Windows XP is now only in half the world's computers as the operating system starts to die off.

According to Techspot Windows XP's market share is eroding over the last couple of months. Windows 7 gained 0.74 percentage points. Windows Vista meanwhile slipped 0.28 percentage points and Windows XP fell 1.19 percentage points. Based on these figures Windows 7 will pass Windows XP next year.

By the end of 2010, Windows 7 was on one in five machines and at the end of April 2011, Windows 7 was on one in four machines. Last month, Microsoft announced that Windows 7 had sold more than 400 million licenses in the last 21 months. This means that Microsoft is selling  fewer than 20 million licenses per month, which is a slow down from its glory days. Microsoft is doing its best to get people off Windows XP which is a security hole which no one really needs.

Still there appears to be a slight move to other operating systems. Mac OS gained 0.22 percentage points although it is still much less than six percent and Linux gained 0.03 percentage points. Mobile operating systems gained share during this time.