Few consumer products have been slammed in recent memory more than Windows Vista. It was the focus of mockery in the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ad campaign by Apple. Its had difficulty gaining traction among some areas of enterprise, such as the recent decision by Intel to remain with XP.

But Microsoft is (finally) hitting back. A stealth campaign dubbed “The Mojave Experiment” uses the time-tested blind taste test. Consumers are shown an operating system dubbed Windows Mojave. They are told it is an experimental version of Windows’ next operating system. After playing around with it and finding they like it, they are told it is really Vista.

While a little on the cheesy side, Microsoft is righ to insist that people give Vista another look. It is now stable and effective for everyday computing. I have been using it on my tablet for about six months with no problems (besides turning off the annoying Windows Defender).

Besides, if any of those two Apple commercial characters are likely to lose their email or experience a crash, it’s the one running MobileMe.