Sure, in usage share XP might be. But with 8 out those statistics are less relevant now because many who loved 7 have moved on.

They also don't account for popularity, pirated OSes, or people who haven't even bothered to try 7.

Or the length of time XP was the newest Windows compared to the amount of time anything since was.

Which world might that be? ...;)

As for usage figures.....XP is on the decline and 7 is on the rise.  The fact that MS had to entice people from 7 to 8 with el-cheapo upgrades is indicative of their own nevous disposition towards 'did we do the right thing?'

The far more interesting stats will be how does the advent of 8 affect the relative market-shares of all the OS still in the wild....;)

....the world that drives in cars next to you texting, sits opposite you at the airport and only looks around if wifi signal is weak, bumps into you in the street without so much as an apology while sending/syncing email accounts and updating the social 'world' on their real world exploits.

That world..... 

the 'world' has 'chosen' greater connectivity the same way they have 'chosen' to  buy smart tv's. They didn't, but the market needed a new gimmick to boost sales  and advertising did the rest. 

Nothing worse then surfing on a tablet/phone when you are used to a pc. But still everyone buys one and is in second heaven. Only deft pianoplayers can functionally type on the thing, but everybody tweets and facebooks as if there is no tomorrow filling the internet with quack-quack and pictures nobody wants to see.

Now try it on a tv.

To the smart ass who's dogged me in various threads, you know who you are, the person I spoke with on the phone at Microsoft Sydney was an American, a MS employee visiting from Redmond to learn about/evaluate the Australian market.

Now we're done...

Ok so if i have understood that right you would let someone completely incompetent represent your booth? I think the employee representing a company like Microsoft in a booth or via any form of support is more than capable!  More than just knowing the inside of a computer also having background information is a must for these guys since they communicate with potential customers and not only private customers they might not be able to tell the whole story since there is something like business secrets but they should know about a certain schedule of support. I for myself would not let someone represent my business if she/he  is completely incompetent. 

Are you serious? With support centers outsourced to India? Not that i want to imply Indians are generally incompetent, but come on. There is absolutely no quality control. 

I just found one advantage not relevant to the home user but for professionals: Win 8 Pro and Corporate have Hyper-V as an installable feature. Now that is interesting. At least for me.

The fact is, the world that matters (the younger generation) has in fact chosen greater connectivity.  Who cares if you or I don't like it......they sure don't.  I bitch and holler at every texting-teen driving next to me......does it make a difference?  Nope....

While you may be 'used to' a PC, this generation is increasingly not so.  They are in fact 'used to' phones/tablets by now.  My children (all grown already) can text and surf for webpages on their mobile devices just as fast (if not faster) than anyone else can on a PC.  Fact of life these days......

....and this somehow makes your point?   The new generations can (and do) type/work effectively on mobiles and tablets.

regarding tablets, i've had my surface but for a few days and i use it more than my high-end desktop. i'm posting from the desktop due to the surface being on the charger, though. AND i'm OLD. not as old as WOM or jafo but i'm up there.

"Lets face it Win 8 Sux"

We all did. It's called 'release date'.

I know I know...that was mean....

I wonder what it would take to get Jafo or WOM to make Windows 8 thier primary OS. I bet if they did after about a month their opinions would change about Windows 8. Sooner or later they will have to move on from Windows 7.

Bribery...and/or full restoration of and compatibility with features of Stardock's software so that any change in functionality is meaningless and trivial.

Probably this... LOL

If you guys think windows 8 is difficult you've seen NOTHING. For those of you that do server work, wait until you have a go at Server 2012. It will make your teeth itch.

Actually I've been using Server 2012 for some time now.  I find it very lean/quick and since I do most things using the powershell and/or command prompt anyway the 'new interface' doesn't bother me at all. 

I have for 4 months and won't be installing/buying it on another PC ...

Yeah, it's just another interface to adjust to. I did notice that after running windows updates that the reboot was almost instant though. I'll be digging in to it more in the near future and getting used to it.

I have used Windows 8 on both a Surface Rt and a desktop.  I will qualify my decision by saying I am sure there are some computer neophytes that will find it useful, but any experienced computer user will find it sux.

The speed of the computer is irrelevant if you cannot do what you want to do. While you can do most things as you have in the previous versions of windows, it takes a lot more key strokes to get there.  It is also very unforgiving of anything not "Microsoft certified".  Thank god I had a 50' Ethernet cable.

Some will like it, but Windows 8 will only compete with ME and Vista for the biggest dog of all time.  After all, some loved ME and Vista as well.

Dr Guy ...welcome to the club....the great unwashed ignoramuses....dinosaurs who dislike 8.

We're a select group of desperados....rebels-without-a-clue...;)

Shall devise a secret handshake so it's trendy...;)

Been using computers for 27 years now and I love it, so that's bullshit.

Ohhh......enough all ready.