Curious to learn who’s still keeping the Vista spirt alive in the world, Pingdom took a look at the global market share of operating systems to find out who exactly still uses this OS (and then troll those parts of the world unforgivably) (actually, the Pingdom people didn’t troll anybody for their OS choices). After looking at data for 216 countries, Windows Vista was found to still be in use among 10.5% of all desktop operative systems. Windows 7 commanded the greatest portion of desktop OS market shares with 44% and Windows XP claimed 35% of all market shares.

And in case you’e wondering which country out there is still using Vista the most: Ireland. Oddly, the country with the lowest percentage of Windows Vista usage was Cuba. As much as I want to tease out conclusions from these findings, I wouldn’t go too far in extrapolating conclusions about the cultural climate of either country based on their Vista usage (or lack thereof), but simply smile, say an amused “Humh,” and enjoy the new piece of tech trivia. And really, the world seems to still love it some Vista: out of all 216 countries included in Pingdom’s survey, 182 of them – that’s 84.2% – Windows Vista is the third most commonly used OS.

One piece of trivia I do enjoy, however, and that does have some small validity to it: Windows Vista is still more popular worldwide than Mac OS X. In fact, only 16 countries in the world use Mac OS X more than Vista. And surprisingly, 2 countries out there can say that more PCs use Linux than Vista.

So if you’re one of the many out there still rocking the Windows Vista, I invite you to share with us in the comments why you’ve remained attached to this particular OS system over the years.

Assuming Ultimate is going to be required would be like assuming XP Pro would be required, and how many people bought that? Most people will get the upgrade of Vista Home Basic ($100) or Premium ($160), and a single upgrade for Mac OS costs $130.

Now, try to tell me that the difference between XP Home and Vista Home Premium isn’t bigger than the upgrade from OS X 10.3 to 10.4. Compare!

What you get from XP Home to Vista Home Premium:

Windows Vista Media Center (adds TV recording and simple, easy fullscreen interface for video and music, and platform for third-party tools)

Aero Glass

Instant system search

ReadyBoost performance boost via USB drives

DVD Maker

Meeting Space (collaborate via wifi with nearby PCs)

Vista Sidebar (desktop gadgets)

SideShow (same gadgets, run on the outside of your laptop without turning it on)

Tablet features

Updated system applications

New security system

Compatibility with Windows applications for free

Minimum PC: 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, better than integrated graphics, 10 GB hard drive (can also be installed on Macs)

Cost = $159 to upgrade

What you get from OS X 10.3 to OS X 10.4:

Instant system search

Dashboard (desktop gadgets)

Updated system applications

Security fixes

Compatibilty with Windows applications via Boot Camp starting at $199 extra

Minimum computer: A Mac. Current minimum Mac is a $599 Mac Mini with 1.66 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, integrated graphics. Cannot be installed on PCs.

Cost = $129 to upgrade

Note: To get the Mac equivelant of Media Center, you need to buy a new Mac with Front Row. Front Row is like Media Center, without the TV features and third-party applications. Media Center can also be aquired by running Boot Camp and buying Windows Vista Home Premium (full retail) for $240.

Note: There is no Mac equivelant of the Tablet PC.

Note: Many listed new Mac OS 10.4 features are available as free updates to Windows XP and present in Windows Vista, like Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Player 11.

Note: Mac OS X comes with many powerful free applications that Windows does not, or that Windows has very crappy equivelants of. However, in many cases, like iPhoto, there are free software programs that are considered just as good, like Google’s Picasa. In addition, there is a lot of great free software for Windows, and considerably less free software for the Mac.

Note: Mac OS X has a volume licensed version of the upgrade that costs $200 for up to five computers. If you have two computers, it is $100 per upgrade; three computers, $66 per; four computers, $50 per; five computers, $40 per.

So, here’s the rub: In January, Windows XP Home users can upgrade for $160 ($100 if they don’t want Media Center or Aero), while Mac users can upgrade for $129 to 10.4, and will be able to upgrade sometime next year to 10.5, which appears to be on a similar level to 10.4. 10.5 adds Front Row, backup features, virtual desktops, and prettier ways to do some things.

I find it hard to believe that Apple’s service pack beats Microsoft’s new operating system, in terms of sheer value of added features. Even if you hate Windows, it would be hard to argue that the new operating system of Windows Vista isn’t a better price bargain than what amounts to a decent update.

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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

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