WEBVTT 00:00:01.460 --> 00:00:10.640 Few things strike fear, or perhaps loathing, into the hearts of PC enthusiasts more than 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:15.930 the words Windows Vista. 00:00:15.930 --> 00:00:26.370 That operating system's notoriety as a buggy, slow, bloated mess reaches far and wide, even 00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:31.390 to the land of the Apple faithful Vista was aboard. 00:00:31.390 --> 00:00:34.930 Its successor, Windows 7, adored. 00:00:34.930 --> 00:00:40.310 But was Vista's heart truly evil, or simply misunderstood? 00:00:40.310 --> 00:00:46.140 Pushed out into a world that wasn't ready, one can say. 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:54.410 It is a terrible tale, but perhaps its telling may reveal new secrets. 00:00:54.410 --> 00:00:58.290 After this word from our sponsor. 00:00:58.290 --> 00:01:02.450 Memory Express is the go-to place for your electronic needs and services in Canada, and 00:01:02.450 --> 00:01:03.450 they're opening a new store in Victoria, Canada. 00:01:03.450 --> 00:01:03.490 And they're opening a new store in Victoria, Canada. 00:01:03.890 --> 00:01:04.890 And they're opening a new store in Victoria, Canada. 00:01:04.890 --> 00:01:18.120 They're hiring for all positions, so check them out at the link in the video description. 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:22.600 So I was reading a post written by Glassbomb on our forum, and it inspired a fairly lively 00:01:22.600 --> 00:01:25.240 debate in our weekly writers' meeting. 00:01:25.240 --> 00:01:28.280 Was Windows Vista really that bad? 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:30.940 You ask a dozen people, you'll get a dozen different answers. 00:01:30.940 --> 00:01:35.740 The one thing we all agreed on, though, was that to answer the question fairly, we would 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:40.820 have to get our hands on an ISO and actually install it on a system. 00:01:40.820 --> 00:01:41.740 And we chose the 145. 00:01:41.740 --> 00:01:46.680 Usesonerongo is a $450 gaming PC, that Riley and I put together. 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:48.120 Mostly because it's from 2007. 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:50.340 The year that Windows Vista launched. 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:52.410 And, how is it? 00:01:52.410 --> 00:01:59.120 Well, surprisingly, it works pretty well. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:08.820 There's some GPV mobilised programming, but it tasks for jail i assume. 00:02:08.820 --> 00:02:09.860 The fixing process is not as high end. 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:10.860 The software doesn't work that well either. 00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:11.860 Both systems are a sticky bit. 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:14.060 exactly like Windows 7. 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:18.380 So how is it different then from Windows 7? 00:02:18.380 --> 00:02:20.120 And what's so bad about it? 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:22.580 Well, the answer requires some history. 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:24.920 Development of Windows Longhorn, 00:02:24.920 --> 00:02:27.460 actually named after the Longhorn Saloon and Grill 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:29.500 in Whistler, BC, represent, 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:33.540 began in 2001, the year that Windows XP was launched. 00:02:33.540 --> 00:02:37.640 Longhorn was supposed to launch in 2003, 00:02:37.640 --> 00:02:39.440 but a number of issues during development 00:02:39.440 --> 00:02:41.540 left Microsoft conflicted 00:02:41.540 --> 00:02:43.400 about which features to include 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:44.920 in the new operating system 00:02:44.920 --> 00:02:48.780 and which ones to add to Windows XP and Windows Server. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:51.800 Things got so complicated that in 2004, 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:54.660 development was effectively reset 00:02:54.660 --> 00:02:56.180 as team leaders changed 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:59.780 and much of the code was scrapped and repurposed. 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:01.880 This was also when Longhorn's product name 00:03:01.880 --> 00:03:03.760 was finalized to Vista 00:03:03.760 --> 00:03:08.340 with a tagline of clear, confident, and connected, 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:11.380 none of which had described Vista's development so far. 00:03:11.380 --> 00:03:13.240 Perhaps they were trying to ask the universe 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:15.480 to throw them a freaking bone. 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:17.200 There's actually a lot more I could say 00:03:17.200 --> 00:03:19.180 about the development, but frankly, 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:20.760 we could make a whole video about that. 00:03:20.760 --> 00:03:23.940 So let's just leave it at the launch was delayed 00:03:23.940 --> 00:03:26.620 a few more times, bones were not thrown. 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:29.880 And then finally, on January 30th, 2007, 00:03:29.880 --> 00:03:32.360 Vista made its public debut. 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:34.040 And that's really when the excrement 00:03:34.040 --> 00:03:36.520 hit the air circulation unit, so to speak. 