For the record, this is the graph that we're all talking about, this time around:
And now, the hot takes. First up is betanews:
NetMarketShare reports on the state of the desktop operating system market on the first day of each month. Usually at least. It spent a few days auditing June’s figures last month, which caused a bit of a delay.
There’s no such lag for July’s figures though, which arrive on time and show Windows 10 continuing to cut into Windows 7's dominance. [...] If things continue like this, there’s every chance that Windows 10 will overtake Windows 7 by November.And then, a second opinion, from WCCFTech:
The latest numbers tracking Windows 10 growth rate are out today, revealing that Windows 7 has lost 0.51% market share over the past month. Marking exactly three years since Microsoft introduced its latest Windows 10 to the world, these stats show that the operating system still has some work to do to stop the dominance of Windows 7.
The July numbers reveal that Windows 10 went up from 35.71 percent to 36.58 percent, which is an increase of 0.87 percentage points. [...] In comparison, Windows 7 went down to 41.23 percent, losing 0.51 percent. This places Windows 7 a little less than 5 percent ahead of Windows 10, which means at least an additional four to six months before the newest Windows OS version gets over Windows 7.For the record, this is not the first year that Betanews has predicted that Windows 10 (WX) would pass Windows 7 (W7) by November.
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| Betanews used this image before, too, when predicting W7's imminent demise. |
WCCFTech's four-to-six month window is still only December-to-February, though, which is only slightly less bullish. And both outlets are reporting on the same numbers.
And yet, their takes on them come across completely differently. Betanews can't help cheerleading, confidently predicting that WX will finally eclipse W7... again. WCCFTech, meanwhile, point out that WX has been out for three years now, and still hasn't managed to surpass the older OS in all that time.
Oh, did I mention that WX was free until this past January? Because it was.
For my money, I think that Betanews come across as apologists here, while WCCFTech seem to be the sober, sensible voice in the room. The chain of links at the bottom of their article are a win, too:
Three Years Since Windows 10’s Release and the OS Is Yet to Beat Its Predecessor
links to
Microsoft Looking into Monetizing Its Broken W10 Update System with a Paid Desktop-as-a-Service Plan
which links to
Earlier: Windows Maker Says It Will Stop Annoying W10 Users with Random Reboots
links to
Microsoft Looking into Monetizing Its Broken W10 Update System with a Paid Desktop-as-a-Service Plan
which links to
Earlier: Windows Maker Says It Will Stop Annoying W10 Users with Random Reboots
[sigh] I laugh, so that I cannot cry.