Vista is a pain in the ass. I can't begin to tell you how slow it is in comparison to a H3, Maxxyz, Vector, or MA. It's all about shortcuts, key combination, and command lines that speed up programming for me.
Even though I love the idea of timeline programming, vista is still slower for me to program complex cues and timeline elements very fast. But I just know tricks most users still haven't learned yet
On the contrary. I don't like software only control but there are some things that Sunlite and Light Jockey can do quickly that don't require hardware.
Check out Nicolaudie and look at Sunlite. It is a relatively fast software based programmer and you can write your own custom libraries. And for under $1,000 USD, it's pretty damned capable.