It's a numbers game
The folks at StatCounter have compiled some usage statistics for Windows 10 and, not surprisingly, it's off to a faster start in its first month of availability than either Windows 8 or Windows 7.
It's not surprising because Microsoft virtually ensured a fast start by giving the OS away as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. What will be more telling is if all those free upgrades translate into long-term Windows 10 users or if those who upgraded ultimately decide to roll back.
That's something to examine another time, but for now, Windows 10 is running on roughly 5 percent the world's PCs -- slightly less if you go by StatCounter's figures (4.88 percent) and slightly more if you go by data provided by NetApplications (5.21 percent). Rather than split hairs over small differences and make things more confusing than they need be, we'll stick with StatCounter's data from here on out
That 4.88 percent figure compares favorably to Windows 8, which saw a measly 1 percent stake after being on the market for a month, and it's also better than Windows 7, which jumped out to a 4.05 percent share during its first month of availability.
That's good news for Microsoft, though its Edge browser isn't seeing the same kind of interest.
"Windows 10 came out of the traps much faster than Windows 8 and also exceeded the launch of Windows 7," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. "While it's early days, usage of Edge by Windows 10 users has fallen by six percentage points from its peak the day after the global launch."
What the data suggests is that users are curious about Edge and trying it out, but not sticking around.
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From maximumpc
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