Windows 8 Proving to be Less Popular than Vista

Microsoft’s latest OS has been out for just over two months, and so far, reaction to it has been mixed. While the company had been touting it as being a revolutionary release, many were skeptical about using an OS clearly optimized for touch-devices on their desktops and notebooks – and so far, the adoption rate seems to be reflecting that.

It might be a little hard to believe, but Net Applications has found that Windows 8 is being adopted at a slower rate than Vista was. At this point in time after Vista’s launch (~2 months), it was installed on 2.2% of all Windows PCs. Windows 8, on the other hand, currently sits at 1.6%. There’s still time for Windows 8 to catch up and boast a more impressive result at the 3-month mark, but given the trend, that’s not likely to happen.

What makes this situation scary isn’t how 8 compares to Vista, but how it compares to 7. Windows 7 at the two-month mark sat on over 6% of Windows PCs. That’s a stark contrast to what we’re seeing here with 8. This is a good sign that those who spoke poorly about the OS prior to its launch are sticking to their guns. This, despite Microsoft having offered upgrades to the OS for a mere $40.

As much as I dislike the “Modern UI” and its absolute lack of customization, I’ve been using it and Windows 8 as a whole for about three months. Given the choice, I’d still go with it over 7 as I like many of the other enhancements. I’ll soon be reformatting due to an SSD upgrade, and for this install I’ll finally purge the Start screen and go back to my beloved Start menu. That could change if Microsoft ever decides to allow people to customize the Start screen better.

For those who may have missed it, I recommend checking out all of the things I hate about Windows 8, and for contrast, all of the things I love about it as well.