Feb 16 2009Hooray?: Microsoft Opening Retail Stores

First, and I heart Microsoft!!!

Will they sell Apple products?

Fail.

yay-yo.

Was the photograph taken from the inside of a Circuit City?

Hiyooooo!

Do they have to close the store and reopen it over and over again until the cash registers work right?
Do the lights in the place all turn blue right after all the automatic doors lock up?

Down with Microsoft

Seems kinda' pointless.

Eh. Good move for them. Bad move for the economy.

Thanks Microsoft.
Now I can't feed my 12 children.

blatant apple copy. Microsoft needs to rename themselves Orange.

why not, apple has stores. why not microsoft. apple lovers will hate it. and windows lovers wont care for it. but the newbies getting into this shit. might like it.

its whatever. maybe it will provide more jobs out there. i for one will check out their demos. always wanted to check out the sync stuff that are in ford cars.

plus i will finally see a zune in action.

#9: did you learn anything from or take an economics class? It'll create more jobs and stimulate the purchasing from people.

writer: Coke in a bottle? That looks too suspicious...perhaps in a sugar bag?

@ #11 - Apple has actual products to sell. Microsoft has software. People want brick-and-mortar stores so they can touch and feel the products. What does Microsoft have? Some keyboards and mice and the Zune. Whoopie.

I'm with #6; also, critical store upgrades every couple of weeks are probably going to bankrupt Microsoft eventually.

Baah Microsoft should stick to windows... Walls and ceilings should left to the pros

with #6 and #14 but have one more question. When you buy something from the microsoft store, do they attach 10 other useless items that negate the functionality of your original purchase?

Shourly, they start opening shops to marginate the loss of money that they have to pay to the EU for IE this year, HEHE
http://www.av-hardware.com/display_page.php?id=34
Sorry Microsoft..

@GW - "I think I speak for all of us when I say I am honestly not excited about this one bit."
Then why did you have to post it?

*blinks then calls Best Buy, Office Depot* You guys will still be open right?

"Yes Sir."

"Good, you provide better tech support than microsft does."

Epic Fail.

The store will open late every day while the employees scramble around to get the showroom computers to stop crashing.

I hope they hire a good plummer for those stores.It wouldn't be great to have all over leaks.

I used Macs for a good 10 or more years before finally switching to PCs so I say this as kindly as I can- Macs are great computers for people who aren't really into computers. If you just want something out of the box that looks pretty, is trendy, offers a simple one button mouse and you don't mind paying extra for that, Macs are the way to go. My dad has a hard time with the TV remote but he loves his Mac to death. It's unfortunate that Macs also attract so many fanboy douches desperately trying to be cool but to be fair, PCs attract an ugly brand of fanboys who live in their mother's basement and have never touched a girl.

That said, I can't imagine this will come close to the level of success as the Apple store. Mac owners need to know that their Mac products are pretty, shiny and trendy. The Mac store assures them of this. PC/Windows people could usually care less- they're more interested in a deal on memory at newegg, a custom made water cooling system or a sweet case mod a friend sent them.

I could care less. Anyone stupid enough to go into an Apple/Microsoft store deserves to have their money taken from them.

At least they create jobs.For once they spend their money wiseful.

Gross. Super gross.

But hey, if they can hire a few people, I guess that's good.

@5 & 6 - nice. I LOLd

Xbox360 products + Zune Products = w00t!

I bet in their top 5 selling products in the store will be life sized Bill Gates cardboard cutouts.

che-che

I own a Zune, the thing rocks, and is way better than an IPOD.
music, movies, shows, radio, games, and wireless.

@13- what does microsoft have to offer?

everything that apple offers. if not more than apple. apple has a computer, ipod and iphone.
micorsoft has computer, zune, and 360. plus all the software crap that they have to offer for phones, cars, and other bullshit on the internet that they can have on display to show off, i see this being a pretty marketing tool more than anything.

i am not hating on apple, or anything but like i said if apple does it why cant microsoft. and why do apple people feel threatened by this.

I can just see it now, full of people with their broken 360's under their arm demanding they be fixed.

@ #22

I have been a mac user all my life and NEVER (knock on wood) had a severe crash in all my time with one, never had a visit from the "Install Wizard", or any virus for that matter. While all my friends are buying new PC's or spending their money on upgrades equivalent to the cost of a new one, my Macs outlast them all ten fold.

