Imagine for a second that you're Microsoft: unimaginably rich, a bit bloated after years on the Office hog, and worried about a few
big projects you've been
meaning to finish if only you could find the time. Now, what day would you choose to launch your
brick-and-mortar stores back into retail if you were David Porter, vice president of retail stores and former Wal-Mart exec? If it was us, we'd choose October 22nd, the official Windows 7 launch. That's exactly what a number of tipsters are telling us courtesy of an in-person briefing by Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO. Specifically, the Scottsdale store will swing the doors wide on the 22nd, we're not sure about the Mission Viejo location. According to the
Wall Street Journal, the stores will sell Windows-based laptops and cellphones and allow consumers to play Xbox 360 games on a 94-inch in-store screen. It'll even have a
Genius Bar "counter" where people can bring their Microsoft gear for help. In fact, the WSJ claims that the Scottsdale store interior is a "nearly exact replica" of the store created on Redmond's campus -- something we
covered back in January (pics in the gallery below). Who knows, this could be the beginning of www.peopleofmicrosftstore.com as Internet trends go.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted October 16th 2009 5:40AM
It's Shopped. I can tell by the pixels.
/Trollbait
Good ol' Walmart
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/?p=5205
OMG that site.... it's filled with... oh... [pukes]
It may be shopped, but that does not make it any less funny. I don't even know why it's funny. It just is
Crack kills.
They'll need this considering that the http://store.microsoft.com site is down.
It is too bad they won't be selling any Wii Fits - it looks like that customer could use one.
dude that People of Walmart website has grew so quick, i always here people talking about it now more.
on topic - i shat brix
best engadget photoshop ever!
Best. Photoshop. Ever.
Guess which site is going to get slammed today? And those were the "safe" images.
@ Thomas Ricker:
Perhaps you could get back to meaningful and useful blogging once you let go of Apple's metaphorical dick..
I am getting tired of the obsessive sarcasm and snark when reporting anything to do with Microsoft.
Hey Raaj, how about you suck it up and stop crying like a little baby? Seriously, WAAAAH. WAAAAAAHHHH. Oh did somebody poke fun at your precious Microsoft? WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH.
Microsoft is copying Apple, AGAIN, like they do every time they do ANYTHING. Damn right they need to be ridiculed. If they ever have an original idea, maybe then they'll get some respect. I can't believe you Microsoft ass-kissing crybabies.
@Jack
Douche much? Seriously, just because someone (Raaj) questions the integrity of the author, who by the way is supposed to have some journalistic INTEGRITY, that doesn't mean that he's on Microsoft's jock. There was no crying or whining in that post. And you clearly have no credibility when you obviously hate Microsoft. MS pisses me off too but Raaj's comments were about the author, not MS.
And for the record, Apple actually didn't create the first retail store or chain of stores. So clearly Microsoft is not copying Apple. If anything they are copying Woolworths or Sears Roebuck which each opened their first retail store chains well over a hundred years ago. Only an absolute moron would claim that Microsoft was copying Apple by opening retail stores. Good job!
I highly doubt that you will be needing a cart for the stores. But its just a shame one is not opening anywhere near me, would be interesting to see for sure
PS. Microsoft, try opening one in Vancouver, BC
Microsoft is expecting us to buy 100 copies of Windows 7 every time we go in.
@shiki: What? Even as a joke I don't see how your comment is supposed to make sense or be funny
Dont visit the store!!!!
..
..
..
..
..
You will end up like her, on the right.
She's actually a Microsoft employee.
@giuliop, but once an Apple genius.
@Psy
When she was married to Steve Ballmer, yes.
@giuliop, while she was cheating on him with Steve Jobs.
You end up that way after telling Windows 7 for 1,000,000 times that you want to download something.
@Psy
But then she became fat and got into the habit of pulling down her trousers, so Jobs dumped her, while Ballmer was even more happier of his fat and kinky wife.
You can blame Greg for that comment not being as funny as the first 4...
hahaha love the photoshop work
LOL, that kid must be having a wild time holding onto that trolley while his mother drags him round the store!
Windows 7's parental control is comming to yous PC today and you can't stop it kid.
Wild kid in wild pictures. I also wonder why the old lady with the kid has her face censored.
Do people really think this is an actual picture and not just Best Buy and Walmart rolled in together with photoshop?
lmao at that picture and the black bar over her eyes
Kid on the shopping cart? That's the cleaning crew. Don't have to pay benefits if they're under 18!
at first i thought tha lady was standing on her kid, and why her eyes are covered with black bar?
hes like nooo not windows!
@alex
lmfao!!! thanks to you i have yogurt on my screen
They need to copy one of the biggest drawcards of the Apple Stores .. free internet ! .. loads of people come in for no other reason than to browse the web, go on facebook etc. This helps make the place look busy which draws other crowds as well as get people using the latest Mac products. Microsoft should show off the latest and greatest new PCs for people to use.
I agree. That's the main reason I stop in the Apple store whenever I'm in the mall.
Too bad the Apple stores in Toronto block Facebook access from the Macs in the store. :(
I smell an improv everywhere skit in the making.
Is that a child on the floor? Is the lady in the background walking on that poor child or am I seeing things???
He's just trying to drag and drop with Microsoft's new Surface.
Heeey, the big-ass table is back!
I finally got to play with the BAT, I mean, uh, Surface last month. Kinda cool if they'd actually decided to do something with it.
Apple stores have a slightly scary cultish feel to them. I feel insufficiently hip when I walk in them.
If the Microsoft store is really a place for overweight slobs in poorly fitting clothing, then it's the place for me.
+1 It's like Heaven's Gate in there.
The Apple Store has rich people in it who like expensive things, like if you go to a Mercedes dealership. Where as the Microsoft Store will be like the people you see at a Kia dealership. They want new, but can't splurge because Mcdonald's doesn't really pay well.
I've been in a Mercedes store derrik, it isn't like walking into a cross between a hipster convention and the children of the corn.
A cultish feel to them? Are you stupid or just insane? That's a serious question. It's a store that sells products, and there are people who work there that wear store uniforms. It's about exactly as cultish as any other store that sells things whose employees wear store uniforms.
I wish you people could just be less stupid. Things would go so much more smoothly.
LOL
Picture 8... is that the OSX dock?
No that's the Retail Entertainment Center Dock! It's much different then the MacOS dock. It sits a few pixels from the bottom it's not flush, it does not magnify it zooms, it got a blue dot underneath when you go over the icon and not when you open the application. Major differences there, please don't bring your troll bait ass in here anymore.