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Exclusive photos, video from Microsoft Store grand opening - Page 3

post #81 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:32pm
Extremeskater -

No need for the snotty attitude on Apple customers seeking assistance from the Genius Bar. Apple's solution for excellent, in-store support is now being copied by Microsoft's "Guru Bar". Both companies see that traditional over-the-phone support is often insufficient. I'm curious to see how many customers are turned away at Microsoft's "Guru Bar" due to 3-party software and hardware issues which the in-store techs cannot fix.

As far as Apple and the "It Just Works" slogan, many of the customers come in for general questions, or perhaps they dropped or damaged their equipment. Short of building computers made of concrete, electronics are inherently subject to damage.


Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

If the store thing is so 2001, why does Apple continue to open stores? The genius bar is pretty busy most of the time when I walk into the Apple store, so the myth that it "just works" is just that a myth.
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post #82 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:32pm
The stores look so corporate in nature and not inspiring at all to me. Also agree with the comments concerning the shop logo, here there suppose to be MS stores not windows stores.

Also I see the store is advertising its best brand image "the blue screen"

I wish MS well, since when MS tries to compete with Apple in their innovative areas, it means Apple raises its game, better innovative products are released, revenue/profit increases and that drives my Apple shares even further upwards :-))))
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post #83 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:33pm
Late to the prom and completely ripping off a concept. Is their an once of originally at Microsoft?
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post #84 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:34pm
can someone please point me to the premium market. I've been hearing that Apple holds the premium market but last time I checked you can purchase or build your own PC for $2,000+ (I'm guessing "premium" comes from the price because Apple's hardware definitely isn't premium) that would wipe the floor with any Mac. And I may be mistaken but they all run Windows. So again, where is the premium market?
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post #85 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by technohermit View Post

Like bringing in your iMac to show them in Windows 7 that your bluetooth mouse won't connect no matter what you do?

That would pretty funny. I have to wonder if MS has contracts with the other vendors or if they will even look at a Mac. Sour grape or not? Hopefully someone will do a video to see how its handled.
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post #86 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9Hk0...layer_embedded

BLATANT copying of Apple. It's just pathetic now.

There is definitely one way Microsoft innovates over Apple that's shown in their store openings, pay a boat load of people to be on site at the opening to mingle with the actual shopper. There's probably close to 100 employes there! Mix in a few dozen photographers and the affiliate representatives and you got a Microsoft party.

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post #87 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:36pm
Strange it looks just like an Apple store...

I wonder if their average revenue per store will approach that of an Apple store? It will be interesting to watch.

Also I can't wait till lots of PC owners start pitching up with all their PC problems...on various machines...some home built etc...it'll keep the Gurus busy just like at Best Buy!

Beyond a few copies of Windows I'm not sure what they will sell en masse?
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post #88 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

There is no such thing as a premium market. That is something made up by Apple fanboys to justify that Apple has never broken into double digits in the PC arena.

Apple creates and arena and will only play in that arena. If they were that proud of their OS and felt that could support the many hardware options MS supports they would have done it a long time ago. Fact is they can't.

Its not that hard to have the #1 rating in customer service when you are only supporting 9% of the market and have a handful of hardware options.

Premium market my Velocity mirco system cost more then two 27" iMacs. Apple uses the same hardware as everyone else there isn't anything Premium in their hardware, that is a myth that people like you have talked themselves into believing.

Let's see...
90%(sic) of a moribund market, or increasing dominance of the market of the future (mobile internet), and growing. MS dominance of the desktop is due to entrenched monopoly and corporate entrenchment. They have no battle plan to counter the Apple ecosystem and they're scared shitless.
I know which one my money is on.
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post #89 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:37pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXrSiqryg5E

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post #90 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud View Post

Do you think the Burger King fanboys bash every new McDonalds for copying their stores and vice versa?


Burger King fanboys, funny...

Although McDonalds and Burger King have a lobby leading to a cashier that has a menu board of food items, that once you get your meal and go to the dining room area and sit at a "booth" or table with chairs to eat, you look around at the aesthetics and that's where McDonalds and Burger King try to make the "same" into their own "atmosphere".

Whereas with Apple and MS, you have Apple for the most part introducing innovations and MS following their lead with a over hyped similar product...

