Windows 7 still king as Microsoft struggles with 8.1 push
Even 12-year-old XP still running on nearly a third of all desktops
Microsoft has struggled to lure users away from Windows 8 on to new operating system Windows 8.1, according to new figures from Net Applications.
In November, Windows 8.1's market share crept up 0.92 points from October to 2.64 per cent, while Windows 8's share slid by 0.87 points to 6.66 per cent over the same period.
Net Applications' data refers to operating systems running on desktops only.
Windows 8.1 was only officially released to manufacturers in August ahead of general availability in October. The update marked the second OS release from Microsoft is less than 12 months, and the new version aimed to address a number of concerns some users had experienced with its predecessor - mainly the loss of the Start button and the dramatically changed layout.
Although its short lifespan might be a reason for Windows 8.1's slow adoption, Apple's new Mac OS X 10.9 operating system - which was released in November - overtook its predecessor in just its first month on the market. The older version now has 1.85 per cent share compared to 3.31 per cent the month before, while the new release grabbed 2.42 per cent share in its first month.
Even Microsoft's Windows 7 OS experienced a boost in November, taking 46.64 per cent share, up a fraction of a point compared to October.
Since April this year, Microsoft has launched a massive awareness campaign with its channel partners about the imminent end of support of veteran OS Windows XP, which will reach end of life next spring.
A chorus of migration specialists and channel partners alike have shouted about the security threats associated with staying on XP after support ends, but this apparently fell on deaf ears in November as the 12-year-old OS's market share stayed the same. Compared to April when the campaign gathered momentum, XP's market share has dropped from 38.31 per cent to 31.22 per cent last month.
Microsoft was not available to comment when contacted by CRN.