I just started running Win7 yesterday and I already got it to freeze up on me. But to be honest I am pretty mean to my comp.

Although it does seem like windows is trying to be more like mac. Bur, overall it looks shiny!

I’d say a Microsoft store makes about as much sense as an Apple store. Besides, a lot of companies these days have their own stores where they only carry their own merchandise. I actually kinda hope it takes off. If nothing else it’ll help create jobs. We need jobs. Even lower-level crap jobs like this.

It’s all about the powerful Metaminds.

Also these Microsoft stores are located near Best Buy stores and such, where the goal is to get the consumer to look at these Windows boutiques then go to a Best Buy etc to buy them. It is like the Sony Store here in Chicago, it is to both sell high priced/hard to find products to people with tons of cash and to get people interested in a whole line of products to get them to identify the brand with what they need.

What is it with Microsoft’s obsession with the color brown? Don’t they realize that a brown counter won’t make their products any more appealing?

A Microsoft store makes absolutely no sense to, but neither does an Apple store honestly. I do plan on going to check out the Microsoft store just to see what the hype is.

windows 7 is worse that any vista to start off with, and the store is really bad. the staff aren’t very helpful and the computers have blue screened many times.

credit where credit is due, 7’s slightly better than Vista. But the whole Windows store thing’s a bit too… Desperate a move? D:

Hey, Microsoft keeps in with their reputation; years behind Apple! ;)
Who’s gonna be at the Genius bar? The Paperclip? :D

IMO, the store isn’t necessary. But it’s Microsoft and they got the cash to spend for experimenting around ideas. If they want to try opening their own store, by all means let them. Only time will tell if the store works or don’t.

As there are tons of devices out there that are from Microsoft or uses a Microsoft product, I do not see why there is a definitive need to open a store. The brand and the products themselves has already proliferated into society so I believe that having a store like this is nothing but redundant. I can fully understand the need for an Apple store, as Apple is mostly a niche market for people who can afford the products. Apple can dictate pretty much how they want certain products to be priced. On the other hand, items from Microsoft or using Microsoft can be had elsewhere for significantly less.

I don’t really care much for the Windows v. Apple debate myself. To each their own.

Although I will admit, I’m more excited about Windows 7 than I ever have been for an Apple product (yes, this includes the much coveted Apple iPod, a device to this day I am still in awe over).

Unfortunately at this time I do not have the money to purchase Windows 7. From what I’ve spoke of with my friends, its a great OS. Business side, a lot of computer makers are witnessing a complete 180 in Microsoft PR. I think they finally got the message.

This could be an interesting new step for Microsoft. Quite honestly, if they continue in the direction they are currently going, I hope them well. This could me -gasp- the world Quality and Microsoft going along together like peas in a pod.

I know many people said pigs would fly. But seriously, this is a company that for so long has shunned the very industry it produces for (and still made Semi-loads of money an hour), that suddenly realized just what full a potential it would have in the current market if it bothered to…uh…-LISTEN- to its customers (IE Computer makers and stores, as well as the average consumer). I for one am open to seeing just how open Microsoft is willing to be.

I find this very situation to be interesting.

Makes about as much sense as an Apple Store or a Sony Store to me. I’ve been running Windows 7 for a while now (got it before it came out via MSDN) and I’m really enjoying it. Still has the odd mac feature I wish it had mimicked though.

I dislike the newer versions of windows due to the fact that they look like macs. Macs are good machines but I dont want to have to learn all knew work throughs that i already know on XP. The computers are coming together they will form Macdows

Just another poor copy of an Apple first move. It reminds me of a quote from a gamer magazine I read which said something along the lines of “Microsoft isn’t very good at being innovative, but they are very good at picking out who is the most innovative and copying them.”
I’d say if the Windows team was half as good as the XBox team at stealing and improving others’ ideas, Apple might actually be in trouble. Luckily for Apple, the Windows team hasn’t quite nailed down the “improving” concept.
These Microsoft stores are just further proof of this. It’s not a desperate bid, it’s just yet another compliment to Apple’s innovation, Microsoft realizing, yet again, too late that Apple had a great, lucrative idea and following suit. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, after all.