Apple Mac OS X aqua, widgets, etc. - MS OS Vista aero, gadgets, etc.
Apple iPod and ITMS - MS Zune the Social, the Marketplace
Apple iPhone - MS Pink
Apple retail stores - MS retail stores with the same Apple flare

It seems MS is styling its products so much so to mimic Apple's that I guess they hope to confuse the consumer and therefore MS will be satisfied with the crumbs (in sales) that fall off Apple's table (of success)!

Someone help me out...

What is it called when someone can't just be themselves but has to emulate someone else in mannerisms, dress, looks, actions, deeds, etc. in order to feel accepted? Wouldn't a Psychologist believe them to be suffering from poor self-esteem?! Maybe they should see a psychiatrists because they can prescribe medication. Lord know some of the MS execs can use a chill pill every now and then!

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post #91 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles..._by_apple.html

The very site you hang out on says there is (and it's not just little old AI saying it, either.)

Now what?

And the PC manufacturers are crying a river.

But hey, they sell more computers than Apple does!
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post #92 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Booga View Post

Microsoft innovation at work.

I see an Apple-inspired storefront and interior, many displays, and a lot of people standing around...
but no sales.

Yup, typical microsoft.
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post #93 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tink View Post

There is definitely one way Microsoft innovates over Apple that's shown in their store openings, pay a boat load of people to be on site at the opening to mingle with the actual shopper. There's probably close to 100 employes there! Mix in a few dozen photographers and the affiliate representatives and you got a Microsoft party.

MS kept their disaster of a retail outlet in SF open long after it was an obvious failure.
They have the pockets to keep such stores open and filled with 'customers' for as long as they want.
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post #94 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

There is no such thing as a premium market. That is something made up by Apple fanboys to justify that Apple has never broken into double digits in the PC arena.

Apple creates and arena and will only play in that arena. If they were that proud of their OS and felt that could support the many hardware options MS supports they would have done it a long time ago. Fact is they can't.

Its not that hard to have the #1 rating in customer service when you are only supporting 9% of the market and have a handful of hardware options.

Premium market my Velocity mirco system cost more then two 27" iMacs. Apple uses the same hardware as everyone else there isn't anything Premium in their hardware, that is a myth that people like you have talked themselves into believing.

I remember Steve Ballmer claiming that Microsoft has now 25% of premium market in Zune players. He described premium market as mp3 players over $250.

Regarding Notebooks it used to be a large number of computers over $1000 but more recently PCs with Windows have been gravitating lower.

Check out following:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1681...h-get-an-apple
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post #95 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

I know. Opening a store, how dare they.

Yeah, I mean, Apple invented retail stores right?
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post #96 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tink View Post

There is definitely one way Microsoft innovates over Apple that's shown in their store openings, pay a boat load of people to be on site at the opening to mingle with the actual shopper. There's probably close to 100 employes there! Mix in a few dozen photographers and the affiliate representatives and you got a Microsoft party.

Funny as heck. They even copied the "cheering on the customers" from the Apple Store iPhone introduction. Laaaaaaaame!

(Store shot on an iPhone... pretty funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzhFanBm4SY

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post #97 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iPedro View Post

So is this a Microsoft Store or a Windows Store?



The logo suggests this is a Windows store, unless Microsoft changed their logo.

I particularly like the Blue Screen-wall of Death along the length of the store. A nice touch.
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post #98 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by red_skittles View Post

can someone please point me to the premium market. I've been hearing that Apple holds the premium market but last time I checked you can purchase or build your own PC for $2,000+ (I'm guessing "premium" comes from the price because Apple's hardware definitely isn't premium) that would wipe the floor with any Mac. And I may be mistaken but they all run Windows. So again, where is the premium market?

Whether youre buying or building your own PC, there are premium options. If you build your PC are you going for the cheap components or going for the more expensive, premium components that may or may not actually provide better tech specs, but be built with higher quality materials and be built to more rigid specs, usually offering a better warranty and better service if there is a problem. This is how the premium has always worked.
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post #99 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foo2 View Post

I see an Apple-inspired storefront and interior, many displays, and a lot of people standing around...
but no sales.

Yup, typical microsoft.

