Windows 7 has been heralded as a genuine success for Microsoft. It’s apparently been selling like cupcakes and has received a much more positive response than its predecessor, Windows Vista.

It’s also been able to generate public interest in a way Vista was never able to do. Compare the two and Windows 7 comes out on top with a bruised and battered Windows Vista laying at its feet, whimpering.

Just look at the below search volume graph from Google, which shows the search volume for Windows 7 compared with that of Windows Vista. Windows 7 raced past Windows Vista in no time, and quickly passed the all-time high of Vista.

It looks like Microsoft finally really does have a big hit on its hands. They have claimed it’s the fastest-selling OS in history, and that may very well be right.

Here is how fast it’s growing. After being available for just three months, Windows 7 has reached a 10% market share. That’s almost double that of Mac OS X, and more than half of that of Windows Vista. Those numbers include computers that come with pre-installed versions of Windows 7, which does of course help tremendously, but it’s still very impressive.

Now the only question is how long it will take Windows 7 to overtake Windows Vista in actual market share. How soon do you think it will happen?