Necessary? No. Hilarious? Yes.
Honestly neither company needs a store. MS is prominent enough they can’t be avoided in a normal store, and Apple loyalty is great enough that people who want Macs will find and get Macs without a “niche” store

A Microsoft store makes a bit less sense to me than an Apple store does.

At least in the case of Apple, it’s justified by the fact that Apple offers end to end support on pretty much all their products from software to hardware. You buy an apple, and you are buying a whole product, including long term customer service.

Microsoft is a bit more splotchy on such things. They have yet to get the concept of end to end support for a product, even with the Zune and other devices. It’s pretty much always a guessing game of who supports what as far as software and hardware once it’s in the user’s hands.

Apple products have one group you turn to, and hence one location where it all comes together. I don’t really mind a Microsoft store opening, as personally I hope that signals that Microsoft is working on having a more complete and supportive experience with their products.

If it’s just a bid for more marketing, then, well, can’t say that’d be unexpected either.

Love macs, love the full range of tech, hardware, and software support they offer for just about everything they possibly can, but can understand how people would be put off by price and not seeing what they’re buying as worth it.

Love Windows, love the range of things I can do with it, but I can understand how someone might be willing to pay more to have the reliability of knowing no matter what happens, there is a solution and everything can be operational in a timely fashion without an aneurysm.

PS – rutabaga

Is it necessary? Honestly the answer is no. Is it the thing to do? The answer to that question is yes. It gives Microsoft a better public relations presence in the market. It is the same approach Apple took when it started its own store chain. Get the company out there within the market itself, allow the company to see the effects of its products and then it can respond faster to the needs of the market.

It’s about as necessary as an Apple store, so if you don’t have a problem with the Apple stores, I don’t see why you would care about a Microsoft store.

MS definitely copied the Apple store’s layout, but to be fair, the layout works for the purposes of the products. Besides, it’s not all that different from the layouts at Best Buy, etc; the difference is that Apple and MS are employing a more minimalist design by not cluttering their “shelves” with accessories. I suppose MS could have gone with square or round tables, but then people would have accused them of trying to hide the fact that they copied Apple’s design by making a small change. They weren’t going to win either way.

I heard it’s not actually a Microsoft Store. It’s just an Apple Store running Boot Camp.

i tried windows 7 out when they released the RC version…..i crashed it…..at least 5 times a day, true i was running it on vmware, but that shouldn’t make much difference. as far as the microsoft store….unneeded apple got its start with hardware, so i can see the reason they have a store, microsoft got its start with software. if they stopped spending so much time improving their zunes, and started improveing their OS they might actually have a chance against Apple. (yes i know i’m sounding like a die hard apple fan….i am…..it was my first….) i won’t go to windows till they get a decent system out, and that means one i can’t crash, and i can still crash a mac just with less and less frequency. (down to once every 6 months to a year)

strange, my XP64 hasn’t crashed once since installing, same for the Vista Business I used afterwards, and Win7 installed in just 17minutes last night and recognized all of my hardware, including SLI graphics and my SAS raid controller.
Pretty amazing, installing updates and apps for my soundcard afterwards took longer than the OS install :)
So, with an OS that runs pretty decent, maybe MS could revive the hardware branch they neglected over the years?
Remember, MS actually had quite a lot of hardware out, even a mac emulation card! My favourites were the EasyBall (a trackball for Kids), the MS Digital Sound System 80 (still the best 2.1 speaker system to my ears) and the original sidewinder joystick (the handle twist and optical wear-free operation were a novelty by then). Let’s not forget the original natural Keyboard.

They were quite good at innovation, why did they stop making hardware, dammit?
Those things, those make-your-pc-life-easier-things, that’s what they should demo in those shops.

Personally I don’t see the need for apple or microsoft stores, but we can hope they’ll do better than they did last time.

http://www.activewin.com/articles/misc/tv/article_4.shtml

Microsoft has been copying Mac for years, and yes I use both! :) They seem unable to really separate themselves properly from Mac, and feel that the only way they can compete is by copying without copying. Not entirely bad, means Windows users get something of the features Mac users get, but it does feel a bit cheap.

