Web analytics company Net Applications has revealed in new statistics that only a small number of Internet devices are using the consumer preview of Windows 8.
The figures may cause some concern to Microsoft, which launched the Windows 8 Consumer Preview version on 29 February, intending that ordinary members of the public would try out Redmond’s forthcoming operating system.
Despite Windows 8 being available for over a month now, the Net Applications data reveals that for March 2012, Windows 8 was used by just 0.12 percent of PC owners worldwide. This was slightly ahead of the ancient Windows NT (0.11 percent), but behind Windows 2000 (0.15 percent).
The fact that only 0.12 percent of Internet users are using Windows 8 indicates a lack of anticapitation about the new operating system. According to Slashgear for example, when those figures are compared with the same numbers during Windows 7′s beta period in 2009, they’re at about the 40 percent mark.
PC World meanwhile reported that by comparison, at this stage of the Windows 7 Preview, 0.26 percent of machines on the Web were running Windows 7. That means that more than double the number of people were trying out Windows 7, than are currently experimenting with Windows 8.
So what are the possible reasons for this supposed lack of interest in Windows 8?
Well it could be that organisations and consumers are now happy with Windows 7 and are not inclined to switch. After all, many organisations waited for many years to ditch Windows XP before undertaking their PC refresh and acquiring fleets of machines equipped with Windows 7.
Also, there is no repeat of the stampede away from the disliked Windows Vista, as Windows 7 is proving to be relatively stable and popular.
But there could also be other reasons.
There is some speculation that the Metro interface of Windows 8 is not proving to be universally popular. Also, Microsoft is not issuing the same advice to enterprises with Windows 8: it told organisations still running XP to skip Vista entirely when Windows 7 was close to being released. There may also be confusion as to whether Windows 8 is more geared towards ARM-based tablet devices (Windows RT) than traditional PC machines.
Or it could be that sales of tablet devices and Apple Macs, as well as open source alternatives, are starting to impact the figures.
Whatever the truth in the matter, it remains to be seen how Windows 8 will be received as it nears its commercial launch.
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They ought to call it Windows Marmite - you either love it or hate it. Personally I am impressed with the performance enhancements in W8 but I feel that Metro is so absolutely wrong and brain-dead for the desktop that I actually find myself hating Microsoft for doing this to us (after 22 years of being an enthusiastic developer and occasional IT journalist). I have the consumer preview running on one computer but I have no intention at all of spending any real money on upgrading, and I assume I will stick with W7 until I find another platform to eventually settle on. I know some people do like it, and I can see why it is more appropriate for a phone device but I find myself just feeling angry every time I try to do something in W8. I really feel that in the future this is the point where Microsoft will have been seen to have started to die as a company.
Would be great to know what the absolute numbers are. Still seems like a massive amount for an OS that is made for tablets.
Microsoft thinks Windows 8 is a great opportunity for integrating their PC and mobile platforms and get somehow ahead of Android in the mobile scene - wrong. Windows 8 is an opportunity for a competitor to take over the PC OS market.
Windows 8 is awesome. You need a touch screen to appreciate it though. And if you want it, the look and feel of Windows 7 is just a click away and you flip into the familiar Windows 7 OS screen. It's clearly aimed straight at the iPad. It works. I have been living it for 3 months now on a hybrid tablet Acer Iconia W500. I predict Windows 8 will be huge for consumers and enterprise. Unless you have used it for a few weeks on a touch screen then you really can't criticize or appreciate it.
Although I don't personally like Metro itself I do respect what you are saying. My issue is that I don't have a touchscreen PC and - as most of my time I am either typing documents or writing code - I don't particularly feel the need for one, and yet I am still supposed to put up with having to flip in and out of Metro every time I want to do something. I have a tablet (Android, admittedly) with which I can do the things that I want to do that fit that form factor, like surfing the net, reading a Kindle book, watching some media content, or sending quick emails. I think that tablets and desktops are just different beasts, particularly for business use, and it is a mistake to try and produce a one-size-fits-all product where it is not appropriate.
If Microsoft finally decide to have a "Desktop" mode whereby Metro can be disabled and the Start button comes back then I will be less hostile towards it, but there is no indication that they will be doing this. I'm not saying that Microsoft shouldn't evolve, it's just that Windows itself is fine for PC use and should be left alone without a badly stitched-together Metro bolt-on getting in the way all the time. Tablets - sure, give them Metro.
It seems that there already have at least 2000 apps for Windows 8. Just found this comparison between two different reports:
1.According to WinAppUpdate there are now 2,079 Windows 8 apps.
2.According to McAkins Onlin: Current Total App Count in Windows 8 RTM Store is 1634.
Here is the link to the comparison:
Windows 8 Store Stats: 2000 apps published so far