Anything but Speechless: 100 Things People Are Really Saying About Windows Vista

Microsoft's web site offers us "100 Reasons You'll Be Speechless" over Windows Vista. Quoth the copy: "Using Windows Vista for the first time may leave you searching for words".

Er, yes... searching for words, and finding them. After the initial shocked silence, Vista users (and refusers) are anything but speechless. They're speaking loudly, and speaking lots. Saying far more than Microsoft would like them to. Saying things to make even a Ballmer cringe. Vista has struck them downright loquacious. In fact, Vista users are rediscovering words they thought Mom had washed out with that bar of Ivory so long ago.

Think we're being snarky and making that up? Nope. Let's listen in to 100 things people are really saying about Vista, shall we? (A warning: it gets rough in there...)

The view from 30,000 feet (or: Through the crosshairs)

1. "Vista is a flop. A disaster. Dead."

Let's start out with a few choice media headlines, just to capture the mood:
The Vista Death Watch
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209837,00.asp
Three Reasons Why Windows Vista is Sinking Like a Rock
http://www.dailytechnobabble.com/2007/02/26/three-reasons-why-windows-vi...
Why Microsoft must abandon Vista to save itself
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?tag=nefd.only
Vista Nightmare: The “Oww!” Starts Now
http://www.pseudomarketing.com/vista-nightmare-oww/
FAQ: Giving up on Vista? Here's how to downgrade to XP
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
Time for a Vista Do-Over
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2254104,00.asp

Hoo boy! Ebola gets a better rap. Well, put on your waders; there's lots more where that came from. Into the breach:

2. "Vista is one of the 10 worst tech products of 2007!"

Here's the verdict from IT powerhouse CNET: "Any operating system that provokes a campaign for its predecessor's reintroduction deserves to be classed as terrible technology. Any operating system that quietly has a downgrade-to- previous-edition option introduced for PC makers deserves to be classed as terrible technology. Any operating system that takes six years of development but is instantly hated by hordes of PC professionals and enthusiasts deserves to be classed as terrible technology... Windows Vista conforms to all of the above. Its incompatibility with hardware, its obsessive requirement of human interaction to clear security dialogue box warnings and its abusive use of hated DRM, not to mention its general pointlessness as an upgrade, are just some examples of why this expensive operating system earns the final place in our terrible tech list."
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/0,39029552,49293700-10,00.htm

3. "Vista is the most disappointing tech product of 2007!"

PC World isn't about to dispute CNET, naming Vista the most disappointing product of the year: "Five years in the making and this is the best Microsoft could do?... Many of the innovations the operating system was supposed to bring--like more efficient file and communications systems--got tossed overboard as Microsoft struggled to get the OS out the door, some three years after it was first promised. Despite its hefty hardware requirements, Vista is slower than XP... The user account controls that were supposed to make users feel safer just made them feel irritated. And at $399 ($299 upgrade) for Windows Ultimate, we couldn't help feeling more than a little gouged... No wonder so many users are clinging to XP like shipwrecked sailors to a life raft, while others who made the upgrade are switching back."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140583-page,5-c,techindustrytrends/art...

4. "This took five years?"

And billions of dollars. Yet many have called the final Vista "alpha quality" software. (That means "at a stage barely ready for testing". It's bad.)
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13114/1090/
"I’m looking at my copy of Windows Vista and wonder ‘what has Microsoft been doing for the last 5 years?"
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window...
"Why, after five years waiting for the most important product from one of the biggest companies on the planet, was I left feeling with such an overwhelming feeling of "Is that it?"
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006214o-2000331758b,00.htm
"Five years for a chrome-plated turd... If this is all the billions, man-hours and years brought, what was the point? We get a bloated, DRM infected rights removal tool that advances the state of the art to where Apple was the better part of a decade ago, and we are supposed to call this progress?"
http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/01/30/vista-makes-me-sad
"...sexy party dress aside – it’s the same old tart underneath. Contrasting what was originally promised with what was finally delivered, Vista (nee Longhorn) has spectacularly failed."
http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2007/04/29/vista_end_dream/

5. "What happened to all the promised features in Vista?"

Fast Boot? Gone. "Something obviously went awry. As Computerworld is reporting, a number of Vista users are none too happy about Vista boot-up times."
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=378
PC-to-PC synchronization? Dropped. "Microsoft officials said they cut the feature due to quality concerns."
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/desktop_mobile/another_windows_vi...
WinFS? Perhaps the first big casualty that told the world something was seriously wrong. "Originally announced as one of the three "pillars" of Windows Vista... WinFS was to revolutionize how users and developers interacted with the files on their computers."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060625-7128.html
And so on. "All the cool and promised features of the original vision of Longhorn were gutted simply because it was beyond Microsoft’s capability to implement those features... Microsoft should have scrapped the project two years ago and instead patched XP until it could deliver something hot."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209837,00.asp

6. "Vista isn't ready for release!"

It's widely called beta-quality or even alpha-quality software, depending on how angry the voice. Either way, opinion is near-unanimous that Vista was launched before it was ready. Says the BBC's business editor about Vista problems: "My conclusion? For all the expensive and much-extended gestation, Vista was not ready for commercial release."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2007/02/an_open_let...
"Vista Is Incomplete... Vista probably won't be truly ready for prime time until that first service pack version, possibly later this year."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128669-page,1/article.html
"Vista is basically XP, prettified with different bugs... It's memory hogging, slow, and still feels unfinished, but the same can be said about every previous version of [W]indows..."
http://rufuswhite.blogspot.com/2007/09/vis-vista.html

7. "Vista? Yawn."

What if you threw your biggest product launch ever and nobody came? It'd look like this: "...few residents... had come out for the launch of Microsoft's much-ballyhooed operating system, Windows Vista. At CompUSA, slightly more than a dozen people wandered the aisles waiting for the stroke of midnight, when the software giant's latest system would go on sale... "When I was on my way in, they were lined up," said a CompUSA staff member who asked not to be named. "I asked, are you here for Vista? They all shook their head" (A comment from one attendee spoke beautifully on behalf of Vista launch 'revelers': "I don't really have a reason... It's just something to do.")
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/01/72601
More: "All day, Microsoft had presented an agenda of glitz, glamour, and unusual spectacles...[but] it was quite clear that the majority of the people waiting in line were eager to capitalize on the slashed prices and had no real interest in Vista or Office 2007."
http://www.news.com/Vistas-actual-launch-Think-whisper,-not-bang/2100-10...
And more: "Vista’s buzz borders on nonexistent. Its launch has not lived up to expectations by any reasonable measure. Sure, you have some cheerleaders out there, but if you look closely enough, you’ll find they make a living supporting and advocating Microsoft’s technologies first and foremost. Vista is not setting the world on fire, and people are actively trying to avoid upgrading. There were no lines out any door at midnight anywhere for Vista... The “wow” has not started now, even with most people (including me) loving the new Vista TV commercials. They’re good. But that’s where the “wow” for Vista begins and ends for me."
http://gracefulflavor.net/2007/03/06/vista-backlash-grows-key-advocate-m...
Now see The "Wow" for yourself:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/wow.html

8. "Vista? Why?"

"PC Advisor surveyed its readers and found out that 67% would prefer their new computer come with Windows XP over Vista... "
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/10/21/pc-advisor-67-prefer-windows-xp-over-vista-upgrade/
Or in words from Microsoft Watch that put all of Vista into perspective: "Microsoft promised WOW, but the reaction was, 'What?' What is different from Windows XP? What is wrong with the hardware requirements? What is the difference between 'Capable' and 'Ready?' What is this Software Assurance requirement for Vista Enterprise? What happened to the familiarity of Windows XP? What is wrong with my Vista applications and hardware?.. More recently the 'W' question is 'When?'--as in when will Microsoft release Vista Service Pack 1?"
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/vista_one_year_later.html
"When I look at Vista, there's really nothing there that's a must-have kind of feature."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137635/article.html
"Tech is going smaller, cheaper, lighter. Vista is going bigger, more expensive, more demanding. Is that where you want to go today?"
http://seekingalpha.com/article/30042-10-reasons-why-microsoft-s-vista-h...

Vista's mark on Microsoft (or: Redmond needs a hanky)

9. "Vista: The end of the Microsoft empire?"

It isn't only users that have Vista problems. Microsoft may have the biggest problem of all: "MS is in a rut. The firm has cowered, co-opted or bought all the critics, and any message coming out of the press will be well scripted... Vista could have been innovative instead of warmed over. Vista could have defended our rights instead of raping them. Vista could have been lean and mean instead of bloated and DRM slowed. Vista could have brought new ways of doing things instead of the same old same old. Vista could have been cheaper instead of a stealth price increase. Vista could have pioneered new ways of letting us use computers instead of activated tethers and licence problems. Vista could have been compatible and advanced standards instead of breaking software in the name of locking you in... I think we would have been better off if MS packed it in and spent the money on the moon shot they are so fond of making comparisons too."
http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/01/30/vista-makes-me-sad
"...Microsoft better start moving faster with its operating system upgrades or it can look forward to a long slide in market share as people decide that the Mac experience is just plain better. Apple is a bigger threat than ever to the empire in Redmond, Wash."
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7310593?nclick_check=1?sr=hotnews
"Right now, Microsoft has nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. After all the hype surrounding Vista, the Emperor has finally been revealed in all his naked glory. Some folks have been predicting the demise of Microsoft."
http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2007/04/29/vista_end_dream/

10. "Abandon Vista, Microsoft!"

