The steady rise of Windows 7 has finally accumulated with the overtaking of Windows XP in the past year to become the most widely used Operating System worldwide. Windows 7’s rise to the top comes on eve of release of Windows 8 which is expected to be released to computer manufacturers in July just three years after the release of Windows 7.

For more than ten years Windows XP has held strong as the top OS in the face of newer versions. The much maligned Windows Vista failed to gain traction has actually lost share over the years, now holding just over 8 percent of the market. Mac OS X has also remained relatively flat percentage-wise over the last few years.

With the pending release of Windows 8 it remains to be seen how well market adoption will be. Windows 8 will be geared towards not only desktops/laptops but also Tablets and home theater PCs. There is much debate currently whether it will become as popular as XP/7 or be another flop like Vista, time will tell.

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