Gartner: No help for the PC biz from Windows 10
Windows 10 won't help the struggling PC business out of its multi-year slump in 2015, according to researcher Gartner. But it might next year.
Windows 10 won't help the struggling PC business out of its multi-year slump in 2015, according to researcher Gartner. But it might next year.
Microsoft will wrap up work on Windows 10 this week in preparation for distributing the operating system to device makers, according to numerous online reports.
The impending debut of Windows 10 near the end of next month will start the clock ticking toward a deadline in 2016 when Microsoft will stop selling Windows 8.1 at retail, and a 2017 shut-off of sales of new devices armed with the soon-to-be-forgotten OS.
Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 now power more personal computers than the still-strong, senior-citizen Windows XP, according to the latest statistics from analytics vendor Net Applications.
PC shipments will continue to contract during 2015, but it won't be the fault of the Windows 10 free upgrade, research firm IDC said today.
Microsoft should have Windows 10 on more than 410 million personal computers within 18 months of the new OS's release, an analysis of user share data and upgrade tempos shows.
Microsoft last week modified an update for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs so that fewer business devices will see a campaign hawking the Windows 10 upgrade with on-screen ads.
To meet its goal of putting Windows 10 on a billion devices within three years, Microsoft will have to turn every personal computer now running Windows 7 onto the new OS, then find even more to migrate, calculations from recent statistics show.
Microsoft's chief operating system executive yesterday put a stake in the ground, saying that in three years, tops, Windows 10 would be running on a billion devices.
Barring a miracle, devices pre-loaded with Windows 10 won't make it to stores in time for the back-to-school sales season, whether Microsoft issues the OS in late July or not, analysts asserted today.
Microsoft last week acknowledged that Windows revenue took a beating in the first quarter, with sales of licenses to computer and device makers falling $US698 million, or 22 per cent, compared to the same stretch in 2014.
Lisa Su, Advanced Micro Device's CEO, last week said that Microsoft would launch Windows 10 in three months.
Although Microsoft has said its Windows 10 preview program has some 2.8 million participants, just over half of those are using the early version on a regular basis, according to Web metrics estimates.
Although Microsoft will let pirates upgrade to Windows 10, the company's not giving them a free pass, the company confirmed today.
Microsoft today updated Windows 10 Technical Preview, the first time since Jan. 23 that it has refreshed the sneak peek.