Windows 8 and 8.1 combine for 10% of OS market

The latest numbers were recently published by Net Applications looking at the overall computer operating system market around the world. The report shows that the newest versions of Windows, Windows 8 and 8.1, are making inroads into the operating system market that is dominated by older versions of the OS around the world.

The numbers show that Windows 8 and 8.1 combined to pass 10% of the global OS market. The metrics show that Windows 8 and 8.1 climbed in December 2013 by 10.49% combined. Windows 8 gained a scant 0.23% during December with Windows 8.1 growing 0.96%.

Windows 7 grew by 0.88% during December. Windows 7 is the most common version of Windows in the world with 47.52% of the market. Windows Vista has only 3.61% of the market. Windows XP is the second most popular version of Windows with 28.98% of the market.

This is the first time XP has fallen below 30% of the worldwide OS market. The Mac OS has 7.54% of the global operating system market. Linux has a scant 1.73% of the market. Net Applications gets its data from 160 million visitors to 40,000 client websites each month.





SOURCE: The Next Web

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Another botched Windows patch: MS13-057/KB 2803821/KB 2834904

It looks like this week's Black Tuesday patches include at least one real stinker: MS 13-057/KB 2803821 has been blamed for problems with recent editions of several products. Until Microsoft pulls the patch -- or acknowledges the problem -- I advise against installing it.

MS 13-057/KB 2803821 is billed as a "security update for Windows Media Format Runtime 9 and 9.5 (wmvdmod.dll), and for Windows Media Player 11 and 12." Microsoft rates the patch as "critical" with an exploitability ranking of 2. It's directed at the vulnerability reported in CVE-2013-3127.

The SANS Internet Storm Center describes the problem as "an input validation problem in Windows Media format (WMV -- Windows Media Player, not to be confused with the infamous WMF format) [that] allows random code execution." According to SANS, there are no publicly known exploits.

CVE gives more details: "The Microsoft WMV video codec in wmv9vcm.dll, wmvdmod.dll in Windows Media Format Runtime 9 and 9.5, and wmvdecod.dll in Windows Media Format Runtime 11 and Windows Media Player 11 and 12 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted media file, aka WMV Video Decoder Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

The patch targets just about every modern version of Windows: Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Windows RT.

The problems, and the offending Microsoft patch, were identified as early as Wednesday, July 10. Microsoft has yet to publish any official acknowledgment of the problem or to pull the patch.

These are the problem reports I've been able to find:

•  In Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, the top half of high-quality videos gets chopped off. The problem is most readily visible in the top half of the editing pane, though it appears the file itself is being misinterpreted. Talbot McInnis on the Adobe Premiere Pro forum posted, "We have narrowed it down to Windows updates under MS bulletin MS13-057. Specifically, on XP KB 2834904 and on Windows 7 KB 2803821. For us, it occurs when decoding WMV9 files. Not all uses of WMV decoding are affected, but I confirmed that when connecting the WMV decode DLL to a sample grabber for RGB32 video, the frames arrive black on top, so that points directly to decoding internals of the WMV Decode DLL."

•     In TechSmith's Camtasia Studio, the top half of videos viewed in the playback window get chopped off. TechSmith has issued a detailed analysis and suggests that customers uninstall the patch as a workaround.

• Serif's MoviePlus X6 has the same behavior.

• Poster Carlos H describes a very similar situation when saving YouTube videos. It isn't clear if the problem is with saving or with playback.

• At least one gamer, known as Theshockmaster, also has a similar problem while playing Rome: Total War and Barbarian Invasion.

It will be interesting to see when -- or if -- Microsoft acknowledges and/or fixes the problem.


Thanks to Susan Bradley for the heads-up.

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Windows 8.1's 'fix': One new Navigation tab

This week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off the 2013 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) with Windows 8.1 "Blue" front and center. He piled on his usual hyperbolic praise ("nothing short of the most remarkable replatforming of Windows, basically since 1995"), tacitly acknowledged criticism of Windows 8, and announced that the final version (RTM, or release to manufacturing) would go to PC makers in late August so that they could sell PCs with Windows 8.1 preinstalled before the holiday season -- especially for those planning to offer mini tablets, which Windows 8 does not support well.

Windows 8.1's 'fix': One new Navigation tab

The big question, though, is will Windows 8.1 be good news for users who are already struggling with Windows 8.

[ Woody Leonhard reveals the black underbelly of Windows 8.1 Milestone Preview. | Stay atop key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]
The Windows 8.1 taskbar and navigation properties

I've been working with the Windows 8.1 Milestone Preview, and it all seems to come down to one new Navigation tab in the Taskbar and Navigation properties pane. You now have more control over what your OS does with those hot corners (turn them off if you want) and that Start screen. You can make your PC boot right to the "legacy" Desktop, you can go right to the All Apps view when going to the Start screen and make a few other tweaks. Is it exactly what people wanted? No, it's a compromise.

For those of us already using Windows 8, moving to Windows 8.1 is a no-brainer. It's going to be free and available through the Windows Store. As a Surface RT user, now I'm looking forward to the new Outlook RT app as well in Windows RT 8.1.

Ballmer said that Microsoft believes it has changed as a company from a software provider to a devices and services company. His keynote highlighted Windows Phone, Office 365, Windows Azure, and big data concerns of enterprise customers.

I'm at the WPC this week to discuss Exchange and regulatory compliance, and I can feel the positive energy here. A more usable (less abrasive -- cue chuckle) Windows 8.1 combined with improvements in cloud-based offerings like Azure and Office 365 give Microsoft partners hope that, with an improving economy, things are on an upswing all around.

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