[nsns]

Which might simply mean that this is the approximate amount of non-Apple laptops (and desktops?) sold since Win8's launch, because most of them are now sold only with Win8 licenses [0]. Hardly a mark of success, but of MS's (doomed?) pervasiveness.

[0] e.g., http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPo...

[contextfree]

Yes. This, along with everything else that happens in the world anywhere ever, is clearly a sign that Microsoft is doomed.

[sliverstorm]

What's that, Microsoft announced record profits? Uh-oh, that's a sign they've hit "peak-desktop"- the desktop market will only decline from here. Microsoft is doomed!

[whatshisface]

Everyone is doomed, just at different times. :)

[contextfree]

"Memento mori"! I agree, "market thermodynamics" dictate eventually they will meet their doom, and at that time the perpetual doomsters will find themselves vindicated, like a stopped clock is vindicated twice a day. :)

[brudgers]

"Microsoft had not released any sales figures for Windows 8 other than saying the company sold 4 million upgrade licenses of the operating system to those with previous versions of Windows during the first three days it was available."

That's 10% of the total in the first three days to existing users.

Including myself.

[dkhenry]

If a month has 30 days then that's also 10% of the time period, or another way of saying it is that sales remained constant over that initial time frame.