A Microsoft Product Manager’s Vista Confessions

Maximum PC has a very long article on the failures of Vista, which culminates in a “frank conversation” with an anonymous Windows Product Manager. Of course, he says the errors are all in the past, that they are all fixed now. Or are they? • Instability thanks to bad GPU and/or printer drivers by third parties. • Poorly implemented User Account Control. • DirectX 10 should have been ported to Windows XP. • OEM system builders are bad for including bad, buggy, or just plain useless apps on their machines in exchange for a few bucks on the back end. • Games for Windows initiative is a disaster, with nothing more than 64-bit compatibility for games to show for years of effort. • Apple is more appealing than Vista because “the hardware is slick, the price is OK, and Apple doesn’t annoy its customers (or allow third parties to).” Is that it? Are those all the problem admitted in a “candid” conversation, three being Microsoft’s responsibility and the other three being someone’s else fault? What do you think? Why did Vista-one of the most expensive operating systems and launches ever-fail so dramatically? What does Microsoft really have to confess, in your opinion? Your answers in the comments. [Maximum PC]