The press is even telling Microsoft to abandon Vista altogether! "Never before have I seen such an abysmal start to an operating system release... The road ahead looks dangerous for Vista and Microsoft must realize that... Microsoft must abandon Vista and move on. It's the company's only chance at redemption."
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?tag=nefd.only
"Microsoft can scuttle the entire product. Why not? Work on a whole new OS starting today with one team and work on SP3 for XP with another team to keep users on Windows."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209840,00.asp
"Vista has turned into the desktop operating system no one wants, and even Microsoft is beginning to get it... Whatever you do, even if it's just sticking with XP, you'll be doing better than moving to Vista. Vista is the walking dead of the operating-system world."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2190228,00.asp

11. "Vista shows that Microsoft is spread too thin"

Umpteen OS products, consumer software, enterprise software, game machines, music players: all things to all people is a recipe for a mess, and people are noticing that anew in the wan light of Vista. "Now Microsoft wants to be in the advertising business because Google is in the advertising business. Meanwhile, it can’t do its real job."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209837,00.asp

12. "Microsoft knew they were releasing 'a pig'"

Within Microsoft, there are (or were) those who knew where to lay blame. Jim Allchin, who left Microsoft the day Vista was released, said in a now-famous memo to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, "...we lost our way. I think our teams lost sight of what bug-free means, what resilience means, what full scenarios mean, what security means, what performance means, how important current applications are, and really understanding what the most important problems [our] customers face are... I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft. If you run the equivalent of VPC on a MAC you get access to basically all Windows application software (although not the hardware). Apple did not lose their way... They think scenario. They think simple. They think fast."
He closes with this simple summary of Longhorn (the initial code name for Vista), "LH is a pig."
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/110354.asp
(The memo was written three years before Vista's release, and even the strongest detractors will have to acknowledge that Microsoft made great improvements in the intervening time. Yet not so much changed after all, as Vista has been ravaged by the same criticisms since the day of its release.)

13. "Microsoft's most loyal fans can't praise Vista!"

Although aimed at pre-release Longhorn, the following rant was noteworthy not only for its venom but also for its source: columnist Paul Thurrott, recognized as one of Microsoft's most ardent cheerleaders. "Microsoft has yet to ship Windows Vista, and it won't actually ship this system in volume until 2007. Since the euphoria of PDC 2003, Microsoft's handling of Windows Vista has been abysmal. Promises have been made and forgotten, again and again. Features have come and gone. Heck, the entire project was literally restarted from scratch after it became obvious that the initial code base was a teetering, technological house of cards. Windows Vista, in other words, has been an utter disaster. And it's not even out yet. What the heck went wrong?... If blame is to be assessed, we must start with Gates. He has guided--or, through lack of leadership--failed to guide the development of Microsoft's most prized asset. He has driven it into the ground... Promises were made. Excitement was generated. None of it, as it turns out, was worth a damn. From a technical standpoint, the version of Windows Vista we will receive is a sad shell of its former self, a shadow... [W]e do not and should not expect to be promised the world, only to be given a warmed over copy of Mac OS X Tiger in return. Windows Vista is a disappointment."
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_5308_05.asp
Jump ahead to the post-launch era. Improvements are certainly evident, and Thurrott is mollified in part; I won't purport to speak for him. But from elsewhere: "Even some of Windows' most loyal users are finding that its poor performance, lousy software support and pathetic driver support is too much to stomach."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2190228,00.asp

14. "I'm mad at Microsoft!"

You may have read the story of the disappointed mom who tackled Steve Ballmer over her daughter's Vista problems: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
There's a lot of Microsoft-directed anger out there. Here a power user takes Microsoft to task: "I was loyal to you for so long. I stuck with you through thick and thin. From DOS 5.0 through XP. Through decent functionality and through countless crashes. But this new operating system is the last straw... You’ve terrified folks like my poor dad. He is afraid to install new software for any reason. He mumbles things like “Computers – you just can’t trust them.” He’s been conditioned that if he tries to install a new program or download an update – even if he does it correctly - something is likely to go awry for no explicable reason... You made millions of poor secretaries and office workers cry just for trying to do normal things like printing and saving... The secret is out, Microsoft. The reputation that you can’t be trusted to deliver reliable software is getting around fast."
http://www.pseudomarketing.com/vista-nightmare-oww/
The BBC's business editor writes an open letter to Bill Gates: "Give me back my weekend. I bought a new Windows Vista laptop – and that’s when the trouble began... The only thing that gives me any comfort is that I am apparently not alone in my Vista-stress."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2007/02/an_open_let...

15. "Vista marketing is senseless!"

Says a key Microsoft observer: "I wasn’t a big fan of the “Wow” campaign around Windows Vista. But its newest incarnation — “100 Reasons Why Everyone’s So Speechless” — might be even worse."
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=851
"According to Microsoft, Vista brings “clarity” to our lives. What the hell is that supposed to mean?... We all know the truth - Windows XP is perfectly fine, and Microsoft’s PR machine is just inventing reasons for us to buy something we don’t need."
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2006/11/10/five-reasons-to-avoid-wi...

16. "Vista marketing is sleazy!"

Even before the class-action lawsuit over misleading "Vista Capable" marketing, Vista marketing has raised eyebrows. "Microsoft and AMD have sent free Acer Ferrari 1000 and 5000 notebooks loaded with Vista to a group of high-profile bloggers... While Microsoft’s PR department may have thought it was a great idea, the give-away is attracting criticism."
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2006/12/27/microsoft-crosses-the-li...
Not entirely a Vista addition, but along the same theme: "If you can’t beat ’em, bribe ’em. That’s Microsoft’s newest tactic for promoting Windows Live Search, whose share of the market is declining despite a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign... The Redmond Recidivists are offering enterprise customers $2 to $10 worth of Microsoft swag per seat to ditch their Google and Yahoo toolbars and go “Live” in IE7. Meanwhile, Steve Ballmer has criticized Google because it hasn’t “reinvented itself” enough. So, to recap: Making a product people use because it actually works is bad business, but arm-twisting, trash talking, and bribery are the keys to long-term success."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/22/13OPcringely_1.html

Acquiring Vista (or: Getting set up)

17. "Vista's versions are a confusing mess!"

Windows Vista Starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate. Plus a couple extra versions for Europe. Pre-launch observers predicted: "The sheer number of Windows Vista versions is going to cause massive consumer confusion." http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_editions.asp
That's proven true since Vista's launch.
A kinder review notes: "It all sounds confusing, but in reality consumers are only going to really need to choose between FOUR different Vista versions."
http://www.techwrighter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53...
Vista's multitude of versions is fodder for the competition. Apple, for example, gets good milage out of this ad poking fun at Vista choices: http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple-getamac-chooseavis...
Similarly, CEO Steve Jobs scored laughs with his quip about Mac OS X Leopard's single version: "Basic version, $129. Premium version, $129. Business version, $129. Enterprise version $129. Ultimate version, $129".

18. "Vista's upgrade paths are just as confusing!"

There are actually more than six versions of Vista: upgrade options add four more. "Microsoft is losing consumer operating system market share to Apple for many reasons... That's why it may be such a costly error for Microsoft to make the Vista upgrade such a confusing mess."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
Microsoft provides an upgrade matrix to help out... or not help out: "Good lord. That chart looks like a city block's worth of malfunctioning traffic lights."
http://macslash.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/01/0032250
Even after making a choice, upgraders need to watch out for trouble. A representative sample: "Many users have lost, or were never provided with, installation disks with their PC. Because they have XP or 2000 installed, they may decide to save money and buy an Upgrade version. If their disk later dies, or they need for whatever reason to reformat, they will then have to buy a second copy of Vista, this time, the full version. Ouch!"
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

19. "Upgrading to Vista is a pain!"

For many, Vista problems begin at installation. Let the business pros at Forbes tell it: "Should you upgrade your current machine? Are you nuts? Upgrading is almost always a royal pain. Many older boxes are too wimpy for Vista, and a 'Vista-ready' unit Microsoft upgraded for me could see my wireless network but not connect to it. The diagnostics helpfully reported 'Wireless association failed due to an unknown reason' and suggested I consult my 'network administrator'--me. Yet I've connected dozens of things to that network, including other Vista machines, a PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's own Xbox 360... My recommendation: Don't even consider updating an old machine to Vista, period. And unless you absolutely must, don't buy a new one with Vista until the inevitable Service Pack 1 (a.k.a. Festival o' Fixes) arrives to combat horrors as yet unknown."
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0226/050.html

20. "Upgrades are so much easier on other systems!"

"In the long years since XP was launched, Apple have come out with five major upgrades to OS X, upgrades which (dare I say it?) install with about as much effort as it takes to brush your teeth in the morning. No nightmare calls to tech-support, no sudden hardware incompatibilities, no hassle. Why hasn’t Microsoft kept up?"
http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2007/04/29/vista_end_dream/
(It has to be noted that Apple's Leopard upgrade hasn't been problem-free for everyone, though most troubles involved use of unsanctioned third-party hacks to OS X.)

21. "Why are some Vista versions so limited?"

Then again, maybe there aren't so many real choices after all. A typical comment: "Have you ever looked at Vista Home Basic? Calling it a dog is an insult to all hard-working canines. It can't run Vista's eye candy, the Aero Glass interface. It doesn't have DVD video authoring or Media Center support. Compared to Windows XP Home SP2, I'd call it a downgrade."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2169153,00.asp
Not surprisingly, many reviewers call the higher-end versions the only real choice for a serious shopper. Which leads to the next complaint:

22. "Vista is too expensive!"

The word got out before launch: "An overwhelming majority of users say the prices of the various editions of Windows Vista as posted on a Microsoft website yesterday make the product too expensive, according to a new poll." http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/5450/53/
And the word spread after launch. Says Computerworld, "Are you sitting down? The full version of Windows Vista Ultimate costs $399. If you have an XP CD, and don't mind the hassle, the upgrade version of Vista Ultimate costs $259. Ouch!"
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
But Vista's impact on the pocketbook extends beyond software:

23. "Vista's hardware requirements are unbelievable!"

Hardware requirements have sparked endless criticisms.
You'll need lots of memory: "Microsoft's on-the-box minimum RAM requirement "really isn't realistic," according to David Short, an IBM consultant who works in its company's Global Services Divison. He says users should consider 4GB of RAM if they really want optimum Vista performance. With 512MB of RAM, Vista will deliver performance that's "sub-XP," he warned."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
All modern computers need that much memory, right? Wrong. "In contrast to Microsoft's Windows Vista, [Mac OS X] isn't a memory hog... it can run just fine on an older Mac with 512 megabytes of main memory. Vista really needs something like four times as much to run all applications smoothly... Mac OS X 10.5... isn't a fat pig."
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_7310593?nclick_check=1?sr=hotnews
"A new level of the absurd… Windows Vista requires more hardware resources than Microsoft’s Windows for Supercomputers. Yet one operating system is designed to run on home computers while the other is aimed at the high-performance computing (HPC) market."
http://www.indianpad.com/story/142664
The lesson: If you're looking at Vista, make sure you choose a PC that's Vista Capable.
Then again, maybe not:

24. "Windows Vista Capable is a lie!"

