Microsoft still dominates

I stumbled across a website called StatOwl.com that tracks Internet statistics. This website posts reports on the software and settings users employ when accessing the Internet. The information is easy to read, with pleasant charts. In addition to reports on browsers and search engines, there is a report called Microsoft Market Dominance. Microsoft Windows shows as the operating system used by 90% of users and Microsoft Internet Explorer as the web browser used by 72% of users. In other words 90% of computers on the planet run on Microsoft software and 72% of Internet traffic across the globe runs on Microsoft software. Microsoft also owns 3% of the search engine market and 75% of users have Microsoft Media Player.

It's hard to envision another corporation remaining so dominant for so long. Coke and Pepsi combine for 74% of the soft drink market. Google presently has 83% of the search engine market, but Google lacks the historical trend and new competitors emerge every year in the search engine market. 30 years after the emergence of the PC market Microsoft remains 90% dominant with Windows. Ten years after the anti-trust lawsuits against Microsoft embedding its machines with Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft boasts 72% market share.

Other Microsoft ventures include software applications (Microsoft Office; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access), web-based services (hotmail, WindowsLive, & Messenger) television channels (MSNBC), mp3 players (Zune), and video games (Halo). Microsoft also engaged in talks to purchase search engine Yahoo and social network Facebook, because it has the immense resources to purchase market share rather than develop its own technologies.