No doubt that since Microsoft released the information it must be correct, but just what does it mean.

There is other information available that should probably be included when determining just has strong Windows 8 is.  The following link showing Operating System market share as of the end of Jan indicates XP and Windows 7 with a little more than 76% share vs a little more than 10% for Windows 8. 

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0&qptimeframe=M

Then there is article written by Mary Jo Foley on ZDNet about Microsoft allowing OEMs to continue to build and sell new PCs with Windows 7 Professional preinstalled beyond October 2014.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-extends-date-for-oem-preloads-of-windows-7-for-business-users-7000026362/

Like most articles releasing information one needs to understand who the intended audience for that information is and just what does it mean.

Okay, I'm not here attempting to paint any picture for anyone or to say one OS is better, just trying to make sense and understand what's being said.   

I wonder how much of this is down to lower desktop and laptop sales 

And cheap Tablets which weren't doing much when win 7 came out. If the is the case win 8 is really behind. How about the windows phone does that count as it wasn't available or around much when win 7 was out.

Bet they have a Billion copies sitting on the cloud. lol.

Kinda wonder how many are OEMs languishing on the shelves rather than end-user sales...

considering desktop/laptop sales i am not even sure the hardware for the OEM licenses has been built yet.

I for two [ID said it first] think it's not as bad as some will have you believe.  Okay, Windows 8 has been slower than Win 7 on the uptake, but I think sales will improve when more people stop listening to the haters and realise the benefits of the platform; Skydrive; the ease of synching their phones and tablet to their home PC; the myriad of free and practical apps in the Store; the speed and ease of use. 

There's more, but I'm not being paid to sell win 8... dig in and find out for yourself.

There's another factor that most assuredly had a major impact on Windows 8 sales... the very poor state and collapse of several of the world's economies.  It wasn't a good time for anybody to be releasing something new, which is probably why Microsoft introduced the time limited $40 licenses, to help more people to adopt it without breaking the bank.  Trouble was, the naysayers and so-called experts in the media karboshed it, and not even 40 buck licenses were going to change the damage that had done.

Another factor was the fad on tablets and mobile devices, smartphones, etc. Not only were they cheaper devices to surf the net and access Facebook, they were portable to boot.  It was a convenience the world wanted, particularly the younger set, but from my understanding of people I know who purchased tablets, it wasn't an either or shift away from desktop PCs, but an as well as... they wanted/needed both.  So no, in such a dour economic time, people who purchased tablets generally didn't purchase a PC as well, the majority simply couldn't afford to.  Hence the low PC sales figures we keep hearing about.

True, the naysayers and detractors had an adverse effect on sales, but I think it was somewhat marginal compared to the effects of the GFC and the worldwide fad on portable devices.  Perhaps Ms could have rode out the worst of the GFC effects, then incorporated the improvements of 8.1 before release, I don't know, maybe sales would have been better.  In any event Windows 8 is here to stay... until perhaps the release of Windows 9.

SkyDrive (or OneDrive as they call it now) was useful when it was available to local users. Now you need to log on to your computer using a "Microsoft account" to use it. That's out of the question for me. It breaks PowerShell remoting and other features that rely on same username/same password combinations on all my computers.

I really don't think these numbers tell the true story, as Microsoft has a "capitive audience"

In other words, if you buy a new computer there is a 99% chance it's going to come preinstalled with the latest Windows OS.

One wonders why MS let the computer builders load W7 oem again.  That should say something.  I was in Best Buy the other day and people were grabbing the W7 versions.  So I would think the numbers will change for W7 quickly.

It probably comes down to making the Balance Sheet look good, increase the revenue by allowing the consumer to buy the product they want.  At the end of the day money is what it is all about.   

In the US, perhaps.  Here in Oz you're lucky to find a copy of Win7 anymore. A few smaller PC stores still have it, but all the major retailers here have had Win 8 only for quite some time.  I've heard of people asking for it only to be told it is no longer available, so it would seem imports/stocks of Win 7 have dried up.  I did hear that this was at MS' request, and that non-compliant traders would be looked upon rather dimly.. or something to that effect.

I know that my current PC outlet offers Win 7 as a standalone sale, but not installed on any of the pre-builds or propriety brands they offer, those all come with Win 8 as standard, no ifs or buts.  If one wants Win 7 one has to purchase the standalone, which is now dwindling in stocks.  I recall when I purchased my 2nd copy of Win 8 from them in mid Augustl last year, there were 42 copies listed as available, and last I looked there were only 7 remaining... which possibly suggests that what Vipin, the manager, told me at the time was was correct, that Windows 8 as a standalone sale had surpassed the sales of Win 7. 

Who knows, perhaps people stopped asking/looking for Win 7 when the major retailers kept saying it was unavailable, I don't know... but I do know that a lot of family members, friends and acquaintances are using Win 8, and not necessarily because it came pre-installed on a new machine, but because they made the conscious decision to update.  As has previously been suggested, Win 8 isn't doing so badly as it would appear, and if it can be said that MS' fudged the sales figures to bolster support, morale, whatever, then the same could be true of other parties who would rather see the OS fail... just sayin'

This doesn't show how many of those licences chose to downgrade to windows 7. That stat is deceptive.

I agree with starkers's assessment. The retailers have pulled win 7 off the shelves and are only selling win 8. They are not giving customers choice. I had to buy my copy of win 7 from an online site because 5 retailers around my area would not offer my a copy. In one store even I know someone there...and he told me that they HAD copies of win 7 in the backroom...but were not allowed to sell them.

MS is scamy.

The outlet I deal with mostly these days is an online store, which I guess is why they can still sell standalone copies of Win 7, and it is just 25 minutes down the motorway so I can pop in and pick up orders should I so choose, and be able to [mobility/transport issues]. However, they do not sell over the counter copies of Win 7 to walk-in customers unless they placed an online order with hardware included.

There is also another online store with a physical outlet that's even closer, just a 10 minute train trip away and a 10 minute walk the other end, and it is selling Win 7 but only for internet sales.  One cannot just walk in and purchase a copy over the counter... as one irate customer discovered the last time I was there.