"A lawsuit alleges that Microsoft Corp. engaged in deceptive practices by letting PC makers promote computers as "Windows Vista Capable" even if they couldn't run the new operating system's "signature" features."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/310004_msftsued03.html?source=rss
Microsoft denies the claims, but the press has harsh words in response. "What actually happened was that they discovered that "Capable" was proving incapable. Nice one, Microsoft! No wonder I've been hearing your customers—not Mac fans or desktop Linux users—referring to Vista as Windows ME II."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2169153,00.asp
But if you're confused by the meaning of "Vista Capable", don't worry – so is Microsoft.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62035012,00.htm

Hands-on with Vista (or: The "Waaah" starts now)

25. "Vista is slow to start up!"

The Wall Street Journal gets out the stopwatch: "Leopard felt about as fast as Tiger, and it started up much faster than Vista in my tests. I compared a MacBook Pro laptop with Leopard preinstalled to a Sony Vaio laptop with Vista preinstalled. Even though I had cleared out all of the useless trial software Sony had placed on the Vaio, it still started up painfully slowly compared with the Leopard laptop... It took the Vista machine nearly two minutes to perform a cold start and be ready to run, including connecting to my wireless network. The Leopard laptop was up, running and connected to the network in 38 seconds. In a test of restarting the two laptops after they had been running an email program, a Web browser and a word processor, the Sony with Vista took three minutes and 29 seconds, while the Apple running Leopard took one minute and five seconds."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119326655774870521.html

26. "Vista is slow all over!"

Everyone agrees that Vista requires a fast computer with lots of memory to run acceptably – and that's not all that surprising for a new commercial operating system. But the slowness runs deep: a bug in Vista's file operations, such as copying and deleting, make simple actions painfully slow for many users. "...moving and transferring large single files or a large group of files can take as much as three times longer than it did on Windows XP."
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/03/28/vista-file-operations-are-irritatingl...
Even typing can be a chore: "On a brand new £1300 notebook built (one would think) with Vista in mind, the operating system should fly, especially when no applications are running. Not so; it's a complete dog. It's so slow that applications often won't register that I've hit the space bar until I'm halfway through the next word. I'm a fast typer, but not that fast.... After tracking the ever increasing speeds of processors and computers for the past 15 years I'm left somewhat dismayed to see menu bar so sluggish, and finding myself waiting around for the OS to do the most simple of tasks."
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006214o-2000331758b,00.htm

27. "Vista's a non-stop parade of problems!"

Like this: "With the 64-bit version of Vista, my monitor resolution was changed nearly every time I restarted the machine. Each and every time, I had to reinstall the manufacturer's drivers to get the best resolution which happens to be 1680 x 1050. But when I shut down and restarted, the screen would generally revert back to a much lower resolution."
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/3/
The Wall Street Journal had no better luck: "In fact, every piece of software and hardware I tried on two Leopard-equipped Macs -- a loaned laptop from Apple and my own upgraded iMac -- worked fine, exhibiting none of the compatibility problems that continue to plague Vista. My old Hewlett-Packard inkjet printer, for which Vista lacks the proper software, worked instantly in Leopard, even over the network. And, unlike with Vista, it was able to print on both sides of the page."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119326655774870521.html
From USA Today: "...Vista's problems started almost immediately after I upgraded... When I opened a folder that contained both pictures and video files, Windows Explorer crashed... Then I discovered that Vista would not allow Firefox to be my default browser no matter how hard I insisted... I finally fixed this by not only disabling IE through Default Programs, but by delving into Vista's Registry and manually changing some keys... But that was nothing compared to what happened next." (The writer ends with a lament for lost XP, and a wish for an iMac.)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2007-03-02-vista-pro...
The BBC: "The Windows "sidebar"... crashes regularly and infuriates me because its "gadgets" can not be customised."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6407419.stm
It's the average user who matters, though. Here's a representative report from one: "I received my first experience with Vista yesterday. Took an hour to get the ethernet working (Public/Private network security issues) and in the end had to shut the modem off and back on so Vista could evidently give it a damn good talking too. In that hour, I had approximately 1 security message every 5 seconds while dealing with the networking center. It crashed on me about 3 times (lockup) and ran like a dog."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window... (see comments)

28. "Vista's a downgrade in stability!"

A common comparison with XP, from the BBC: "I've had two Vista crashes so far - not a blue but a black screen - and that really shouldn't happen. I can't even remember my last XP crash."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6407419.stm
"Still with us: program crashes, followed by the machine's refusal to shut down until you lean on the power button awhile. Thereafter you may be subjected to ugly white-on-black text from CHKDSK, a DOS-era program that issues baffling new reports like "44 reparse records processed.""
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0226/050.html
"Stability-wise, Vista is much worse than XP with all its bandages. Security fixes continue to be applied to Vista - I had a total of 15 applied during my brief period of usage - but the stability leaves much to be desired. Each and every time a security fix was applied, I had to reboot the machine... There are times when the whole system seems to seize up for no apparent reason; at others, it seems to take forever for a simple function to be performed... I asked [my son] to try and crash the system. He was able to achieve it in about seven minutes. His description: "...was browing, pressed 'show desktop', waited, pressed again... waited... hit ctrl, alt, delete, task manager showed up, hit cancel and the whole thing stuffed up." He had a couple of choice things to say as well but after two months of life with a MacBook what he said wouldn't stand scrutiny in parliament."
http://www.iTWire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/3/

29. "Vista breaks my applications!"

One of the biggest Vista problems. The warning came before the launch: "Microsoft really doesn't want you to know this, but many of your existing applications won't work with Vista. In fact, some brand new products won't work with Vista."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2062318,00.asp
Then came the pain: application compatibility has been perhaps the largest cause of outcry over Vista, and is seen as significantly hampering uptake of the OS. Says Information Week: "Industry surveys and anecdotal evidence have shown that many businesses have shied away from Vista due to concerns about application compatibility and resource requirements."
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204801084
"I find it particularly telling that Microsoft's general manager for Windows client product management, Brad Goldberg, told Microsoft blogger Mary Jo Foley that Microsoft would not publish, as it had for XP, a list of applications that don't work with Vista. "We have no plan for publishing a (Vista compatibility) list," said Goldberg. The reason for this is probably that this would be an embarrassingly long list. I've also found many mainstream applications that will either not run at all or not run well with Vista."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0%2C1895%2C2072976%2C00.asp
How about games? "Alex St. John, chief executive of game publisher WildTangent... claims that at least nine out of ten games do not work with Vista."
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/30824/98/
"...the choosy gaming crowd is one niche group that seems to prefer XP. One reason... is the lack of games that take advantage of Vista's DirectX 10. Also, the normal performance and compatibility issues encountered with a new OS might merely annoy an everyday user, but to gamers looking for top speed, they're a killer."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137635-page,3-c,vistalonghorn/article....
Don't put too much hope in SP 1 to fix the issues. "Microsoft is warning customers that the soon-to-be released service pack for its Windows Vista operating system won't fix the application capability issues that have plagued the software since its release in January."
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204801084

Vista and me (or: Trust busting)

30. "Vista is frustrating!"

Blank screens, driver errors, a disappearing wireless card, system restore, manual info re-entry, corrupted data... That's just one blogger's tale of woe.
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/10/01/windows-vista-is-already-past-its-exp...
Want a more mainstream voice? Says the departing head of PC Mag: "I've been a big proponent of the new OS over the past few months, even going so far as loading it onto most of my computers and spending hours tweaking and optimizing it. So why, nine months after launch, am I so frustrated? The litany of what doesn't work and what still frustrates me stretches on endlessly."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2171472,00.asp

31. "Vista spies on me!"

And does so with a passion. Prepare to be scared: "Are you using Windows Vista? Then you might as well know that the licensed operating system installed on your machine is harvesting a healthy volume of information for Microsoft... In fact, in excess of 20 Windows Vista features and services are hard at work collecting and transmitting your personal data to the Redmond company." http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-about-the-WGA-20-Windows-Vista-Fea...
Another report: "I ran a packet sniffer for about two hours, leaving the PC idle. I was left wondering why packets need to be sent to wwwbaytest2.microsoft.com and data.tvdownload.microsoft.com. Can someone from Microsoft give me an answer?"
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/3/
Another take: "...Vista came along and I loathed it so much, so immediately and - importantly - lastingly, primarily because it is crippleware that constantly spies, asks for confirmation, and comes across almost like an insecure bully..."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window... (see comments)

32. "Vista's Software Protection Platform? Yechh!"

Software Protection Platform gets no love. "A major component of this is a new reduced functionality mode, which Vista enters when it detects that the user has "failed product activation or of that copy being identified as counterfeit or non-genuine", which is described in a Microsoft white paper as follows: "The default Web browser will be started and the user will be presented with an option to purchase a new product key. There is no start menu, no desktop icons, and the desktop background is changed to black. After one hour, the system will log the user out without warning". This has been criticised for being overly draconian, especially given reports of "false positives" by SPP's predecessor, and at least one temporary validation server outage."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
In less tempered words: "Microsoft doesn't really care that some percentage of the people whose Windows installations SPP convicts of being pirated or tampered with might be false positives. Those people have absolutely no recourse but to call Microsoft's WPA support number, and they might not get a sympathetic ear. We all know software is imperfect. Yet Microsoft's policy does not allow for handling that imperfection."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

33. "Vista calls me a criminal!"

Here's how users view Vista DRM: "It doesn't matter if you legitimately purchased your DVD or CD, it doesn't matter if you wish to format shift this product you own to another device you own, and doesn't matter that you routinely go out and buy more music and movies to enjoy -- you're a criminal, deal with it."
http://apcmag.com/5348/vista_defective_by_design
If pirated material does slip into your hands, you're the one who pays. "You've purchased Vista in good faith -- and Microsoft is going after you, not the person who did the pirating."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
This cartoon says it best: http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20070901&mode=classic

34. "Get out of my face, Vista!"

"Like a screaming, petulant child, a UAC security pop-up demands attention, and users must respond to get around it. The security notice seizes control of the computer, the screen goes gray translucent and a pop-up box asks the end user's permission to do something. The end user can regain control by responding to one of two options: "continue" or "cancel.""
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/vista_security_a_petulant_c...
Business Week chimes in: "The security program in Microsoft's new version of Windows is so annoying you're likely to turn it off. And that's risky."
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070315_101834...
Vista's nag-based security has been the butt of many jokes, something not missed by the competition: http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple-getamac-security_4...