Microsoft has decided to take Apple’s marketing head on instead of just dismissing them. Ever since the Mac changed to an Intel based architecture, Microsoft has been experiencing a bit of a decline in sales of their units – you have more Mac users now than ever before, and people are even finding ways of running ‘Hackintosh’ versions of OSX on PC’s.

When you’re top dog for so long, you forget what its like to fight and stay hungry when you’re fat and lazy. We all know they’re behind the curve, but they are investing a lot more money into their image than ever before. I doubt they’ll win on cool factor – but they will win on sheer volume alone.

Microsoft Store is about as necessary as an Apple store, which is about as necessary as the Sony Store right next to it in Pentagon City Mall.

i honestly don’t think theres a need for an apple store either.

online shopping is the way to go!

No there is not really any need for the Microsoft Store since it is a strictly software company whereas Apple deals also in hardware (zunes don’t count). On the whole what does a Microsoft store have that Best Buy doesn’t (again Zunes don’t count)? Apple does sort of need a store if only because most mainstream computer retailers have pitiful selections of mac’s (ipods don’t count either) probably due to less market share.

Meh, I don’t think there’s a need for it. The only microsoft products I use are Windows itself, A wireless mouse, and my Xbox. I mean, it’s not like microsoft has such a massive product line that only they support that would require their own store.

Don’t know about the rest of Canada, but the Mac store in Calgary is a very different creature. It is a dingy nook in a strip mall where the top shelf is lined with the carcasses of ancient Macs. There is no glass floor, hardwood tables or massive space. the whole thing is maybe about half the size of a the Microsoft lobby pictured above.

Would that mean that a Microsoft store in Canada would be like a booth in a mall? Probally all it really needs.

Hm, well, I don’t think it’ll really make that much of a difference honestly. But I will say I’ve always found it kinda lame when stores copy offa others. Nothing against Microsoft, (cause I currently don’t own a Mac lol) but they could be a original. Just saying.

haseo

There is a difference between Apple and Microsoft that all of the above commenters who feel Apple stores are pointless fail to realize. APPLE MAKES COMPUTERS. Microsoft does not, Microsoft only makes software and some peripherals. Oh yeah, and the Xbox….
In my honest opinion the Microsoft store just looks like a cheapened down version of the Apple store. Kind of like their products.

Meh. I dunno if it’s really necessary, but if it’s profitiable, hey, it’s a free market, yeah?

As far as appearance goes, I don’t mean to rain on your parade with this paragraph, but I guess it does anyway (and I’ve got a chip on my shoulder from architecture college).
Talking about the interior design of the store, I wouldn’t say it’s a visual copy of a Mac store, since a lot of stores are into this ‘postmodern’, we’re-not-decorating-so-then-we’ll-look-newfangled-and-smooth style. It’s not the most original I’ve seen, but store appearances are only there to promote the product and only rarely do they promote themselves. Stores Besides, it looks like Mac stores have dark floors and wood tabletops and Windows stores have wood floors and dark tabletops. :D
….
*crickets*

I am not sure why there is an argument of whether a windows store is valid or not. Its like saying Kmart isn’t a viable store because you have a Walmart. They both do the same thing, and each have there place in the market. And it hard to say if one store copied the other, since they are so alike.

Personally I am not a big fan of Apple, though I do own an iPod and an iPhone and I use a Mac at Work. I just never liked the style.

First off, to the people who decided to debate essentially even after Hawk asked you not to, you don’t comment something if the guy who made the post on his own site asked you not to. That’s like coming into his house and being a horrible guest. Second off, I use a Mac, don’t really like the software, and a PC. I’ve been using Windows 7 for a bit and like it s far. If Windows were to create it’s own personal line of computers I think they’d be interesting and then a Microsoft Store would be needed. A Microsoft Store may not be needed as much now, but it makes it a lot easier to experience the products and what they do.

