Windows 8 UI changes while Windows 7 goes up in market share
Andy Ruffell / 13 years ago
After their OS preview from last month, Microsoft received some feedback about the upcoming OS, and not all of them were happy.
The new Windows 8 UI has therefore undergone some changes to please the possible next costumers, and for a first they changed the App Screen to give the ability to be organised in groups and not alphabetical order. The same apps can now be displayed at a higher density, meaning you’ll see more content on your screen.
At the same time, Microsoft thought about enterprises as well as people with multiple computers, as the Start screen can be customized and unified across networks. No word however on the same feature for the Windows 7 desktop integrated into 8, which is something that most people have requested.
Microsoft seems to be listening to their users and implement into Windows 8 what is most wanted. We’ve seen improvements with the copying interface, the task manager and more improvements in the boot time, but will those new feature come out as expected and whether they will please the users remains to be seen.
In the mean time, for the most interested of you, you can follow the Building Windows 8 blog, although clear your schedule, it’s a long read, however it’s full of details.
Just as the news of Windows 8 changing its UI to the please the users comes in, something else is happening, and it’s Windows XP, the most successful version of Microsoft’s many OS, which according to StatCounter, is being overtaken by Windows 7 in market share.
Windows 7 actually went from 39.04% from last month to 40%, overtaking Windows XP standing at 38.62% of the market share.
Incredibly enough, Windows Vista is still around (how come?) with a market share slowly dropping, it’s currently standing at 11.18%. Behind Microsoft we find Apple with its Mac OS X at 7.3% and the iOS at 1.1%.
So while Windows 7 is rising, and Windows 8 slowly approaching, we really wonder who will be the next leader of the market share.
