Windows Vista
Seventh major release of Windows NT / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Windows Vista Service Pack 1?
Summarize this article for a 10 years old
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft as the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released in 2001. At the time, this 5-year gap was the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft's Windows desktop operating systems. Development was finished on November 8, 2006, and over the following three months, it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released globally and made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace, the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform.[7] It is generally considered a market failure and mayor blunder, although initially sales figures were promising.[8][9]
| Version of the Windows NT operating system | |
 | |
 Screenshot of Windows Vista Ultimate, showing its desktop, taskbar, start menu, Windows Sidebar, Welcome Center, and glass effects of Windows Aero | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Source model | |
| Released to manufacturing | November 8, 2006; 16 years ago (2006-11-08)[2] |
| General availability | January 30, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-01-30)[3] |
| Final release | Service Pack 2 with security update rollup (6.0.6002)[4] / October 18, 2016; 6 years ago (2016-10-18)[5] |
| Update method | |
| Platforms | IA-32 and x86-64 |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (NT) |
| Userland | Windows API, NTVDM, SUA |
| License | Proprietary commercial software |
| Preceded by | Windows XP (2001) |
| Succeeded by | Windows 7 (2009) |
| Official website | Windows Vista (archived at Wayback Machine) |
| Support status | |
| Mainstream support ended on April 10, 2012. Extended support ended on April 11, 2017.[6] Installing Service Pack 2 is required for users to receive updates and support after April 13, 2010. | |
| Part of a series of articles on |
| Windows Vista |
|---|
| New features |
| Other articles |
Windows Vista introduced an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed "Aero," a new search component called "Windows Search," redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems, and new multimedia tools such as Windows DVD Maker among other changes. Windows Vista aimed to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and media between computers and devices. Windows Vista included version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs. Windows Vista removed support for Itanium and devices without ACPI.
While these new features and security improvements garnered praise, Windows Vista was also the target of significant criticism, such as of its high system requirements, more restrictive licensing terms, lack of compatibility, longer boot time, and excessive authorization prompts from User Account Control. Due to these and other issues, Windows Vista saw lower initial adoption and satisfaction rates than Windows XP. However, Windows Vista usage did exceed Microsoft's pre-launch two-year-out expectations of achieving 200 million users, with an estimated 330 million Internet users in January 2009. On October 22, 2010, Microsoft ceased sales of retail copies of Windows Vista, and the original equipment manufacturer's sales for Windows Vista ceased the following year.[10] The market share of Windows Vista fell below 1% by the end of 2021, coinciding with the release of Windows 11.[11]
Mainstream support for Windows Vista ended on April 10, 2012, and extended support ended on April 11, 2017.[12] Windows Vista was succeeded by Windows 7. As of February 2022[update], 0.18% of PCs run Windows Vista.[11]