Microsoft Signs Leases to Open Retail Stores in Arizona and California

[sellitom]

Ha ha, you're not helping your case here. What did we own before a Mac? Well, for me of course a Windows PC. What do I own now? A Mac. Your point?? What's significant is what I own now, not what I owned before. Also, I can assure you there are a lot of people here who've never owned anything other than a Mac.

And I apologize. I wasn't trying to create a stir amongst the fanboy population, as I obviously have.

 

[Peace]

Let's see how this works. You walk into the Microsoft store to look at a bunch of gear that Microsoft doesn't make, play with a PC to decide what you want, then get in your car to drive to the outskirts of town to Best Buy to purchase one. Or you go 3 stores down to the Apple Store and get instant gratification. Hmmmm... tough choice.

Is it just me, or does this echo the out-of-the-way Gateway stores where you could look but not buy?

Here's how I see it working. and I'm questioning whether or not it "might" break some FTC anti-competative laws.

Microsoft. Under pressure from Dell and HP will sell pre-configured Dell and HP laptops and desktops. It's obvious. MS has been advertising their computers in commercials for a while now.

Some posters have it right though. There is going to be a very long line at that "Guru Bar" from customers.

And Two stores opening ? Not exactly going up against Apple by opening 2 stores at a time.

While I do like Windows 7 I can only see this concept as an epic failure on the part of MS.

 

[sascha h-k]

what they are gonna sale there ?

one client in the m$ shop:

what are you selling ?

vista: crap
win7: better crap and still only a small bad copy of osX.
else: zune ? ha ha ha ha ...

the client will ask the salesman: what else ?!

he responds: go vis a vis to the apple-store !

 

[nkawtg72]

Its going to have a few bar's like the Apple store does, however Microsofts will be:

• Virus Removal Bar
• Malware Removal Bar
• Defragmentation Bar
• Windows Customer Frustration Counceling Bar
• The "Let us call the tech support guys in India for you" Bar
• Red Ring of Death XBox 360 Repair Bar
• The "Why Windows 7 costs so much" Bar
• The Bar Bar, to get drunk at after visiting the other Bar's

don't forget the "uninstall and go back to XP Bar"

 

[cohibadad]

I wonder if that whacky duo Seinfeld and Gates or even Balmer will be at the openings. I'd pay a dollar to see Bill do the robot or hear Balmer scream "I AM A PC". Maybe they'll pay people to come to their stores.

 

[sellitom]

don't forget the "uninstall and go back to XP Bar"

Average wait time = 3 hours.

 

[nkawtg72]

I'm looking forward to these microsoft stores - it will encourage Apple to only improve their stores more.. which are already very good.

As they say, competition is good.



You can be sure that Apple wouldn't be saying "its not about marketshare" if they had 90% of the PC market... Strangely, when it comes to those Apple products that have a high market share - it becomes 'important'...

actually, you've got that all wrong. apple and its fanboys didn't create the marketshare discussion, MS fanboys did, many many years ago i might add.

i'd like to point out that if market share were important to "us" then we wouldn't have bought a mac in the first place now would we?! the only reason why marketshare may get thrown back at "you" at times, is to point out the fact that apple's business model HAS been working in many arenas.

i for one could care less how many other people buy the same products as i do. so take your marketshare discussions elsewhere and share them with someone who cares.

 

[mac*jedi*g]

Microsoft huh? Are they selling equipment too? Hmmm, lets see how enthusiastic venture this will be after 6 month of operation. The greeters at the door will be like, "Hi Welcome to the MS Store. Please do not talk to me, but instead, visit our interactive table ---- for which you can poop on! Thank you, buh-bye!"

 

[nkawtg72]

repeat after me, its all about market share its all about market share its all about market share.

Who doesn't strive for market share? Seriously? You think apple is ok with their market share and position in their space? naive

go back to school and learn some economics and business theory. it ISN'T about market share. it's about MARGINS!!!!!!!!

if i could sell my widget to only 1% of the market, but "own" 75% of the revenue in that market, then i'm the one laughing all the way to the bank.

read up on Apple's recent quarterly numbers and you'll see that's exactly what theyre doing.

 

[Gasu E.]

Competitors--> Good

Wannabees--> Sad

 

[nkawtg72]

Yeah because Sony never had stores before Apple.

