Microsoft: The Retail Store

MICROSOFT TO OPEN OWN RETAIL STORES

At Cornish, most of the design department uses Macs except for a few of us lowly interior design students who have PCs. So a lot of my time is spent in full-on Mactopia. But as pretty as Macs are to look at, I've never found them to offer any significant advantages to Windows PCs. They have some things that are nicer (sleek design, um... and I'm sure there is more) and some that aren't (I'm not a fan of their operating systems and they always feel slower to me). I also recently traded in my iPod for a Zune and I've been really happy with that decision so far.

Since my partner is a diehard Microsoft fan (and employee) I've got a slightly more inside perspective on the "software giant" and easy access to their products. Although I like a lot of their stuff (Zune, arc mouse, Office 2007, even Vista), on the advertising front Microsoft as a brand always appears to be clunky compared to Apple. So I'm curious to see what they do with this new foray into operating a retail store.

A lot of the comments on the article I linked to were negative, but I don't necessarily think it would be an automatic failure. My advice would be to really think about the overall concept for the look and feel of the stores and products that will be sold there. Apple's success comes as much from their products as their commitment to a consistent design aesthetic, whether in their iPod nano or their retail stores. Both of these things offer a similar experience. Microsoft has been all over the place and even though the company is around thirty years old at this point, it still doesn't have a strong brand identity in the public sector.

Will they orient it around the X-box? The software? The Zune? The keyboards and mice they offer? I'm curious to see how this will turn out.

MS built a better mouse(trap).

Bryn surprised me today with a random gift. Of course, it also just happens to be a Microsoft product he picked up at the MS Company Store. But I really liked what he got!

Meet the "Arc Mouse." Compact, stylish, and portable. Has a tiny USB dongle that magnetically will attach to the bottom of the mouse when not in use. The curved shape is comfortable (so far) and folds for travel. I have it in red (shown above) but I guess it also comes in black.

I didn't need this at all, but I'm very happy to have it. It has a cool and sleek design that doesn't seem like a rip-off of an Apple product with the dark color and sharp edges (although it will work with Mac OS X v10.2-10.5 in addition to Vista/XP). Plus, the current travel mouse I use still has a retractable cord so this will be a little more convenient.

And did I mention that my current mouse I use with my laptop came with terrible glowing LED lights? I'm really thankful that the Arc won't distract me by changing colors every five seconds or make it look like I'm holding a rave when I work in a dark room.

Microsoft® Tinker™

I don't know exactly where this game comes from other than the fact that Microsoft makes it and it appears to be included with Windows Vista (at least the Ultimate edition). But one thing I know for sure is that it is ADDICTING! And fun. A great time-waster, and it even includes a cool robot!

Update: Yes, it seems to be exclusive to Windows Vista Ultimate.