Microsoft announced last week that nearly half of all W7 machines are running 64-bit versions of the OS.
Signs that the adoption of 64-bit was picking up pace over 32 began early in the year. Valve?s steam gaming software released statistics in January that showed W7 x64 was popular with gamers. Microsoft confirmed that as of June, 46% of all W7 PCs globally are running 64-bit versions. Brandon LeBlanc said "Compared to Windows Vista at 3 and a half years after launch, only 11% of PCs running Windows Vista worldwide are running 64-bit."
Windows 7 success began before the product even became widely available. It was released in October 2009 to much praise, and in November 2009 it has overtaken Apple?s Snow leopard in market share in just two weeks. In February Windows 7 had reached 10% market chare in just three months. And has become the fastest selling OS in History. Microsoft projected that 300 million copies would be sold by the end of 2010.
Windows 7 is a driving force in the uptake of 64-bit computing. ChangeBASE research showed that 65% of businesses are hoping to migrate to W7 within the year and over 50% of those will go the 64-bit route.
The first service pack for Windows 7 is currently worked on by Microsoft, and has been released to beta testers. A public version should hit this month.