@#28

Apple users aren't feeling threatened by this. Last I checked, Microsoft makes Windows, Word, Zunes and Xboxes. Let's see which PC clone maker pays them enough to be in the display window on opening day...

@22,

Yeah, who would want a computer that's easy to use and nice to view aesthetically both in design and functionality (hardware AND software wise) right out of the box. That's crazy talk.

Microsoft Windows: For those who have to screw more with the OS than use it.

Think it'll be built in a glass house?

lololol it's going to be a big FAILure. Microsoft sucks balls.

@30

Stability is kind of a weak argument. My Mac used to crash all the time and I haven't had my PC(s) crash on me in the last 5 or so years. Experiences will vary from person to person but I have a feeling that people with a $9.95 "Kittens in cowboy hats" screensaver will experience more problems than those without.

I've never had a virus on my PC after over 5 years of heavy use. It's really easy to avoid as long as you don't torrent or visit those naughty Russian sites. In addition, those emails from the Prince of Nigeria probably aren't.

I use a PC because there's a lot more software for Windows, a 5 button mouse allows me to work much faster than a 1 button mouse, I can't stand the way Apple likes to do their application windows and I know enough about computers that I don't have to buy mine as a bundle from a POS retailer that advertises bundles with $25 speakers during CSI.

I haven't had any problems with any of my PC's in years. They work brilliantly with Photoshop, Maya and After Effects. I enjoy gaming on them. It's great for playing all types of media (and I can use my Xbox to play stuff on my TV if I want). I can work from home on it. They run fast, are cheap to build, easy to put together and easy to maintain. That's really hard to argue with.

Yeah, if you buy a POS from Circuit City and use the factory version of Windows, you are going to have a rough time with your computer. If extensions are confusing and you don't understand why you shouldn't rename system files, a Mac is propably your best bet. Otherwise, I really don't understand all the hate.

If you like Macs, that's fine. Like I said, my dad still swears by them. All I'm saying is that PCs work perfectly fine as well.

@31
Macs tend to look pretty and that's not a bad thing except that all Macs look the same. There isn't a lot of variety. Everything has an "Apple" look to it. I like being able to buy high end hardware for my PC that matches my needs and aesthetic taste. I'm very happy with the way my PCs look.

@34,

To each their own I guess. I'm not all about the looks of my PC terribly much. Honestly my Mac could look like a turd in the corner for all I care. I value usability over having a unique case.

In term of the store, every few minutes some random paper clip will show up and talk some random things to you. Every few things you look at in the MS store would try to install some spyware in your butthole.

To exit the store, you have to follow the START sign.

#22 fail. Mac = UNIX, Macs also run windows. Just because YOU don't know how to use command line or boot into windows on a Mac doesn't mean it's "for people who aren't really into computers". On the contrary, many hackers use Macs because it's easy to multi-boot into linux, OSX (Unix with highly optimized GUI), and winodws on a mac.

Macs are not sold with single button mouse for something like 5+ years. Just because you are not smart enough to right click doesn't mean the feature is not there.

Mac in Science:
http://www.apple.com/science/
Any of those people probably has 10x IQ than #22.

Did you know that Microsoft Zune fail so much even the MS fan with zune tatoo fan got rid of his Zune?

In case you have short term memory, here is something on the fails of Microsoft:
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Q4.06/2E6D9BB2-FE1B-4556-8389-67BD581FBCCC.html

Once again, a copy of an Apple idea...

Will the employees be from India?

Oops...

That's Dell....

Good luck Microsoft. Very original thinking there.

@37

Take a second and chill out a bit. It's not worth getting that angry about. Really, it isn't.

After you're done, realize that Microsoft has made any number of horrible mistakes and no one is arguing that. I'm certainly not here to tell people to buy a Zune, I hate Microsoft's history of including those god awful Office paperclip and XP puppy stye assistants and the hardware issues associated with the 360 are well documented.

Still, it's not like any company is flawless. Even itunes only recently went DRM free, following companies like Amazon. Arguing that either Apple or Microsoft is 'teh suck' or 'full of win' is for the fanboys and pretty much a failed cause no matter how you look at it.

The only points I'm really trying to make here are that the things that attract Mac users to the Apple store are likely to not appeal to as many PC/Windows users and that Windows runs just fine if you know what you are doing.

FAKE!!!!

This is a complete photoshop job. You can tell its a fake because the shadow's are all wrong.

