Microsoft Opens First New Retail Store in Scottsdale, Arizona

NiteWaves77 said:
Time for another "Look and Feel" lawsuit, Apple. LOL. That's just great work, Ballmer -- create a competing retail environment that will remind people of the Apple Store. :p

<<Insert my usual rant about how the MS-Board of Directors and shareholders need to oust Baller immediately>>
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Pretty tolerant Board, if you ask me. To his credit, though, he has inadvertently been an effective catalyst for converting PC users to Mac users, through his massive trail-chasing efforts, self-defeating interviews, backfiring ad campaigns, and extreme buffoonery overall.
 
bdavis89 said:
c'mon people, this is like comparing Walmart to Target, Best Buy to Circuit City, Lowe's to Home Depot. Who cares if they hired someone who used to work for apple? The point is, stores that are in the same market look similar...who cares who did it first, nobody is griping about how Lowe's is similar to Home Depot...maybe its because it is already a familiar atmosphere so people will more easily explore it? oh wow, maybe copying apple wasn't such a bad idea after all...

Everyone is bashing MS, but nobody is saying what they could have done to make it better than the apple store...stupid...apple created the stores originally, and now there is a competitor store...kinda like Lowe's to Home Depot, Target to Walmart, Gap and Old Navy...they're similar because of the market they're in.

Anyways, after all the bashing is done, what could MS have done to blow your socks off? nothing, cause we're all fanboys and refuse to see this from different perspectives
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LOL, there's a difference when 50 stores that sell the same kind of merchandise look alike and when one company copies another which is a one of a kind and hasn't been imitated as of yet. The problem with your argument is that MS has had a history of doing this not only with Apple, but anybody in tech who has done something unique. MS is the bootleg off the streets of the tech world; for some good enough, but never as good as the original. You don't have to be a 'fanboy' to admit to this.
 
str1f3 said:
LOL, there's a difference when 50 stores that sell the same kind of merchandise look alike and when one company copies another which is a one of a kind and hasn't been imitated as of yet. The problem with your argument is that MS has had a history of doing this not only with Apple, but anybody in tech who has done something unique. MS is the bootleg off the streets of the tech world; for some good enough, but never as good as the original. You don't have to be a 'fanboy' to admit to this.
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The funny part is people do not even bother looking at the history of the stores like Apple Store.

Apple Store was not an orginal concept. I can tell you who Apple copied. They copied the Gateway store. Both the Gateway Store and the Apple story have very similar looks and feels to them. I been in both and they both had a very open format you could wonder around in.

Tweaks were made for Apple to match it culter of young and hip. So T-Shirt were put in there. Microsoft is trying to change it image a little with the Younger and Hipper look so it is going to do something like it....

It funny how people just thing Bash Microsoft for coping and do not understand that they are both competed in the same group so they are going to have a very simular look and feel.

The person you are trying to bash against has a very valid point. Best Buy and Curicuit city were very much a like. Hell look at grocery stores. They are almost always the same. Minor difference between companies but still a lot a like because they are competing in the same market.
 
Looks like an AmWay hype! Hail the Product! Although Mac does similar things too. Our consumer society rat race...
 
str1f3 said:
LOL, there's a difference when 50 stores that sell the same kind of merchandise look alike and when one company copies another which is a one of a kind and hasn't been imitated as of yet. The problem with your argument is that MS has had a history of doing this not only with Apple, but anybody in tech who has done something unique. MS is the bootleg off the streets of the tech world; for some good enough, but never as good as the original. You don't have to be a 'fanboy' to admit to this.
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Every successful company was "one of a kind" at first, that's the point. Apple is giving rise to a new market-specific store, it was only a matter of time before someone copied them. That might be for MS, but whether you like it or not, somehow they ended up with the overwhelming market share when it comes to operating systems, etc. Surely if they were soooooo bad they wouldn't do so well?

I like my vista, it has had no problems and i enjoy it. I like my ipods too. I don't consider myself a fanboy of either, I just use what I personally like better and works for me.
 
In the cynically jaded world I occupy this would be known as a 'rent a crowd'. Just as I wouldn't turn up for a Snow Leopard launch, I wouldn't turn up to a Windows launch. Its a friggin product, not a cure to cancer or how to have multiple orgasms over and over again.
 
DMann said:
Would never be clearly visible well in a well-lit room, due to the projectors and cameras.


A cool gimmick, for the 1990s - counterproductive in the 21st C.
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A cool gimmick to be able to deliver any content you want in minutes without keeping a giant inventory on hand? Or are you referring to Apple keeping giant shelves of software as has been done for decades?

Doesn't really make sense.
 
heyy microsoft is also giving you a grand opening welcome gift - h1n1!
If they touch every single people who arrives.. hrr..
 
TennisandMusic said:
A cool gimmick to be able to deliver any content you want in minutes without keeping a giant inventory on hand? Or are you referring to Apple keeping giant shelves of software as has been done for decades?

Doesn't really make sense.
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It is much faster and more efficient to download the software avoiding the waste of plastic, paper, and energy. For those who are shopping, and/or prefer a 'hard copy,' the "giant" shelves of software function as visual marketing, similar to the empty cases displayed in Blockbuster Video Stores, which take up the same amount of space as packages do. Besides, any space saved would be taken up by the machinery to print, rip disks, and boxes to store the cases and materials. Better off having visual copies on display, for customers to see, or to recommend downloading the software, when possible.
 
I'm sorta in two minds over this. I've got no problems at all with MS launching a retail store and think it might actually be a good thing in the long term. It's certainly going to encourage PC makers to build good looking machines (wonder if HP had this in mind while, uh, borrowing the design of the MBP for their new range) and that can only be a good thing.

BUT.... I really wish they'd been more imaginative and come up with a design that wasn't so clearly based on the Apple model. There needs to be competition to drive the industry forward and seeing MS choosing this path does not bode well. Mostly though I'm just not entirely sure what they're going to sell. Xbox stuff is nice enough but it's going to be cheaper practically everywhere else you can buy it. Zune... uh, well let's be polite here, in a retail environment it's really going to struggle against the iPod Touch range. And then there's the PC's. Selling premium PC's is bloody difficult these days as they tend to be more-or-less price competitive with the equivalent Apple model and I just don't see MS being able to build that section of the market up enough to counter that image and, again, you're going to be able to pick up these machines cheaper elsewhere. The answer area is a nice idea but I pity the poor souls working there. If the only requirement is it's running MS software can you imagine the amount of problems they're going to have to try and solve where the final answer is 'speak to your manufacturer'? They're going to get more abuse than traffic wardens.

Again, just to make it clear, I'd like MS to make this work. Competition is always good and I think Apple is in a good position to do just that, compete. But I wish they'd gone with something original and creative to really push the bar and I can't work out for the life of me how these stores are going to be profitable for MS in the long run unless they come up with some true innovations and exclusive products.
 
Goona said:
Damn they even copied Apple's wall of iphone apps pic:

HPIM0961.jpg
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I see duplicates! ;)

What they ran out of programs? :rolleyes:
 
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