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Windows XP holding on as dominant OS

Windows XP isn't going down easy.

The ten-year-old OS has gradually been shedding users over the past several years but is still hanging onto to its huge chunk of the market.

In April, XP's market share inched down to 46.08 percent from 46.86 percent in March, according to data out today from Net Applications. That followed a roller-coaster ride that saw XP's audience rise and fall slightly each month since last November 2011.

At the same time, Windows 7 continues to grow in popularity. Last month, the current flavor of Windows grabbed a 38.67 … Read more

Netflix CEO criticizes Comcast on Net neutrality, data caps

It's no secret that Reed Hastings doesn't think too highly of Comcast.

The Netflix chief executive, who has previously criticized the cable giant's claims that it costs the company a lot to deliver Internet video, fired another salvo Sunday, slamming the company's policy on Net neutrality and data caps.

As he explained on his Facebook page, his complaint is that when Comcast subscribers watch Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Go on their Xbox consoles, it counts against their monthly data limits. However, subscribers who use Xfinity don't have their limits dinged, suggesting that Comcast is giving … Read more

Netflix powers up PAC to boost Washington profile

Netflix has formed a political action committee called Flixpac, records show.

Under federal election rules, PACs are allowed to make donations directly to federal candidates of up to $5,000 per election.

The formation of Flixpac is just the latest sign that the technology sector is raising its profile on Capitol Hill. The news about Flixpac was first reported by Politico.

Politico wrote that Netflix's lobbying costs have gone from $20,000 in 2009 to $500,000 last year. The documents that Netflix filed with the government for its PAC were signed by Christopher Libertelli, hired in December as … Read more

Comcast has some Xplaining to do

What do you get when you cross Xbox with Xfinity? A double-X rating for obscene power grabs in the video market? Or at least a double-extra-large helping of questions about the potential impact on consumers?

Whatever the answer, it's easy to see why Comcast's recent data-cap announcement set off a flurry of Internet chatter. A week ago Monday, the company said that it would not count Xfinity content viewed on Xbox 360s against customers' monthly data caps. Comcast justified its decision by suggesting at first that the Xfinity content was a streaming-video option exempt from Open Internet considerations. … Read more

No, Comcast is not breaking the Internet...again

Comcast annoyed media activists last week by announcing it wouldn't count television programming retrieved through a customer's Xbox console against a monthly "excessive use" threshold for Internet access.

As with any change to existing Internet services -- even one that sounds like a good thing -- the response in Washington was to sound the doomsday alarm. "The reports that Comcast is offering a video product through the Xbox 360 without the data counting toward the customer's data cap," Public Knowledge said last week, "raises questions not only of the justification for the … Read more

Windows XP won't give up top spot without a fight

Windows XP has gradually been losing market share over the past few years, yet it continues to hang on as the most popular OS, according to the latest stats from Net Applications.

XP grabbed a 46.86 percent share of the OS market last month, up from 45.39 percent in February. At the same time, Windows 7 lost a bit of ground, capturing 37.53 percent in March, down from 38.12 percent in the prior month.

Neither stat represents a major shift. Over the longer haul, Windows 7 is still gaining in popularity, while XP has been shedding … Read more

Bonus for Apple shareholders

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

NetZero teams up with Clear to offer free mobile broadband, kind of

The company that's been famous for offering free dial-up Internet access has just taken a big leap by offering up to one year of free mobile Internet and a free data plan.

NetZero announced today two mobile wireless data solutions including a mobile hot-spot router and a USB modem, called NetZero 4G Hotspot and NetZero 4G Stick, respectively. Both of these devices are 4G-only and will access the Internet via Clear's 4G wireless coverage. The NetZero 4G Hotspot is actually a rebranded version of the Clear Spot Apollo 4G and offers exactly the same feature set. … Read more

XP loses ground to Windows 7 but still top OS

Windows XP lost more users to Windows 7 last month, but the decade-old platform continues to hold on as the most popular operating system

Looking at OS stats for February, NetApplications found that XP's share of the market dipped to 45 percent from 47 percent in January. At the same time, Windows 7 grabbed 38 percent of all users, up from 36 percent the prior month.

The latest numbers show a trend in which XP has gradually lost share over time, while Windows 7 has picked up more customers. In February 2011, XP owned more than half of the … Read more

IE holds rival browsers at bay

For Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, stasis is bliss.

In February's worldwide usage statistics, IE largely held at bay its top challengers, Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome, according to Net Applications' latest measurements. IE has done so for a few months now, a big improvement for Microsoft compared to years of losing share.

IE dipped from 53.0 percent of global usage in January to 52.8 percent in February among desktop browsers; Firefox and Chrome stayed level at 20.9 percent and 18.9 percent, respectively. Safari popped up a notch from 4.9 percent to … Read more