How, because you mean your company will buy it for you instead, so that you'll stay competitive?
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post #100 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:42pm
Hmmm... I thought Microsoft already had a chain of stores:

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post #101 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by julesburt View Post

I wonder if their average revenue per store will approach that of an Apple store?

Highly doubtful, of course! This is Microsoft's 1st brick-and-mortar store, located in an affluent community, it is D-day for Windows 7, but do you see anything being sold?
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post #102 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:44pm
All I have to say it this is pathetic, the store looks boring and stupid!!! MS get a life, and build a decent OS!!! Oh wait we already have a decent OS from another company that is called OSX!!!!

Microsoft needs to just go away, I am so sick of them!!!
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post #103 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

I don't really see it as being a big bang for the buck either but what gets annoying is everytime MS does something people spout off they are scared of Apple or copying Apple which is a joke.

Apple spends just as much money trying to combat MS. So maybe they are the ones that are scared. God forbid anyone say that. Lets remember who has 90% of the OS market.

whoopee for MS 90% of the market share, so I bought my Apple shares in 1998-99 for approx. $16 per shares and now there are worth USD$ 205 per share and believe me, I bought a good amount at the time.

So you can keep your market share and I keep a company that is performing well and putting money in my pocket and has innovative products that outperform the competition.

I am not Apple Fanboy, but someone who enjoys innovative over exploitation and sub standard products.

I wonder which shareholders are more happy Apple or MS

P.S. I may look to buy some shares in Ms, since there must go up soon, the share price is very attractive, but then again what products are going to give me a ROI??
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post #104 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazy-i.com View Post

Hmmm... I thought Microsoft already had a chain of stores:


Love IT
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post #105 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud View Post

Would you rather they have shirtless guys greeting you at the door like Abercrombie 2009?

Yeah ok good point, but did you see the size of the woman in the green shirt. Honestly, first thing you see coming in, is a ginormus women swing her arm at you. Nice.

I still fail to see the point of this store, then again, I was really skeptical that Apple would have much success when I first heard that they were going into retail.
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post #106 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:44pm
It's interesting... Just thinking about how Microsoft can possibly make these stores profitable. If their real product is Windows, MS Office, etc., how can they possibly become profitable selling and servicing other manufacturer's computers? I have no inside knowledge of their projected profit margins, but this strikes me as a weakness in the retail format for MS.

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post #107 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff_b View Post

I'm curious to see how many customers are turned away at Microsoft's "Guru Bar" due to 3-party software and hardware issues which the in-store techs cannot fix.

I wonder if they will transfer all of your data from your Mac to a new PC when you switch to Windows. Believe it or not Apple does do the reverse of that when you buy a Mac. I was in an Apple Store and saw a really old PC on the Genius Bar and wondered wtf? Then the tech started copying the files to the new Mac. I was shocked.

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post #108 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud View Post

How, because you mean your company will buy it for you instead, so that you'll stay competitive?

You might want to rephrase that into an intelligible question.
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post #109 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post

Burger King fanboys, funny...

Although McDonalds and Burger King have a lobby leading to a cashier that has a menu board of food items, that once you get your meal and go to the dining room area and sit at a "booth" or table with chairs to eat, you look around at the aesthetics and that's where McDonalds and Burger King try to make the "same" into their own "atmosphere".

Whereas with Apple and MS, you have Apple for the most part introducing innovations and MS following their lead with a over hyped similar product...

Apple Mac OS X aqua, widgets, etc. - MS OS Vista aero, gadgets, etc.
Apple iPod and ITMS - MS Zune the Social, the Marketplace
Apple iPhone - MS Pink
Apple retail stores - MS retail stores with the same Apple flare

It seems MS is styling its products so much so to mimic Apple's that I guess they hope to confuse the consumer and therefore MS will be satisfied with the crumbs (in sales) that fall off Apple's table (of success)!

Apple has copied MS on a number of things.

Of course, MS got the ball rolling when it ripped off the Mac badly with Windows 3.0.

And Windows guys, feel free to jump in with the Xerox Parc stuff.
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post #110 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post

Yeah ok good point, but did you see the size of the woman in the green shirt. Honestly, first thing you see coming in, is a ginormus women swing her arm at you. Nice.

Hey, it's just like being back at Wal-Mart... which, come to think of it, won't be happy with the new source of competition for sales at their stores. This can only anger all retailers selling MS product.

