Despite all Microsoft's efforts to persuade us to upgrade to Windows 7, XP still dominates as the desktop operating system of choice.

Back in October we ran a news item, Windows 7 Overtakes XP Globally, reporting that, according to figures from StatCounter, Windows 7 adoption had outstripped Windows XP making Windows 7 the dominant desktop operating system.

Now we have figures from NetMarketShare which suggest we are still at least three months away from this milestone - which just goes to show that you should always be wary of statistics!

NetMarketShare's chart, like the one from StatCounter, clearly shows the extent to which Windows dominates the desktop environment. Linux is included in the ochre-colored Other line which has a steady 3% share but splitting the Mac OS into two variants has the effect of under-representing its share - if combined as Mac OS X 10.x the share would climb from 4% to 5%.

Equally the chart demonstrates that Windows XP and Vista are in decline while Windows 7 is gaining share. If the same trend continues the Windows 7 share of the desktop operating system should be greater than XP's around April 2012 - but by then will Microsoft be urging users to switch to Windows 8?

The fact that XP still powers over half of Windows desktops says a great deal about users reluctance to upgrade from what was the most popular operating system of all time. It is doubtful if Windows 7 can ever outdo it - and who  knows what success Windows 8 can achieve.

Meanwhile XP users still have over 800 days before they need to make the switch - and this isn't the message Microsoft want to convey with this countdown timer - which can only be installed under Windows 7.

Related articles:

Windows 7 Overtakes XP Globally

Microsoft counts down to XP death

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