Windows 10 lags 7, 8 … and even Vista in the channel race

Buy 8 to upgrade

I bought a cheapy Lenevo with 'Windows 8 with Bing' - specifically to upgrade to 10 (without Bing) for free. Suspect others are doing stuff like this too, which will make the figures look odd.

Upgrade fatigue?

Given that it is probably the best upgrade to Windows since 2000, and I actually find it pleasant to use (I didn't like 98, ME, XP, or Vista and I found 8.x the be the worst system I have used since 3.x) it is a bit odd.

I suspect the memory of being forced off XP is still too fresh for people to want to be forced into something new again.

I certainly wouldn't suggest people ditch a working windows 7 system for it. (Though I would recommend an upgrade prior to a re-install for any machine that needs it, just to retain rights).

However for Windows 8 it is a no-brainer, or so you would think. If the machine has classic shell, (and is a bit slow, so it needs it on 10 to perform well) then it isn't so clear. I know someone in that situation who was very disappointed with the replacement bundled apps, and may still revert.

Privacy

Anyone happy to install Win10 on their companies machines given the privacy hijinks?

Bah!

It just could have something to do with MS tossing the baby out with the bathwater and replacing it with a butt-ugly mess only marginally attractive when used on a touch-screen fitted device.

Next year is the year of the Linux Laptop for me and it is entirely due to the GUI redesign. I want a machine interface that does what I tell it, not one that hides what I need behind a search engine.

And man those assymetric tiles are ugly. They make my head ache just by being in my field of vision.

Part of the problem is that MS has not clearly explained and documented the upgrade process. The upgrade process keeps chainging. Win10 installed release 2, 3 times on my system. The update process is actually good. The data that is sent back to MS actually is diagnostic info so that MS instrument and correct errors on a users system. When the scrolling feature stopped working. Windows update sent out another update later that day that fixed the problem. The problems is that this has confused companies and raised doubts. So they are delaying deployments, which is probably a good thing until things settle down.

It's bleeding obvious..

Installation of Win10 will increase as we can no longer buy the product and all new machines come with it. But, as the growth of new installations is slow right now, then the existing market hold sway.

Two of my Win7 PC's have been victim to the "secret update" masquerading as a bugfix. I wonder if those are counted as Win10 installations too?

At the same time corporates are migrating (slowly) from XP to Win7. Anyone still on Vista or Win8 is clearly not a serious user anyway.

Microsoft, like Oracle, is clearly doing everything possible to cling onto it's market share. And, in both cases, the plan is not working. Every empire has it's day and even "free" Windows 10 is not going to create the income stream required to keep Microsoft going for ever. The steady trickle of redundancies tell us all we need to know.

Defeatist

The idea that M$ provides the only OS for office use needs to stop.

Step outside of the conveyor belt thinking and you might find you have choices.

I think you are all wrong

The question is not "Why is no-one buying Win10?". The question is "Why is no-one selling it?".

The answer is straight-forward. You, as a vendor, have fifty billion OEM licences for earlier copies of Windows. You've already paid for them. There is no incentive for you to buy an OEM Win10 licence and there is precious little incentive for your customer to ask for one (because of the free upgrade). (On the contrary, if they buy one of your older licences, they have a choice.)

So channel sales are irrelevant. What matters is how many people take the upgrade when they get the machine home. Only Microsoft know that and they aren't telling.

"Hated" Vista

As everyone rants and raves about Microsoft trying to force a stealth Windows 10 update and "telemetry" on them, I find myself hating my old Vista notebook less and less.

It saturation. It isn't the OS, its the hardware

As a consultant who supplies my own computers, I run a few machines at the same time. I used to buy a new laptop every 12-18 months. It was worthwhile because the specs for a reasonable priced laptop were increasing rapidly with better screens, faster processing, dual, then dual core + hyperthreading etc.

But I have not bought a new computer for almost 4 years now. Why? There's no motivation to upgrade because the rate of change of hw has fallen off. I'm now considering a quad core laptop with hyperthreading with SSD etc.

The same has happened in user land. Mum has a laptop, dad has a laptop, the kids have one each. So what motivates buying a new one?

The only way to beat market saturation is you bring through a range of machines that are reasonable enough and with such great specs that it is worth upgrading. That's a hard ask because most people would gain no value from a faster CPU (I would when compiling, and gamers too, but those are not typical).

The industry probably needs to accept the reality that the market is saturated and they're now in the "mature" phase of the technology. They have to start working harder to attract and keep customers.

Channel Still Bloated

Part of the numbers being off is that the distribution channel is still bloated with WIndows 7 and Windows 8 machines. I had a client just order a new machine today and the only options were for WIndows 7 or 8.1. Not a single PC in their distribution list is Windows 10 even though it is now supported under the contract.

I have been migrating users over to WIndows 10 for several months now with zero issues. Obviously each company had one system upgraded and tested fulling with all software suites before moving forward. While you do not have to have WIndows Server 2012 R2 on all your server, the more advanced feature integration with WIndows 10 require it. I have done a few server migrations in the last month to Server 2012 R2. This is the first time I have ever had clients purchase software assurance because Server 2016 is so close to release.

And how many machines on say Ingram/Exertis/all the rest for example are shipping with 10 on it? Sod all! All the channel is still shifting is 7 Pro (downgraded from 8.1 Pro) and 8.1 machines. Not like it matters as we (when customers request it) upgrade during setup for them. So really it's all due to the channel still being full of old kit.

How much

Of the "considerable increase" in Win10 uptake, is not due to people actually wanting it, but by Redmond forcibly installing it?

Pre-installed != Activated

The last three laptops I bought came with Windows 8.1 (x2) and Windows 10, but in each case they were never activated, all three having Linux installed instead. So even the pre-installation numbers may be an overestimate of the total in use.