Windows XP finally used by less than half of Internet users

In 2001, Microsoft launched Windows XP, the latest version of its Windows operating system. The OS launched at a time when the PC was at its peak in terms of sales for both consumers and businesses and it didn't take long for the majority of PCs to have Windows XP running things inside. Microsoft took six years before it released its successor, Windows Vista. However Vista had lots of launch bugs and driver issues and as a result not as many people decided to take the plunge to upgrade. It took the release of Windows 7 to finally eat into Windows XP's market share.

Now a new report claims that in July Windows XP hit a kind of milestone. According to a story at Techspot, the operating system's PC market share fell down to 49.94 percent. Yep, that means that Windows XP is no longer in the majority of all PCs that connect to the Internet ... barely. Recently Microsoft urged Windows XP owners to start thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 as official support for Windows XP will end in April 2014.

The same story says that Windows 7 has 27.87 percent of the OS market and poor Windows Vista now has just 9.24 percent of the market. However even Windows Vista has more Internet users than Mac owners. The study put the Mac OS at 5.59 percent of Internet users. The ultra-techie Linux operating system now has .98 percent of the market while the "Other" category holds onto 5.77 percent.