35. "Vista's UAC is awful!"

"UAC [User Access Control] is not smart in any way. It doesn't try to discern something that might actually be a threat. It just throws up a prompt about something that might conceivably be exploited. It also doesn't ever relax. You could click the System Control Panel (also called Advanced System Settings in some areas of Vista) 75 times in a row, and it would prompt you with the statement "Windows needs your permission to continue" every time. So basically, it adds an extra click to the process of accessing this tool... As a Johnny-come-relatively-lately to the security bandwagon, Microsoft has embraced security principles fervently. What that means is that, if there's even a small chance that opening a settings dialog box, starting up an applet, or running an installation program could present even a slight security risk, Windows Vista is going to prompt you with some sort of UAC dialog box asking for permission to proceed."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
Another reaction: "I feel more secure — and more irritated."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289431,00.html
A comment spurred by UAC: "But the emergence of Vista has sparked something new inside me, a serious need to explore my alternatives."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
A 2008 update: MS acknowledges that UAC is supposed to drive you crazy. "Microsoft's David Cross came out and said so: "The reason we put UAC into the platform was to annoy users. I'm serious," said Cross."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080411-vistas-uac-security-prompt...

36. "I can't trust Windows Update!"

Microsoft has long suffered from lack of user trust, and Vista is burning what little is left.
"Something seems to have gone horribly wrong in an untold number of IT departments on Wednesday after Microsoft installed a resource-hogging search application on machines company-wide, even though administrators had configured systems not to use the program."
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2007/10/25.10.shtml
"Over the months vigilant Windows users have caught Microsoft betraying user trust on several separate occasions and this behavior is eroding customer confidence in the entire update mechanism."
http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=855
"For the second time in a month, Microsoft Corp. has had to defend Windows Update against charges that it upgraded machines without users' permission."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138495-pg,1/article.html
"We're looking for a more holistic view of what WU [Windows Update] does. And Microsoft hasn't given it to us."
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/137208/microsoft_downplays...
"Microsoft has apparently decided... that it doesn't need permission to patch Windows Updates files, even if you've set your preferences to require it... To make matters even stranger, a search on Microsoft's Web site reveals no information at all on the stealth updates... [W]riting files to a user's PC without notice (when auto-updating has been turned off) is behavior that's usually associated with hacker Web sites. The question being raised in discussion forums is, "Why is Microsoft operating in this way?""
http://www.windowssecrets.com/2007/09/13/01-Microsoft-updates-Windows-wi...

37. "Vista security is still second-class!"

"Windows users... end up not just buying Vista, the most expensive operating system to date, but also buying security software to compensate [for] Vista security weakness."
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/04/30/windows-vista-poor-security-means-bus...
In surveys, businesses see security worries as a reason to avoid Vista: "... only 28% agreed that Vista is more secure than XP. Meanwhile, the no votes increased to 24% and the unsure climbed to 49%."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
PC World delivers a too-familiar report: "...this latest flaw (now fixed) is a major black eye for Microsoft; along with two other critical security patches issued for Vista in its first three months on shelves, the problem has tarnished Vista's security sheen."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131167-page,1/article.html
ZD Net weights in: "Windows Defender for Vista has failed miserably when it comes to protecting users of Microsoft's latest operating system from a very basic attack."
http://www.zdnet.com.au/blogs/securifythis/soa/Microsoft-can-t-defend-Wi...
CRN Test Center tested Vista and found it wanting: "One of Microsoft's big promises with Vista was a more secure operating system. But when stripped to the bare bones and thrown into the wild, wild Web, Vista's security failed to impress Test Center engineers... Vista remains riddled with holes, despite its multilayer security architecture and embedded security tools. Besides providing no improvement in virus protection vs. XP, Vista brings little or no security gains over its predecessor against such threats as RDS exploits, script exploits, image exploits, VML exploits, malformed Web pages and known malicious URLs..."
http://www.crn.com/software/199701019
(Note: For a list of Vista vulnerabilities, see http://www.securityfocus.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?c=12&op=display_list&vend... )

38. "Microsoft's security reports can't be trusted!"

"So it’s one thing to publish a misleading report comparing the security of Internet Explorer and Firefox (ignoring days of risk, time to patch and automated updates), and it’s another thing to paint said report by a Microsoft employee as an unbiased third party study by not disclosing who authored it... I’d like to encourage our friends at Microsoft to practice responsible disclosure when they issue propagandist literature and portray it as the god’s honest truth. Guys: you are giving marketing a bad name, and you’re misleading your readers."
http://www.numenity.org/blog/2007/11/30/lies-damned-lies-and-microsoft-s...

Fractured infrastructure (or: More on design)

39. "Vista's driver support is horrible!"

This complaint is one of the contenders for top Vista problem; you'll find more slams online than you can possibly read. Here's one representative story:
"Vista would not recognise the printer even though the manufacturer has supplied drivers specifically for the O-S; it is a unique printer in that it comes with drivers for Windows, Linux and the Mac! But Vista doesn't want to have anything to do with it... A similar thing happened with an .avi file; Media Player indicated that the proper codec had been downloaded but once again there was only sound, no vision. Once that file was on my Debian box it played without any problem."
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/2/

40. "Vista's networking is unreliable!"

Again, PC Magazine speaks for countless frustrated users: "Networking, too, gives me huge headaches. In XP, a simple right click on the system tray icon put me one click away from IP settings and connections status. Now that same icon brings up a menu of options that ultimately lead to the Network and Sharing center—sharing in the Sirius Cybernetics, "Share and Enjoy" obfuscation mode, not any sort of network sharing I'm familiar with. I've configured every PC on my home network to share drives and printers, yet... there's no guarantee that any of them will be visible at any given time... my media center PC... simply drops off the network for absolutely no reason... With XP, wireless network connectivity out of sleep mode was virtually instantaneous. Now it can take up to 30 seconds to reconnect, even when my systems do wake up. That's in a trusted network, a trusted zone, and a trusted system. And why does it take so long for the dialog box to pop up after I right-click on the network tray icon? Vista has replaced XP's quick reaction time with molasses. I'm always wondering if something's wrong."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2170276,00.asp

41. "Vista still has the Registry?"

The essential Windows Achilles' Heel... is still with us. "One of the bog-down points for performance is the Windows System Registry, which among other things, is edited by every application you install, making it susceptible to bloat and corruption"
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
That means Vista users can continue looking forward to Registry repair jobs: "After four different attempts to solve the problem with my keyboard's Intellitype software, a Microsoft engineer sorted the issue by crawling for 75 minutes through my Registry Editor."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6407419.stm

42. "Vista is power-hungry!"

No, not just hungry for control, but for electricity. Vista's DRM is at fault: "The burden that the content-protection overhead places on resources is even more severe for portable, battery-powered devices."
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

43. "Vista's Sleep mode is lousy!"

PC Magazine reports: "Vista promised a new low-power sleep mode that would save energy yet enable nearly instantaneous resume. Poppycock. The brand-new dual-core system I built a few months ago totters off to sleep but never returns. I have to cold-start it to bring it back. This after replacing virtually every driver inside... But it's not just the long sleep. My home notebook acts as if it comes from Starbucks rather than HP. It used to snooze—but now, after a recent Vista update, it never goes to sleep at all. Its new nickname: Compuccino."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2171472,00.asp

44. "I can't use virtualization on Vista?"

Virtualization is a feature all the IT pros are talking about – and they're angry about the arbitrary restriction of virtualization to only the two most expensive Vista versions. The outcry prompted Microsoft to reconsider – but it then "flip-flopped" and kept the restrictions.
http://www.news.com/Microsoft-flip-flops-on-Vista-virtualization/2100-10...
Those who grudgingly pony up the cash for virtualization-enabled versions don't end up happy either. "...tasks take over three times as long to complete under virtualized Vista as they do under virtualized XP... Vista is significantly slower under virtualization than it should be, and I'll be damned if I know why."
http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisedesktop/archives/2007/06/vista_vir...
It's easy to see Microsoft's reluctance, though, as virtualization is a technology that assists the switch to competing operating systems – something that Vista has led IT professionals to desperately want.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/111607-vista-worries.html

45. "Vista has too much disk activity!"

"Apparently, lots of people have trouble with Vista doing something with their hard drive all the time."
http://blog.stuffedguys.com/2007/03/11/vista-disk-activity-again/
"There is constant disk activity and it would appear that this is happening for the purpose of indexing in order to make desktop search faster; at the rate the disk is written to, I would suspect that its lifetime will be seriously reduced."
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/2/

46. "Vista's backup is lousy!"

"Remember the old backup program in XP? It was universally reviled, for good reason. You couldn't do something as simple as backing up to a network folder or a CD drive... Well, the backup program built into Windows Vista will make you nostalgic for XP-based backup. If you want to back up data in Windows Vista, you'll be looking for a third-party program."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
Comparisons with Mac OS X's Time Machine software are harsh: "[Time Machine] is a completely different system from Vista's "Previous Versions" which are saved (by default) on the same disk with the current version of a file, and can't be rescued if your disk goes south—and Vista's "Previous Versions" can't do anything for you if you need to restore your entire system... [Vista's] System Restore lets you roll back the operating system to a previous state—if you're lucky, because it often doesn't work as promised—but doesn't restore your documents to an earlier state."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2207556,00.asp?sr=hotnews

47. "A: drive? C: drive?"

It may be 2008, but Vista still sticks users with DOS-style lettered drive names like "c:", whose expected (and wished-for) demise was cancelled when Microsoft jettisoned a planned virtual file system.
What remains leads to arcane fun like this: "...I shrank the partition and created a 2nd partition. On this partition I installed XP, but like the article states XP's install sees vista and labels that drive c:. So XP is now installed on d:... Is there any way to change it so xp sees xp's drive as c: and vista sees vista's drive as c: ?"
http://neosmart.net/forums/showthread.php?t=725

48. "Vista's Search is poor!"