Oh yeah, and who copied who by moving from PPC to Intel to use x86 ISA?

Anyone?

once again, id like to point out that us FANBOYS are only pointing out exactly what MS is publicly acknowledging that they are doing. they have said they are going after Apple. BUT, rather than being original in their approach, they are COPYING apple's.

at the same time, i cant say i blame them for wanting to copy apple. apple's approach has worked fantastic for them.

 

[miketcool]

i'm not buying it. if i were having those problems, and i seriously thought it was the service and not the hardware or network i was on, i wouldn't still be paying $99 a year for it either.

add to that there are a lot more services and features packed into your $99 a year. if all your using it for is the Me.com website, then you are stupid, and should've just gone with gmail in the first place.

I paid $69, the discount price. Because of the lovely economy and the fact that my portfolio/CV/résumé had gone out using my mac account to hundreds of firms, and I wasn't willing to sacrifice the possibility of getting a job over $69. Make no mistake though, I won't be buying MobileME again. This is a category Apple is lacking on innovation wise.

 

[nkawtg72]

and i think you both agree neither you nor I have any viability into their strategic growth plan or where they are taking their future revenues. Who knows what it takes to upgrade their market share, but its not like mircosoft is not making any revenue either.

of course we know what direction they are going, have you ever heard of a shareholders conference?

also, that last sentence, "Ms is not making any revenue either." Either is a comparison, to whom are you comparing? are you suggesting Apple is NOT making any revenue? god i hope you aren't. if you are, you need to get out a little more.

 

[xIGmanIx]

go back to school and learn some economics and business theory. it ISN'T about market share. it's about MARGINS!!!!!!!!

if i could sell my widget to only 1% of the market, but "own" 75% of the revenue in that market, then i'm the one laughing all the way to the bank.

read up on Apple's recent quarterly numbers and you'll see that's exactly what theyre doing.

Thanks for the business lesson Donald right? Thanks, i didn't realize everyone on macrumors had a MBA and were part of fortune 500 companies. Neither of them have anything to do with the OP, and the point is, you can talk about Apple's revenue all you want, at the end of the day the OS breakdown is about 90% windows. Apple also makes a significant margin on their hardware sales (inflated?). Last time i checked, Microsoft makes money too

Edit: Added cap's and bold because that must REALLY MEAN I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT

of course we know what direction they are going, have you ever heard of a shareholders conference?

also, that last sentence, "Ms is not making any revenue either." Either is a comparison, to whom are you comparing? are you suggesting Apple is NOT making any revenue? god i hope you aren't. if you are, you need to get out a little more.

Do you know what a strategic growth plan is? Did apple speak to their future product line? New space that they were going to compete in? reduction in work force or costs in manufacturing? Future partnerships they were entering into or such? To my knowledge, they wouldn't brief any of that during a shareholders call

 

[Eidorian]

Everyday is repost day.

 

[uberamd]

go back to school and learn some economics and business theory. it ISN'T about market share. it's about MARGINS!!!!!!!!

if i could sell my widget to only 1% of the market, but "own" 75% of the revenue in that market, then i'm the one laughing all the way to the bank.

read up on Apple's recent quarterly numbers and you'll see that's exactly what theyre doing.

QFE. How right you are, thats what I have been trying to say for so long.

 

[nkawtg72]

Surface.

It may not be aimed at the consumer ( yet ), but its making its way into businesses, and tends to go down very well.

Surface really is a good piece of technology. If Apple had made this,everyone on this forum would be raving about it - but since its made by microsoft...

hate to break it to you, but the surface is not any kind of fancy technology. functional, useful, maybe so but not outside of business in my opinion.

i can already do on a flat surface with a projector and a Wii remote or two, what the Surface does. "Object Tracking Imagery". the Surface tables are huge because they have a projector and multiple cameras mounted from below.

this would be okay for parlor tricks, but as it stands, not good for integrating into the home kitchen or family room.

again, im not saying it is useless. just not as cutting edge as one might think.