Finally, to all the people who will say something like “experience the blue screen they make” or some dribble like that. I’ve had my fair share of crashed programs on the mac and the rainbow ball of doom many times. Both OS’s have their problems and as someone above mentioned, Windows 7 looks a heck of a lot more like KDE then it does the Mac OS. You want one that looks like the Mac OS, get Vista Eternity.

I, use both, Mac and PC…and my PC has been running Windows7 Ultimate RC2 for a few months now, no issues at all.

The store is a ridiculous idea, not even to mention how much they STOLE the Apple design model. Foolish MS.

If you wana get with that hip/trendy crowd that thinks having little merchandise or minimalistic displays, like expensive clothing stores, then you gotta arrange your store like an apple store.

You can’t have all those “extra parts” and “non-shiny-backside” computers cluttering your white backlight displays! It’s not cool/trendy to have a variety of products in stock.

There is a significant component to the MS store that is not part of the Apple sore: kiosks where PC games can be selected, purchased, and printed for you in the backroom of the store in 4 minutes.

The small Mac stores can fit the limited Mac gaming library in a small boutique store. MS has found an interesting and cool solution to being apply to supply more games in its store than a Best Buy.

Like Apple, MS sells hardware too. So, it does make as much sense for MS to have a store where you can get hands on with both the software and hardware. The only difference is that MS does not sell thier own branded PC. Keyboards, mice, gaming controllers, media players, etc… both companies have.

I think that a MS store could be helpful, by answering a lot of questions that we geeks asked by the non-savvy. And with other retails stores diminishing perhaps it will give dell, gateway, hp and the others a universal store front with knowledgeable help without a hefty support contract. It is also a nice way of showcasing all the “nifty” things we can only see in videos such as the multi-touch tables and other products (reading comments for a product just won’t do sometimes). Now hopefully the people staffing it will be more knowledgeable then some of the “I can read the label too” people who staff who populate other pc store chains.

MS can do as the frakkin’ please. They certainly have money.

As for copping the design of the Apple store. They’ll say it’s just good store design. And it IS. Note that Apple typically get to good design FIRST, then MS follows. (Some Missteps, Hockey Puck Mouse, anyone? ) Note the iPhone counter is RIGHT next to the Genius Bar. So you play with the little bricks of electric crack while waiting for the next Genius…

But I couldn’t care much for the style of the stores on either side, it’s the quality of the staff and service that matters. And that, in any franchise arrangement, can be all over the map.

Seriously. *has flasback to a “less than genius” episode and shudders *

As a person who actually works at Microsoft… and reads this comic religiously… I see both points. They seem to be doing it for two reasons, image, and knowledge. Image is the obvious one as it stands to reason that Apple has kind of cornered the “cool” market, whereas Microsoft has the tech and cheap markets. The second one is a little harder to explain, but it revolves around the fact that the people selling PC’s don’t seem to know a damn thing about them when they sell them. Have you ever been to a Best Buy and thought, wow, that guy sure knows his stuff about these laptops. I can tell you that I haven’t. Even if they don’t make money by selling the products there, they can at least partially educate the person buying about what a PC really entails. You may notice, Apple does this same thing in their stores. They teach about the product while selling it, which is why buying a Mac from the Apple store is much more appealing then from anywhere else. Those are the two reasons why Microsoft seems to be doing it in my opinion. It also helps when you have a $3.5 Billion proffit margin each quarter, and that’s a down quarter. It makes it so you can pretty much invest in whatever you want to invest in…

-Steven

Why does Microsoft need a store, when every computer store in the nation is already a Microsoft store. Only few select Best Buys carry Macs.

Well, you may as well ask if an Apple store is all that necessary. As far as the whole Mac vs PC thing goes, I think that the argument is pretty pointless/unfounded. The two brands are generally used for different things, so it’s not really a question of which is the better system. You may as well ask which is a better bread: rye or pumpernickel? They’re both tasty but used for different things. That being said, I wouldn’t shop at a Windows store any more so than I would at a Mac store; I’d still go to my local Wal-Mart.

