175 Million Windows 7 Sales Shoot Microsoft to Record Revenues

By Nick Mokey Published July 23, 2010

Despite the spectacular death of the Kin, reports that Apple had surpassed Microsoft in market capitalization, and a dicey start to the Windows Tablet, 2010 may not be such a bleak year for Microsoft after all. The latest numbers actually show it smashing quarterly and yearly records as it continues to make money hand over fist with Windows 7.

According to its earnings report, Microsoft generated $62.48 billion in revenue over the 2009-2010 fiscal year, a 7 percent increase from the year prior, and its highest revenue ever on the books. Not surprisingly, Windows 7 played a major part, driving revenue in Microsoft’s Windows division up 23 percent from last year to $18.49 billion.

Recommended Videos

How many copies does it take to generate that kind of cash? A lot. In the nine months since its launch on October 22, 2009, Microsoft has sold 175 million copies of Windows 7 – about 638,600 copies every day – or in even more stark terms, seven copies every second.

While Windows 7 was busy bringing home the bacon, other divisions weren’t quite as productive. The clearest loser was Microsoft’s Online Services division, including Bing, which brought in $565 million last quarter but managed to shovel $696 million out the door.

Topics

Editor in Chief

As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…

Computing

Microsoft won’t back down on Windows 11’s biggest hurdle

The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

Microsoft has reaffirmed that it will not lower the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, solidifying the need for a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and a compatible CPU. This decision leaves many older PCs ineligible for the upgrade. Microsoft emphasizes that these standards are vital for improved security and performance.

As per a recent blog post titled “TPM 2.0 – a necessity for a secure and future-proof Windows 11,” Microsoft reaffirmed its decision not to relax Windows 11’s strict hardware requirements. TPM 2.0 is a hardware-based security feature that protects sensitive data and ensures secure boot processes. Microsoft argues that such measures are nonnegotiable as the company continues to address rising cybersecurity threats. The minimum requirements include a list of approved CPUs, starting from AMD Ryzen 2000 and Intel 8th Gen processors, that offer advanced security features and better performance efficiency.

Computing

Microsoft warns that the latest Windows 11 update may crash PC games now

Gaming PC on a desk.

Microsoft has once again temporarily halted the rollout of its latest major Windows 11 update, also known as 24H2. This time it is for systems running select Ubisoft games following widespread user reports of crashes and performance issues. The affected titles include Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin's Creed Origins, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Common complaints include black screens, freezing, and unresponsiveness during gameplay or while loading these titles. "I just bought a new gaming laptop with RTX 4080, Intel i9 14900hx. I can't play the game (Origins) even for 5 minutes because it crashes to a black screen, with audio, and the only way to close it is from task manager. Impossible to play," one user shared on Reddit. Others reported similar frustrations, citing the persistent error “NTDLL.dll” that renders their games unplayable.

Computing

Nearly six months later, you can finally try out Windows 11 Recall

Recall promotional image.

After a tumultuous initial reaction and months of reworking, Microsoft is finally releasing the first preview of its controversial Recall feature today. If you're a Windows Insider with a Qualcomm Copilot+ PC, you can install a new build of Windows 11 that includes both Recall and Click to Do.

If you're not part of the Windows Insider Program but you want to try out this feature, it's pretty easy to sign up on the Microsoft website. Recall was first announced back before any of the Copilot+ PCs were released and was meant to be available at launch, but an outcry of privacy and security concerns forced Microsoft to delay it.