Windows Vista is by no means a failure, nor is it a lost battle, as Microsoft is fighting the Service Pack 1 crusade opening new fronts against both itself and rival companies. Having RTM'd Vista SP1 on February 4, 2008, and then released it to the general public in March and April, the Redmond company has essentially breathed new life into its latest Windows client and it's willing to do everything it takes to convince end users to give the operating system at least a second look if not a new try. Furthermore, Microsoft indicated that it was ready to go beyond the traditional lines of marketing campaigns that spawned the Wow.

In fact, the software giant has made a number of moves designed to benefit Windows Vista. In early June, Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications pointed out the release of a new whitepaper set up to reveal the business value of Vista SP1. While indeed parading Vista SP1 to customers, Microsoft also slaughters Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7 as viable alternatives. With over 150 million licenses sold worldwide to date Vista is faring rather well, but this is not stopping Microsoft from virtually eating its young in order to increase sales.

In this context, the company is also pushing hard new marketing campaigns, coughing up no less than a reported $500 million, which is the unconfirmed sum that it paid for the Vista Wow. Fast Company revealed that the Redmond giant would pay ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky $300 million for a campaign and another $200 million just for Windows advertising until the end of 2008, according to Fortune Magazine. Speculations indicate that Microsoft is hard at work on an antidote to Apple's Get a Mac ads which have hurt both the Microsoft brand and Windows Vista.

But one thing that Microsoft has clearly done in favor of Windows Vista was to kill Windows XP sales through the retail and OEM channels for good starting on June 30. XP was so far the biggest impediment in terms of Windows Vista adoption and Microsoft has surgically removed it from the store shelves as well as from new OEM computers. The only Windows client selling on new machines, with the exception of ultra-low-cost mobiles and desktop computers, is Windows Vista SP1.

And if all this is not enough to convince users, the Microsoft Virtual Labs is also hosting a Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 test drive, offering a free taste of the operating system online. It is safe to conclude that Microsoft is on the offensive. Armed with SP1 the company is pushing Vista left and right and all the apparently disparate actions related to the Windows client slowly come together in a puzzle that reveals a common vision.

Windows Vista SP1 can be downloaded from here.