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post #111 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by souliisoul View Post

Also I see the store is advertising its best brand image "the blue screen"

haha - right on - thanks for making me chuckle...
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post #112 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by red_skittles View Post

can someone please point me to the premium market. I've been hearing that Apple holds the premium market but last time I checked you can purchase or build your own PC for $2,000+ (I'm guessing "premium" comes from the price because Apple's hardware definitely isn't premium) that would wipe the floor with any Mac. And I may be mistaken but they all run Windows. So again, where is the premium market?

It's where the consumers have decided it is, and which MS has acknowledged publicly (in media players as well) and is desperately trying to win back.

http://www.electronista.com/articles....prem.laptops/

And there are already plenty of link to Apple's record Mac sales this year. I think you can find those yourself.

So get a Mac and join in the fun.
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post #113 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:47pm
... there is such a thing in the retail world known as trade dress and it extends to retail store design. Its a form of intellectual property. There seems to be a lot here that treads on Apples trade dress but I can't tell from the shots what the layout is really like. What is clear though are the floor to ceiling glass fronts, open layout inside and other aspects of Apples minimalist design. Not saying that there is a clear cut legal case here but the imitation is so transparent as to be laughable and I would think, infuriating to the people who designed Apples original stores.

People who aren't in the biz often look at stuff like that and say, whats the big deal its just some stripped down tables, a counter for the geniuses, and a plain glass front because they have never been in the position to have to design something original. When Apple came out with their store design, it was really something that had never been seen before in the malls. Very distinctive, very functional and elegant, and won lots of awards for the design firm, etc.

All I can say is that Balmer is freaked about Apples ascendancy and it's showing with every step they take in the consumer realm and his frequent statements to the contrary. And he rails against software piracy ... what a dweeb.
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post #114 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

It's interesting... Just thinking about how Microsoft can possibly make these stores profitable. If their real product is Windows, MS Office, etc., how can they possibly become profitable selling and servicing other manufacturer's computers? I have no inside knowledge of their projected profit margins, but this strikes me as a weakness in the retail format for MS.

how does best buy make profits selling and servicing other manufacturers computers?
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post #115 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

It's interesting... Just thinking about how Microsoft can possibly make these stores profitable. If their real product is Windows, MS Office, etc., how can they possibly become profitable selling and servicing other manufacturer's computers? I have no inside knowledge of their projected profit margins, but this strikes me as a weakness in the retail format for MS.

I don't think even MS knows yet. MS is usually in the habit of not thinking things through before jumping in.
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post #116 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud View Post




Best thing you've ever posted.

By far.
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post #117 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud View Post

Oh right- I forgot no retail store has ever posted large pictures of their products on their walls before. Does Apple own a copyright on that? GAP anyone?

Did you even look at the picture? The poster looks the same as Apple's iPhone Apps signs.
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post #118 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by battiato1981 View Post

All I can say is that Balmer is freaked about Apples ascendancy and it's showing with every step they take in the consumer realm and his frequent statements to the contrary

Perfectly put.
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post #119 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazy-i.com View Post

Hmmm... I thought Microsoft already had a chain of stores:


You forgot these:







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post #120 of 326
10/22/09 at 12:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by battiato1981 View Post

... there is such a thing in the retail world known as trade dress and it extends to retail store design. Its a form of intellectual property. There seems to be a lot here that treads on Apples trade dress but I can't tell from the shots what the layout is really like. What is clear though are the floor to ceiling glass fronts, open layout inside and other aspects of Apples minimalist design. Not saying that there is a clear cut legal case here but the imitation is so transparent as to be laughable and I would think, infuriating to the people who designed Apples original stores.

People who aren't in the biz often look at stuff like that and say, whats the big deal its just some stripped down tables, a counter for the geniuses, and a plain glass front because they have never been in the position to have to design something original. When Apple came out with their store design, it was really something that had never been seen before in the malls. Very distinctive, very functional and elegant, and won lots of awards for the design firm, etc.

All I can say is that Balmer is freaked about Apples ascendancy and it's showing with every step they take in the consumer realm and his frequent statements to the contrary. And he rails against software piracy ... what a dweeb.

i hope they get sued and lose millions for copying
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