Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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Man, they really do that whole "follow Apple" thing, don't they? This is taking it to a nutty extreme... http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...769&Ite mid=1 From the article: Quote:
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Yikes, they'd better not... IMO, "the true Microsoft experience" isn't something you'd open a damn store over, to share with others. Yeah, they'd better be "skilled people". A store where nothing works right the first two times you try it? Yeah, we've already had those...they were called CompUSA. I can't wait. That'll be fodder for a kick-ass home movie (comparing the stores of the two giants). A few early predictions: Apple: Genius Bar Microsoft: Solution Station (I would say "Saloon" but surely even they wouldn't go that far...) Apple: Giant iPhones in front window with simulated interface Microsoft: Giant Zunes in front window with real frozen screen Apple: daily free classes in iLife, iWork, Leopard, switching, etc. Microsoft: Three-hour $45 course in virus protection/system maintenance (sign me up...sounds like a hard-on waiting to happen) Apple: Store packed on weekends...all ages, races, genders, actually buying stuff Microsoft: Three customers (one admiring giant Zune despite frozen screen, and two others asking staff why their "brand new $#%^(#@ mouse made their printer driver disappear") Apple: Large white glowing logo on storefront, beckoning the faithful and the curious Microsoft: Gaudy blue, red, yellow and green neon surrounding entire storefront, luring guys thinking "a titty bar opened up next to JCPenney!" Apple: Check-out registers using iMacs for cash-drawer/check-out Microsoft: Check-out registers using iMacs for cash-drawer/check-out Apple: Looping "lifestyle" footage, or iLife tutorials shown on rear movie screen Microsoft: Rear screen gets its feed from the same source as the Zune in the front windows...frozen, or blue as hell. Apple: Employees walking around in matching T-shirts Microsoft: Same thing, except two employees (on rotating shifts) have to don Clippy "mascot uniform", walking around, bugging the two customers with "it looks like you're wanting to buy that keyboard; do you want help?" Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2008-04-14 at 16:34. |
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Seaford, VA
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Can you imagine the total geek level and dorkiness of the people in there? They'd talk about nothing but playing games like WoW or something, or brag about their Pentium is 3.2 gigs and your shitty one is 3.0 gigs... Give me a break.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
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Apple: Kids area with a little table and bouncy chairs and iMacs running kids' software
Microsoft: A dark corner of the store with a milk crate full of used toys and a sign that says "Noobs" |
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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I'm going to take a position completely opposite pscates and say this is a very good thing for Microsoft and for consumers in general. I'm going to lay out my theory, which proposes that it isn't at all just a shallow attempt to mimic Apple's retail success (though in reality, it probably is).
Basically, what is it that most Mac users complain about most with Windows? The inconsistencies. Well, there are a lot of things (of course), but Mac users really like the phrase "it just works," and the reason why Macs usually "just work" is because Apple maintains tight control over the hardware you have available to you. There are only so many hardware configurations a Mac user can have, so it's easy to support all of them. This is different from Windows, where there are a virtually unlimited number of possible hardware configurations. That makes support really, really hard. But think—what if Microsoft had a retail location where they could control exactly what hardware and software gets put on the shelves? Heh, see where I'm going with this now? With Vista, MS has been going nuts with these "Certified for Windows Vista" labels for hardware and software alike. I think it's the best they can do to try to make things a little more consistent for people. Sort of like how, way back in the 80s and early 90s, Nintendo used the "Official Nintendo Seal of Quality" to indicate games and accessories that they had officially licensed. No seal, no guarantee of reliability. Of course, a lot of stuff is still going to get the seal (or in this case, the "Vista-ready" sticker) and still be crap, but that's unavoidable. I'm sure there's a lot of bad OS X software out there too that still bears the OS X logo (not sure what they use now, if it's still a blue X or if they've switched to something else). MS has so much money they can kind of do whatever they want and see how it works. They might try to recreate the Genius Bar experience—though I'm not sure how they'd pull it off given the exponentially larger number of Windows users combined with the greater number of problems they tend to have—and I wouldn't blame them. Genius Bars, I think, have really helped Apple. Maybe MS will try to capture some of that. And if it ends up helping to educate people on how not to royally f*ck up their computers, that's a good thing. |
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: May 2006
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: May 2006
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(EDIT: I'm seriously not trying to resurrect the old Mac OS vs. Windows debate with my comments above. All I was trying to say is that the Mac OS, out of the box, provides a great experience, while Windows, out of the box and absent any third-party apps, still seems incredibly user-unfriendly, and not much fun (if any) to use.) |
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can't read sarcasm.
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
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At this point, MS is grasping at straws. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason, focus or vision. They're simply reactionary these days. Opening up retail stores will only raise comparisons with Apple, bringing further embarassment to MS. While MS is still a powerful force, it's certainly a far cry from the 80's heydays. |
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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Basically, the way I think MS sees it is that the release of Vista was an opportunity for a clean slate. Wipe out all the old XP crap and try to do things a little better this time around. It'll never be as good as OS X but it can improve. Quote:
Obviously, the same thing can happen with Windows machines, and it can get harder in that most Windows machines allow you to replace nearly every component. So while a Mac user might bring in a 300 MHz iBook running OS 9 wondering why he can't play World of Warcraft or watch YouTube, a PC owner might haul in his ten-year-old Gateway 2000 and ask why he can't get this new graphics card he just bought to work in it. There are certainly many more possibilities that can crop up when you look at Windows users and the crazy problems they might bring in, but it's not exclusive to Windows. Quote:
MS's situation seems a lot like the U.S. military's situation these days. They're still the king of the hill, on paper, but they're spread too thin and it's exposing all these vulnerabilities that weren't visible before. Anyway, to clarify my own personal opinion on this matter: I don't know if it'll work. I agree MS is in sort of a tough spot and I'm not really defending them so much as coming up with a plausible explanation for why they're doing this. This is to counterbalance the "zOMG MS is copying Apple!" posts. |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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It's not a bad thing to point out the obvious, though.
I don't mean "copying Apple" (and I'm certainly not upset by it) in any serious, mean way, or like it's the ruin of anyone. But be super-honest: does anyone here think Microsoft would even consider this without the success of Apple's stores as a template/"inspiration"? I honestly don't think that they think that way, in some sort of strong, independent way. I really don't. If Apple only sold Macs from their website and a few stores (Best Buy, etc.), I can't imagine this rumor about Microsoft retail even existing. I just can't. "Copy" might seem to "nyah-nyah", but I believe with all my heart that Redmond looks southward to Cupertino way more than they would ever, ever admit. Way too many "oh, Apple does this and it worked...let's investigate that arena a bit" instances in the past 5-6 years to believe otherwise. |
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