Despite Microsoft's occasional troubles - whether the embarrassment that was the Kin or the fact that their tablet efforts may repeat their mistakes - one thing MS is clearly doing right is Windows 7.
Case in point: Windows 7 has already eclipsed Windows Vista in market share. With 14.5% market share, it has taken only 9 months to reach a number that Vista took 21 months to reach.
So, make a good, stable, pretty operating system that everyone likes and is available on inexpensive machines, and people will buy it in droves? Who knew, right?
Windows 7's growth also seems to be coming at the expense of Apple, as OSX slipped again to the same share levels it was at in October 2009: roughly 5%.
The funny thing, though? Both Windows OSes are still dwarfed by - wait for it - Windows XP, which still dominates at 61.9%.
Let's think about that: sixty-two percent of people are still using an OS that came out nine years ago. Why people don't wish to upgrade is something of a mystery: is it cost?; compatibility?; or has the growth of the web mean that which OS people are using matters less?
Disclaimer
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About the Author
Navneet Alang is a technology-culture writer based in Toronto.
