14 DAY TRIAL // Neither Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, nor Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, both made available in 2008, have been able to turn Windows around from its downward trajectory on the operating system market. Even with the latest service packs, Vista and XP have failed to stop the growth of Mac OS X and Linux, both operating systems making inroads into Microsoft's territory. Vista and XP have taken Window's overall usage share down to 88.68% at the end of December 2008, leaving Windows 7 to deal with OS X and Linux.
According to statistics published by Net Applications, Windows' market share has dropped from 91.79%, at the end of December 2007, to just 88.68%, at the end of the past year. At the same time, Mac OS X now accounts for approximately 10% of the operating system market, with a share of 9.63%.
The open source Linux platform is also growing its installed base, and has reached a high of 0.85%, a percentage indicating that the operating system has a strong potential to attract additional audience and to go over the 1% mark.
Linux's share has jumped from 0.63%, in December 2007, to 0.85%, in December 2008. During the same period Mac OS X has grown from 7.31% to 9.63%. At the start of 2009, Windows XP was credited with 65.22% of the market, while Windows Vista accounted for 21.12%. Both Windows clients received their latest service packs in the first half of 2008.
Windows 7 has already reached Beta stage with the first public Beta just around the corner. Microsoft is looking to move straight to Release Candidate phase from Beta, and then to RTM, a scenario in which Windows 7 could hit the shelves ahead of the 2009 holiday season. Still, just as it was the case with Windows Vista and Windows XP, Windows 7 will “eat” its precursors in order to grow, and not necessarily its rivals.