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:40.640 You see, Vista had a ton of new tricks up its sleeve, 00:03:40.640 --> 00:03:43.860 including the graphics intensive arrow UI 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:46.060 with translucency effects 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:48.500 and elements of the Windows backend 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:51.400 that had been completely redone. 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:53.900 So the hardware requirements were higher 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:56.040 than probably anyone expected, 00:03:56.040 --> 00:03:57.440 which meant that at launch, 00:03:57.440 --> 00:04:02.440 Vista was slower than its predecessor on equivalent hardware. 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:07.900 So users accused Microsoft of packing the OS full of bloat 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:10.520 as part of a conspiracy to force them 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:12.580 to upgrade their computers. 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:14.240 Not that that would necessarily lead 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.080 to a better experience anyway. 00:04:16.080 --> 00:04:20.080 Making its own foot more full of bullet holes than necessary, 00:04:20.080 --> 00:04:24.500 Microsoft allowed many prebuilt PCs, brand new ones mind you, 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:27.280 to be sold with Vista capable branding 00:04:27.280 --> 00:04:29.520 on the front that they created. 00:04:29.520 --> 00:04:32.440 But these PCs only met the requirements 00:04:32.440 --> 00:04:37.440 for Vista Home Basic, the second of these six different 00:04:38.200 --> 00:04:40.140 and very confusing editions 00:04:40.140 --> 00:04:41.960 of this software that existed. 00:04:41.960 --> 00:04:44.640 And because of this particular misstep, 00:04:44.640 --> 00:04:48.120 Microsoft actually got served a class action lawsuit 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:50.120 for misleading marketing. 00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:51.980 On top of everything so far, 00:04:51.980 --> 00:04:54.760 many component and peripheral vendors 00:04:54.760 --> 00:04:58.020 didn't release updated drivers for Vista 00:04:58.020 --> 00:05:00.360 for their older, or in some cases, 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.680 even their existing products. 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:04.800 So many users having experienced 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:06.960 the relatively seamless migrations 00:05:06.960 --> 00:05:09.420 between various versions of Windows 9X 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:13.420 or 2000 to XP, where drivers could in many cases 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:15.960 be used interchangeably were outraged 00:05:15.960 --> 00:05:18.460 when particularly their wireless cards 00:05:18.460 --> 00:05:22.180 and printers just didn't work anymore. 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:24.720 As for the hardware components that did work, 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:28.700 well, because the drivers were so fundamentally different 00:05:28.700 --> 00:05:31.920 from the XP versions requiring extensive rewrites 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.200 in many cases, even key system components 00:05:35.200 --> 00:05:38.860 from reputable vendors like graphics cards from NVIDIA 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:42.100 were prone to causing whole system crashes. 00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:44.120 Even when it was running normally, 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:46.500 Vista managed to generate user ire too. 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:48.820 While the new user account control feature, 00:05:48.820 --> 00:05:52.360 which prompted users for permissions to run programs 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:54.940 and change settings was a great step forward 00:05:54.940 --> 00:05:58.620 for system security, it appeared far too often 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:01.220 and took control of the entire Windows interface 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:02.760 until it could be dismissed. 00:06:02.760 --> 00:06:05.720 Annoying and confusing regular end users 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.640 who just wanted the annoying pop-ups to stop, 00:06:08.860 --> 00:06:10.860 they could get their work done. 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:12.760 And this is only a fraction of the complaints. 00:06:12.760 --> 00:06:15.140 It truly was a horrible launch. 00:06:15.140 --> 00:06:17.520 And you could argue that it directly resulted 00:06:17.520 --> 00:06:20.020 in Apple increasing their OS 10 market share 00:06:20.020 --> 00:06:24.200 thanks to their wildly successful Mac versus PC commercials. 00:06:24.200 --> 00:06:26.080 Now, some of the issues were addressed 00:06:26.080 --> 00:06:27.880 in Service Pack 1 for Vista, 00:06:27.880 --> 00:06:30.320 which launched a year later in 2008. 00:06:30.320 --> 00:06:32.980 But you know what else launched in 2008? 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:35.560 Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:38.680 which understandably left users confused 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:43.120 about whether they should upgrade or just stick with XP. