14 DAY TRIAL // Even though Microsoft is often criticized for removing some very popular features in Windows 8, the Windows platform remains the most popular in the entire world, as it’s currently installed on more than 90 percent of all computers worldwide.
Figures provided by market researcher Net Applications confirms that Windows has been the dominant operating system for the past years, even though it lost a few users since August 2012.
Windows had a market share of 91.89 percent in March 2013, a slight increase over the February 2013 figures, when it reached 91.62 percent.
While Linux has also adopted an ascending trend, Mac remains the second most popular platform in the world, but still far away from the Redmond-based software. Mac OS X is currently installed on 6.94 percent of computers worldwide, while Linux powers only 1.17 percent of PCs.
Version-wise, Windows 7 is the clear leader in the entire world, with a market share of 44.73 percent, followed by the 11-year-old Windows XP with 38.73 percent.
Both have experienced a slight decrease in March, especially as more users have finally made the move to Windows 8, but Microsoft still has a hard time convincing users to make the move.
While Windows 8 has recorded a slight increase to 3.17 percent, Windows Vista is also losing users, dropping to no less than 4.99 percent.
The only non-Windows platform that manages to enter the top 5 is Mac OS X 10.8 which, according to Net Applications data, is running on 2.65 percent of PCs worldwide.
On the other hand, all eyes are currently on Windows Blue, the first major Windows 8 upgrade that’s like to see daylight sometime this summer. Not much is confirmed about Blue, but we’ve already found out that Microsoft could offer it either for free or with a very low price tag to Windows 8 users.