14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will debut the new Windows 8 operating system next month in New York and the company has already confirmed that it expects the new OS to sell in huge numbers.
But what Microsoft is actually trying to do is to move all Windows XP users to the new Windows iteration, even if XP remains the second most popular OS on the market.
Peter Han, vice president, Microsoft U.S. OEM Division, said at the Tech Data Channel Link in Orlando, Fla., that the Redmond-based firm is willing to convince XP users that Windows 8 is at least as good as their favorite operating system. There are more than 100 million XP computers in the United States, he says, so this is going to be a very difficult mission.
“There are 100 million-plus Windows XP installations in the U.S. Time to refresh them to Windows 8,” he said during his speech according to thevarguy.com.
Home users aren’t the only ones still using Windows XP. Nearly 50 percent of the US commercial business market still rely on Windows XP, so providing them with an easy way to make the move to Windows 8 is a priority.
Windows XP is currently the second most popular operating system in the world, according to statistics provided by Net Applications earlier this month. Windows 7 now holds the leading position with a market share of 38.54 percent, while XP recorded 38.46 points in August.
As compared to these two highly-popular Windows contraptions, Vista remains one of the most disappointing operating systems ever released by Microsoft, as it registered a market share of only 5.47 percent last month. Vista is thus placed on the third position, ahead of Mac OS X and several Linux distributions.