Ask some people why Windows Vista failed and they will tell you that most of the problem came from hardware compatibility. I don’t remember ever having problems with Vista back when I used it. Then again I was running it on a brand new computer with the OS in question preinstalled.
And that’s another thing, I think you’re pretty much expected to upgrade your hardware at least every few years. I’d like to think that the people who had problems with Vista kept the same white-box PC they’ve had since 98SE, or even 95. Vista ran great if you had the right hardware. Maybe if Microsoft had optimized their OS even for XP-era machines it would have seen greater adoption.
I also really liked the Aero glass theme, it made younger me feel like I was in the future. Those gadgets at the side of the desktop were pretty cool too. Overall I think it was definitely ahead of its time, and with support for current software and hardware, would have been a solid choice for average computer users today.
Seems like vista would always ask you 2 or 3 times if you were sure you wanted to open that text file you just created. Vista was ugly too. It was insulting the amount of system resources it used to look that bad. I feel like Vista was also the beginning of Windows trying to integrate into everything you did, rather than just provide a smooth reliable and concise way for you to use your software.
All that being said, Vista looks pretty good compared to 11. At least Vista has a consistent feel to the settings, and the fucking control panel works.