It was disappointing for me because of the broken promises - the PDC 2003 video shows a very impressive GUI with skillful use of animation. WinFS would also offer vastly improved file management. Finally, being heavily based on managed code would make it both more secure and easier to develop for. But I agree most prospective Vista users were not aware of any of this. I, however, was.

FOr most users, the disappointment came from the "Vista Ready" sticker on computers that could run XP very well, but were barely capable of running Vista at acceptable speed and the Aero look.