Microsoft says it has sold 240 million Windows 7 licenses since
releasing the operating system to retailers a year ago, making it
the fastest-selling OS in the company's history.
Also, as of September, the successor to the much-maligned
Windows Vista was running on 93 percent of new consumer PCs,
Microsoft said Thursday. According to Web metrics firm Net
Applications, Windows 7 accounted for 17.1 percent of the global OS
market as of the end of September and had surpassed Vista in
July.
In the six months after Windows 7 started appearing on store
shelves, all of Microsoft's more than 18,000 computer-making
partners were selling PCs with the new OS. That compared with 70
percent during the same period for Vista.
In general, Microsoft software has been getting higher marks from
consumers. In 2007, the first full year Vista was available, the
company's rating on the American Customer Satisfaction Index
was a 70, which is less than the 75 rating for all other software
makers. This year's, Microsoft's rating is 76, while other software
makers as a group scored 77. (The ACSI scores on a 0-100
scale.)
Microsoft's bottom line has benefited from the success of
Windows 7. In the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, Windows and
Office, the company's two workhorses, drove a 48 percent increase
in profit year over year and a 22percent jump in revenue.
At the time, the company benefited from businesses increasing
spending to replace older computers that companies had held onto
during last year's recession. Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live
Division reported a 44percent jump in revenue year to year, to USD
4.6 billion, driven mostly by Windows 7 sales.