Both Mac and Win are proparity so any issues they have are not going to be fixed immediatly. Only recently has the makers of Win actually been able to impliment the things they keep hearing, first starting with IE8, and to a degree with Win7, they won’t get it very right till Win9 I think.

And as said above, most retailers don’t know a damn thing, and knowelegable ppl can even get banned from stores for assisting customers with thier knowelege. Selling people proper PC’s for their needs vs for profit, results in more profit and happier loyaler customers in the future.

Also the fact that thing looks like KDE I find insulting.

Store?

People are saying a Microsoft Store makes less sense than an Apple Store, and I agree (an Apple Store has never made much sense to me).

But, why a store at all?

I do most of my shopping online. It’s not perfect: I bought some blacklights for a party a week ago but they didn’t ship in time, forcing me to buy the same bulbs in a store for 2X the online price. Stores are EXPENSIVE!

One critical design feature, mostly architectural, that differentiates an apple store from a windows store.

There are never any columns in an apple store, as the design makes it like a long hallway full of products on display asking to be picked up and fiddled, and the Genius Bar at the end of it, like the light at the end of a tunnel; and its rather wheel chair friendly too.
Spot the random column in the 1st comparison picture of the windows store? That would never be in an apple store.

That simple design differentiates that a windows store is just rented space (like its software), while an apple store is designed for its function and also takes form in account.
Why is there red? Red is typically associated with hunger, or rage. Why would you want a store to give you urges to go to the food court and at the same time have mounting frustration with the service? If anything, the light in an apple store makes the product the focus of the lighting and is a real white, as supposed to the glare of the light in a windows store meant only to act as lights.

Also, the demographic in both stores can immediately tell you the differences of both stores anyway. XD

I think that the Microsoft Store is good for new jobs, and just information for people who do use PC’s. However, as a retailer, not really needed. The PCHO area of any Best Buy was basically the same thing. In-store service with Geek Squad as well.

But really, we didn’t need another store to sell PC’s.

Those tables remind me of the science tables from my old High School, they’re just lacking nicks, cuts, gouges, and the initials of high school sweethearts.

I think the Microsoft store is unnecessary for its products but well needed to create jobs for people. I think it is necessary for an Apple store and I’m a PC person! Microsoft has a lot of products that are well known but mostly, people tend to buy their main OS and software releases (other than the Xbox, Zunes, and peripherals. The Apple store is needed because, like myself, there are people who are illiterate about the Mac and don’t really associate with it as often. I had to get my Apple friend to teach me how to do things with the iPod Touch.

You have to remember, most are taught with a PC and not a Mac (unless you’ve attended some rich, private school or required a mac). As for myself, I’ve learned on the old Macintosh in grade school and again during keyboard classes. The rest of the time was on crappy Dell PCs. So it’s necessary for an Apple store but a Microsoft store (I’m assuming they sell other companies’ PCs) is a silly idea. And for people saying online shopping, there are people that can’t shop online and Best Buy imo is a little overpriced and ridiculous.

i have a PC, honestly, its all i can afford. apples are kinda pricey, but if i could have one i would take it hands down. i love them. my pc crashed on me 3 times in one month. as for the store. i think they want to look more like apple after seeing how many people go into apple stores. i dont know about everywhere else but at my mall the apple store is crowded 24/7. maybe dell thinks if they copy the layout they might get more people coming in.

WOW… that is… I just don’t get it. Why. it is what MS does best copycopycopy. :(
#getamac

Im a windows user and I think I will be for a long time. Ive used windows since 95 when I was 5… and since then I never really had any intention in using another OS. Macs are great products but I dont think they’re right for me Ive been using Macs for years and I still like windows better.

But to the subject at hand

1. Microsoft store is stupid simply because most of the products that Microsoft has made in the past has been distributed by other companies. I have to say it would be easier with certain Microsoft items that NO ONE sells anymore at a Microsoft store since they would have it…at least I hope so.