Forbes searches and doesn't like what it finds: "The new desktop search features are a mess, thanks in part to inscrutable indexing defaults and options. A "quick search" panel at the bottom of the Start menu lets you find results whether in a file's name or its contents. But on one machine--oddly, the fastest I tested--it was far, far slower than using Start's regular search option. Though that option finds folders like Accessories, quick search doesn't always. And if you click away to do something else while you wait for answers, Vista abandons the "quick search" and makes you start over."
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0226/050.html
A pithier report: "Windows Desktop Search, last I tried, makes local searching (alone) a pain in the ass."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window...

49. "Vista won't let me change root certificates!"

Getting technical here, but: users who want to mark certain root certificates as untrusted will find that Vista no longer allows this. "If you are in an organization that needs to delete a root, it is very serious... it certainly affects government (agencies with strict crytography rules). It also has a serious effect on corporations that are worried about their competitors who happen to be Microsoft-blessed certificate authorities."
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/17703

What Vista offers (or: An offal lot)

50: "Vista gives me Internet Explorer 7? No thanks!"

USA Today isn't impressed: "You cannot change IE7's toolbar; you cannot rearrange the icons. If you want the search box on the left instead of the right, that's too bad. The folks in Redmond have decided they know best."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2006-11-22-ie7-offic...
Nor is IT Wire: "Internet Explorer 7 is every bit as sad as its predecessors... IE7 has tabs - about three years and more after Firefox made them popular - but the furniture has been moved around in a meaningless way. In both IE7 and the entire layout of Vista I was reminded of one thing - the way my wife often re-arranges our old furniture to provide the illusion that something has changed."
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/1/
Vista hypes the security of IE 7, but it's already turning up security flaws. "Microsoft is investigating two recently disclosed security vulnerabilities that affect Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Vista... The flaws could let attackers get their hands on sensitive user information..."
http://www.pctipsbox.com/ie-7-vista-bug-reports-have-ms-digging/
Like Vista itself, IE 7 is hounding users with nagging messages. Says Microsoft Watch: "Overnight, I posted about Internet Explorer 7, for which I have seen a large number of unhappy Microsoft Watch comments... Security is part of the problem, whether caused by new security features or IE 7 pop-up noise... When using the Microsoft Watch blogging system's tools to insert a link in a post, IE 7 blocks the process and warns: "The Website is using a scripted window to ask you for information." I can "temporarily allow scripted windows," which is fine, but still annoying. The process is a security speed bump, which is intended to prevent malicious scripting windows but instead is an ongoing annoyance."
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/vista_security_a_petulant_c...

51. "Vista's built-in applications are a step down!"

Forbes finds Vista's applications disappointing. "Windows Mail is a mild reworking of Outlook Express whose big new feature is a spam filter that in my tests flagged nonspam as spam and vice versa an unacceptable 10% of the time. The bare-bones word processor WordPad used to be able to open Microsoft Word files. No more. What possible rationale could there be for "fixing" that, except to force users to shell out for the real thing?"
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0226/050.html
"Once you look around the Vista landscape, you realise that for all the sound and bluster, there's precious little available for you, the average PC user, to work with. There's no decent word processor, mail client (unless you are prepared to apply that adjective to Microsoft Mail, the descendant of the illustrious Outlook Express), or browser."
http://www.iTWire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/1/

52. "Windows Meeting Space is useless!"

"Looking for a good way to hold virtual meetings over a network, so that you can share documents with others, view everyone's markups, and chat and talk while you're all in different locations? Then don't look to Windows Meeting Space. This application is supposed to let people create ad hoc virtual meetings over a network, including those at Wi-Fi hot spots. But it lacks so many basic features that it's hard to imagine anyone using it. There's no common whiteboard, no built-in VoIP feature, and its chat module is pretty much worthless. What's the point, you might ask? We did, too."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
So is there something better? "Apple's IM client, iChat, runs rings around what's available for other systems."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

53. "Where's Vista's answer to iLife?"

Nobody calls Vista's media programs the match of OS X's acclaimed iLife suite. A typical comment: "...the apps like the DVD making and photo handling programs in Vista look nice but are very immature comparison to OSX’s."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window...

54. "Windows Media Center is a loser!"

Says IT Wire: "I had a look at the Windows Media Centre and tried to make a CD but gave up after a while; the interface is clunky, non-intuitive and anything but user-friendly. I needed to make the CD in a hurry so I used my son's MacBook - something I am rarely allowed to touch, as he is highly possessive about it - and figured out how to make the disc in a matter of minutes. It was the first time I had used the MacBook for that purpose."
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/2/

55. "Vista's remote desktop access software is inferior!"

Is everything better in Leopard? "I've been using remote desktop-access software for years on Windows machines, but none has been as simple and quick as the one in Leopard."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2207556,00.asp?sr=hotnews

56. "Vista still gives me all that crapware!"

It's 2008, and PC buyers still get their machines pre-loaded with ugly, dysfunctional software that slows the computer, clogs the disk, clutters the desktop, and incessantly hawks products. Says the Wall Street Journal: "When you buy a gleaming, new personal computer, the first thing you want to do is to try out its cool new features and make it your own... But as I rediscovered recently, often what you’re forced to do instead is to spend hours as a digital maintenance man wading through annoying and confusing chores... I had been waiting for Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system. I was amazed that the initial experience is still a big hassle... The problem is a lack of respect for the consumer. The manufacturers don’t act as if the computer belongs to you. They act as if it is a billboard for restricted trial versions of software and ads for Web sites and services that they can sell to third-party companies who want you to buy these products."
http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070405/pcs-mired-in-chores/
Adds Computerworld, in one of the web's many tutorials on removing crapware from a Vista PC: "Most major hardware makers clutter their systems with preinstalled applications, browser toolbars, search settings and utilities -- not to mention self-launching advertisements enticing you to try out even more software... In essence, they have sold your PC to the highest bidder long before you take it out of the box."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
Meanwhile, users of open source OSes or even Mac OS X remain oblivious to this scourge. (Or they poke fun at it, as Apple does: http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/getamac/apple-getamac-fat_480x37... )

GUI stuff (or: In-your-face interface)

57. "Vista's interface is a step backward!"

It's less consistent than XP, slower, and even makes mousing harder. Says a user interface researcher: "In every benchmark, Windows scored significantly poorer than Mac OS X, which is far more "fluid" than Microsoft's OSes... But this isn't a Windows versus Mac thing. We wanted to see if Vista improved on some of the weak spots of previous releases. Usually, developers iron out user interface issues over time to increase [user] productivity... [But] Vista is a step back."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/129410-1/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

58. "Vista changes things for no reason!"

A common refrain: "Why did Microsoft ignore the first rule of usability and ditch all familiar methods of doing stuff that I'd spent 15 years getting used to?"
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006214o-2000331758b,00.htm
Another take: "I know tons of useful short cuts through the XP interface. These don't work any more. Not because there's some fundamental new philosophy at work that I can learn to my advantage, but because things have been moved around... That wouldn't be so frustrating, if Vista wasn't so like XP in so many ways that the changes are so obviously change for change's sake."
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006217o-2000331777b,00.htm
And another: "One can understand change if it is logical but in the case of Vista, there is often change for the sake of change. There is no point in renaming a utility or changing the layout of a certain window if there is no productivity gain. It is just plain silly."
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/1/

59. "Vista's Flip 3D is a lame Expose!"

Microsoft says Vista's Flip 3D "allow[s] you to see everything you're working on at a glance". Yet it doesn't – you still need to flip through the windows to see what they are. Mac OS X's Exposé lets you see them all at once. In short: "Expose is a far better task switcher than the laughable Flip 3D"
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window...
The IT press agrees: "3D Flips is also pleasing to look at, but we're not huge fans of the "stacked" rotating view, which doesn't let you view the full content of a window until your rotate it to the front of the batch; it isn't quite as functional as Tiger's Exposé."
http://www.laptopmag.com/Features/Mac-OS-X-Tiger-vs-Windows-Vista.htm?pa...

60. "Vista messes up file menus!"

Says Computerworld: "Microsoft has also gone halfway toward eliminating file menus throughout Windows Vista, and this inconsistency can be disconcerting. Menus are gone in Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, and Windows Photo Gallery, for example, but are still there in Windows Mail, Windows Calendar, Notepad, WordPad, and a variety of other applications."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

Vista value (or: Up to 399 reasons to reconsider)

61. "Do I need Vista for anything other than games?"

No, and maybe not even then: "About the only thing needed is DirectX10 – which few games require anyway."
http://apcmag.com/5049/10_reasons_not_to_get_vista
You'll be hard pressed to find any enthusiasts urging upgrades to Vista. More typical are comments like this: "Even if Vista were gloriously perfect, I really don't see any good reason for most users to upgrade to it... Now, Microsoft is already telling us that we should upgrade as soon as possible, and, while we're at it, we should also move up to Office 2007. I'm not buying it... If what you have works for you, then you really don't need to upgrade to Vista, or for that matter, anything else."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0%2C1895%2C2072976%2C00.asp

62. "Some 'Vista advantages' don't even require Vista!"

Says Forbes: "Many touted improvements, like the Web browser and media player, have been available for XP for months. One minor winner is Vista-only: file lists that update their contents automatically. You no longer have to hit View and Refresh to see files added since you last opened the list window. Macs, of course, have done this for years."
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0226/050.html

63. "Vista has the fit and finish of a Yugo!"

Vista problems come both big and small. Forbes again: "The new Mac-like ability to show thumbnails of documents and running programs is cute, but it doesn't always work--typical of a level of fit and finish that would be unacceptable from a cut-rate tailor. Only in Windowsland will you find howlers like a Safely Remove Hardware button for memory card readers that happen to be hardwired into your computer."
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0226/050.html
"The Windows [Vista] Help system, in stark contrast [to OS X], feels like an “RTFM” experience (mildly ironic, though far from suprising)."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window...

64. "Even Vista's box is poorly designed!"

A lack of attention to detail extends beyond the digital: even Vista's plastic retail box frustrates buyers! "[The Vista and Office 2007 box is] a hard plastic case, sealed in two different places by plastic stickies. It represents a complete failure of industrial design; an utter F in the school of Donald Norman's Design of Everyday Things. To be technical about it, it has no true affordances and actually has some false affordances: visual clues as to how to open it that turn out to be wrong."
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/08/18.html
"I was seriously considering a trip to the garage and to smash the box open with a hammer, when I discovered another transparent sticker that was holding two parts together. With that gone, the box moved a few more millimeters, until I realised the thing opens sideways, and boom: Vista was opened. I’ve installed entire operating systems more quickly and with less stress than opening this box…"
http://www.lockergnome.com/blade/2007/06/25/windows-vista-problem-no-one...
Don't worry, though, MS has your back on this one, with a full how-to on prying open that tricksy oyster of a package. For those who are absolutely sure they want to open it:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/2e680b8d-211e-41c5-a...

