v8venom, you've got a few points that are kind of null...
First, UAC doesn't do a whole lot to protect the system anyway, there isn't much advantage to it being there - serious malware will override it. Most malware is annihilated by protection software, anyway.
Second, if you buy an operating system to upgrade DirectX, you're a fool. At any rate, the point that no DX10 features are commonplace isn't Vista's fault - it's the developers of games, just like all the driver problems.
Third, the door will never be open wide for OSX because it's always been closed. You can't get OSX on decent hardware at a good price without apple suing your face off.
MS's stock is down for (1) the global economy is tanking (2) Vista having a bad reputation from it's not-so-good pre-SP1 beginnings. Apple's stock is comparatively higher because (1) their products have ridiculous prices and (2) their consumers know no better.
Vista is better than XP. They both perform the same in almost every day-to-day task, as well as games. (providing you have the same decent hardware in each machine. if your machine can't take it, don't install it, that doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out. Apple doesn't see this issue because you don't get a choice in the matter.) Then, XP has the 4GB memory limit. Vista does not.
As for program incompatibilities, you try installing new firefox on windows 98. It won't work. Time goes on, things change, learn to deal with it.
Multi-processor support works great in Vista. At any rate, it's the software you're using that probably has the issues, which, again, is not Vista's fault.