This is exactly like that scene in the movie Never Back Down where Max is flying to a job interview and refuses the food on the plane, and then when he gets to the hotel they don't have his reservation, he ends up refusing all the help anyone can give him, and spends the night on the street. Later after the interview that he goes to looking like crap, he again refuses the airplane food, thinking he will be home in time for dinner, and the plane got hijacked to Cuba.

Once again there goes Microsoft imitating Apple...

@22:
Macs for people not into computers? LMAO, try to explore the raw unix on Mac OSX rather then just click around. lets see who's into computers then.

Why the f@ck doesn't anyone ban that asswipe Kaly? He's starting to get on my nerves!
I really don't know anyone dumb enough to still buy Microsoft products, but... WAIT! Did I just red "cells and smartphones"? WTF? Will you hear a voice saying "are you sure you want to dial this number" everytime you try to call someone?

Steve Balmer and his minions came into the Best Buy i work at like 6 months ago. He was a total douche. I bet the gay business meeting they had could've sparked this idea; along with copying Apple as well.

I wonder if Microsoft will have the equivilent of a genuis bar. If so those f*ckers are gonna have their hands full.

p.s. I gotta admit windows 7 beta does run pretty smooth btw.

@30 : "(and I can use my Xbox to play stuff on my TV if I want)"

I can do the same with my PS3. What does this have anything to do with PC vs Mac?

38- Actually, Microsoft had a retail store long before Apple. It failed miserably, but as usual, Apple is taking credit for a Microsoft idea. Thanks for playing.

I'm hoping they use this store as more of a multi media store than software pitch. I'm also hoping they are ready for people to walk in with all of their technical questions/problems... that'll be fun.

I have no issue communicating without the use of profanity. Quite frankly, the english language offers much more colorful adjectives. The point being made is simply that in this country, where this blog is hosted, we have freedom of speech. The same freedom of speech that would protect this blogger (GW) in court. I find it rather disingenuous of him to post NSFW content and genitalia jokes, then censor our comments about them.

@46

The 360 works as an extender for Media Center. You can play media files on you 360 via a wireless network from your PC. Plus all the other stuff.

who the hell designed this monstrosity?

its whatever, but usability and all that bullshit. cmon, you can do whatever you want on whichever one you use. i do 3d modeling and graphic design. i have pushed my pc through photoshop and 3DS MAX plus i enjoy playing call of duty 4 on there aswell.
i never had problems, so why pay more for what i can do for less. but the thing is, alot of these apple fanatics, are just surfing facebook and looking pretty at starbucks. so i say apple computers is pura mamadas.

and apple store is original, i think there has been nike stores, sketchers, hell even bose has their own store. again nothing original by apple. even their iphone was original. its just a pretty sweet machine.

^ That.

Even itunes only recently went DRM free, following companies like Amazon.

Jesus crap. If you don't know anything about the subject, don't bring it up! Apple has been trying to get DRM free songs since the very beggining. If you want to kill someone over that, kill the Labels. And the reason why Amazon got there first was because the Labels don't like iTunes' growing power at all, and let Amazon get DRM-free songs first.

Of course, you can't shut the door to iTunes for too long...

And no I'm no fanboy of anything. If you want to know, my computer is an acer, and it runs bokay... when it does.

I wonder if they will decorate the walls and desks with blue screens of death.

Dude, you are soooo right. Coke in the bottle is most prime. Particularly in the bottles from mexico with the wear marks on the bottom from being refilled and reshipped for so many decades.

First, as a qualifier (sigh), I own a Mac and PC, so I am not a fangirl for either brand. Remember, these are just companies, boys... they don't care about you nearly as much as you seem care about them.

That said, anything that gets the economy moving again is a good thing. One of the things that improves the economy is competition between companies.

We should be glad that increased pressure from Apple is forcing Microsoft to get their act together.

Think about it- this kind of competition might drive Microsoft to make Windows less buggy, or drive Apple to make their computers actually........... affordable. (GASP!!)

I wonder if their customer service desk will be outsourced? Oh, that is too sad to even laugh about, as chances are, it may well be what happens.

@41: Photoshopped? Seriously? I am trying desperately hard to not insult your intelligence or visual acuity and pray that you were making some sort of joke.

Also, for anyone out there who turns on your computer and "just has internet", you're stealing your neighbour's wifi. Don't call us when it mysteriously stops working. That's an I.D.10-T problem, right there.