Microsoft has big plans for Windows Vista. Well… big plans is actually an understatement. Microsoft wants Windows Vista to be the most broadly adopted operating system in history. And the Redmond Company is looking to spare no expense or effort in order to achieve this goal. The Microsoft plans were revealed by Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Windows Client Marketing Mike Sievert to Wall Street analysts at a Merrill Lynch conference, in the wake of the company's announcement that Windows Vista sold over 20 million licenses in its first month on the market.

Prior to the Windows Vista official launch, the anticipation was high over the adoption rates of the latest Microsoft operating system. Microsoft had forecasted that Vista will outsell Windows XP by more than double. The first days of general availability were a wake up call for Microsoft; and Steve Ballmer, also in a conference with Wall Street analysts, tempered the original prediction.

Now just to fuel the confusion, Microsoft has had a change of heart and revealed that Vista indeed sold more than double the number of licenses XP managed in its first month. And furthermore that it's aiming to transform Windows Vista into an ubiquitous operating system.

Currently, according to data made public by Market Share by Net Applications, Vista accounted for 0.93% of the operating system market at the end of February. And in this context,Microsoft still has a lot to do to reach its adoption goals with Windows Vista. The operating system is fueled by a $500 million marketing campaign designed to get the Wow across. Will half a billion be sufficient to create a Vista momentum that will generalize the operating system?