May 15, 2007 9:08 AM PDT
Gates: 40 million Vista copies sold
LOS ANGELES--Microsoft has sold more than 40 million copies of Windows Vista so far, Bill Gates told a crowd of hardware developers Tuesday.
That's more than the total install base of Windows' largest competitors, Gates quipped as he began his keynote at the Windows Hardware and Engineering Conference (WinHEC) here.
"As of last week, we've (sold) nearly 40 million copies," Gates said. "That's twice as fast as the adoption of Windows XP, the last major release we had."
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During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. 
preinstalled with the garbage that they're counting, that are not in
people's hands yet. Dell even went back to selling XP, so I don't
know where this number came from, but it is MS after all...
Click on the following link to go to there store:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/shop/default.mspx
I think, by now, we all know the great Vista sales success is a
bunch of hogwash. Playing semantics, by redefining what a sale is,
in direct opposition to what the real world acknowledges what a
sale is ... it's like a dark comedy unfolding.
The sad thing is, it's no secret that Microsoft forced the PC vendors
to jump on board. It's not like their sending their inventory of
Vista back to the giant, and saying no thanks. Those poor
guys.
One reason pc vendors choose the Window's operating system, and not Linux or the MAC OS is because theres more software made for the operating system. Now if you were a company they made high in gaming pcs, and you had a choice between Windows, Linux and MAC. Which would you got for? Windows of course because all the games are made for windows and not MAC or Linux.
have the largest install base among all operating systems (once
it passes Windows XP). It's inevitable, a manifestatation of
Windows dominance rather than Vista's greatness. The portion
of these "sales" of Vista coming from boxed copies is
undoubtedly very small.
In fact, I think it's more telling that Microsoft keeps hyping these
Vista sales numbers. The mediocre reviews and general lack of
"wow" about Vista are spoiling Microsoft's image. For the most
part, the really cool stuff is happening elsewhere.
This does not mean there will be mass conversions to other
operating systems, especially since corporate sales are two-
thirds of all computer sales, but Microsoft will have failed to
stop the bleeding as more nimble competitors continue to push
the envelope.
That's the statistic I'd like to know.
- And how many are promptly replaced...
- by MadKiwi May 15, 2007 1:27 PM PDT
- ... by Widows XP? Many, many business have their own tried and true images based on XP that they promptly write onto any new hardware they purchase, blowing away whatever OS was already there. Does MS enter that into the equation? I don't think so.
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(14 Comments)And if Vista is such the darling Windows paints it to be, why are Dell and HP re-offering XP as an option?