65. "My new PC doesn't even come with the Vista disks!"

You'll have to create your own restore disks – which may or may not work. "I recently purchased a Compaq Presario notebook with Vista Home Premium installed. One of the first things I tried to do was create the restore CD/DVD since no one supplies these any more... I was informed on the screen that verification failed. I tried different suppliers of both CD and DVD with same result... When I explained the error, I was then told the problem was due to a copyright conflict in Vista that prevented the copy from being created. Is this freakin’ insane or what?... why did Microsoft allow something like this get out in the first place?"
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/06/24/copyright-insanity/
Compare that with a Macintosh, which does come with disks – or GNU/Linux, offering you all the disks you want, all the time, for no cost.

66. "Vista licensing restrictions are ridiculous!"

Those who closely read Vista's End-User Licensing Agreement (EULA) have some words in response: "It’s true that Vista Home and Home Premium can not be installed in virtual machines... the crippling doesn’t stop there, even those who go with Vista Ultimate on their virtual machine still can’t play Microsoft DRM content... The last part of the licensing that bears mention is sure to send shivers down the spine..."
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/02/windows_vista_e.html
A big-picture view: "Aside from the backward thinking that is licensing, and not actually owning, your software new terms with Vista include being able to transfer the license only once; half the limit compared to XP for Home Basic and Premium on how many machines can connect to yours for sharing, printing and accessing the Internet; limits on the number of devices that can use Vista's Media Center features; activation and validation governing your ability to upgrade hardware and use Windows itself; and outlawing the use of Home Basic and Premium with virtualisation software, and Ultimate only if DRM enabled content and applications aren't used."
http://apcmag.com/5049/10_reasons_not_to_get_vista
And the village wag version: "Any sensible person who reads the end user licence agreement accompanying Vista would, I'm sure, prefer to opt for a cell in Guantanamo; you basically have to spread your legs wide and bend over if you want to use the operating system."
http://www.iTWire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/1/

67. "Vista server costs are ridiculous!"

"A network running Windows clients and servers requires buying a license for each client... Mac OS X Server costs $499 for a 10-client and $999 for an unlimited client version. Windows has no such unlimited client version."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2184562,00.asp
GNU/Linux users have no such cost concerns. Says an online retailer: "Under a Linux environment our server software licensing costs are a tenth of what it was costing us under Microsoft."
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/09/24/226987/e-tailer-cuts-l...

Life with Vista (or: The yoke's on you)

68. "Vista is just more Microsoft lock-in"

The combination of Information Rights Management, Trusted Computing, and Vista serve to lock users into Microsoft's file formats: "The Trusted Computing Module has sat silently on the motherboard for years now. Adding Vista and IRM to it is takes it from egg to larva, and turning on remote attestation in a year or two, once everyone is on next-generation Office, will bring the larva to adulthood, complete with venomous stinger."
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196602058

69. "Vista lets Microsoft control my computer!"

Vista not only refuses to work with many hardware drivers, it can even cede control over drivers to Microsoft: "Now, to add to craziness all of this - Microsoft will have the ability disable drivers at will! "Once a weakness is found in a particular driver or device, that driver will have its signature revoked by Microsoft, which means that it will cease to function" - so if you have a piece of hardware that gets its driver DRM cracked, Microsoft can release an update to disable it... All this adds up to make using Vista look much more like a Faustian bargain, giving in your freedom and rights to Microsoft for "premium content" that you probably won't be able to play on your hardware anyway."
http://www.jethrocarr.com/index.php?cms=blog:20070124
Vista's Windows Defender security software also has you over a barrel. "Windows Defender could remove programs you don’t want removed (certain torrent software comes to mind) if the mothership decided to tell it to do so with an update."
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/02/windows_vista_e.html

70. "Windows Genuine Advantage - an advantage for who?"

Windows Genuine Advantage can declare your copy of Vista illegitimate – for no valid reason.
A note from ZD Net: "I won't mention the dead laptop at work that's dead because the Windows Genuine Advantage system has decided that its copy of Vista is illegitimate. It came in as a review machine, without the usual documentation, so we don't have the OEM's licence key. We do have the OEM's Vista still installed, but that's Not Good Enough."
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006217o-2000331777b,00.htm
"Genuine Advantage, My Ass" is the earthier verdict of another user, who found Vista a good reason to switch to Linux.
http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2007/03/genuine_advantage_my_as...
Rare cases? No, this issue went global. "Windows Genuine Advantage suffers worldwide outage, problems galore... If you attempt a validation and it fails, your install may be marked as non-genuine, which could lead to several annoyances. First things first, do not reboot a Windows machine that has been marked as non-genuine. Once you do so, you will lose functionality."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070825-windows-genuine-advantage-...

71. "Vista deactivates itself!"

"As if Vista didn’t have enough negative press already, Microsoft has confirmed that updating something as simple as your video card driver could cause the installed copy of Vista to deactivate and require revalidation."
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/10/23/upgrading-drivers-in-vista-can-lead-t...
Says APC Magazine: "...what this essentially means is that keeping your drivers up-to-date is a potentially very risky process... There’s no denying that Windows Activation has a serious image problem. Not only is it inconvenient and cumbersome, but it creates a very strong impression in the user's mind that Microsoft doesn't really want to give you the software you paid for."
http://apcmag.com/vista_activation

72. "Vista's DRM is inexcusable!"

This is one of the biggest concerns over Vista. "To prevent a person from copying (or in most cases, backing up) a movie, the operating system provides process isolation and if an unverified component is in use, the operating system shuts down DRM content. For the first time on any operating system, we're not even allowed to backup our favorite movies?"
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9785337-7.html?tag=nefd.only
"Windows Vista includes an array of "features" that you don't want. These features will make your computer less reliable and less secure. They'll make your computer less stable and run slower. They will cause technical support problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of your peripheral hardware and existing software. And these features won't do anything useful. In fact, they're working against you. They're digital rights management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of the entertainment industry. And you don't get to refuse them."
http://badvista.fsf.org/what-s-wrong-with-microsoft-windows-vista
"I asked my wife to watch a DVD which I had got for her, a murder mystery sold by the Agatha Christie estate. If anything is legit, then this DVD is. But midway through the film, Windows Media player stopped with a message that some copyright or the other had been violated!!!"
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13114/1090/1/3/
And that DRM has real costs: "Windows Vista includes an extensive reworking of core OS elements in order to provide content protection for so-called “premium content”... Providing this protection incurs considerable costs in terms of system performance, system stability, technical support overhead, and hardware and software cost... This document analyses the cost involved in Vista's content protection, and the collateral damage that this incurs throughout the computer industry."
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html
Vista's DRM is driving people away. "How many lost sales of Microsoft's Media Center software and Windows Vista has it caused because the DRM subsystem randomly decides that you must be a criminal?"
http://www.news.com/DRM-troubles-drive-ex-Microsoft-employee-to-Linux/21...

Inevitable comparisons (or: The grass actually is greener over there)

73. "OS X is better than Vista!"

Information Week says "Mac OS X Shines In Comparison With Windows Vista" – and that was before OS X's fast-selling Leopard upgrade.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196800670
Computerworld provides an update: "Leopard spanks Vista, continues OS X's reign of excellence... it's impossible to miss the refinement infused throughout Apple's new operating system, whereas there are compromises in Vista that impinge upon the user experience without giving something back in return. Apple is focused on the user experience, while Microsoft appears to be focused on antipiracy, overengineered security protections, and digital rights management aimed at serving its prospective third-party partners... There's really no contest. Tiger is a better OS than Vista, and there are no long-term downsides to Leopard. Vista doesn't measure up."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
USA Today's tech editor tried Vista – and begged for an iMac at the end.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2007-03-02-vista-pro...
And so on.

74. "GNU/Linux is better than Vista!"

Yes, a free operating system is called better than the world's most expensive one. A brief rundown of reasons: Easier hardware requirements, better security, no DRM or other restrictions, no ceding control to Windows Genuine Advantage, and in many cases, better applications.
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/62060,five-ways-linux-is-better-than-vista...
ZD Net opines: "Since the late 90s I've dabbled with Linux, but there have always been compelling reasons to return to, or stick with, Windows. No more, for two reasons: Vista, and Ubuntu [Linux] 7.10."
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006214o-2000331758b,00.htm
"Having used Ubuntu for the best part of a year, I'm a fan... Which leaves my Vista machine... it's not been a good experience. The wireless networking is vastly unreliable when switching between different access points... But mostly: it's slow, it's intrusive, and it's arbitrarily different. It takes minutes to wake up from various sleep states or from a restart; minutes in which parts of the system seem to get going only to lapse into an unresponsive state where you're not at all sure whether your mouse clicks are registering... Elsewhere, it behaves like XP behaves on a 256MB computer, only it's running in 2GB. Everything is just... slow... It boils down to one abiding impression: Ubuntu goes out of its way to get out of your way, even if it doesn't succeed all the time. Vista goes out of its way to be Vista and enforce the Vista way. You must conform regardless of the implications."
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006217o-2000331777b,00.htm
"My advice to [Linux user] whingers: spend 10 days using the latest version of Windows and you'll realise that you are living in a world of relative bliss."
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13114/1090/

75. "Vista rips off other OSes!"

Aero? Aqua.
Windows Sidebar? Dashboard.
Instant Search? Spotlight.
A typical online comment: "The best way to sum up Vista is this: go to a store that sells Apple computers (like an Apple store!) and play with OS X. That's basically what Vista is--a knock-off of Mac OSX."
http://reviews.cnet.com/windows/microsoft-vista-home-basic/4864-3672_7-3...
While the web is rife with claims that Vista copies OS X, some see "borrowings" from GNU/Linux as well: "... the updates they’ve made with [A]ero aren’t even vaguely imaginative. In fact, they just seem to be blatant rip-offs of both modern Linux and Apple interfaces."
http://www.vistareview.info/2007/03/06/the-windows-vista-gui-interface-i...

76. "Vista's been leapfrogged by OS X Leopard (10.5)!"

