Data: Net ApplicationsPosted on 04/12/2016 11:57:47 AM PDT by upchuck
Even though Microsoft retired Windows XP two years ago, an estimated 181 million PCs around the world ran the crippled operating system last month, according to data from a web metrics vendor.
Windows XP exited public support on April 8, 2014, amid some panic on the part of corporations that had not yet purged their environments of the 2001 OS. Unless companies paid for custom support, their PCs running XP received no security updates after that date.
Consumers were completely cut off from patches, with no alternatives other than to switch to a newer operating system or continue running an insecure machine.
But two years after XP's support demise, nearly 11% of all personal computers continue to run the OS, data for March from U.S.-based analytics vendor Net Applications showed. Meanwhile, Windows XP accounted for about 12% of all Windows-powered PCs. (The user share difference between all PCs and those only running Windows was due to the fact that Windows was the OS on 91.5% of all personal computers, not 100%.)
The 12% represented approximately 181 million PCs when compared against the 1.5 billion Windows personal computers worldwide, a number that Microsoft has regularly cited.
That number put XP as No. 4 among Microsoft's editions, behind Windows 7, which powered an estimated 861 million systems, Windows 10 (235 million), and Windows 8/8.1 (199 million).
Windows XP's user share also exceeded that of all versions of Apple's OS X by 40%.
While XP's usage share of the U.S. market was a minuscule 3.2% -- less than half the global average of 7.5% -- XP last month remained a strong contender in the People's Republic of China (PRC). There, XP accounted for 26.2% of all personal computer operating systems as measured by Irish analytics company StatCounter.
China has an even bigger XP problem according to Baidu, the PRC's largest search provider. Data from Baidu pegged XP's share of the country's OS market at 31.6% for March, a significant decline from 44.1% a year ago but still almost a third of all PC OSes.
Microsoft has launched several initiatives in the PRC to get customers there to upgrade to a newer version of Windows. Last fall, for example, Microsoft partnered with Baidu to promote Windows 10 adoption. In return, Baidu was made the default search provider for the Chinese version of Windows 10.
At XP's current 12-month rate of decline as tracked by Net Applications, the operating system will drop into the single digits in May, but will remain above 5% until March 2017, nearly three years after its expiration.
Part of the difficulty in leaving XP is that there is no direct migration between it and Windows 10, Microsoft's latest edition. Instead, users must first upgrade to Windows 7, then next to 10. Or more likely, dump the system and purchase a new PC with Windows 10 pre-installed. Data: Net Applications
Two years after retirement, Windows XP's user share stubbornly resists falling into the single digits.
Emphatically disagree that XP is a "crippled" OS. It was working fine for me except for the driver issue.
Win 10... NEVER!!
Tech ping.
As it does THIS one. XP works just fine for me............................
It is not secure. Plus subsequent versions actually handle memory a little better.
I recently walked out of the mens room at an Ohio Turnpike rest stop. There was a flat screen TV pointed at me showing ads and local weather conditions.
Suddenly it went to the Blue Screen of Death. As I stood there a cursor appeared and started moving around the screen. It rebooted and we saw the signature Microsoft logo and the reboot chime.
Then the logo for Windows XP popped-up. Along with a half-dozen nasty looking warnings that “This Operating System is No Longer Supported” and “Your Computer is At Risk!”
The cursor blithely clicked out of all of them and the weather forecast returned.
Obviously the Ohio Turnpike Commission is still running XP.
I thought XP was a great system.
I am using Windows 7 now. I don’t like to fall too far behind. Support and programs designed for new features make it had to stick with the Windows XP forever.
Windows 8, what a mess!
Absolutely! Windows 10 (which I tried for a few minutes, on someone else’s computer) is a disaster, comparable to Windows 8 (i.e. an iPad/iPhone-wannabe-system, but without the smooth performance). Windows XP was the only OS which I could actually feel comfortable customizing...
If MS really wanted users to keep changing, they would make sure drivers were there for older hardware and not require wholesale equipment changes. Why the hell should I dump my laptop because IBM does not make a driver for 7 for the chipset it uses.
Interesting.
The idea is to be first to market with a less than perfect product and get as many people familiar and comfortable with your product to make changing and relearning and alternative not worth the hassle.
This backfires when you create a stable platform with “enough” functionality to satisfy every need the user has prevent any desire for “improvements” most will never need.
Meet XP with MS Office Suite (our house PC)
Granted I have a Pumped up MacPro for the Music Studio, but XP satisfies for basic home.
Actually, Windows 10 is a very good system. I like it better than all previous versions. XP and Windows 7 gave me fits with RAM allocation. Have an XP machine on the Internet is just begging to get pwn3d. Some hacker injects a bot in a banner ad and you are screwed.
I have a honeypot virtual machine at home and its copy of Windows 8.1 hasn’t gotten pwn3d yet.
They dont sell XP anymore? I was going to upgrade from windows 95 as soon as I found a set of XP floppy disks.
You’re not getting any updates for XP.
That means every time a new bug or security flaw is discovered you inherit an unpatch-able hole in your system.
‘Secure’ is a relative term. If the XP system is not connected to the internet, there is little risk. A decent virus detector is sufficient protection. I have two XP development systems hooked to a LAN, a LAN that does not have internet access. No problem.
“You’re not getting any updates for XP.
That means every time a new bug or security flaw is discovered you inherit an unpatch-able hole in your system.”
I think you are making the assumption that anyone is looking for new bugs and security flaws in XP...
You can pirate it in 4 minutes.
Poor people in China and eastern Europe can have it.
Been on Win 10 and could not imagine using XP even out of nostalgia.
“Absolutely! Windows 10 (which I tried for a few minutes, on someone else’s computer) is a disaster”
After a whole “few minutes”? Ok...
Linux Mint
What the hell is so crippled about it? Any proof to backup that claim? Didn't think so.
I use it all the time. just not for any online activities. I use Linux for that. But XP in my house isn't anywhere near crippled. Works like a charm and will continue to do so.
Win 10... NEVER!!
What kind of OS does one need to write letters, do some home finances, facebook, an play the occasional video or CD?
XP!..........................
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