Hi there
I tried VISTA SP2 and it's not bad
However is it 3 Years since the original VISTA and don't forget as I and others have posted that the hardware has improved almost out of recognition in that time.
I certainly wouldn't have had a QUAD CPU with 16 GB of memory back then --even the slow parts of the system like SATA disks have improved as well.
Whilst one can argue that Windows 7 is "Vista like" there's enough - albeit small - differences in it to make for me Windows 7 much easier to use and it certainly "feels" snappier even thow Vista SP2 is no slouch either.
Windows 7 is (again in small ways) much more "user friendly" in allowing much easier desktop customisation and I LIKE the new taskbar system -- amazing how you get used to it and miss it when you log ob to the VISTA machine. I like the automatic re-sizing of apps when you move them around etc etc. - The whole aero effect is improved.
You don't have to make mega changes to make a system much more user friendly but it's often these things that a largely non scientific community will appreciate.
The original error was in MS forcing the VISTA product on users when the hardware wasn't really ready for it and also not being strongarm enough with manufacturers to get the drivers ready for it.
But "The Sinner repenteth".

and MS have come up with a winning OS - Windows 7.
Cheers
jimbo.