With the hype Microsoft put behind the release of the new Windows Vista operating system in January 2007, customers expected a more user-friendly, less buggy operating system. The release of a new operating system was long overdue, but it seems that Microsoft dropped the ball with the release of Vista without first assuring it would be a workable operating system for the millions of customers that would be using it.
Computers are now coming from the factory with the Windows Vista operating system pre-installed, but many users are downgrading to the more user-friendly XP operating system. Though Microsoft has said many times that
they would phase out the XP operating system, they keep pushing that phase out back because of the dissatisfaction with Vista.
The most common issue users are having with Vista is the lack of existing hardware drivers. Vista was largely not compatible with a user's existing printers, cameras, and video cards and updated software drivers weren't (and for some hardware, still aren't) available. This left users with existing hardware either having to buy new hardware or, more commonly, going back to the XP operating system. Though the hardware and drivers are more readily available now, there are still users that, because of the initial lack of hardware support, prefer XP. XP has better hardware support and that in itself keeps users more loyal to the older operating system.
A second common issue that Vista users encountered involved the performance of the operating system. Vista tends to freeze and/or crash on a regular basis, many times when running Microsoft's own software. Vista users also express disappointment with the speed of booting up and shutting down, as well as Vista's slow performance during regular use. Most XP users feel that it is much faster using the same type of both hardware and software and they can be used with less RAM and hard drive space.
The new security features with the Vista operating system also cause headaches for users. The security features will unnecessarily flag certain applications as suspicious (most of which are applications that are commonly used), and then interrupt the application. Users are also complaining that the User Account Control restricts the freedom they have within their own computers, even when they are enabled and have administrative priveledges.
PC owners have come to the conclusion that Microsoft released Vista much too soon and without making sure that the bugs were
mostly worked out and hardware support was in place. The sad part is, with Microsoft's willingness to slow down the phase out of the XP operating system, they are admitting fault without actually admitting it. Even with the current push advertising Vista's capabilities, many users still prefer the XP operating system.