Backward compatibility is not “completely broken”. That’s hyperbole. I can come up with many examples of lousy software that runs just fine on Vista. If it’s not working, then it’s generally doing something it shouldn’t be. I didn’t have to replace a single piece of software when I moved my home PCs from XP to Vista. Not a single one. Furthermore, if a piece of hardware didn’t have a Vista driver - like my two Epson printers, or my Canon scanner, or my Magellan GPS - the XP drive worked fine in the interim.
Is that always the case? No. But a least my experience is based on trying it - not emotion and the work of click-pimps who need to publish incendiary commentary to sell banner ads.
You know, like calculating heating loads and CFM to pump into a room, all that stuff your computer shouldn't do anyway. Not buying new software because the old software is paid for is just wrong.