Microsoft releases its long-awaited new operating system, Windows Vista

Would you want to have a computer or cellphone that was five years old? Five years is a lifetime in the tech world. But five years was the time span between the release of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system and the previous version, Windows XP. Microsoft had been much maligned for the security vulnerabilities of the XP OS, and their long-awaited attempt at setting most of those right came in the form of Vista.

On this day, January 30, in 2007, Windows Vista, the longest-engineered operating system, was released worldwide by Microsoft. It had a redesigned graphic interface, along with a number of new tools that became popular in the period between XP and Vista, but its main focus was still security.

Vista was not received well. It cost a whopping $399, but would not even run fully on most machines as its shiny new graphics could be supported only on the highest end of contemporary models. Users installing Windows in new computers found they needed to have an operating system already in place to install the program – they literally had to install the Windows twice. Others found the digital rights management mechanisms onerous — Microsoft required encrypted connections to play DVDs, and retained the right to remotely disable any software component they deemed in violation of that rule. Still, despite the vocal criticism, Vista gained wide adoption among users, quickly surpassing Microsoft’s initial estimates.