I've always hated the "XX million copies sold" or "Fastest-selling Windows OS ever."
Windows sales are proportional to PC sales. New Windows OSes come out every 4 years. Assume the GDP increases 2% or 3% per year in that time, and PC shipments increase proportionally (heck, the population of the Earth grows that much).
Every 4 years you can automatically announce "This is the best selling OS ever, ~10% more shipments per month than the one we released 4 years ago".
"REDMOND, Wash., March 26, 2007 — Initial sales figures from Microsoft show its new operating system Windows Vista made a splash in its debut. In the first month of Windows Vista’s general availability, sales exceeded 20 million licenses, more than doubling the initial pace of sales for its predecessor, Windows XP. These initial figures reflect the broad interest in the security and usability enhancements in Windows Vista."
As expected, Vista smashes sales records compared to XP [GDP growth + 6 years of pent-up demand?]. Was Vista a more successful OS?
Windows sales are proportional to PC sales. New Windows OSes come out every 4 years. Assume the GDP increases 2% or 3% per year in that time, and PC shipments increase proportionally (heck, the population of the Earth grows that much).
Every 4 years you can automatically announce "This is the best selling OS ever, ~10% more shipments per month than the one we released 4 years ago".
Here's the press release for Windows Vista:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/2007/mar07/03-2...
"REDMOND, Wash., March 26, 2007 — Initial sales figures from Microsoft show its new operating system Windows Vista made a splash in its debut. In the first month of Windows Vista’s general availability, sales exceeded 20 million licenses, more than doubling the initial pace of sales for its predecessor, Windows XP. These initial figures reflect the broad interest in the security and usability enhancements in Windows Vista."
As expected, Vista smashes sales records compared to XP [GDP growth + 6 years of pent-up demand?]. Was Vista a more successful OS?