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  • Posted Jan. 30, 2014, 5:58 p.m. - 10 years, 10 months ago

A look back at Windows Vista

 

 

7 years ago today, one of the most eagerly anticipated Windows products became available for general purchase – Windows Vista. Unfortunately, the OS didn’t have the impact that Microsoft had hoped for – instead of a positive product that could only build on the successes of XP, Vista was met with a backlash of criticism and unflattering reviews, centred largely around performance and cost. It’s predecessor, Windows 7, was released not even 3 years later, and even though some said this was rushed through development, it was still met with a better reception than Vista.

 

So what made Vista so unpopular? It had a lot of new features and upgraded programs, including Windows Media Player 11, IE7, instant search, the Aero interface, Windows Mail and newly designed games, including some for younger children, a feature XP was lacking. Well, cost for one thing. Whilst the costs to buy Vista in a package new weren’t highly expensive in the US for the time, in the UK the equivalent versions cost almost double, as well as in Canada. Additionally, Microsoft boasted that Vista would be able to run on nearly any PC on the market – a claim that backfired as a lot of the “premium” features, such as Aero, required very high specs to run properly, and were very buggy on PCs that did not meet requirements.
Windows XP diehard fans were also unimpressed with Vista. A lot of the features that made XP work well had been removed or redesigned in Vista, leaving users confused about the reasons why, and also how to work their machines.

 

Removed/replaced features included:
•    Windows Messenger
•    MSN Explorer
•    Active Desktop
•    NetMeeting – replace with Windows Meeting Space
•    Luna theme, and other classic colour schemes
•    Windows Explorer features

 

So what was good about Vista? There are several elements that did make up for Vista’s problems, including:
•    Search in Start Menu – This makes using the OS a lot easier, and saves time
•    Voice recognition – great for timesaving, and also easy to use in meetings.
•    Different volume settings for different programs – speaks for itself
•    Number of items being dragged in a drag and drop multi-function command – only a small thing, but lets you know you have selected the right number of items

 

So, what were your thoughts on Vista when it was released? Did you buy it and regret it? Were you one of the ones who liked Vista and kept it when 7 came out? Let us know in the comments…

7 years ago today, one of the most eagerly anticipated Windows products became available for general purchase – Windows Vista. Unfortunately, the OS didn’t have the impact that Microsoft had hoped for – instead of a positive product that could only build on the successes of XP, Vista was met with a backlash of criticism and unflattering reviews, centred largely around performance and cost. It’s predecessor, Windows 7, was released not even 3 years later, and even though some said this was rushed through development, it was still met with a better reception than Vista.

So what made Vista so unpopular? It had a lot of new features and upgraded programs, including Windows Media Player 11, IE7, instant search, the Aero interface, Windows Mail and newly designed games, including some for younger children, a feature XP was lacking. Well, cost for one thing. Whilst the costs to buy Vista in a package new weren’t highly expensive in the US for the time, in the UK the equivalent versions cost almost double, as well as in Canada. Additionally, Microsoft boasted that Vista would be able to run on nearly any PC on the market – a claim that backfired as a lot of the “premium” features, such as Aero, required very high specs to run properly, and were very buggy on PCs that did not meet requirements.

Windows XP diehard fans were also unimpressed with Vista. A lot of the features that made XP work well had been removed or redesigned in Vista, leaving users confused about the reasons why, and also how to work their machines.

Removed/replaced features included:

· Windows Messenger

· MSN Explorer

· Active Desktop

· NetMeeting – replace with Windows Meeting Space

· Luna theme, and other classic colour schemes

· Windows Explorer features

So what was good about Vista? There are several elements that did make up for Vista’s problems, including:

· Search in Start Menu – This makes using the OS a lot easier, and saves time

· Voice recognition – great for timesaving, and also easy to use in meetings.

· Different volume settings for different programs – speaks for itself

· Number of items being dragged in a drag and drop multi-function command – only a small thing, but lets you know you have selected the right number of items

So, what were your thoughts on Vista when it was released? Did you buy it and regret it? Were you one of the ones who liked Vista and kept it when 7 came out? Let us know in the comments…

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