"Tiger fared well against Microsoft's offerings, but Leopard takes a real leap ahead."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...
"Leopard makes it far easier to find documents and applications than Windows Vista."
http://reviews.cnet.com/macintosh-os/mac-os-x-10/4505-3673_7-32058772.ht...
"Vista has widgets, but they can't beat Leopard's for ease of use."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

77. "Vista doesn't even match up to OS X Tiger (10.4)!"

"If you were to analyze the most vital elements of a computing platform--security, interface, and performance--Mac OS X Tiger trumps Windows Vista, and is our pick as the superior operating system."
http://www.laptopmag.com/Features/Mac-OS-X-Tiger-vs-Windows-Vista.htm?pa...

78. "Leopard is as bad as Vista!"

Complaints about the Mac OS X Leopard are far, far fewer than diatribes against Vista – but upgrades to Leopard haven't been flawless for everyone, and there are certainly some unhappy souls out there. What's interesting is this: When a disgruntled shopper wants to put down the Mac OS, what curse does he use? He calls it a Vista! "[Leopard] is not better than Vista. Leopard is Vista. And Tiger is better than both of them!"
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2223921,00.asp

Vista sales (or: The birth rate must be declining)

79. "Nobody's buying Vista!"

Vista isn't selling well. "Standalone unit sales of Vista at U.S. retail stores were down 59.7 percent compared with Windows XP, during each product's first six months on store shelves, according to NPD Group... "It's just not doing well," NPD analyst Chris Swenson said of Vista's performance at retail stores..."
http://www.news.com/Running-the-numbers-on-Vista/2100-1016_3-6207375.html
"... there is still no great rush in the corporate world to adopt Vista... Vista has also been slow to catch fire among consumers."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/47615-microsoft-no-one-s-catching-the-vi...
Whether initial sales of Vista were good or not, they drop off sharply: "Microsoft today revealed that it had sold 40 million copies of Windows Vista in the 100 days since its late-January debut... While significant, the sales point to a rapid slowdown in adoption of the new operating system."
http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/05/15/vista.sales.halved/
An update from CES in early 2008: "...[Microsoft's] once dominant grip on the OS market is loosening. Based on Gates' statement, Windows Vista was aboard just 39% of the PC's that shipped in 2007... And Vista, in terms of units shipped, only marginally outperformed first year sales of Windows XP according to Gates' numbers -- despite the fact that the PC market has almost doubled in size since XP launched... The numbers are no doubt troubling for Microsoft, which spent millions of dollars developing and promoting Windows Vista... Despite the efforts, many corporate and individual PC users have turned their backs on Vista -- citing concerns about its resource requirements and compatibility with older applications."
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/67663,majority-of-new-pcs-ship-without-windows-vista-gates-unintentionally-reveals.aspx

80. "Vista isn't spurring new PC sales"

PC manufacturers, and everyone else connected to the industry, hoped Vista would kick sales in the rear. But it's not happening. Says the analyst behind a report on Vista's sales effects: "My view is that, as a motivating factor to go buy a PC, Vista is not enough."
http://www.news.com/Is-Vista-helping-boost-PC-sales/2100-1016_3-6186086....
Fast-growing Acer Computer had sales hopes dashed by Vista: "Acer Inc yesterday revised downward its revenue growth to less than 40 percent, citing a weaker-than-expected impact from the release of Microsoft's Vista operating system."
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2007/06/15/2003365394
Says Gartner analyst George Shiffler: "The release of Microsoft Windows Vista operating system at the end of January has, so far, failed to stimulate the market in the way many hoped."
http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=20000...

81. "Vista? We're not even going to think about it until SP 1"

"[Corporate technology departments] are waiting for Microsoft to bless [Vista] with a service pack..."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289431,00.html
This isn't about little mom-and-pop businesses with no knowledge of technology. Even Microsoft's closest partners, like Intel and Dell, are turning up their noses at Vista until SP 1 comes out. "We knew we would roll out Vista internally faster than any other OS (but) if we are at the SP1 level it is going to be safer."
http://www.news.com/Intel%2C-Dell-hold-off-on-internal-rollout-of-Vista/...
Says a lead analyst at Directions on Microsoft: "We'll almost look back to SP1 as the [Vista] launch date."
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/vista_one_year_later.html

82. "Microsoft is lying about Vista sales!"

Microsoft claims that Vista sales are good, but not everyone agrees with the reported numbers. "Microsoft has claimed they have sold as many as 20 million copies of Vista... There are not 20 million computers with Vista installed so instead of claiming that, they claim 20 million copies have sold. What they have not said is how many of those copies were sold to retailers to put on store shelves which may or may not have been sold to consumers by now."
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/03/27/vista-sales-not-20-million-strong-as-...
"In February, Microsoft insisted it had already sold more than 20 million copies of Windows Vista. Oh yeah, like there were actually 20 million copies of Vista already out there and running. Pull the other leg, it's got bells on."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2190228,00.asp
A parting shot (from what is actually one of the more Vista-friendly pages referenced here): "Admittedly, I find myself amused with the latest Vista sales numbers, as they seem to forget how many of those same people are disgusted once they break the seal and want to take Vista back."
http://www.osweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2685&I...

83. "Microsoft is searching for scapegoats!"

"Ballmer admitted to financial analysts that the predictions for Vista had proved 'overly optimistic' and he blamed the pirates in China, India, Brazil, Russia and other emerging markets... Of course he is ignoring the fact that a lot of people are not buying Vista because it does not offer much more than XP and Windows Genuine Advantage makes their lives a misery."
http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2007/02/19/ballmer-blames-pi...

84. "Why are OS X sales booming since the release of Vista?"

You'll hardly be alone if you suspect a connection. In the Vista era, reports like the following are a daily occurrence:
"Apple is gaining major ground in the war for dominance of the lucrative battleground known as college campuses."
http://mac.blorge.com/2007/10/22/apple-gaining-ground-in-university-camp...
"According to a report issued Monday by market researcher Net Applications, the Mac's worldwide market share among Web users increased to 6.6 percent in September, compared to 4.7 percent a year ago -- a 40 percent increase."
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=010000ZWAKLM
"This year, the [Princeton] University's Student Computer Initiative has sold more Macs than PCs. Students were offered a selection of Dell, IBM and Apple computers, and 60 percent chose Macs, up from 45 percent last year... Vista's sleek new interface — touted as sexy by Microsoft advocates — is almost useless and is so taxing that the system should be sold with additional memory. I mean, why hassle your customers?"
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2007/10/05/news/18871.shtml
It's enterprise too: "...there are actually really good reasons why investors should wake up to the possibility that XP/Vista/etc. won't be the dominant desktop platform forever, and that Apple could represent a new paradigm in enterprise computing."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/30474-apple-for-enterprise-yes-change-do...
"We expect that much of today's IT infrastructure is going to be turned upside down by the invasion of consumer technologies... Consumerization is going to make IT's job harder, and platforms like the Mac are going to become increasingly common, in many cases in spite of the wishes of management."
http://seekingalpha.com/article/47275-corporate-use-of-macs-on-the-rise?...

Reactions to Vista (or: Humanity united at last)

85. "IT nerds hate Vista!"

Vista problems have even the experts giving up, says this article: "Unless Microsoft pulls a rabbit out of its hat, Vista may go down in history as the software that brought down a mighty empire... [P]eople are not going to lay down their hard-earned money for something that doesn’t work."
http://www.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/2007/02/28/vista-even-the-experts...
A case in point is this long-term Longhorn/Vista tester's widely-read tale of surrender: "I gave Vista a real chance. I just can’t use it as my primary OS anymore."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/02/27/windows-vista-im-breaking-up-with-you/
More advice: "...it seems to make more sense to avoid Vista altogether, keep Windows XP, and just wait until Windows 7."
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/07/27/avoid-vista-keep-xp-and-wait-for-wind...
There's agreement over at eWEEK: "I can't think of a single reason to switch from XP to Vista. I'm not talking a good reason, I really mean any reason."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2190228,00.asp

86. "Consumers hate Vista!"

The Dutch Consumers' Association wants Microsoft to provide angry Vista purchasers with Windows XP instead. "After a survey conducted by the Consumers’ Association showed that the performance of Microsoft’s latest operating system was very poor, the Association set up a registration centre for complaints about Vista. In less than five weeks 5,000 users filed complaints about the functioning of the system. "The product has many teething problems, it is just not ready," a spokesperson for the association said. Printers and other hardware reportedly failed in combination with Vista, computers crash regularly and the peripherals are very slow."
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=44868

87. "Enterprises hate Vista!"

"Yesterday, Michael Silver, vice president of Gartner client computing, gave me the dim view of Microsoft's flagship operating system. 'Vista adoption in the enterprise has been really poor,' he said. 'Enterprises are about a year behind where they told us they'd be a year ago.'... A year ago, Gartner forecast that early Vista deployments would begin in earnest by the fourth quarter of 2007 and reach threshold by the second quarter of 2008. Now, mainstream enterprise adoption is tracking for early 2009, about the time Microsoft is supposed to be wrapping up Vista successor Windows 7."
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/vista_one_year_later.html
Here's some advice to enterprise procurement managers: "Hey, category managers in charge of IT spend. Want to make yourself a friend of the business for life? I've got a secret for you: don't rubberstamp your CIO's decision to upgrade to Vista or Office 2007. In fact, tack on a big "reject" to the request or the requisition. And don't do it to save money. Do it to save your hide."
http://www.spendmatters.com/index.cfm/2007/2/27/Vista--Outlook-2007-is-a...
Even Rob Enderle, an "analyst" noted for his pro-Microsoft stance, says: "Vista adoption is well below where I thought it would be by now...Corporations aren't even close to being ready for Vista, and many of us have been expecting this move. The biggest issue is that most don't seem to see the value in the product. Right now the majority of the comments I'm getting would indicate the people [who] don't want Vista right now are in the majority."
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2190228,00.asp
"A survey published by InformationWeek [in 2007] revealed that 30% of corporate desktop managers have no plans to upgrade their company's PC's to Vista -- ever."
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/67663,majority-of-new-pcs-ship-without-win...

88. "Even the industry hates Vista!"

