Happy birthday, Windows Vista: Troubled teen hits 15
(2022/02/01)
- Reference: 1643711166
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/02/01/happy_birthday_windows_vista/
- Source link:
On January 30 2007, 15 years ago this week, the [1]delayed and [2]delayed again Windows Vista was released.
We could have fun talking about [3]how bad Vista was , and how much people hated it. It's one of the most unpopular releases ever, along with Windows ME. But if you run a vaguely modern Windows today, you're running a descendant of Vista.
Vista wasn't what Microsoft [4]promised in 2000 . Windows "Whistler" was going to merge Windows 9x and Windows NT: that became XP, and everyone remembers XP – mostly, fondly. Windows Blackcomb was [5]XP's planned successor . It never happened. We got [6]Windows Longhorn instead.
[7]
Blackcomb was [8]going to have a new programming model, a new UI, and a new database-driven storage engine, "WinFS"… but this [9]got postponed , then [10]removed , and [11]then cancelled .
[12]
[13]
It's more interesting to talk about what Vista really was. What shipped was something technologically [14]much more conservative .
It had User Access Control: those irritating pop-up messages constantly asking for permission. (That was really Microsoft realising that the bulk of Windows boxes would be standalone, not connected to a domain.)
[15]
It had a 3D-composited UI, "Aero", complete with transparency effects, although that did [16]make it a bit slower . By the time Windows 7 rolled around, people loved it – so Microsoft [17]ripped it out of Windows 8 . (The look, not the compositing; that's still there.)
It had a sidebar containing "widgets", which [18]are back in Windows 11 .
Although it was [19]killed off five years ago , Vista was the basis for Windows 7. Vista was NT version 6; Windows 7, under the covers, [20]was Windows NT 6.1 .
[21]
Windows 7 was Vista tuned to be more responsive. Windows 8 was Vista 2: the flat-look [22]tablet version of Vista (which it was [23]actually quite good ).
[24]'Dated and cheesy' Aero ripped from Windows 8
[25]Windows Longhorn leaks again
[26]Hasta la Windows Vista, baby! It's now officially dead – good riddance
[27]Charge of the Metro brigade: Did Microsoft execs plan to take a hit?
The snag being that people were used to desktops and mice, so the start button [28]was reinstated sharpish . Windows 8.1 was Vista 2.1.
Windows 10 is Vista 3, with [29]
metro modern apps sidelined and desktop apps front-and-centre again. Now, Windows 11 removes all those nasty complex confusing things like vertical sidebars.
Vista is when Microsoft dropped its fancy technological ambitions and started [30]simplifying things instead . Now the [31]visionaries have departed . The Surface didn't revolutionise the industry, it just alienated the OEMs.
Fifteen years on, Microsoft is still iterating upon Vista. ®
Get our [32]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2005/08/30/windows_vista_release/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/22/microsoft_vista_delayed/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IfnjBHtjHc
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2000/11/12/whistler_and_blackcomb_the_windows/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2001/07/27/microsoft_reshuffles_windows_roadmap_full/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2001/10/24/gates_confirms_windows_longhorn/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2001/08/07/ms_poised_to_switch_windows/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2003/05/13/microsoft_sidelines_longhorn_database_caper/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2004/08/27/microsoft_decouples_longhorn/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2006/06/26/winfs_axed/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2003/03/05/windows_longhorn_leaks_again
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2007/12/04/vista_vs_xp_tests/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2012/05/21/windows_8_aero_dead/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/05/windows_11_in_detail/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2017/04/12/windows_vista_support_ends/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2009/11/18/windows_7_heart/
[21] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2011/06/06/windows_tablets_without_silverlight_dot_net/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2011/09/14/samsung_windows8_tablet/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2012/05/21/windows_8_aero_dead/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2003/03/05/windows_longhorn_leaks_again/
[26] https://www.theregister.com/2017/04/12/windows_vista_support_ends/
[27] https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/15/the_charge_of_the_metro_brigade/
[28] https://www.theregister.com/2013/10/18/windows_8_1_review/
[29] https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/15/the_charge_of_the_metro_brigade/
[30] https://www.theregister.com/2009/11/18/windows_7_heart/
[31] https://www.theregister.com/2012/11/13/sinofsky_caligula/
[32] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
We could have fun talking about [3]how bad Vista was , and how much people hated it. It's one of the most unpopular releases ever, along with Windows ME. But if you run a vaguely modern Windows today, you're running a descendant of Vista.
Vista wasn't what Microsoft [4]promised in 2000 . Windows "Whistler" was going to merge Windows 9x and Windows NT: that became XP, and everyone remembers XP – mostly, fondly. Windows Blackcomb was [5]XP's planned successor . It never happened. We got [6]Windows Longhorn instead.