2. Windows 7 in no better than Vista when you look at it

sure 7 allows more ram but it also needs more ram to function

sure 7 takes up less hard drive space but with the increase in hard drive storage lately that doesn’t matter

sure 7 has a “WINDOWS XP MODE” but XP had a 95 and 97 mode they didnt work at all.

in the end its the same system that needs more ram, less hard drive space and has a little more extra sh** simple as that

the MS store would make sense…but would they take the console instead of having the people ship it to them? after all, MS refuse to pay for shipping now…

but if MS open a store, where it is software based, it would be great for MS as they can easily get other software developers to try get people to try out their software or offer something, no?

beside, this might be more easier than trying to call M$ everytime you have an issue or waiting for reply on email…you can just take it in, tell them you’re under warrenty, and their software screwed up the console.

not to mention, if they do sell laptop, maybe it would be easier to just walk in, request replacement part and M$ can contact the manufactors to ship the parts or kept some on stock for you?

An apple store makes sense because they make both their own OS and their own computers, which is also what gives it that lovely uniform look thats so appealing. A Microsoft store is unnecessary because they only produce the OS and it can’t pull off the same nice ordered look because the computer there aren’t uniform at all, they’re from other different companies. Also it just sort of seems like a bad attempt at trying to appear trendy, and its not working. And don’t get me wrong, I’m gamer, Windows has always been my OS, but this is just a bit sad. :/

ALTHOUGH, Ziken has a good point, if my 360 were to red ring me, it would be a godsend to be able to drop it off at a local store instead of shipping it off.

http://www.cracked.com/funny-1827-microsoft-windows/

very relevant

What I love about Windows is the upgrade path is so easy to follow -

Windows 3.1 >
Windows 95 >
Windows 98 >
Windows ME/2000 >
Windows XP >
Windows Vista >
Windows 7

Apparently, they’re already working on the follow-up to Windows 7, which is going to be called Windows D6…

Everywhere that sells computers is effectively a Microsoft store, but I can see why they’re doing this. At one time the computing industry effectively pushed their product for them and to a certain extent it still does, but even with Microsofts’ gigantic market share there are still an enormous number of people who don’t like them very much, for a wide number of reasons. The stores that used to undiluted Windows software now frequently offer alternatives, and the public consciousness is aware- probably more than ever that alternatives actually exist.
The store, in my opinion, is the companies attempt to exonerate themselves by creating an environment where they are simultaneously the only and best option again. They see a future where people go out of their way to avoid their platform, and this is their attempt to head that off rather than simply wait for third party companies to do it for them in a roundabout way (i.e., by producing and advertising extremely popular windows exclusive hardware/software).

its a appearance game. i dont know. probably because windows got afraid of the smybol of macs everywhere. its a harsh market, maybe they just want to keep up wit mac.

As a dedicated Windows user, I see absolutely no point in a “Windows Store”… every electronics store out there is already a Windows store. That being said, I don’t see a real need for Apple Stores either. What’s needed, is for the salespeople to know what they’re doing at the stores that already exist, and for the stores to make sure they have an expert for each on duty as often as is reasonable.

As far as the difference in how the two stores look, it’s because Apple tends to focus on appearances more and Microsoft focuses more on function, both of them focus to the exclusion of the other. So Windows looks like a mess, and Mac can’t do much of anything but it looks really pretty.

If the two would come together, they could rule the world o_O or turn into BeOS, I’m not sure XD

I like how a friend of a friend summed up Windows 7 to people who were attempting to speak their tom foolery towards Mac.

Windows 7: Mac OS X two years ago.

Gordon Bennett! So much MS hate in the comments, you’d forget that in 1997 Steve Jobs said that for Apple to win MS doesn’t have to fail.

- MS Store, yeah this one is like an Apple store. They are also trying Cafes http://gizmodo.com/5387793/microsoft-now-serving-cappuccinos-at-the-windows-cafe-in-paris and other outlet configurations. It’s all in an effort to get it’s mojo back. MS was starting to be seen as a dinosaur from the last century. It’s PR as much as anything.

- Windows 7 being Mac like, head on over to Ars Technica and read up on the subject. Last time I checked Meta Creations were doing shiny drop-shadowed interfaces before either of MS or Apple. Besides who ever said there was a monopoly on graphical techniques? or 3D acceleration? I don’t see Window’s fanboys berating Apple users for using 3D acceleration when Apple did nothing to support it.

