Making the Windows 8.1 update has proven to be a good move for Microsoft. And, with the exception of gamers too impatient to wait for an update to fix a compatibility issue, upgrading to Windows 8.1 has proven to be a good move for Windows users.
Microsoft, with Apple following the same strategy a few weeks later, has made the much-anticipated Windows 8.1 upgrade free to download online. As a result, the share of machines using Windows 8.x - and Windows 8.1 specifically - has risen, while the share of PCs running one of the oldest Windows operating system still in wide use, Windows XP, has dropped significantly.
The data, showing XP dropping and Windows 8.x finally rising close to double digits, come from NetMarketShare via ZDNet. The statistic tracking website measured various Windows operating system, as a share of the overall operating system market, including Mac OS and Linux.
According to the statistics, Windows 8 has risen to a total usage share of 9.25 percent after a year on the market, and much of its rise can be seen in the past two months, around the time when the Windows 8.1 upgrade began getting hyped for release and then finally released for free. In October alone, Windows 8.1 usage itself has risen to 1.72, doubling its share from the previous month.
Windows XP, which is now a 12 year-old operating system, has dropped from over 40 percent earlier in the year to a new low of 31.24. The news of Windows 7 and Windows 8.x rising along with a drop in Windows XP usage is obviously a good thing for Microsoft, but it also might be a good thing for clean computing in general.
A new report called Security Intelligence Report Volume 15, touted by Microsoft's blog this week, shows why a move from the older Windows OS to Windows 8.1 might be a smart one. Microsoft says Windows 8.x is far more secure than previous operating systems, and it has the numbers to back it up.
According to the report, Windows XP has a 9.1 out of 1000 malware infection rate - the highest rate out of the Windows systems tested - compared to a 1.6/1000 rate with Windows 8 machines (this statistic doesn't include the unintentional malware of Windows 8.1 RT cooking Surface tablets). That makes Windows XP 469 percent more prone to infection than Windows 8, according to SlashGear.
Besides bricking some Surface tablets, the Windows 8.1 update is reportedly annoying gamers with poor mouse performance for some video games, leading droves of angry gamers to post on Microsoft's support threads. Problems include jittery mouse cursors, reaction time problems or "mouse lag," and inaccurate distance measuring. Microsoft hasn't found a fix for the problem yet, but according to PC World, is actively seeking to solve the problem.
Gaming input device problems aside, Windows 8.1 is likely to gain ground in PC adoption, especially in the coming year. That's because the already virus-prone Windows XP is going to become something of a plague rat starting after April of 2014, when Microsoft ends support for the over-a-decade old operating system.
According to Microsoft's blog, "after more than 12 years of support, April 8, 2014 marks the day Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, non-security hot fixes or technical support for Window XP." April 8 marks the day your old PC becomes a playground for bugs and malware, so you might rethink the move to Windows 8 around that time, even if you hate those tiles.
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