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:47.160 April 2009 then saw the release of Service Pack 2 for Vista, 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:49.120 which addressed even more issues. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.620 But by then, we were five months away 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:54.560 from everyone's favorite OS, Windows 7, 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:57.160 which whether you want to admit it or not, 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.440 is very similar to Windows Vista. 00:07:00.440 --> 00:07:02.720 With many of the improvements in performance 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:04.960 and driver compatibility coming about 00:07:04.960 --> 00:07:07.500 simply because hardware in 2009 was better, 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:08.440 and the software was better. 00:07:08.440 --> 00:07:12.000 And driver developers had gained a lot of experience 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.800 working with Windows Vista. 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.840 And 7, which were far more similar under the hood 00:07:16.840 --> 00:07:19.080 than XP and Vista were. 00:07:19.080 --> 00:07:21.440 Because like it or not, in some cases, 00:07:21.440 --> 00:07:25.940 Vista wasn't bad as much as it was misunderstood, 00:07:25.940 --> 00:07:27.700 and maybe a little ahead of its time. 00:07:27.700 --> 00:07:30.260 It was the beginning of a lot of really good stuff 00:07:30.260 --> 00:07:31.940 that we take for granted today. 00:07:31.940 --> 00:07:34.740 For example, its all new memory management model 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:36.920 used free RAM to load frequently used programs and files, 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:38.100 and it was the beginning of a lot of really good stuff 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:41.620 and files in the background to smooth out operation. 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:43.340 Users didn't understand this. 00:07:43.340 --> 00:07:45.880 They just thought that Windows was hogging up 00:07:45.880 --> 00:07:48.260 all of their RAM for no apparent reason. 00:07:48.260 --> 00:07:51.260 And arguably, Microsoft could have done a better job 00:07:51.260 --> 00:07:52.660 of representing this. 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:55.980 As for Windows Aero with its cool translucency effects, 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:58.380 well, it ran on the system's GPU. 00:07:58.380 --> 00:08:01.040 So if you had a discrete graphics card, 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:02.860 and you weren't experiencing crashes, 00:08:02.860 --> 00:08:05.480 which not everyone did, by the way, I didn't, 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:07.460 it ran very smoothly and looked so good. 00:08:07.460 --> 00:08:11.940 That going back to the old way with Windows XP 00:08:11.940 --> 00:08:13.840 felt like caveman stuff. 00:08:13.840 --> 00:08:17.400 Fun fact, today, elements of Aero's translucent effects 00:08:17.400 --> 00:08:19.280 can be seen in all sorts of other UIs 00:08:19.280 --> 00:08:22.060 from Windows 10 to macOS to iOS. 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:24.920 And as for the sidebar with its gadgets, 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.120 well, that looks pretty laughable 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.180 with our modern design sensibilities, 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:31.400 but it was pretty trendy at the time. 00:08:31.400 --> 00:08:34.940 Apple's OS 10 Tiger also had widget mini apps, 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:37.080 although they were kept on the dashboard, not the desktop, 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:41.540 and live updating UI elements are now ubiquitous 00:08:41.540 --> 00:08:43.900 in modern OSs, including the live tiles 00:08:43.900 --> 00:08:45.280 in the Windows start menu. 00:08:45.280 --> 00:08:47.140 So those were kind of cool, 00:08:47.140 --> 00:08:49.360 until a critical vulnerability was discovered 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:52.340 that could leave your PC open to hackers, oops. 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:53.960 And guess what else Vista added? 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:55.880 Instant search from the taskbar, 00:08:55.880 --> 00:08:58.760 built-in Windows Defender, built-in Windows Update, 00:08:58.760 --> 00:09:02.040 user-friendly data backup, BitLocker drive encryption, 00:09:02.040 --> 00:09:04.660 user account control, which in its modern, 00:09:04.660 --> 00:09:06.760 more refined form, is an essential part of Windows 10. 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:07.920 It also added Windows security, 00:09:07.920 --> 00:09:10.480 and what's funny is that OS 10 these days, 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.480 or macOS, excuse me, has something pretty similar. 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:16.500 It also added DirectX 10 and games for Windows Live, 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:19.840 which for all its faults, was one of the first ways 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:23.360 to enable gameplay between a console and a PC. