the most common OS in the world by the time 2012 rears its ugly head."
Perfect, just in time for Windows 8.
szore
August 09, 2011 at 2:35pm
Poor MS. They finally conquer the world in 2012, right before the galaxy blows up!
