Abandonding it? Gates announced that they are trying to get back on a 3 year schedule of new OSs. Vista was released in early 2007, so that would put it's replacement out in early 2010. I don't see any sign of abandonment.
What part of Vista sucks? To me, it seems very much like XP with a few new things that I really like. I love DreamScene (movie based desktop), full computer backup (image based backup that you can even be restored back to different computer/hardware, easier and more customizable navigation, more secure browser (IE7 is much more secure in Vista than it IE7 is in XP), build in DVD decoder (you can watch movies without DVD software and can burn to DVD without additional software), more robust email client (more like Outlook than Outlook Express ever was, even a built in scheduling calendar), and a ton more.
The problem I see is not with Vista, but with the software companies who didn't update their software and drivers fast enough. Software companies were given YEARS to update their software before the final versionof Vista was released.
Also, Vista doesn't run well on a "budget" computer. It has soooo many features that it will bog down an ill equipped computer. Do you think that Windows 7 will be any different? Personally, I have never been a fan of the "bottom shelf" PC. I wish that they would stop selling them. It would make everyone's life easier. Dell, HP, Compaq (HP), etc., all know that Vista sucks on cheap hardware, but they have to keep selling it. We (as a system builder) have to do a lot of testing an different hardware. I have seen very little instability or problems (almost zero) with systems built with a modern processor (CoreDuo, Core2Duo, Xeon, Athlon, AthlonX2), a decent amount of RAM (at least 2GB), and a run of the mill hard drive. It is when you start to skimp on RAM and throw in a Celeron processor that Vista really starts to bog and SUCK.
Just my 2 cents.
