Microsoft to open own stores, take on Apple

Reuters ^ | Feb 13, 2009 | Bill Rigby

[aruanan]

Microsoft to open own stores, take on Apple

So they're going to open Vista software stores that also sell XBoxes and Zunes?

[antiRepublicrat]

Getting a Wal-Mart guy to open it? Apple stores are tops in consumer electronics in revenue per square foot in part because they are the anti-Wal-Mart.

[aruanan]

Reading any thread here regarding just about anything about Microsoft makes me wish I had never learned anything about computers and could happily join all the other ignorant people in bashing something I know nothing about.

Then you could be like about 80% of PC users.

[flintsilver7]

You know, you’re more or less illustrating my point. For example, I don’t have a clue how you could honestly spend $5,000 on a machine. Well, you could, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near the specs of even the most powerful iMac available (it would be well beyond). To me, this is like saying you’re looking at the BMW 6-series, then decided to take a look at the Toyota Camry. They just aren’t the same.

Saying “Macs just work” does a disservice to the entire debate. It’s by and large a meaningless statement. I’ve spent hours helping two of my coworkers, Mac fanatics both, get simple things to work on their machines (like printing). Most of those tasks required far more work than my XP machine did, which was not a trivial amount. Another coworker built a Vista box that “just works” in the sense that software that comes along with a camera or MP3 player doesn’t need to be isntalled - the OS handles it just fine. Now, the printing problem you (somewhat) described is, in almost every case, pretty easily solved by anybody who knows what they’re doing. Unfortunately, for quite some time that doesn’t cover most of Dell’s tech support. It is nice to see Apple taking care of their customers - God knows they certainly can afford it.

This is not to say that Macs don’t “just work” - in many cases, they certainly do. The problem is in the experience of pretty much everybody I know, so does Vista. That’s the current state of affairs. People like to bring up one-button mice and blue-screen STOP errors in these discussions, but that was in the past. I haven’t seen a blue screen on a Windows box in about eight years.

[flintsilver7]

I’m not quite sure what you’re saying. In my experience, the Mac zealots are behind pretty much every single topic regarding Microsoft. I can’t recall seeing an MS shill starting a thread about Apple. I’m sure it happens somewhere and sometime on the web, but it isn’t the norm by any stretch of the imagination. I’d venture to say that 80% of PC users don’t give a damn what somebody else uses.