Windows 7 Passes XP In Global Usage For First Time

I know that this side of Windows ME, Vista was the most maligned OS that Microsoft has produced. I have used Vista for a long time and still do on all of the machines in my home. Honestly, I haven't had any issues with the OS. Still, vast hoards of people and businesses skipped Vista and stuck with XP for a long time and that is finally starting to change with Windows 7 selling very well.

Metrics firm StatCounter has announced that Windows 7 has now for the first time overtaken XP in global usage statistics. Right now Windows 7 accounts for 40.21% of the global desktop operating system usage around the globe. Windows XP has slipped to 38.64%. Those metrics are from the month of October. This is the first time since the Windows 7 launch that it has pulled ahead of XP.

Windows 7 sold over 240 million licenses in its first year of sales. According to Gartner 42% of all the computers in the world are going to be running Windows 7 by the end of the year. Microsoft is looking to keep the growth momentum moving and is working on Windows 8 already. The new OS is expected in the middle of 2012 on ARM and Intel machines.

[via WinRumors]