[ZetaZeta]

It's called satire.

[mrwhite]

You actually think MS security is better than OSX, wow! what alternate reality are you living in? I use both OS's for the past 20 years. No Anti-Virus, No Malware, nothing of the sort is installed on any of my Macs. But the PC, that's a different story altogether. Plus my work PC decided to restart for no apparent reason this morning and it's running XP. You continue believing that buddy. I'll continue working and living in the real world. For others downing this article, get a sense of humor, oh wait, they must be windows users, they have no humor inside them. lolz.

[bperetto]

14) Business will actually have a place to buy enterprise software

15) No complementary lobotomies and forced indoctrinations into fanatic cults.

[cmdotkom]

I would hate to walk in their stores for fear of structural integrity since their OS always crashes!

[TechieXP]

Even though I like MSFT, I'm not sure this is a good idea. But is Nike, Disney, Lego, Apple, Sony and so many others can pull it off..why not Bill.
Top 10 ways to know you are inside a MSFT Retail Store:

10.) The greeter at the door is Bill Gates - (AKA Wal-Mart Greeters)
9.) Its not an iHouse so it has Windows (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHO8l-Bd1O4&feature=PlayList&p=F48E6CBD665DF231&playnext=1&index=2)
8.) The Apple Logo is hanging by it stem
7.) Steve Jobs will walk in an shake his head and say Bill you still have no taste)
6.) The tables are all Microsoft Surface PC's
5.) The lights all have the Vista Orb as its fixtures
4.) All the employee badges say 'Big Brother'
3.) The pirate flag will have a white background and the skull and crossbones will be black
2.) The bathroom doors will simply have 'X' to represent the sexes and they will have windows
1.) We will finally get to meet Melinda Gates and their kids.
0.) The stores inside and out look like Bill Gates house.

Since MSFT doesn't have their own computer, this would be a cool time to unveil one. The decor will probbaly mimic a museum or mesoleum.
I guess that means i will have a ore expensive place to buy MSFT software/hardware.
I think its an ok idea.They are a household brand. They should ahve been the first to do it.

I can see it now...the Dell Store, HP Store etc etc...
It not like Apple did something new...i remember the Gateway Store. We had one in Sarasota. It look funny seeing the balck/white cow decor everywhere.
At least teh Apple Store has a steal/glass fururistic look.
Come on Bill, show Steve you have some taste. No Roman decor. And we don't want the store to look like the deck of teh Enterprise either. No Halo-Decks.

[cpuspeed]

Yes WOW. Its called a sense of humor... look into it jeez.
12. PC manufacturers will bundle so much unnecessary crappy software with the computer that users will assume its the operating systems fault when there are problems with it.

[CodeMercenary]

Windows security IS superior to Mac security.

Mac's have security through obscurity. The fact that no one attacks them does NOT mean they are secure. It would be like someone claiming their house is more secure than a bank because the bank was robbed but their house never has been. You'd find that a thief has a MUCH easier time breaking into your house but they aren't interested in it.

Do not confuse hacker-disinterest with security.

[alantgray]

Funny stuff. It's always worth taking note when Microsoft finds something else to copy from Apple. What I really learned from this page is how sensitive some Windows guys are. Are you guys writing into the newspapers with personal attacks directed at the cartoonists who try to brighten up our days with some humor? You could start your own forum, "Windows Users Who Don't Like Windows Jokes and Think Macs Are Stupid".

[mrwhite]

I still LOL

[jz1492]

Top ten lists are supposed to be funny. Anybody looking for information, wisdom and advice in them is either out of touch or Steve Ballmer.

The big mammoth playing copycat? Common, they set themselves up.

[GetABrainMorans]

TechieXP said:

Quote

I can see it now...the Dell Store, HP Store etc etc...
It not like Apple did something new...i remember the Gateway Store. We had one in Sarasota. It look funny seeing the balck/white cow decor everywhere.

Ahhh, but you forget a couple of things. Gateway's stores were nothing but showrooms. You had to order what you wanted and have it delivered. Apple's stores are cash and carry and hence, instant gratification. And Gateway's stores were mostly located in cheapo, low-traffic areas. Apple opens their stores in higher traffic areas with higher lease rates.

With regards to Apple's stores- they pretty much had no choice but to open them. Their retail presence until then was abysmal; they had almost none, and where they did have a presence, support was practically zero. Opening their own stores was a VERY savvy move.

As far as Microsoft goes? I guess we'll have to wait and see. But I said the same thing about Apple years ago.

[GetABrainMorans]

CodeMercenary said:

Windows security IS superior to Mac security.


Mac's have security through obscurity. The fact that no one attacks them does NOT mean they are secure. It would be like someone claiming their house is more secure than a bank because the bank was robbed but their house never has been. You'd find that a thief has a MUCH easier time breaking into your house but they aren't interested in it.


Do not confuse hacker-disinterest with security.

Cite, please.
Words minus proof = strictly opinion. Until then, you're just parroting the same tired, useless myths that have been around since 1992.

[davep1]

Microsoft employees will promise that the new store that's being built will be bigger and more complex but will make shopping easier.

