Microsoft is set to strike back at Apple and others who have spent the last year and a half criticizing its Windows Vista operating system.

We wrote about Vista’s image problem last winter, when the operating system was facing a barrage of negative press and a clever ad campaign by Apple that alleged Vista was a failure and full of problems. At the time, Microsoft told us that it had no plans for a counteroffensive or even to defend itself against the charges. Instead of acknowledging the attack ads, Microsoft hoped to change minds by continuing to talk up Vista’s benefits.