So, MS-haters and MS-lovers are back in the trenches yet again over Microsoft’s latest pro-Vista stunt. They conducted focus group testing on what the participants were told was “the next Microsoft OS”, codenamed Mojave. The results of the testing were very positive for MS. However, it turns out that the testers were in fact not using “Mojave”, but rather Microsoft Vista. The Mojave cover story was intended to get the testers to look at Vista without any preconceived notions.

The anti-Microsoft crowd quickly took the position that this is just indicative of the kind of lying, underhanded marketing that continually comes out of Redmond. Others defending MS, saying this was a smart way to show that even though Vista got off to a shaky start, the OS is a lot better than it was.

I have to agree with the latter point of view. When I first saw Vista, I did not like it whatsoever. As a result, I didn’t switch from XP. Even after I read news that Vista has gotten a lot better, I know that my opinion was colored by my initial experiences. Though I’m not in the market for a new Windows box, if I were I think this kind of information might make me take a second look.

As for the “stunt” part of this, do I think it’s underhanded lying on the part of MS? Not really. If they packaged the same software in a box and sold it as a different product, that would be unethical. What they did was on par with the old Folger’s Crystals ads, where they would go into a four-star restaurant and replace their regular coffee with Folger’s Crystals. It’s to get an honest reaction from people outside of their prejudices.

Will I be buying Vista anytime soon as a result? Probably not unless my gaming machine unexpectedly catches fire and melts into a pile of plastic goo.

For almost everything else, my MacBook Pro is my main computer.