Business & Technology | Big year for Windows 7, but is Microsoft in a PC rut? | Seattle Times Newspaper

A vibrant “rut”

Still, the market for PC operating systems is enormous and continues to expand. From 2009 to 2014, the market is expected to almost double, from 299 million units to 590 million units, according to IDC, a research firm in Framingham, Mass. "That is pretty substantial growth," said IDC analyst Al Gillen.

Microsoft Windows owned 91 percent of the PC operating system market in 2009, and IDC expects it to drop by 1 percent by 2014. Mac, which had 4 percent in 2009, is expected to increase to 5 percent by 2014. Linux is expected to hold steady at 4 percent.

Even with a 1 percent drop in share, Microsoft is still expected to sell hundreds of millions more operating systems than it is selling now.

Business & Technology | Big year for Windows 7, but is Microsoft in a PC rut? | Seattle Times Newspaper