During a recent partner meeting in Japan, Bill Gates said that Windows Vista has sold 140 million copies to date worldwide which he called “a very rapid sales rate.” I wonder what figures he’s using to come up with that. Could it be that some percentage of that 140 million bought computers with Vista and then took advantage of a downgrade program (like the one Dell has) to go back to an operating system that works Windows XP? Perhaps that number includes all the copies of Vista not being used by people who bought and installed XP out of frustration with Vista? I’m also guessing it also includes all the copies that are sitting in stores like Best Buy gathering dust.
Gates also took the opportunity to back away from some recent comments he made about Windows 7:
“Gates said Microsoft is “hard at work” at developing the operating system to follow Vista, code-named Windows 7. He said that historically, the company has unveiled new systems every three years, but declined to say when the new software might come out this time around.”
If Vista adoption rates continue to suck be below expectations, expect Windows 7 to make an appearance sooner rather than later.