Microsoft is betting Windows 8 will do well, so much so that the company is on the verge of a huge marketing blitz that will cost it $1.5B. That's a lot of money to make sure that consumers adopt Windows 8. Still, it won't be easy convincing many users to leave the traditional Windows 7 to something almost completely new.

If the $1.5B figure is correct, this would be the largest and most expensive product launch in the history of Microsoft. This is highly understandable since the company chose to take a different approach with Windows 8, one that might not be easy to understand by non-technical computer users. The changing of the user interface and making Windows 8 a universal OS that is capable of running on tablets and the traditional desktop is a huge risk, and could end up biting Microsoft in the long run.

Microsoft has no choice but to successfully launch Windows 8 because big things are at stake here. PC sales have been slumping, consumers are slowly but surely making the switch to the more simple computer devices like the iPad, and many find themselves using their computer less throughout a whole day. Windows 8's task is to change this shift and bring interest back to Windows, and what better way to do it but with introduce a new Windows with revolutionary changes.

With any luck, Microsoft can get the word across to consumers with its $1.5B marketing campaign. If not, the world could be witnessing the fall of a giant that once ruled the software world with an iron fist.