Smartphone & Tablets Driving Windows OS Usage Down

Sometime in 2011. That’s when Net Applications
believes Windows’ overall usage level could dip
below 90%. NetworkWorld.com quoted Net
Applications’ Vince Vizzaccaro as saying “the
timing depends on several market forces” and the
dip could happen “next month” or “possibly not
at all.” What seems certain, however,
is that smartphone and tablet sales are
weakening Microsoft’s OS stronghold
while strengthening Apple’s. (Net
Applications combines mobile and
desktop OSes into one category.)
For December 2010, Microsoft held
a 90.29% market share, down from
92.21% the same timeframe the year
prior. Mac OS held a 5.02% share (up
from 4.55%), iOS 1.69% (up from
0.23%), and Linux remained even at
0.96%. Sticking with Microsoft, along
with President Barack Obama, CEO
Steve Ballmer grilled Chinese President
Hu Jintao during his recent stateside
visit on intellectual property rights, reportedly
telling Jintao that Microsoft estimates only one
in 10 Microsoft customers in China actually pays
for Microsoft products.

Article By Computer Power User Magazine