Report: Windows XP Still Dominates U.S. PCs

XP just needs to die already, there should only be support and updates for businesses

I bet half those PCs are running Pentium 4s.

The number for Windows XP is likely much higher considering many computers are not connected to the internet.

XP stills works well for me on 4 machines. W7 also works well on one. But some of my hardware and software have no W7 support. The newer games look better in W7. Our 3,600 computers at work are still on XP and will remain so for for the foreseeable future - software compatibility issues, you know....

"I bet half those PCs are running Pentium 4s,"

Exactly! My company wanted to upgrade our PC's, since the warranty ran out in 2008. Bu then they saw how many we have, and the "imaging" software isn't supported in Win7.

dont knock p4's. I had one. the only crippling thing about that system was the lack of pci e. At least with my p4+ati 9250, i could alt+tab in and out of WoW or any game that could run. Fat chance doing that with my phemon IIx4+5750. All my games crash when i alt+tab now

I use XP 64 at work and xp32/64/7 at home, must say my gaming is a lot less buggy when on XP, switching apps is a breeze on XP while 7 freezes sometimes.

obviously you cant upgrade to win 7 from XP without losing anything, that is why 50% of the market is still running XP, its a shame too, a recent report stated that over 40 hours per employee were lost every year just rebooting and waiting for XP to shut down, quit beating the horse on life support and just let it die.

I am still running on XP too cause it is more stable and light

...and grass is green.

XP has been the standard for most businesses for years now. At least give Windows 7 a few years to catch up.

what imaging software do they need, just have a linux box and use dd in the command line

I still keep a XP box around for some old apps and games but all my other systems are running Win7 or OSX.

Looks like Mac and Linux are sitting on 7%

XP will still be around for awhile. it was a good OS, and vista bad rep has discouraged people to new OSes. people will move to 7 with time (and DX11 also *crosses fingers*).
also: the school district that i did work in the summers for is starting to put in windows 7 machines to replace all the XPs, the XPs wont be phased out for a long time(and i mean a long time, we are just getting rid of the beige beasts).

every developer just needs to stop developing with xp in mind.
we need to get xp off the market.

xp was good, but now it's only holding us back.

XP Mode sorry to say is useless for old games that require actual 3d Accelleration I rebuilt my AGP system so I dont have to worry about Win7/2k8 backward problems.

XP will still rule the world until the requeriment for applications require better hardware. For the 80%? (And I think I am running short here) of the world XP suits their need perfectly.

Win 7 is vastly superior to XP. Win 7's use of memory and multicore processors makes it a must have for anyone who wants to get the best out of their system. This is across the board not just in games. I used XP for 7 years then went to Vista (which was quite the experience in frustration) and now Win 7. I would never go back.

Ugh, what's with the QQ against XP? A lot of people are still rocking old hardware or peripherals and a lot only use Word and check their email. XP is fine and will stay with us for a long time.

On newer hardware by all means get Windows 7. Basta.

Honestly, if you don't need to, I see no reason to upgrade.
I started using Win7 a year and 8 months ago (grabbed a copy of build 7000).
I wasn't a fan of Vista, so I put Win7 on both my main system and my fathers laptop. No regrets here.
My mother on the other hand would have been happy with XP for years to come. As long as she has her farmville and email.
XP is simple, cheap, easy. If you have simple needs, honestly, it makes sense.

I realize that XP's unusual life cycle has gotten people used to the way XP does things, but honestly, these are the same people that will never let technology progress because you just won't let XP die already.

XP is fine if all you do is surf the net and use word. For game developers on the other hand, they need to completely kill off XP and not support dx9 ever again. The computers that still use XP are incapable of running newer games so there is absolutely no reason to continue supporting it. None.

XP isn't holding anyone back, people are holding back on their own. Everyones needs and expectations are different with operating systems, when people have the need and desire they will upgrade. I don't believe stopping support or haulting improvements to an OS. is the proper way to kill an operating system. Over time Windows 7 should do just fine, it's already sold a bazzillion copies.

We would've seen Windows XP die a whole lot faster if we hadn't had this recession. It's caused buyers to be in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mode. That, and two words: Legacy Software. Why would companies spend big bucks for new computers and Windows 7 if they were forced to use XPM, anyway?

If Microsoft brought back the Win7 Family Pack, I'd upgrade tomorrow. Otherwise it will cost me about $600 to upgrade.

I still maintained old working pc with database application on it and it is working find.

Who cares about the poor country USA anymore?

I use XP. If the upgrades and features were worthy of being a new operating system then why did they have to change how the interface looked. I feel insulted. They should have started charging for service packs. Or include the option to use the XP GUI.