pestering Microsofties for fun and... fun
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| gus3 Feb 13, 2009 10:22 AM EDT |
My ex and I enjoyed going into the Microsoft store in San Francisco and asking the sales droids if they had any copies of Red Hat for sale, or asking if their merchandise worked with Linux. |
| tuxchick Feb 13, 2009 11:24 AM EDT |
Nobody can write comedy like this:Quoting: One of Mr. Porter's tasks will be to figure out whether to actually sell computers rather than merely show off their features. Soooo.....billionaires don't quite grasp the concept of "store". Comparing Apple's stores to the likes of CompUSA and Best Buy is like comparing sleek, stylish stores staffed by well-trained, smart people to dumpy bait-and-switch depots staffed by resentful minimum-wage sociopaths. This should be fun. |
| ColonelPanik Feb 13, 2009 11:42 AM EDT |
The two worst corporations evar: m$ and Wally's World. Linux. |
| dinotrac Feb 13, 2009 11:52 AM EDT |
Colonel -- I presume Wally's World is a reference to Wal-Mart? To compare the 2 is an incredible insult to Wal-Mart, and, I suspect, an incredible insult to low-income shoppers. |
| techiem2 Feb 13, 2009 12:28 PM EDT |
Yeah...this should be quite amusing. The only way I can see an MS store being anywhere near interesting (other than harassing the sales staff about linux) is if they have machines setup with the latest "Games for Windows" for people to play, as well as the same for Xbox. With the software for sale of course. Other than that..."oooh I can go play with Vista and Office 2007! How exciting!" Of course, we are not your typical tech consumers either. lol. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 13, 2009 12:29 PM EDT |
Opening a new store? In this economy? Congratulations, Microsoft, your timing is PERFECT. |
| dinotrac Feb 13, 2009 12:34 PM EDT |
BR -- Hmmmmmm. Hadn't thought about that angle. So -- Maybe Microsoft is doing a patriotic act, or... their timing really is perfect. When others are going out of business, a vacuum tends to be created, and... let's face it, Microsoft is not going to be crunched for cash. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 13, 2009 1:06 PM EDT |
> Microsoft is not going to be crunched for cash. With the coming hyperinflation, I'm not sure that's going to matter. |
| theboomboomcars Feb 13, 2009 1:07 PM EDT |
This is a good time for them to open a store, if they are set up like I hear apple stores are set up, I have never been to one so I can't speak from personal experience. Large big box stores that typically sell MS products are going out of business or have gone out of business, this is typically because they cost more than buying online and Customer service is worse than buying online, which sometimes is not that good. So if they open a series of small stories with employess who will treat the customers well, then I can see people coming into the store and pay the premium of buying from a B&M store rather than buying online. If done right this can be good, if it's not done well then it will be another typical money pit for MS. Time will tell. |
| tuxchick Feb 13, 2009 1:12 PM EDT |
Quoting: So if they open a series of small stories with employess who will treat the customers well Ok I finally stopped laughing. Wow, that was a good one! You're right, of course, but... this is Microsoft. |
| ColonelPanik Feb 13, 2009 1:22 PM EDT |
Dino: Don't worry, be happy.
You think I have insulted wal mart? Ain't even started yet.
