Vista Staff Hit Stores

Microsoft is hiring staff to work in certain outlets to demonstrate and talk up Vista in a bid to boost sales.

“Microsoft technologies inspire millions of people every day, and we’re just getting started. If you’re interested in harnessing your knowledge and passion in order to make buying a PC an even better experience at retail, we’d love to hear from you.”

That’s how the want ad reads. And if you’re in a Best Buy or elsewhere in one of 11 states, you might meet someone who was hired as part of Microsoft’s massive bid to increase sales of the Vista OS, according to Vnunet.

The company is hiring 155 new people and paying them $20 an hour to demonstrate Vista, answer questions and essentially act as cheerleaders – an idea not too dissimilar to Apple’s Genius bars.