Microsoft ends support for Windows Vista

[Mr. Weatherman]

After today, using an internet-connected Windows Vista machine will make you a rebel who could care less about potential viruses or attacks, as Microsoft is finally ending its support of the over 10-year-old operating system.

I think I'm in the small minority of people who actually quite liked Vista.  It helps that the PC I ran it on was actually capable of running it properly.  Sure, it had its bugs and random crashes and so forth, but damn, did that Aero glass look good on my old 1440x900 display.  It's a real shame that Microsoft largely did away with Aero, especially now that machines are more than capable of handling it.

RIP Vista.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/11/15241580/microsoft-windows-vista-end-of-support

[bigblue999]

Ah yes Vista, the worst Windows operating system since Millennium. Thank God I kept XP at the time until 7 arrived.

Surprised it took this long to finally end.

[UltraPrice]

Ah yes Vista, the worst Windows operating system since Millennium.

I don't know about it.  I've heard from many Windows 10 is just as bad if not worse than Vista.

[mellongraig]

I never really liked Vista, as well as ME and 8/8.1 in my honest opinion. They did fix a lot of things with Service Pack 2, but the damage had been done to many users.

[blozier2006]

I don't know about it.  I've heard from many Windows 10 is just as bad if not worse than Vista.

If you're used to 8/8.1, 10 isn't bad. If you're coming straight from 7, it can take some getting used to.

[TPIRfan#9821]

I'm still using an XP, and for some reason Vista just seems blander (More Bland? Bland-er?). Sure, that user interface was great, but I would take XP/7 almost any day.

But I would still take Vista or ME over a Mac anyday.

[GameShowFan1987]

From my experience it seems like Microsoft can only get every other operating system right and I've used just about all of them over the years.  Windows 3.1 bad, 95 good, 98 1st edition bad, 98 2nd edition good, ME very bad, XP good, Vista not so good, 7 good, 8/8.1 bad, 10 not sure yet.  (NT4 and 2000 didn't fit into the pattern but I thought they were ok. )  Vista wasn't that bad compared to buggy mess that Millennium was, at least once they put out Service Pack 2 anyway, but it wasn't nearly as good as 7 or XP.  I'm using 7 right now but I'll make the switch to 10 (or whatever might be out next if it's any good) eventually.  I didn't feel like it was quite "there" yet when they were still giving out the free upgrades.  I passed on Windows 8 because I just didn't care for it when I beta tested it.  All in all, it ultimately doesn't matter what OS you use so long as you keep it up to date, take preventative measures against viruses and other forms of malware, and it's functional.  One piece of advice I'd give anyone when choosing an OS (or any other piece of software for that matter) is do some research before you install so you don't stick yourself with something that's going to leave you frustrated be it an OS, browser, antivirus, or whatever.

[htmlcc92]

I only ever used Vista a few times, on a friend's laptop. And I know I'm in the very small minority here, but I actually really liked Windows 8/8.1. I didn't care that the Start menu was gone, I liked the UI overall for the OS. I like Windows 10 as well. I didn't really care too much for XP thinking back.

[mechamind]

I don't know about it.  I've heard from many Windows 10 is just as bad if not worse than Vista.

My experience with Windows 10 has been a good one so far, and it was even well-received by critics. It's mostly the automatic updates that are an issue, though I've had similar trouble with Windows 7 by leaving auto-update on.

Windows 3.1 bad, 95 good, 98 1st edition bad, 98 2nd edition good, ME very bad, XP good, Vista not so good, 7 good, 8/8.1 bad, 10 not sure yet.  (NT4 and 2000 didn't fit into the pattern but I thought they were ok. )

Windows 2000 fits the pattern more than Windows 3.1.

[Mr. Weatherman]

My thoughts about Windows 10 are the same as mine for Windows XP and Windows 7: it just works.

I regret immediately upgrading my laptop to Windows 10 as soon as the opportunity arose, as I was plagued with driver issues and other bugs for a while. However, now that some time has passed and those problems have been sorted out, I'm satisfied with the OS. It's certainly a huge upgrade over 8.1, which is what my laptop shipped with. I'll never understand why Microsoft thought doing away with the Start Menu was a good idea. They must have had the same spark of "courage" Apple had when they removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

[BillyGr]

It's certainly a huge upgrade over 8.1, which is what my laptop shipped with. I'll never understand why Microsoft thought doing away with the Start Menu was a good idea.

Must have been an original version of it?  This computer has 8.1 and the little window icon in the corner brings up the Start menu?  Something they went back and added in later on?

[Mr. Weatherman]

Must have been an original version of it?  This computer has 8.1 and the little window icon in the corner brings up the Start menu?  Something they went back and added in later on?

It had the icon, but that would bring up the garish Start Screen.  The standard Start Menu didn't return until Windows 10 -- which itself still borrows a bit too heavily from its 8/8.1 full screen predecessor, in my opinion.  The only way in 8/8.1 to being back the old school menu is to use a third party program like Classic Shell, unless Microsoft has released an update at some point to bring the standard Windows 10 menu to Windows 8/8.1 users who didn't upgrade to 10.