[7]
Blackcomb was [8]going to have a new programming model, a new UI, and a new database-driven storage engine, "WinFS"… but this [9]got postponed , then [10]removed , and [11]then cancelled .
[12]
[13]
It's more interesting to talk about what Vista really was. What shipped was something technologically [14]much more conservative .
It had User Access Control: those irritating pop-up messages constantly asking for permission. (That was really Microsoft realising that the bulk of Windows boxes would be standalone, not connected to a domain.)
[15]
It had a 3D-composited UI, "Aero", complete with transparency effects, although that did [16]make it a bit slower . By the time Windows 7 rolled around, people loved it – so Microsoft [17]ripped it out of Windows 8 . (The look, not the compositing; that's still there.)
It had a sidebar containing "widgets", which [18]are back in Windows 11 .
Although it was [19]killed off five years ago , Vista was the basis for Windows 7. Vista was NT version 6; Windows 7, under the covers, [20]was Windows NT 6.1 .
[21]
Windows 7 was Vista tuned to be more responsive. Windows 8 was Vista 2: the flat-look [22]tablet version of Vista (which it was [23]actually quite good ).
[24]'Dated and cheesy' Aero ripped from Windows 8
[25]Windows Longhorn leaks again
[26]Hasta la Windows Vista, baby! It's now officially dead – good riddance
[27]Charge of the Metro brigade: Did Microsoft execs plan to take a hit?
The snag being that people were used to desktops and mice, so the start button [28]was reinstated sharpish . Windows 8.1 was Vista 2.1.
Windows 10 is Vista 3, with [29]
metro modern apps sidelined and desktop apps front-and-centre again. Now, Windows 11 removes all those nasty complex confusing things like vertical sidebars.
Vista is when Microsoft dropped its fancy technological ambitions and started [30]simplifying things instead . Now the [31]visionaries have departed . The Surface didn't revolutionise the industry, it just alienated the OEMs.
Fifteen years on, Microsoft is still iterating upon Vista. ®
Get our [32]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2005/08/30/windows_vista_release/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/22/microsoft_vista_delayed/
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IfnjBHtjHc
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2000/11/12/whistler_and_blackcomb_the_windows/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2001/07/27/microsoft_reshuffles_windows_roadmap_full/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2001/10/24/gates_confirms_windows_longhorn/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2001/08/07/ms_poised_to_switch_windows/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2003/05/13/microsoft_sidelines_longhorn_database_caper/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2004/08/27/microsoft_decouples_longhorn/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2006/06/26/winfs_axed/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2003/03/05/windows_longhorn_leaks_again
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2007/12/04/vista_vs_xp_tests/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2012/05/21/windows_8_aero_dead/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/05/windows_11_in_detail/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2017/04/12/windows_vista_support_ends/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2009/11/18/windows_7_heart/
[21] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YfkS2tUgpC7OI2TKQxS-nAAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2011/06/06/windows_tablets_without_silverlight_dot_net/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2011/09/14/samsung_windows8_tablet/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2012/05/21/windows_8_aero_dead/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2003/03/05/windows_longhorn_leaks_again/
[26] https://www.theregister.com/2017/04/12/windows_vista_support_ends/
[27] https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/15/the_charge_of_the_metro_brigade/
[28] https://www.theregister.com/2013/10/18/windows_8_1_review/
[29] https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/15/the_charge_of_the_metro_brigade/
[30] https://www.theregister.com/2009/11/18/windows_7_heart/
[31] https://www.theregister.com/2012/11/13/sinofsky_caligula/
[32] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
512MB ram minimum memory requirement
BitGin
Claimed by MS was the biggest defect with Vista. So many people brought brand new machines with only 512MB and vista and discovered what a terrible combination that was.
Yes it would boot up eventually, yes it would open a document eventually but "eventually" is not why you buy a new PC.
Def
Pre-release Vista was the system I was working with when attempting to integrate our game (which was supposed to be - it wasn't; we failed - a Vista launch title) into the new and exciting Games Explorer. It crashed so often and generally failed to do anything right I took to calling it the Games Exploder. A name, I have been reliably informed, started being used informally at Microsoft for a while.
gw0udm
I remember paying extra for the 'Ultimate edition' and being promised all these 'Ultimate extras' which would be exclusively released. In the end there were hardly any of these, a screensaver I think and a little robot arcade game. So that was a let down. However, I always liked the actual system - I had a decent spec PC and the experience was definitely more polished than before. Although I did love Windows XP, Vista did feel a bit more polished in places and a nicer experience. Not perfect by any means, but the driver changes felt welcome and whilst UAC was annoying you could see what they were triyng to do... and I seen plenty of havoc wrought by applications abusing their privileges in the hands of friends and family. So I think looking back it was a lot better than its reputation might suggest.
Windows stopped being good....
at NT 4.0. And by Good, I mean tolerable