After 15 months, Windows 8 has sold 100 million fewer copies than Windows 7 did

Unlike in the past, the OS upgrade cycle has shortened considerably thanks to mobile devices. People don't really mind upgrading their OS even though Windows users might be more reluctant than others. But I am sure that the Windows 8 user interface changes are the real reason why most people would not even want to upgrade.

Also, many people avoided Vista because it was the release where Microsoft made significant improvements to their security model by showing (by default) UAC prompts every time the user installed software or did many other actions.

Windows 8 was a consumer-oriented OS, focused on touchscreen devices, released shortly after most businesses had just moved on from XP, and would have required massive retraining of the average workforce.

In that perspective, I think 200 millions is actually a surprisingly good number.

Much of those segment are now diverted into iPads and low-cost Android tablets. Too bad Intel focused on 'ultrabook' instead of improving the Atom chip as fast as they could.

You wrote, > Getting people and businesses to upgrade again when they just did so in the past few years is a tougher sell. [...]Only in the past 3-4 months have the updated models from most manufacturers made it into stores ...[which serve as] reasons for people to actually want to buy a new PC.

Microsoft needs the Win8 upgrade so they can get revenue. They also needed to get new features into peoples' hands (security, new APIs including touch, etc). But the customers aren't crying out for these features, as seen by the continued demand for XP.

Apple needed the Mavericks upgrade so they could get new features (security, new APIs including tighter integration with iOS, etc). But like Microsoft's customers, Apple's customers aren't crying out for these features either.

Which is why Apple priced it for free, and was "rewarded" by huge uptake (in their much smaller installed base: according to this they are about even with Windows 8: http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share....)

I don't know what Mavericks' penetration in the Apple base is but I would guess it's still under 15% if some articles from December are to be believed). Better than Windows 8, though: how big is the Windows upgrade market vs wait-for-a-new-PC market? I'd bet at this point the Windows upgrade market is close to nil.

Since Apple makes their profits from hardware and add ons (a few apps, plus the huge iTunes ecology) they can afford to do this. Microsoft cannot.

So they're the numerator, right? Then what's the denominator? It seems like that's tough to figure out. But I want to say something like, how many PCs were sold up until the release, and with what OSen?

I don't have an answer. I'm just curious because it's an interesting debate.

Is it just the fact that things have changed that causes all the hate or is there some rational explanation that I'm completely missing? You're right the Windows Store is pretty feeble but if you hate it's easy to ignore.

Huh? I ran Windows XP x64 Edition with no problems before Vista even arrived.

There may be businesses that will benefit from of the new features, but we're not one of them.

Granted, I think it's a slim chance, and I might be crazy.