Microsoft on Tuesday marked the tenth anniversary of Windows XP shipping by doing its best to kill use of the OS. The company’s Rich Reynolds heralded the impact of XP, noting that it was there at the threshold of changes both in technology as well as in Microsoft’s leadership.
Simultaneously, however, he mounted a campaign to get users to upgrade, insisting that they could “accomplish much more” with Windows 7. In trying to make the case, Reynolds insisted that the “vast majority” of businesses were moving over and pointed to Net Applications usage share data showing that over 30 percent of Internet use came from Windows 7 in September. The same results, however, showed Windows XP with over 47 percent of use, making it still the most popular desktop OS by a wide margin.
Recent data around active use might support Microsoft’s hopes for a transition. StatCounter recently showed more use of Windows 7 than XP.
The milestone still underscored an ongoing problem Microsoft has had that could undermine Windows’ market share. Microsoft’s three-year delay for Windows Vista and the software’s hostile reception led to many deliberately holding on to XP. Overly steep performance demands, a lack of early hardware support, and intrusive security all hurt Microsoft’s image. With the current downturn, many firms are still holding off upgrading their OS or buying new machines, even with the better performance and lower TCO of Windows 7.