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.300 Not to mention the completely redesigned print, display, 00:09:27.300 --> 00:09:29.860 peer-to-peer networking, and audio subsystems 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:33.840 that laid the foundation for Windows 7 and its successors. 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.240 Though I do have some issues 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:36.560 with the changes they made to audio 00:09:36.560 --> 00:09:39.140 that effectively killed hardware-accelerated sound. 00:09:39.140 --> 00:09:41.520 That's kind of a separate note, though. 00:09:41.520 --> 00:09:47.340 So, was Vista that bad? 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:52.700 Yes, and also no, which together makes yo, 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.620 because yo, man, for real. 00:09:55.620 --> 00:09:58.160 For all its faults, and there were many, 00:09:58.160 --> 00:10:01.420 Windows Vista was a huge, if wobbly step, 00:10:01.420 --> 00:10:02.700 in the right direction. 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:06.000 And once it had settled in and received proper support, 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.800 users seemed to appreciate it. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.120 In fact, in 2008, a few months 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:12.300 after releasing Vista Service Pack 1, 00:10:12.300 --> 00:10:16.100 Microsoft ran an ad campaign called the Mojave Experiment, 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:18.060 in which they invited users to vent 00:10:18.060 --> 00:10:19.980 about how much they hated Vista, 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:22.160 and then try out Windows Mojave, 00:10:22.160 --> 00:10:23.820 the next version of Windows. 00:10:23.820 --> 00:10:26.180 And surprise, surprise, people actually loved it. 00:10:26.180 --> 00:10:30.020 And then cue the reveal, Mojave isn't Mojave, it's Vista. 00:10:30.020 --> 00:10:31.510 Really? 00:10:31.510 --> 00:10:32.970 Are you serious? 00:10:34.590 --> 00:10:36.150 This is Windows Vista. 00:10:36.150 --> 00:10:38.090 Now, were people's reactions cherry-picked, 00:10:38.090 --> 00:10:40.440 to only include the good ones? 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:42.200 Duh, of course. 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.620 But based on my experience running Vista from day one, 00:10:45.620 --> 00:10:47.980 on what was at the time a high-end system, 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:50.000 I don't find it hard to believe at all 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.460 that some people genuinely liked it, 00:10:52.460 --> 00:10:54.140 or even really liked it. 00:10:54.140 --> 00:10:56.380 Its main issue, I think, is that by the time 00:10:56.380 --> 00:10:58.780 it had really gotten to the point where it was usable, 00:10:58.780 --> 00:11:00.700 Windows 7 was right around the corner, 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:03.780 and Vista's reputation had been irreparably damaged. 00:11:03.780 --> 00:11:06.100 So despite the tech and feature advancements, 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:08.300 Vista will, and should, 00:11:08.380 --> 00:11:10.520 continue to go down in history 00:11:10.520 --> 00:11:13.240 as the worst Windows launch ever, 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:14.400 other than Windows ME. 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:18.820 Just get colder in here. 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:22.080 By the way, guys, just in case this story has convinced you 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.580 to try to install Vista and use it, 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:26.600 perhaps out of pity, please don't. 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:29.640 Microsoft's support for the OS ended last year, 00:11:29.640 --> 00:11:31.420 and while we were using it, 00:11:31.420 --> 00:11:34.580 like pretty much everything was covered in these like, 00:11:34.580 --> 00:11:37.540 scary, gigantic, end of support messages. 00:11:37.540 --> 00:11:40.500 So it's not a secure thing to do. 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:42.560 If you're a small business owner or a freelancer, 00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:46.060 FreshBooks is the accounting solution for you. 00:11:46.060 --> 00:11:48.380 It's a simple way to be more productive, 00:11:48.380 --> 00:11:51.100 more 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www.freshbooks.com forward slash tech tips. 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:23.900 We're gonna have that linked below, 00:12:23.900 --> 00:12:25.400 and enter Linus Tech Tips 00:12:25.400 --> 00:12:27.260 in the how did you hear about us section. 00:12:27.260 --> 00:12:28.560 So thanks for watching, guys. 00:12:28.560 --> 00:12:30.900 If you disliked this video, you can hit that button. 00:12:30.900 --> 00:12:34.790 But if you liked it because you love Windows Vista, 00:12:34.790 --> 00:12:36.150 hit the like button, get subscribed, 00:12:36.150 --> 00:12:37.770 or maybe consider checking out where to buy the stuff 00:12:37.770 --> 00:12:40.590 we featured at the link in the video description. 00:12:40.590 --> 00:12:41.850 Also down there is our merch store, 00:12:41.850 --> 00:12:43.390 which has cool shirts like this one, 00:12:43.390 --> 00:12:48.050 and our community forum, which you should totally join. 00:12:48.050 --> 00:12:50.930 Maybe it was a little bit of fondness.