The Takeaway: Windows 10's uptake surges
New data from Net Applications, a U.S. analytics firm, suggests that users have taken a shine to Windows 10: Microsoft's new OS ended last week powering a record 3 percent of all Windows devices.
Back of the envelope calculations show that 3 percent figure represents approximately 45 million systems. That's in line with Windows 7's uptake rate during its first few weeks of availability in 2009, and is notably larger than Windows 8's growth rate three years later. According to Net Applications data, Windows 8 didn't hit the same 3 percent milestone until late February 2013, four full months after it debuted.
Windows 10, which is critically important to Microsoft after the lackluster reception for its predecessor, was officially released July 29.
Digging into the data from Net Applications shows that:
With Windows now running on an estimated 1.5 billion devices worldwide -- that's the figure Microsoft has repeatedly talked up -- the 3 percent attributed to Windows 10 would represent more than 45 million systems.
Net Applications measures operating system user share by tracking unique visitors to the websites which use its analytics platform.
With reports by Gregg Keizer at Computerworld.