From XP to 8
Table of contents:
Today is the end of the cycle for Microsoft. Windows XP ends its support and becomes an obsolete system in all respects. That's why we want to give you one last look at what it has meant to Redmond through its market share.
In the following graph you can see the evolution of the market share, estimated from the browsing habits of Internet users. The absolute figures are not, therefore, 100% reliable, but we can see something even more interesting: the trends.
Windows XP is Microsoft's most successful OS, and the consequence it's paying now is the number of users who stick with it despite the fact that it's going to end support. In previous cases, on the marked end of support dates, the corresponding systems had a minimum quota: less than 10% in W95 and W98 and practically negligible in the case of Windows 2000. Windows XP is currently about 30%
What was the problem? If you look closely, there isn't much difference in the rate at which XP was losing share compared to Windows 98, 2000 or Vista. We could say that users are as reluctant to update as ever.
The problem with XP is the 6 years it took until Vista arrived.
"Actually, the problem is that space that you see in the graph from the beginning to the first blue arrow. Six years in which Microsoft did not release any new operating systems. The tagline here would be and above that new OS was Vista>"
And it is that users move mainly by inertia. Windows XP hasn't had anything particularly distinctive that has kept it there for so many years. Probably if Vista had come sooner Microsoft wouldn't have had to deal with this situation.
In fact, and this is just speculation, we could say that if Vista had arrived earlier, the graph we see would be much more regular. A less ambitious version of Vista would have taken less time and probably would have had fewer bugs and easier fixes in subsequent versions. Instead of a timid Vista and a very generous growth with Windows 7, the growth of XP would have stopped sooner and Microsoft could have improved its systems with more frequent response from users.
What about Windows 8?
It has been curious to review articles from years ago and see very clear parallels with Windows 8 As my ngm colleague told us, the XP's reception wasn't exactly warm. Of course, this doesn't mean anything concrete either: similar things were said about Vista and there it is, always below XP.
If we take a closer look at the numbers, Windows 8 isn't that bad. It is a system whose predecessor is Windows 7, robust and without problems, which brings a radical change of interface and which has also been launched at a time when the PC no longer dominates user computing.
But just because Windows 8 isn't a total flop doesn't mean things couldn't have been betterThe return of the start menu and the improvements aimed at desktop users are proof that the change proposed by Microsoft was either very radical or not very successful. Redmond has wasted time repurposing its system, time in which Windows 7 has not only not lost share but has gained it. Timidly, yes, but it's a change from the trend of previous versions.
Used data
The data we have used in the article is taken from two main sources: Google Zeitgeist (November 2001 to June 2004) and NetMarketShare for the rest. These are data obtained from browsing the Internet on desktop computers, so it is perfectly possible that computers that are not used for the Internet are not represented. This is especially significant in the early data on the chart, where more tech-savvy users, who would upgrade to XP sooner, may be overrepresented.
In addition, from June 2004 to February 2007 we have only found quarterly data: that is why that region is dotted and has no continuous line. You can find the specific data and their corresponding sources in this Excel sheet.
In Xataka Windows | Goodbye to Windows XP
