Working in the IT industry ... most people complaining about Vista just don't know how to use it since a few things were moved around and placed at different spots. With a very few options you can make your Vista look just like XP if that suits you better. On all computers that have been purchased within the last 2 years (at least) Vista runs very stable. In case Vista doesn't recognize hardware, talk to your computer manufacturer.. HP, Dell, etc. are quite good with releasing new drivers if necessary. If they don’t, it’s not Microsoft’s problem.
Linux/Unix is also not really the solution to call (human) problems. I use Red Hat, Debian, Ubuntu, and FreeBSD. If you think Vista causes you some "trouble" by not understanding where everything is located, have fun with Linux. Also, hardware incompatibility is way higher on all *unix os' even though they have gotten quite good in the past 3-4 years.
Bashing Microsoft (including Vista) is the same way people complain about AB, C-M, etc. However, most people complaining are buying BMC quite often. Oh and before I forget: If you have a Vista license, you can use XP with that license key. Just call Microsoft’s licensing department and they will issue a key for XP. I hope I didn’t offend anyone…if I did, I didn’t mean it.