"As we pass the one month anniversary of the general availability of Windows 8, we are pleased to announce that to-date Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses. Tami Reller shared this news with industry and financial analysts, investors and media today at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference. Windows 8 is outpacing Windows 7 in terms of upgrades." Not bad, but there are the usual asterisks, as Ars notes.
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Member since:2006-12-05
The problem is, Windows sales statistics always were bullshit, and they will always work in Microsoft's favor as long as things stay the way they have been. No new Windows release is going to stop the sales of PCs, and Microsoft has all the OEMs right in their pockets.
Traditionally all so-called "Windows sales," for the most part, have really been PC sales and/or mass OEM purchases. Trying to use these supposed Windows sales figures as any kind of real data for comparisons to actual OS sales of Windows 7, Vista or any other version of Windows is just downright stupid. They're all mangled to the point of complete uselessness.
Chances are, today there are more computer users and more computers in circulation than ever more, and both numbers are continuing to grow. Meanwhile, as they grow, the numbers of people buying new, replacement machines for older and/or broken ones increases. These machines will undoubtedly come with Windows 8. Are you seriously claiming that all of these were deliberate impulse buys just to get Windows 8 as an impulse buy and be an early adopter?
Of course... Drumhellar brought up some very good points, that basically the results are skewed even further from Microsoft's heavy "upgrade" discounts, so in reality, the Windows 8 "sales" are probably even more corrupt than ever before.
Member since:2005-07-06
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Member since:
2006-01-27
Isn't the same thing true with Windows 7 licenses a couple of years ago and XP licenses way back when?
That's the point, comparing Windows 8 to previous versions. The comparison is no good if different methods are used.