 

[xIGmanIx]

of course we know what direction they are going, have you ever heard of a shareholders conference?

also, that last sentence, "Ms is not making any revenue either." Either is a comparison, to whom are you comparing? are you suggesting Apple is NOT making any revenue? god i hope you aren't. if you are, you need to get out a little more.

actually i said its not like mircosoft isn't making any money. Where did i mention that apple is not making any revenue? I am not sure where i said anything about apple not making money, so i would appreciate if you would not speak on my behalf.

 

[Electrolytic]

go back to school and learn some economics and business theory. it ISN'T about market share. it's about MARGINS!!!!!!!!

if i could sell my widget to only 1% of the market, but "own" 75% of the revenue in that market, then i'm the one laughing all the way to the bank.

read up on Apple's recent quarterly numbers and you'll see that's exactly what theyre doing.

That's good for Apple & I don't think it's anywhere near 75%, but how is that good for you? You pay way more for the same pc with a diff os...

 

[nkawtg72]

Yes indeed. The anti-MS Apple fanboys are out in full force today. Quality entertainment. But please tell me, what did you own before a Mac?

well, if you're asking what OS i used before a mac, i never have used Windows in my home. i've worked in IT and business with Windows and Mac. so i'm speaking from personal experience, Windows is the plague (in my opinion).

 

[*LTD*]

go back to school and learn some economics and business theory. it ISN'T about market share. it's about MARGINS!!!!!!!!

if i could sell my widget to only 1% of the market, but "own" 75% of the revenue in that market, then i'm the one laughing all the way to the bank.

read up on Apple's recent quarterly numbers and you'll see that's exactly what theyre doing.

QFT.

Except that, interestingly enough, Apple's market isn't that small. We're talking around 50-70 million Mac users. Relative Windows' user base, it's small, but really, we're probably looking at the Premium end of the market with these numbers, where Apple wants to be.

Apple refuses to sell at the bottom-end. Which is a good thing.

 

[a52s]

All those blue panels and screens on that image.... I'm just waiting for someone to Photoshop in a BSOD.

Is this a sign that Microsoft is really concerned about Apple? When you've got 95% of the market share, on a platform that pretty much locks you into buying more products from the same company, is it really necessary to spend millions of dollars on stores to promote yourself? Doesn't virtually every household already own some sort of Microsoft product? It sounds to me like they're desperate to keep themselves in the public spotlight.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Eidorian]

QFT.

Except that, interestingly enough, Apple's market isn't that small. We're talking around 50-70 million Mac users. Relative Windows' user base, it's small, but really, we're probably looking at the Premium end of the market with these numbers, where Apple wants to be.

Apple refuses to sell at the bottom-end. Which is a good thing.

So how is Apple's profit going to help me?

 

[mullman]

It has everything to do with worry. Have you seen the numbers on college campuses? Sure baby boomers like their PCs, but Gen X and Yers are choosing Macs at eery opportunity. The decisions made in college are going to be lifelong lifestyle choices and MS doesn't find a way to curb it, the next generation is going to raise their kids on Mac. The only way MS stays in this is corporate IT, but those jobs are getting handed down too and eventually someone is going to say in a meeting, "We spend so much money on IT and computer repair, what would the long term savings be to go Mac?"

So very true.
I was the Apple Student Rep at my university in the early 90s and I was a switcher.
I came to campus with my PC and once I went Mac...well you know what they say.

I still keep in touch with many of my friends who were Mac users and/or switchers during their college years.
ALL still use Apple products and most are complete Apple zealots who have converted family, friends, and run their small businesses with Apple gear.

Apple has come a LONG way in the past 15-20 years, heck I remember the 25 Million Mac party at the Roxxy (MacWorld Boston 1995).
They have a huge momentum going and in another 10 years the playing field could look very different.
IMHO Microsoft knows this...

 

[Electrolytic]

Originally Posted by notjustjay View Post
All those blue panels and screens on that image.... I'm just waiting for someone to Photoshop in a BSOD.

Is this a sign that Microsoft is really concerned about Apple? When you've got 95% of the market share, on a platform that pretty much locks you into buying more products from the same company, is it really necessary to spend millions of dollars on stores to promote yourself? Doesn't virtually every household already own some sort of Microsoft product? It sounds to me like they're desperate to keep themselves in the public spotlight.

Why not keep yourself in the spotlight, that's not a bad thing... Also you would be stupid not to be concerned about your competitor...