From http://www.w3schools.com (Copyright Refsnes Data)
What is the trend in operating systems usage?
Statistics are important information. From the statistics below, collected from W3Schools' log-files over a period of five years, you can extract the long and medium-term trends of operating system usage.
Windows XP is the most popular operating system. The windows family counts for over 90%:
| 2009 | WinXP | W2000 | Vista | W2003 | Linux | Mac | |
| January | 69.8% | 1.6% | 16.5% | 1.6% | 3.9% | 5.8% | |
| 2008 | WinXP | W2000 | Win98 | Vista | W2003 | Linux | Mac |
| December | 71.4% | 1.7% | 0.1% | 15.6% | 1.7% | 3.8% | 5.3% |
| November | 72.0% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 15.1% | 1.6% | 3.8% | 5.3% |
| October | 72.2% | 1.9% | 0.2% | 14.4% | 1.7% | 3.8% | 5.5% |
| September | 73.3% | 2.2% | 0.2% | 13.2% | 1.8% | 3.8% | 5.2% |
| August | 73.9% | 2.4% | 0.2% | 12.5% | 1.9% | 3.9% | 4.9% |
| July | 74.7% | 2.6% | 0.2% | 11.5% | 2.0% | 3.9% | 4.8% |
| June | 74.6% | 2.6% | 0.2% | 10.0% | 1.9% | 3.7% | 4.8% |
| May | 74.0% | 2.9% | 0.3% | 9.3% | 1.8% | 3.6% | 4.7% |
| April | 73.3% | 3.3% | 0.5% | 8.8% | 1.9% | 3.7% | 4.6% |
| March | 72.7% | 3.7% | 0.6% | 8.5% | 1.9% | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| February | 72.4% | 4.0% | 0.8% | 7.8% | 1.8% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| January | 73.6% | 4.0% | 0.8% | 7.3% | 1.9% | 3.6% | 4.4% |
| 2007 | WinXP | W2000 | Win98 | Vista | W2003 | Linux | Mac |
| November | 73.8% | 5.1% | 1.0% | 6.3% | 2.0% | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| September | 74.3% | 5.4% | 0.9% | 4.5% | 2.0% | 3.4% | 3.9% |
| July | 74.6% | 6.0% | 0.9% | 3.6% | 2.0% | 3.4% | 4.0% |
| May | 75.0% | 6.5% | 0.9% | 2.8% | 1.9% | 3.4% | 3.9% |
| March | 76.0% | 7.2% | 0.9% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 3.4% | 3.8% |
| January | 76.1% | 7.7% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 1.9% | 3.6% | 3.8% |
| 2006 | WinXP | W2000 | Win98 | WinNT | W2003 | Linux | Mac |
| November | 74.9% | 8.0% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 3.6% |
| September | 74.6% | 9.2% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 3.5% | 3.6% |
| July | 74.3% | 10.1% | 1.5% | 0.3% | 2.0% | 3.4% | 3.6% |
| May | 74.2% | 10.7% | 1.6% | 0.2% | 2.0% | 3.4% | 3.6% |
| March | 72.9% | 11.9% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 1.8% | 3.4% | 3.5% |
| January | 72.3% | 13.1% | 2.4% | 0.3% | 1.7% | 3.3% | 3.5% |
| 2005 | WinXP | W2000 | Win98 | WinNT | W2003 | Linux | Mac |
| November | 71.0% | 14.6% | 2.7% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
| September | 69.2% | 15.8% | 3.2% | 0.5% | 1.7% | 3.3% | 3.1% |
| July | 65.3% | 17.7% | 3.9% | 0.6% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 3.0% |
| May | 64.5% | 19.4% | 3.9% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 3.3% | 2.9% |
| March | 63.1% | 20.2% | 4.7% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 3.2% | 3.0% |
| January | 61.3% | 21.6% | 5.3% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 3.2% | 2.8% |
| 2004 | WinXP | W2000 | Win98 | WinNT | Win95 | Linux | Mac |
| November | 59.1% | 23.7% | 5.6% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| September | 55.9% | 26.2% | 6.4% | 1.5% | 0.2% | 3.1% | 2.6% |
| July | 52.5% | 28.4% | 7.5% | 1.9% | 0.2% | 3.1% | 2.4% |
| May | 51.0% | 29.6% | 8.2% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2.9% | 2.5% |
| March | 48.0% | 31.1% | 9.4% | 2.4% | 0.4% | 2.6% | 2.4% |
| January | 44.1% | 33.6% | 10.4% | 3.0% | 0.4% | 2.7% | 2.4% |
| 2003 | WinXP | W2000 | Win98 | WinNT | Win95 | Linux | Mac |
| November | 42.6% | 36.3% | 10.9% | 3.5% | 0.4% | 2.6% | 2.2% |
| September | 38.0% | 37.9% | 12.1% | 4.1% | 0.5% | 2.4% | 2.0% |
| July | 33.9% | 40.6% | 12.6% | 5.3% | 0.6% | 2.3% | 1.9% |
| May | 31.4% | 41.0% | 13.9% | 5.8% | 0.7% | 2.2% | 1.8% |
| March | 29.1% | 41.9% | 14.8% | 6.6% | 0.8% | 2.2% | 1.8% |
Platforms that count for less than 0.5% are not listed.
You cannot - as a web developer - rely only on statistics. Statistics can often be misleading.
Global averages may not always be relevant to your web site. Different sites attract different audiences. Some web sites attract professional developers using professional hardware, while other sites attract hobbyists using old low spec computers.
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."
Benjamin Disraeli
"Then there was the man who drowned crossing a stream with an average depth
of six inches."
W. I. E. Gates
From http://www.w3schools.com (Copyright Refsnes Data)