Says Gianfranco Lanci, president of PC manufacturer Acer: “The whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista.”
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Software/727.html
International Data Corp (IDC) vice president Bob O'Donnell said that Vista had failed to live up to the hype that had excited the market, with a lukewarm reception especially from the commercial sector: "The reality is that people are not buying PCs because of Vista; they buy because they need one."
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2007/06/15/2003365394
Meanwhile developers are also giving The Big V the Big Cold Shoulder: as of mid 2008, only a tenth of developers in one survey were writing apps for Vista, a small fraction on those coding for XP.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9969231-16.html

89. "Vista? Ban it!"

What do the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration have in common? They've openly banned Vista, for reasons ranging from software incompatibility to upgrade costs.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198000229
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/03/14/government-agencies-ban-win...
Some schools, meanwhile, are shunning Vista for reasons ranging from lack of compelling reason for an upgrade to Microsoft's anti-competitive practices.
http://www.neowin.net/news/main/07/10/27/uk-schools-warned-to-avoid-a-mi...
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39285414,00.htm

90. "Vista? What a joke!"

Literally. Everyone's making fun of it. CRACKED magazine says about Microsoft: "No producer of goods in the history of man has sold so much while caring so little. The combined love and craftsmanship in the every copy of Windows Vista sold in 2007 would roughly equal that put into one toddler's Play-Doh snake. Here was a program with several features, such as a warning box that pops up every five minutes or so to ask you if you're sure you want to do what you're doing, so shamelessly broken that they seemed to have been added on a drunken dare... Nearly everyone hated Vista, in the way that nearly everyone hates being stabbed...Vista is one of those things the future will laugh at us for, in the same way we laugh about old hospitals using leeches."
http://www.cracked.com/article_15773_p4.html

A small sampler if you want more in that vein:
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20070901&mode=classic
http://www.davesdaily.com/pictures/541-microsoft-windows-vista-humor.htm
http://franksworld.com/blog/archive/2007/01/31/4412.aspx
http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/joyimages/915.gif
http://www.windowsvistaweblog.com/2007/03/24/the-meaning-behind-vista/
http://blip.tv/file/340692/
http://dotnet.org.za/codingsanity/archive/2007/12/14/review-windows-xp.aspx

Goodbye Vista (or: The New Road Ahead)

91. "I won't upgrade to Vista!"

It's a common cry online: "I for one, will not be upgrading to Vista... Microsoft, how about some real innovation before you start wanting us to hand over our hard-earned money for something we don’t really want, but will eventually feel obliged to buy because everyone else is buying it."
http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2006/11/30/three-reasons-why-i-wont...

92. "I want to upgrade to XP!"

Yes, that's what people are calling the retreat from Vista back to the aged XP: an upgrade. They're weighing in by blog: "I have finally decided to take the plunge. Last night I upgraded my Vista desktop machine to Windows XP."
http://dotnet.org.za/codingsanity/archive/2007/12/14/review-windows-xp.aspx
They're weighing in by video: "Here's why I'm "upgrading" from Windows Vista to Windows XP..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HELrxLdP85c
As you'd expect, computer manufacturers retreating from Vista prefer to speak of "downgrading" to XP. But they're offering it all the same, in response to customer pleas. One example among many:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/VSTA-DWNGRD.html

93. "Extend my XP support!"

Windows users have spoken loud and clear: We want XP support, because we're not moving to Vista! And Microsoft has been forced to listen: "Microsoft has extended the life of Windows XP because Vista has simply not shown any life in the market."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209837,00.asp

94. "I want to buy a computer with XP, not Vista!"

Vista problems have PC makers scrambling to meet a new need: "While Microsoft is still pushing Vista hard, the company is quietly allowing PC makers to offer a "downgrade" option to buyers that get machines with the new operating system but want to switch to Windows XP."
http://www.news.com/The-XP-alternative-for-Vista-PCs/2100-1016_3-6209481...
"“We heard you loud and clear on bringing the Windows XP option back to our Dell consumer PC offerings,” Dell said on its Ideas in Action page, a companion to its IdeaStorm site."
http://vista.blorge.com/2007/04/21/dell-blinks-on-windows-vista-offering/
It's not just computer manufacturers, but resellers too: "VARs and system builders said the Vista issues are so significant that they are simply ripping Vista off most systems. "We are ripping it off systems 99 percent of the time," said Jay Tipton, vice president of Technology Specialists, a Fort Wayne, Ind., Microsoft Gold partner... Glen Coffield, president of Smart Guys Computers, an Orlando, Fla.-based retail chain with six stores in central Florida, said his No. 1 service job right now is wiping Vista off systems and replacing it with Windows XP."
http://www.crn.com/white-box/200900857

95. "Would I install Vista again? No!"

Says the BBC: "Everywhere I look, there are blogs and forums full of people who have problems with software drivers and suffer the poor customer support of the hundreds of hardware and software vendors that make up the Windows ecosystem. So would I do it again? The answer is no."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6407419.stm

96. "How do I uninstall Vista?"

The web's packed with tutorials and advice for those wanting to cleanse their computers of Vista. A small sampling:
http://www.removevista.com/
http://www.vista4beginners.com/How-to-Uninstall-Windows-Vista
http://www.community.probz.com/index.php?showtopic=553
http://www.pctechbytes.com/computer/article-87.html
http://www.chuckegg.com/how-to-remove-microsoft-vista-and-replace-it-wit...
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&...

97. "Goodbye, Vista!"

"...Vista was too painful for words. I said goodbye after 2 days. It took 4 years for XP to get to adequate. Will it take Vista that long or will Microsoft pull a Windows ME and replace Vista with another OS before Vista gets fixed?"
http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/08/30/mac-os-x-leopard-vs-microsoft-window...
"I’ve been a Microsoft loyalist for a long time… but I’m starting to feel like I’m being a bit short-changed with Vista."
http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/09/08/leopard-vs-windows-vista/ (see comments)
"I just filed my divorce papers for Microsoft's Vista. In my case, my relationship with Vista never went through the good life period. I gave up half of my assets to "live" with Vista (memory, CPU, performance, costs). But when I split up with Vista, I got it all back!"
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/eai/madgreek/archives/dumping-vista-a-divorce...

98. "Goodbye, Windows!"

Not just "Goodbye Vista", but "Goodbye, Windows".
"I recently made the BIG mistake of buying my wife an HP laptop with Vista installed... it runs Vista like a Pig. So one 2GB upgrade later and it still runs vista like a Pig, my wife is about ready to throw the machine out of the window. So I started consider alternatives…. Mac OSX is the future for me."
http://brianballard.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/goodbye-vista-hello-mac/
"Ninety percent of some 961 IT professionals surveyed said they have concerns about migrating to Microsoft's Vista... 44% of respondents have considered non-Windows operating systems, such as Linux and Macintosh, to avoid the Microsoft migration."
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/111607-vista-worries.html
"Contributing to Vista's woes is the fact that new desktop alternatives to the Windows operating system have emerged in recent years -- including Apple's beefed up Leopard OS and open source offerings from Ubuntu and other Linux distributors."
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/67663,majority-of-new-pcs-ship-without-win...

99. "Hello, OS X!"

"Leopard again raises the question of whether to switch from Windows to a Mac. I've found Vista to be a major disappointment that tends to look worse the more I use it... OS X is easier to manage and maintain and I vastly prefer OS X to Windows for Web-browsing, mail, and especially for any task that involves graphics, music, or video... Leopard is the only OS on the planet that works effortlessly and intuitively in today's world of networked computers and peripherals."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2209107,00.asp
"Even with the performance and stability improvements promised with Vista's first service pack, the tide was turning in Apple's favor even before the launch of Leopard. That's because of Mac OS X' ease of use, lack of crapware, and stronger security. Now that Leopard is here, we predict that many more consumers will be making the jump to Apple."
http://www.laptopmag.com/Features/Leopard-vs-Vista.htm?page=9

100. "Hello, open source!"

Representative news from the Vista era: "The Japanese government wants to go open source... The government has said explicitly it wants to decrease its reliance on Microsoft as a server operating system platform."
http://www.linuxworld.com/newsletters/linux/2007/0507linux2.html
Elsewhere on the globe: "Local chief information officers at a Sydney conference this week were more interested in talking about open source and standards-based software than Microsoft's new operating system... "[Windows Vista] makes absolutely no difference to us whatsoever.""
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Aussie-CIOs-get-clearer-vista-...
Meanwhile, developers are leaving Windows: "We attribute [the decline] largely to the increase in developers beginning to target Linux and different Linux [distributions]."
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/07/02/mswindows-share_1.html
Even if Vista were a decent product and not a sinking raft of troubles, it'd be hard-pressed to meet open-source's value proposition. Opines The Economist: "When firms are used to buying $1,000 office PCs running Vista Business Edition and loading each with a $200 copy of Microsoft Office, the attractions of a sub-$500 computer using a free operating system like Linux and a free productivity suite like OpenOffice suddenly become very compelling... And that’s not counting the $20,000 or more needed for Microsoft’s Exchange and SharePoint server software. Again, Linux provides such server software for free..."
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10410912

The Wrap

While I'm here, let me add a freebie item #101:

101. "Microsoft's list of 100 Vista benefits is really padded!"

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/100reasons.mspx?w...
Take a good, long look at Microsoft's list, and you'll see the same Vista features awkwardly stretched into multiple benefits, again and again and again. (Random thought: Is bologna technically meat any more when it's over 80% extenders and fillers?)

Whew!

What a trip! The list represents only a smattering of the online world's railings against Vista. I've concentrated on comments from recognized media sources, with a sampling of out-takes from lesser-known bloggers and blog comment posters, while eschewing profanity-laden rants and "Vista suxxors!" blatherings. I've also avoided criticisms based on pre-release versions of Vista, except for a few particularly interesting items as noted.

There's no need to pad this article with extraneous content; in fact, I had to consolidate several items to bring the number down to 100. Believe me, when it comes to collecting anti-Vista venom, there's no shortage of first-rate material to work with.

But let's end on a positive note. The Vista experience shows clearly that the days of "you'll take what we give you and you'll like it" are closing. Give people a bad product now and they'll speak up, with the Internet magnifying their voices a hundred-fold.

And then a crowd will step up to the plate to deliver what the people actually want. In this case, the world demands great computers, and the world is getting them – whether self-assured big names think they're coming along for the ride or not. More and more, people are taking the power of choice into their own hands, and that's as positive a story as I can think of.

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