Windows haters may snide at this one, but the platform is gaining traction whether they like it or not.  Yup, you read that right.  More users are now installing or buying devices running Windows 8.

According to the numbers posted by NetMartketshare, Windows in general commands a mammoth 91.51 percent marketshare, while Mac has 7.2 percent, with Linux bringing up the rear with just 1.28 percent.

When you break down Windows’ share of the PC market, XP is still being run by a somewhat disturbing 37.17 percent of all PCs, with Vista at 4.62 percent, Win 7 at 44.37 percent, and Win 8 now at an all-time high of 5.10 percent – a 0.83 percent increase from the 4.27 percent share it recorded at the last count.  Since then, Windows 7 has lost 0.48 percent of the market, Vista dropped 0.11 percent and XP lost the largest percentage at 0.57.

Adoption of Windows 8 hasn’t been as fast as Microsoft wanted it to be, but this sudden increase in adoption suggests that the company could be getting back on track. Redmond chiefs previously speculated that the OS would gain more traction throughout this year as people migrate away from Windows XP, and the numbers suggest that at least a small number of users are doing just that. However, it’s probably even more likely that this success has something to do with the promised enhancements that are set to arrive with the forthcoming release of the Windows 8.1 update.

Microsoft has promised all manner of updates and new features with version 8.1, such as the return of the Start button (although it’s actually just a Start menu), customization of the Start screen and lock screen, incorporation of Bing, windows and multitasking on tablets, panorama feature for cameras on tablets, and other enhancements which you can read about here.

Apps on the rise

Another reason Windows 8 adoption is slowly inching upwards might be because of its apps.

What’s that, Windows apps you say? Yep, indeed we do, for it seems that developers are also seeing the Windows 8.1 update as good news.  The number of available apps in the Windows Store recently passed the 100,000 mark, as projected by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, just in time for the Microsoft BUILD conference.

Microsoft hit the 100K milestone just eight months after Windows 8 first went on sale – despite all of the criticism it’s received, this is actually lightning fast progress when compared to Apple and Google’s respective stores, which reached the 100,000 app milestone in 14 and 18 months respectively.

One reason for this success is that Microsoft finally seems to have gotten the attention of the big name developers, particularly in the social sphere with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard, Vevo, edjing, Time Out and Great British Chefs all launching their own Windows 8 apps in recent months.

With the Surface RT sales falling short of expectation, Microsoft needs all the popular apps’ support it can muster to make that particular platform a more viable option.