And please, all the Apple and MS fanboys, get a life. Both systems and both companies do some things well and some things not so much. Both have a personality and a history which can be and should be the subject of humor. The only way out of that is to go extinct. Signed - OS/2 fanboy.

[theantibush]

If the stores are cool, it will work, but they had better start with a pilot store and watch it carefully, or risk throwing money down an incompetent hole like they almost did with Yahoo.
Microsoft and Apple are not the same company. Those differences as they apply to the retail space need to be closely observed.
A strategic withdrawal from a pilot project is infinitely preferable to a spectacular failure enabled by deep pockets and a senseless desire for push pins on a map.
Whomever is running this endeavor must be kept on a short leash, least their desire for private empire embarrass the company as a whole.

[Wingsy]

What a ridiculous analogy, since houses are broken into about 10,000 times more often than banks.

And if you didn't have your head buried so far up Ballmer's butt you'd know that the security-through-obscurity myth has been disproved time and time again.

So tell us about those 10 million plus PCs recently infected with the Downadup worm, or the British Navy being effectively disabled by a Windows virus, or the court system in TX where they can't hold court until the PCs have been disinfected. Then tell us about the latest Mac virus making the rounds. That last one should be interesting.

[Legatus]

#7 will actually be used at the return desk.

FYI I am a avid Microsoft user and have no idea why one would choose the restrictive mac as a platform.

[GetABrainMorans]

theantibush said:

If the stores are cool, it will work, but they had better start with a pilot store and watch it carefully, or risk throwing money down an incompetent hole like they almost did with Yahoo.

Microsoft and Apple are not the same company. Those differences as they apply to the retail space need to be closely observed.

A strategic withdrawal from a pilot project is infinitely preferable to a spectacular failure enabled by deep pockets and a senseless desire for push pins on a map.

Whomever is running this endeavor must be kept on a short leash, least their desire for private empire embarrass the company as a whole.

All great points. One thing MS could learn from Apple is to keep its big fat piehole shut and not announce these projects until they've done a reasonable amount of R & D, to ensure that the projects have a more-than-miniscule chance to work. That's been their problem for a long time now, and it adds to the negative "blundering giant" image that they've cultivated over the years. Hiring heads of failed projects (Wal-Mart's movie service head) and announcing them doesn't inspire much confidence either.

[GetABrainMorans]

Legatus said:

#7 will actually be used at the return desk.


FYI I am a avid Microsoft user and have no idea why one would choose the restrictive mac as a platform.

Restrictive... how?

Examples please.

Is ANYONE up for a reasonable debate, without spewing old myths that I could rip apart in seconds? :)

[CodeMercenary]

GetABrainMorans wrote:
bq. Cite, please. Words minus proof = strictly opinion. Until then, you're just parroting the same tired, useless myths that have been around since 1992.
That citation request and comment go both ways you know. Mac users say their OS is secure because they haven't been attacked, not because they've been attacked and were secure enough to resist. Based on your criteria Mac security is also a myth since it seems to always be defended with anecdotal evidence.


Speaking of anecdotal evidence: In my experience (no citation needed since this is based on more than a decade working as a programmer and IT consultant ;-) ) that the vast majority of security problems with Windows systems are due to the user doing something they shouldn't. Can Microsoft truly be blamed for people believing a web site that says they should install Antivirus 2009? If you fall for a Nigerian 419 scam in email and hand you account numbers over to the thief do you blame the bank for not protecting your money?



People expect Microsoft to protect them from their own stupidity then they complain about UAC in Vista because it tries to remind them that maybe they shouldn't be installing things they download from the web.



As my friend Milkmood said about this:
bq. "People don't want to be accountable for their actions. That's what it boils down to. It's a societal thing at this point. We've evolved into electing a government that removes accountability and personal responsibility, and expect the big government (or in this case big MS) to hold our hand."

[TechieXP]

First off just like many Macs users...you're so quick to say MSFT copied after them. Get real! Apple was not the first to open a store based on their own brand. The first computer based OEM to do that was Gateway. Either you're to young to know that or too old too care. And I suppose Six Flags is a thee park rip off or copy of Disney...right? And didn't Apple copy/steal/borrow/take the GUI interface from Xerox. In fact why don't name something that Apple actually invented. Everyone copies in case you haven't notice. Why is it such a big a$$ deal when Microsoft does it. First off at least Microsoft will have something worth advertsing. I can imagine the games section feature XBox and PC's running stellar games. How many games can you play on a Mac? Oh and Without using Windows...almost none...well none that matter.

The zune display probably won't be good..but what about teh Surface display. And NO! it isn't a giant Iphone...its way better and I seen it already being used in casino in Vegas and at a few T-Mobile stores. Its nice to see MSFT do something new..it doesn't have to ee out of teh ordinary. They should have done it sooner.

So asking you, if MSFT opened the store first, and Apple opened one later does that mean Apple copied MSFT? Lots of barnds have opened there own stores since teh 90's even before Apple did.

Nike, Sony, Puma, Oakley, Disney, Nokia, Gateway and many others...grow up...for every concept there has always been one originator of it.