backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 43 comment(s) - last by East17.. on Aug 1 at 12:42 PM
There's going to be more Windows Vista than automobiles by 2008

Although many PC users are still satisfied with their Windows XP experience, Microsoft was proud to announce that it has shipped 60 million copies of its Windows Vista operating system.

In particular, Microsoft boasted that it had quickly surpassed the entire install base of another computer maker that’s better known these days for its music players. "By our math, we eclipsed the entire install base of Apple in the first five weeks of shipment," said Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO.

While 60 million copies would be an impressive number for any other software maker, an operating system from Microsoft must aspire to reach completely new heights. Microsoft isn’t simply looking at millions of units – it’s looking at the billions.

"The install base of Windows computers this coming 12 months will reach one billion," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO. "If you stop and think about that for a second, by end of our fiscal year '08 there will be more PCs running Windows in the world than there are automobiles, which to me is kind of a mind-numbing concept."

Earlier this year, shortly after the launch of Windows Vista, Ballmer blamed piracy for the operating system’s sluggish start, while also viewing the stop of illegal activity as a chance to grow sales. "Piracy reduction can be a source of Windows revenue growth, and I think we'll make some piracy improvements this year," Ballmer said.

Shortly after Ballmer's comments, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was more upbeat and stated that Vista had been "incredibly well received." Gates continued, "People who sell PCs have seen a very nice lift in their sales. People have come in and wanted to buy Vista."

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Skeptical
By dreddly on 7/31/07, Rating: 0
RE: Skeptical
By darkpaw on 7/31/2007 10:38:05 AM , Rating: 5
Its the article title thats misleading, as mentioned above the 1b mark is for all Windows installs. Vista is about 6% of that right now, it might be around 10% by the end of the year.


RE: Skeptical
By MonkeyPaw on 7/31/2007 12:58:44 PM , Rating: 3
It's not terribly different from "Apple sells 100 million iPods." Not all of those are in active duty either, but the article sure gives a different impression. MS would like you to think they have 1 billion active copies of Windows out there, just like Apple wants you to think there are 100 million iPod users running around.


RE: Skeptical
By RamarC on 7/31/2007 10:40:44 AM , Rating: 4
ballmer's probably combining all windows licenses regardless of version to get the billion estimate.

3.x + wfw + 95 + nt + 98 + 2000 + me + xp + 2003 + vista = billion licenses

still, it's pretty ridiculous for him to presume that all these licenses are still on functional computers.


RE: Skeptical
By DEVGRU on 7/31/07, Rating: -1
RE: Skeptical
By peldor on 7/31/2007 11:01:12 AM , Rating: 5
It's not ridiculous when the worldwide market for computers is now roughly 250 million annually, and Windows still enjoys about a 95% share of market.

Worldwide shipments (culled from IDC & Gartner)
2003 169M
2004 189M
2005 207M
2006 230M
2007 257M
2008 287M

Just on 2007 and 2008 expected sales, Windows would be on over half a billion systems. Getting the other half a billion on older systems is not that much of a stretch.


RE: Skeptical
By RamarC on 7/31/2007 2:58:17 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Just on 2007 and 2008 expected sales, Windows would be on over half a billion systems. Getting the other half a billion on older systems is not that much of a stretch.

i double checked your figures/sources and must admit that you're right, peldor. one billion active installs isn't hyperbole!


RE: Skeptical
By SoCalBoomer on 7/31/2007 3:23:48 PM , Rating: 2
Say 100% from 07 and 08, 75% from 06, 50% from 05, 25% from 04, and 10% from 03 (just pulling reasonable scalar numbers out my arse) and you've got:

03 - 17M
04 - 45M
05 - 104M
06 - 175M
07 - 257M
08 - 287M

Total: 885M . . .


RE: Skeptical
By darkpaw on 7/31/2007 5:04:11 PM , Rating: 3
Having worked in used hardware for years, I can safely say the typical first life-span of a PC is 3-5 years. I'd say the average is pushing the higher end over the last several years as companies see little reason to upgrade their systems. As of last summer when I changed jobs, the vast majority of the systems coming in where still low-mid range PIII's. Most anything P4 or newer companies did not dispose of unless they were non-functional, because they can do office work just fine.

Up until 3 years, its probably a good 90%+ of the systems still in operation, and it might drop off at 10% or so per year after that. Many home users keep their PC's in use 5-10 years. Even if they give the PC to junior or grandma it still counts as a PC in use.


