Internet statistics firm NetMarketShare has published its operating system usage figures for November. The results are pretty enlightening; among other things, they show Windows XP is still more widely used than Windows 8.1:

To be fair, NetMarketShare's data also shows Windows XP's popularity is plummeting fast. The OS's usage share fell from 23.9% in September to 13.6% last month. Since Windows XP support was discontinued in April, that's probably a good thing.

Windows 8.1, meanwhile, is rapidly growing in popularity. Its usage share rocketed from 6.7% in September to 12.1% last month. I expect that's largely thanks to the WinXP stragglers jumping ship. Some of those stragglers may be choosing Windows 7 instead of Microsoft's latest OS, though. That would explain why Windows 7's usage share rose from 52.7% in September to 56.4% last month.

So, yes. Windows XP seems to be in its dying throes. But Windows 8.1 isn't going to steal the popularity crown from Windows 7 anytime soon. (Thanks to CNet News for the tip.)