Ron Schenone

Windows 7 Sales Exceed Vista Sales By 234% – I Wonder Why?

Posted by on Nov 5, 2009 | 19 Comments

It should be no surprise to anyone, least of all Microsoft, that sales of their new Windows 7 operating system is already out selling Vista by a wide margin. Vista started out on a bad foot, with so many problems, that it was soon realized by many that this was a bad OS. However, once Microsoft got their act together and introduced SP1 and SP1 things did get better for most users. But Vista never recovered from the bad press and lived with the stigma until Windows 7 was released.

According to the Microsoft release of their figures by the NPD, it also states that:

“A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset, but the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season,” said Stephen Baker at NPD.

This morning I was at our local hospital waiting to have some tests done. The hospital provides free wi-fi to their patients and one gentlemen was sitting using his laptop. We struck up a conversation and I learned he wrote an article about wine in our local newspaper. After some chit chat the subject turned to Windows 7 and his opinion was that Microsoft keeps shooting themselves in the foot. He also stated that when Google comes out with their OS, Microsoft would be finished.

This was the opinion of what I would call ‘the man on the street’, who didn’t have an axe to grind, just an opinion. It makes one wonder how bad Vista has actually hurt Microsoft and if Windows 7 will be enough for them to recover.

What do you think? Share your thoughts.

Comments welcome.

Source.

  • Don Naphen

    I can fully understand his position Ron, as many many customers of MS have been burnt over the years with sub-standard products and the resulting disappointments, frustration etc. I do NOT however feel that MS is or will be dead in the water. I’m still getting my feet wet with Win 7 and am thoroughly satisfied with it so far. The overall improvements, especially with stability are most impressive.

    MS has finally offered deep discounts on this offering and apparently many (including myself) have taken advantage of it. Dollar for dollar, it’s an excellent OS. One has to stop and go back a few years when the only game in town for a GUI was Apple. Bill Gates et al made it possible for almost anyone to afford a personal computer. The rest is history. Does anyone recall having to TYPE commands via the DOS screen? LOL.

    Have a great weekend Ron. Kinda glad baseball is finally over, even if Philly choked. It was an entertaining series.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Thanks Don. You have a great weekend as well.

    I know the Pats will be able to beat the Dolphins, which should make your weekend a little brighter,

  • Pauly

    I think every operating system has its strengths and weaknesses, and none is likely to actually go the way of OS/2 or BeOS. Google’s Chrome will find its niche, the way Linux, in its various distributions, has found a niche.

    When you said that this gentleman had recently written a newspaper piece on WINE, that was a dead giveaway for me, because it tells me that he’s not the “average man on the street” in the least. He likely has a pretty good handle on some aspect of non-MS operating system, like Linux, and may, in fact, have an axe to grind with MS.

    I took the comment about MS being “finished” when Chrome is released with more than a grain of salt.

  • http://you-read-it-here-first.com Blue Swan

    Microsoft pre-sold a lot of Vista before it was released, so the post-release was blunted. They didn’t do that for W7, so that’s why post-release sales are better than Vista.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Thanks for the info.

  • Connor Bryant

    Yes, Microsoft will be in trouble whenever google releases an OS. But windows 7 is a huge comeback! 200% exceeded in sales of vista?

  • David

    I cannot tell you how much I disagree with the ill stated comment that Google’s Chrome OS will put Microsoft out of business. Personally, I got my first laptop (I’m 16 and very educated in the field of computers) close to about 4 months after Vista was released and loved it… absolutely no complaints. And truthfully, I haven’t had any problems since. I have been from W7 beta, to RC, and now to the final version and love that as well. Microsoft will always be around no matter what Apple fan boys or I guess now “Google fan boys” have to say about it. Seriously, 92% of the worlds population (more than every 9/10 people) owns a PC. That’s not saying what OS they use, but most likely almost all of those PCs are running Windows.

  • http://www.stgeorgetennis.ca/ gerryymar

    There is a psychological reason why the sales of Windows 7 has gone up. People see the number 7 and sub-consciously look at it as “Lucky No. 7″. I am not a gambler and I’m willing to wait until Windows 7 has proven it’s self. I’m happy with Xp.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Thanks for the comments everyone and for sharing your thoughts. It is appreciated.
    Regards, Ron

  • Dave R

    Pauly, I think he really ment the drink wine, not the WINE project. I doubt the local paper would be interested in a Windows Emulator.
    Personally:
    I run XP and NetWare 5.1. Kids run Vista 64-bit with the Novell Client. No problems with 32-bit apps, just old 16-bit ones. I beta’d both 32 and 64-bit versions of 7, and really liked them both from a Business perspective. I even showed 7 to my mom, a Professional Photographer, who saw more value in 7 vs. Vista. She currently runs XP on a Vista Downgrade license.
    I have run Solaris x86 and administered Solaris. I have administered offices comprised entirely of MACs. I played with Linux a bit, but most of my current customers use software that is IE dependant ASP based. It will not run under Firefox at all by design.
    Personally, I found NAC levels for Vista spot on for the average home user. I think they are too low by default on 7.

    Dave R.

  • Dave R

    Sorry, I said NAC when I was thinking UAC..

    Dave R.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Correct – it was wine the drink not the program.

  • Jerry Falk

    I think the guy was drinking the wine while he was writing the column.

  • Mike

    There is no wonder why it happen.

    Remember the same comparison between Vista/XP? Vista sales for the 1st week were 59% lower than XP sales for the 1st week.

    Now some magic…. ummm…. mathematics :)

    Vista = XP – 59% = XP * 0.41
    W7 = Vista + 234% = Vista * 3.34
    That means W7 = (XP * 0.41) * 3.34 = XP * 1.37 = XP + 37%

    Cool, eh? Only 37% over XP sales 8 years ago for the same period of time. Now imagine the growth of computerized audience all over the world and answer the question “what is this 37% increase: success or not really?” :)

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Funny Jerry. You must of had someone read the article to you.

  • Gary Bing

    To say that the sales of 7 are up 200% over such a short period of time is ludicrous. No. I don’t have to even do the math to find out Microsoft is once (more like multiple times) giving us a line. This outrageous distortion of sales figures is reprehensible at the least. You can only fool some of the people some of the time. The rest of us might just bail.

  • Donald Nagy

    The casual user stated it right ‘He also stated that when Google comes out with their OS, Microsoft would be finished.’

    I truly see MS going to dust in the future.

    Google is showing up more and more where I am – on the iPhone, desktop, laptops and looking for the GDrive and the Google OS.

    BTW: Intel’s new technology ‘Light Peak’ is where it is going.

  • stve

    I’ve owned computers for 30 years now & when i switched to Vista from XP it was a struggle, after about 6 months i learned to appreciate it especially the security but for most people at home with no IT department to turn to it was a disaster.
    Windows 7 is fantastic by comparison ( thank you Apple for giving Microsoft some serious competition & something good to copy)
    As for Google Chrome OS it’s not going to put Microsoft out of business it’s a lightweight OS for net-books, maybe in 5 or 10 years it will grow into something more.

  • Ryan Upton

    Three months later… so how is Windows 7 doing? Well, will there be a massive onslaught toward Windows 7 from the majority still using Windows XP? I doubt it. Most PC users want a system that simply works, to do what they want to do with it, when they want to do so. Windows XP is still capable and to reinforce this, Microsoft in their ‘shot myself in the foot’ wisdom will officially support Windows XP (via Microsoft updates) till 2014. Seems that many a dusty, cranky Pentium IV plus Athlon/Celeron/Semron will still be processing along with Windows XP till 2014. I wonder why? Lets ask Bill Gates… oops, hmm, hes retired…