Turns out Apple keeps Microsoft honest and Vice Versa.

It just seems a bit…weird. I mean think about it, when we walk into a best buy or ultimate electronics and ask for apple stuff, nine times out of ten we get this bizarre look like we’re idiots, and then they tell us, “did you try the apple store?”. Almost every major electronics store in the country carries nothing but Microsoft based hardware/software. Why would we need a little specialized store for Microsoft products?

Honestly its not necessary at all. Pretty much every PC store is a windows store. To throw my little Linux boy word in a Unix store would be interesting. The week it’s in business.

I don’t think this is too smart a move due to the fact that Windows is an operating system rather than a complete computer company that produces its own machines.

I think most people are getting confused over this, it is NOT a windows store, its a MS store, which has been taking steps towards “stand alone” products like the 360.

I find it interesting, Hawk, that you claim you aren’t trying to stir up some sort of Mac/PC or Apple vs Microsoft thing, but you are intentionally putting up pictures showing supposed similarities between the two, seemingly trying to say “Look! Microsoft stole the Apple Store’s idea!”
Similar? Perhaps, if vaguely. It’s not as if Apple Stores have a copyright on store layout.
Necessary? Is any business really “necessary”?
Profitable? Probably.

Design-wise, it makes sense for a strictly computer store to look like a strictly computer store. This way the customers will feel more at ease and less confused in either place and will hopefully feel more comfortable spending more money.

First off, I personally see a similarity to an Apple store but .. I don’t understand how they’re copying. They have rows of computers set up, racks with software to purchase, and a counter for advanced help. How else can you configure it? It’s like Best Buy vs. Circuit City or Walmart vs. Target, in terms of space usage. There’s no real difference.

Secondly, .. being a primary Windows user, I see no point in a Windows store. When it comes to Windows, they’re so broad in terms of hardware and software that having one store to supply such things is just .. odd. Apple is very first-party based. They’re able to have a store because they showcase all their Apple-only computers and Apple-only products and Apple-only software. Windows? They’re incredibly third-party, to the point where having one location for “Windows” products is basically just .. the OS, XBox, and .. Zunes. Great line-up.

No, there really is no point to those places…

Aside from that, this is comic goldmine.
You could do a strip where Hawk accidentally wander into one, thinking it was an Apple store. Then realises to his horror where he actually is.

Oh no- they stole a super generic layout!
I’ve seen a high school classroom laid out like that: they stole it from Apple too!
The scandal!

from the point of view of a Microsoft user….. the store idea is silly realy I mean all Microsoft has done is OS and a few games thats it and needs other companys to build the hardwear so the OS can run on…. apple on the other hand dose a hole lot more from laptops to mobile phones and desktops

well thats my thougts on this anyway

To be honest, I avoid these Mac Vs. Windows debates because I’m normally a neutral user. If I had the money, I’d actually be running three different operating systems. But I digress. This store is necessary, but I don’t think a similar design will hurt credibility with anyone but existing Mac users. If anything, for non-Mac users that aren’t already owners of a Microsoft based machine, it’ll just seem like “Hey, it’s just as good as a Mac with a lower price tag.” It’s true that Microsoft produces only the OS while other companies produce the hardware, but considering that few normal consumers other than businesses will purchase the OS by itself, it’s a much better marketing scheme to spotlight the machines that do have its software.

There are other products too nowadays. XBOX360 and Zune (are the only ones off the top of my head).

Besides, have you ever seen a CVS and Walgreens? They look REALLY similar… So much that non-regular customers will still go to the wrong one thinking that CVS is Walgreens and Walgreens is CVS. (If people could tell the difference between Ye Ol’ Acronym Pharmacy and the Green Wall, my job would be a HELL lot easier)

This store is no where near necessary…Microsoft has stuff in every freakin’ electronics store…if it ain’t on a computer, its on the X-BOX. Windows 7 is pretty dope though.