Both m$ and w-m use the same slash and burn type of
market control. They both sell shoddy. Maybe the w-m shoppers are stuck in the same trap that the m$ shoppers are? |
| theboomboomcars Feb 13, 2009 1:28 PM EDT |
So who is going to open the Tux store, where they sell all kinds of different linux powered products, cell phones, routers, Tivos, computers of all kinds, watches, Stuffed versions of every ones favorite penguin, etc. You could even build the stores so they look like Tux. TC- I wont be holding my breath for the store to succeed, but you know pigs do grow wings every now and again. |
| bigg Feb 13, 2009 2:50 PM EDT |
Don't criticize Walmart shoppers, that includes me! You can disagree with Walmart's goals, but they are very, very good at what they do. Ballmer wouldn't even last a week as the supervisor of the cereal aisle at Walmart. |
| theboomboomcars Feb 13, 2009 3:03 PM EDT |
[quote]Ballmer wouldn't even last a week as the supervisor of the cereal aisle at Walmart.[quote] Because he would through it at the customers when they asked him for assistance. |
| hkwint Feb 13, 2009 3:16 PM EDT |
Quoting:Both m$ and w-m Would you please stop mentioning m$ and my window manager in one sentence, I feel insulted! Quoting:So who is going to open the Tux store I think the Salvation Army? Serious, this whole Microstore is done to compete against Apple, not against Linux. Selling Apple is like selling "ladies behind windows": You should first make people horny by making them look at certain things they probably even don't need, and after they stopped thinking you can empty their wallets. Microsoft only used to did the latter, and now that business model doesn't seem to work anymore they have to do more effort and do the first one too I assume. The only difference being that nobody becomes horny when looking at MS products of course; unless paid to do otherwise. |
| techiem2 Feb 13, 2009 6:56 PM EDT |
One of my friends just sent me this link: http://www.macworld.com/article/138831/2009/02/microsoft_sto... Well played. |
| azerthoth Feb 13, 2009 7:29 PM EDT |
Well to be honest that list did miss one important point. Will offer identical hardware to the mac, and even after virii/malware/office applications, will still come in under the mac price. and A decent place to get hardware to put Linux on. |
| techiem2 Feb 13, 2009 7:36 PM EDT |
lol. That would be fun...walk into the MS store, boot all the machines off Linux Livecds. |
| azerthoth Feb 13, 2009 7:52 PM EDT |
techiem2 you almost owed me a new keyboard. |
| gus3 Feb 13, 2009 8:08 PM EDT |
No need to reboot. Just drop in a CD or plug in a thumb drive with an auto-play setup, to show a video about the virtues of Open Source. |
| herzeleid Feb 13, 2009 8:28 PM EDT |
If the ms folk open up a store near me, I'll drop by with an ubuntu disk, looking for hardware to test... |
| jdixon Feb 13, 2009 9:50 PM EDT |
> Both m$ and w-m use the same slash and burn type of market control. They both sell shoddy. But the Walmart merchandise is priced accordingly. You can't say that about Microsoft's products. And it's a mistake to think people always need top line merchandise. How good does your kitchen sponge or trash can have to be? |
| ColonelPanik Feb 13, 2009 10:54 PM EDT |
Bigg: Not about shoppers or users. Winders users just don't know they have choices. Many of the Linux people on this forum have to use Winders in their work. Wal-mart shoppers in many cases have no other choice for shopping. Many people who shop at W-M are much better off than you would think. BUT, that does not exempt corporations from being good citizens. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 14, 2009 10:36 AM EDT |
> that does not exempt corporations from being good citizens. My single objection to WalMart is that they will gladly use eminent domain to acquire land for their stores, rather than pay the owner's price. Theft, pure and simple. |
| dinotrac Feb 14, 2009 3:40 PM EDT |
BR -- I wasn't aware of the eminent domain issue. If true, I agree. It is theft. |
| Scott_Ruecker Feb 14, 2009 4:41 PM EDT |
Dino, WalMart did it in PHX too, if the owner doesn't give them the price they want, which is almost always way too low anyway. They just use their lawyers to to get what they want. Walmart is designed to service just the Walton family, all others are gull feed to them. |
| dinotrac Feb 14, 2009 5:29 PM EDT |
Hmmmph. Hope you really love your liberal SCOTUS justices now. |
| jdixon Feb 14, 2009 8:22 PM EDT |
> Hope you really love your liberal SCOTUS justices now. But Dino, aren't the liberals always for the little guy? |
| azerthoth Feb 14, 2009 8:37 PM EDT |
jd ... dont do that, I had coffee in my mouth. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 14, 2009 9:24 PM EDT |
What? A political discussion where I'm not a) rabid, b) wrong? Dino, yes, it's happened several to many times. Search Walmart on Mises.org for some rundowns if you're interested. |
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