Yeah. Lots of space to spread out and take a nap while the wife and kid try on hoodies.
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Microsoft Stores Are Permanently Closing
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damn, that’s actually a great idea. Why don’t cafes have video games nowadays? I don’t mean like Dave and busters, more like casual places where adults can get coffee and kids can play video games
Not everyone trying to "close their eyes and cross their fingers" when they order every product. Sometimes you really need to test it out first.
ms stores - oh yeah i think iremember hearing of them
oh well another aapl concept ripped off gone wrong
im on the side of aapl story of ms ripping off aapl gui years ago
too bad aapl os market share is so low vs ms win
oh well another aapl concept ripped off gone wrong
im on the side of aapl story of ms ripping off aapl gui years ago
too bad aapl os market share is so low vs ms win
I know Microsoft really gets dinged for copying Apple. To their credit, they almost go out of their way sometimes to find a different way. Compared to how many cheesier Linux distros just copy Apple's GUI cues, and how Android more or less makes a ripoff of iOS, Windows Start "tiles" are at least something other than Apple's cues.
And I like MacOS, but they are stubborn about insisting on what they giveth and taketh away from users via the Gui. I'm a longtime Linux user, so it annoys me that Cinnamon or Gnome give the customers more flexibility with the interface than MacOS does.
Wow, I didn’t realise Sydney Town Hall Microsoft store was one of the few Microsoft store left. Yes, it is not as packed with people as Apple store several hundred meters away, but products in display looks awesome, and I got my hands on that gigantic Surface Studio a while ago, an interesting product.
What would Microsoft repurpose that place for? It’s a prime location with very high daily foot traffic. To miss that even during the pandemic is a big loss to the brand Imo. Microsoft certainly can afford the rent right?
What would Microsoft repurpose that place for? It’s a prime location with very high daily foot traffic. To miss that even during the pandemic is a big loss to the brand Imo. Microsoft certainly can afford the rent right?
Microsoft today announced that it is permanently closing its physical stores worldwide. The company's retail employees will continue to serve customers through Microsoft's corporate offices and remotely, providing sales, training, and support.
Microsoft will continue to operate its online storefront, and it also has plans for reimagined "Experience Centers" for customers in New York City, London, Sydney, and at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft Corporate Vice President David Porter. "We are grateful to our Microsoft Store customers and we look forward to continuing to serve them online and with our retail sales team at Microsoft corporate locations."
Microsoft opened its first store in Scottsdale, Arizona in October 2009, eight years after Apple's first stores opened in Glendale, California and the Washington, D.C. area.
Article Link: Microsoft Stores Are Permanently Closing
This is one - IMHO - substantial upside to the lockdown/Coronapanic. Capital city rents have been absurd for such a long time, and with the amount of companies now seriously reconsidering the long term work from home possibilities, it will lead to a number of companies downsizing their offices substantially! Combine that with the closure of high-profile retail stores like this and you could well end up with a situation where rent prices in capital cities plummet! And if they plummet, then it will have a knock-on effect rippling out from the big cities.
Of course, I will feel sorry for all those that lose their jobs, but prices for properties (whether rental or purchase) are at utterly insane levels. Property prices are the one thing that I, as a staunch free-market Capitalist, believe that the government should intervene on. It is, after food and water, the one fundamental thing that we as humans need: shelter. As such, it should be considered a necessity and prices and profits strictly limited to single digit percentages.
Plus the implosion of big city rents may actually mean less commuting, less pollution, less stress and drama. Honestly, apart from the profits of the landlords of these properties (that should be required by law to carry around a bucket full of lube so that at least they can make it less painful), I see absolutely no loss in the de-metropolitanisation of our society!
I was a long time linux and Unix user. And i spent far too much time tweaking .init files and screwing around with the interface. Engineering and design is making choices, and I am happy with Apple’s UI curation.
For what it's worth, I appreciated the stores because of the handy service process, which I rarely needed but definitely liked. You get a complete warranty and the stores are right there to help you. And they did a great job doing that.
I can agree from a sales perspective they aren't that needed and it's brand exposure, but from a service perspective I'm really going to miss them.
I can agree from a sales perspective they aren't that needed and it's brand exposure, but from a service perspective I'm really going to miss them.
This site does a pretty good job of that:
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I'm tall, got tired of ill-fitting shirts, and went 100% to made-to-measure (for dress shirts at least), all online.
I really liked that the PCs where not loaded with crapware. It wasn't the same purchasing experience you typically get with a Windows PC. It was a very Apple-like store.
Jeff Bezos wants to eliminate all street retail and replace all consumer interactions with drones which bring us consumer goods from warehouses. So we can move on to colonizing Mars.
I… am not making a joke. That is literally his stated end goal with all this.
Retail 101... it's counterintuitive to most of us, perhaps - but there are are reasons why Lowe's/Home Depot, Crate&Barrel/West Elm, and competing grocery stores are often clumped together. It usually doesn't hurt.
*rendering
Yep, none of Microsoft's current products are really personal, wearable things or portable status symbols.
Good for you. Possible ≠ preferential. For something I'm putting on my face, wrist, or wearing in my pocket all day, I'm gonna try it out first. Same for an automobile. For many people, these things are very personal and need to be held in hand before they part with hundreds of dollars. As for shoes - between my work shoes, casual shoes, and running shoes there is a +/- 1.5 US size difference. Knowing that, I'd have to have a real obsession with return shipping to buy shoes without trying them on first.
Well this is sad. I went to one in Edmonton (or Calgary) Alberta Canada and I was impressed on how it looked and how they treated their customers.
I hoped for a Microsoft store here in my city, but now that is officially down the drain.
I hoped for a Microsoft store here in my city, but now that is officially down the drain.
The stores were pretty neat. I would go in there a few times to see the new Xbox controllers and things like that. But the computers they had were very pricey ... but like everyone said no one was hardly in there.
I actually loved the Microsoft stores. When the wife is shopping at the mall, I'd go there and play the latest xbox game on their giant projector screen, or try something on the VR headset they had.
Apple stores are boring to visit in comparison, but apparently nobody else got the memo.
Apple stores are boring to visit in comparison, but apparently nobody else got the memo.
Yea was so much nicer before all this online only crap. Actually had a bunch of choices in stores to compare, and you had the item on the spot without waiting for shipping. And if you had an issue, you went back to the store.
Not really. I deal with both kinds of users, and these days most of them are similar. They're just trying to get work done, on the machine that's easiest for them to use.
Both companies even released their best operating system about a month apart in 2009, MS with Windoze 7 and Apple with 10.6. Neither has come close since.
I think the goal was never to make the store profitable. It was always a loss leader to make the brand more friendly in the way Apple is considered friendly for creative and non-techy people. Microsoft always had the MicroCenter crowd, but my wife starts melting and glitching if I stop and look at a graphics card.
in a week there will be an app, using the LIDAR scanner and cameras in your iPad Pro or iphone 12, that precisely measures your body, let’s you pick fabrics and patterns, and has a 3-piece suit delivered by an Uber Eats driver within 3 days.
I kid only somewhat.
Yep, that was not an uncommon experience. It’s actually pretty weird that they let the stores go this long without any sort of massive re-tooling.
