The game in question - Supreme Commander - actually comes out FASTER in Vista on their tests than XP...
Given that SC is designed for multi thread (i.e. dual core) processors, and standard XP versions don't support multithreading too well (if at all) it's not surprising.
All in all the problems mentioned in the article aren't exactly new. Microsoft's been dictating to hardware manufacturers since Dos, let alone Vista. Most of the problems related to running games on Vista are the same that initially confronted XP users - the backwards compatability features aren't well documented and as yet there's not enough information out there to help the average user understand how to get earlier games working. The other issue is driver support, but that's something not likely to be fixed until manufacturers are more familiar with the nuances of the operating system (same thing happened with every version of Windows).
A lot of it is plain old Microsoft bashing, but there are several valid areas for concern. The fact that WGA now phones home with your system details even if you cancel it's installation for example. Microsoft collect system information with a unique identifier, and while they claim they can only identify the machine and not the user they've also claimed (when talking about DRM) that if you can identify the computer, you can identify the user.
The main objection that could be levelled at Vista is Microsoft want you to cough up a ridiculous amount of money on a new operating system which, all told, offers less actual content changes over the previous edition than the average Sims expansion. New interface aside, there's little actual improvement in security or reliability (certainly not enough to warrant the price tag). This is especially true when you consider that most people will need to upgrade their system in order to run the OS (and those unlucky enough to rely on other microsoft apps like office will be expected to shell out for new versions designed for the OS).
As for gaming, DX10 is unlikely to make a huge difference for a couple of years yet. Not only do the current crop of consoles not support it, but it's unlikely any publisher would be willing to restrict their prospective market to Vista users only until it becomes the standard.
Mind you, the fact that you can use the upgrade CD's as full version CD's helps. Looks like not every Microsoft cock up is necessarily a bad thing