RE: Skeptical
By MADAOO7 on 7/31/2007 10:41:33 AM , Rating: 2
It's equally a celebration for those who pirate software - I am willing to bet half of those billion are running on bootlegged software


RE: Skeptical
By Spoelie on 7/31/2007 11:07:04 AM , Rating: 2
That would be the other way around, as microsoft can only count the licenses it actually sold. The real amount is anyone's guess, as has been mentioned above. The number of computers running windows is "licenses sold" + "licenses pirated (# unknown)" - "licenses discontinued/unused (# unknown)".

Both the unknown numbers will be very significant.


RE: Skeptical
By East17 on 8/1/07, Rating: 0
Title
By glenn8 on 7/31/2007 9:50:43 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
Microsoft: 60 Million Copies of Windows Vista Shipped, 1 Billion by 2008

quote:
"The install base of Windows computers this coming 12 months will reach one billion," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO.


Title seems deceptive. I think he means 1 Billion install base of Windows in general and not only Vista.




RE: Title
By MatthewAC on 7/31/2007 11:15:28 AM , Rating: 2
Yea, I thought the title meant 1 billion by January 08, not January 09.


you idiots
By thatguy39 on 7/31/2007 4:29:10 PM , Rating: 2
Everyone talks all this crap about Vista and all of you idiots who talk smack will be running Vista in the next year to year and a half. Soon as all these DirectX 10 games come out you haters will be jumping ship from XP.




RE: you idiots
By sturedrup on 7/31/2007 5:25:37 PM , Rating: 2
You seem to miss the point. For something that has been in the works for half a decade now and we are expect to purchase and run the crap in its current state is a joke. I am all for vista, hell if vista DELIEVERED what it PROMISED I'll go out right now and buy a copy.


RE: you idiots
By ATC on 8/1/2007 2:27:32 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Everyone talks all this crap about Vista and all of you idiots who talk smack will be running Vista in the next year to year and a half.

I don't know about everyone.

I've used Windows for as long as I can remember. I was in the Vista and Office 2007 beta program and thanks to MSFT I have my free copy of Vista Ultimate and Office in exchange for my submitting a few bugs here and there over the course of two years.

But this is the first time that I am truly interested in trying out something else. Not a single version of Windows before Vista made me even think about a switch and here I am about to try out Linux on an old PC and am a few days away from ordering a macbook pro.

While I'm sure Vista has more than delivered for many people, it hasn't for me. But more than that, I am more aware now of MSFT's priorities and vision and without going into details here, for me personally, I don't like it.

Thankfully I haven't fallen victim yet to the DX10's hype. A PC for me has slowly been transformed into a do-it-all-but-gaming machine, especially after owning a 360 and a PS3.

I know I am not in the majority here on this but I also know I'm not the only one. Linux and OSX have seen surges recently like they've never seen before and I honestly think MSFT is to thank for that. I wouldn't call it a mass migration but it's definitely a sure and slow migration away from MSFT.


Over 1 billion served
By wallijonn on 7/31/2007 5:34:38 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
by end of our fiscal year '08 there will be more PCs running Windows in the world than there are automobiles


But they will never be more PCs than the number of hamburgers McDonald's has sold.

I would think that in the next few years there will be more than 1 billion cars on the road in China alone.




RE: Over 1 billion served
By Parhel on 7/31/2007 11:54:01 PM , Rating: 2
Now, if McDonald's can only find a way to charge $200 per hamburger . . .

I think he's right regarding automobiles, though. In many areas of the world, far fewer people drive than in Western culture. In China, for instance, it may be a very long time before the average family owns a car.


Oh?
By HaZaRd2K6 on 7/31/2007 9:41:31 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
"People who sell PCs have seen a very nice lift in their sales. People have come in and wanted to buy Vista."


Oh really? Well, would you mind showing me where they are, Mr. Gates? Yes, at the store I work at we've seen a lift in sales, mostly due to the fact that Intel and AMD are in a price war and consumers are winning. When you can buy a CPU for $35 how can you go wrong? But I guarantee you not a single person has come in and said "I want a PC with Vista on it." People tend to say, "So should I go with XP or Vista?" Or, "Do you still sell XP?" Or, most often, "Do you still sell XP?" Vista isn't boosting sales of PCs. Low prices are.

And: people don't want Vista. Yes, eventually we'll all have to upgrade, but right now nobody is coming in and asking specifically for Vista. It's expensive, it's demanding (especially on older systems), it's got a bad rap already and Microsoft needs to think of a way to promote it without a terrible tagline like "The WOW starts now."




sluggish start due to piracy
By Lord Evermore on 7/31/2007 9:51:22 PM , Rating: 1
He thinks people weren't buying Vista because they were pirating it? HAH.

Have they not gotten it yet that most people that pirate software weren't ever going to buy it, even if they couldn't pirate it?




RE: sluggish start due to piracy
By Parhel on 7/31/2007 11:49:41 PM