I run linux on my clients servers, unless they need a terminal server, but I use windows on the desktops. I see XP being available till 2010 on Microsoft's lifecycle page and customers are asking for laptops with windows XP installed instead of vista and that shows what the public think of it.
I should add that almost all Vista problems I attend to require a reinstall of the system and most Vista machines I look at have problems which are not serious enough for the user to complain about or pay to fix.
Service pack 2 for vista is nearly here but I believe there's not a chance it will fix the problems in the software or increase public acceptance of it. Windows 7 is fast and stable at the moment but it's not due till August.
I myself have have multiple problems with Vista recently without any detectable hardware faults and have moved back to XP which I find a lot more clunkier but it works 100% of the time on the same hardware. I guess the general public has the same opinion considering XP still has an 80% market share
