Sales of Microsoft’s fledgling Windows 8 operating system have hit 100 million, but penetration remains low, in the low single digits.

So far Windows 8 sales have matched Windows 7 sales, but it seems very unlikely that we will see more demand and that it will keep up with the track record of Windows 7, which sold 240 copies in the first year since launch. Of course, Windows 7 was designed to replace Vista, which was anything but popular.

Now Microsoft is apparently working on a new version, specifically tweaked to make it run a bit better on tablets. This means Windows RT’s days are numbered, more or less. The tweaks should make smaller Windows 8 tablets possible. In addition, Microsoft is also working to improve touch support for laptops.

In the meantime, Windows RT is failing, and failing hard. Sales of Surface tablets in Q1 totalled just 900,000 units, including Windows RT and Windows 8 models.

More here.