Summary
- Windows Vista was stuck between the legendary XP and 7 but is widely considered the worst.
- A new video delves deep into Vista’s beginning, development, and messy end for a nostalgic or educational trip.
- Initially meant as a modest XP upgrade, Vista shifted gears, changed its base, and ended up with a not-so-great legacy.
Windows Vista had it rough. Looking back, it had the misfortune of being the operating system stuck between Windows XP, a legendary OS, and Windows 7, another legendary OS. And while we can argue until the sun sets over whether XP or 7 was the better operating system, you’ll find very few that want to debate that Vista was the best of the three.
So, suppose you want a trip down whatever the bad version of “memory lane” is (regret avenue?) or you’ve understandably scrubbed your mind of all traces of this operating system. In that case, this video breaks down the start, middle, and messy demise of the operating system.
Related
Was Windows Vista really as awful as we remember?
The answer may surprise you
Was Windows Vista really that bad? Well, yes, it was
Our good visual-audio folk over at the XDA YouTube channel have just posted up a deep dive into what Windows Vista was, how it was made, and how the public received it. It’s a good way to revisit whatever Microsoft was cooking up back then, or as an informational video if you’re too young to remember it. Yes, my fellow Windows curmudgeons, Vista was released in 2007, so it’s entirely feasible for someone reading this to be younger than it. And yes, I feel old, too.
The video breaks down what Vista was meant to be, which was a “modest upgrade” to Windows XP, and how it became something far bigger than that. It started with the codename “Longhorn,” which the video informs me was named after a bar that sat between two ski resorts that was the favorite haunt for vacationing Microsoft employees. Wow, you learn something new every day.
At first, it was just meant to be a stepping stone between XP and whatever came afterward, but it turns out that the Longhorn beta build wasn’t panning out, so Microsoft decided to scrap the XP base for the operating system and instead base it on Windows Server.
What rose from the ashes was what we know as Windows Vista, and its legacy was, well…you’ll have to watch the video to find out. And I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that it doesn’t end well; it’s like complaining that someone ruined the ending of the movie Titanic.
Once the soothing tones of Alex Dobie have taught you everything you need to know about the doomed operating system, be sure to check out these features from Windows Longhorn that Microsoft should ship and these controversial Windows features that divided fans, some of which debuted in Vista.
