Microsoft Shamelessly Rips Off Apple For Upcoming Stores

Leander Kahney ()

answer_bar

Steve Jobs is fond of the saying “good artists copy, great artists steal,” which would put Microsoft in the great artist category.

Apple’s rival is planning to open retail stores this fall that are a direct ripoff of Apple’s super successful shops.

In a presentation leaked to Gizmodo, Microsoft is planning stores that are “light and airy,” divided into solution areas, and feature a “guru bar.” Sound familiar?

  • Different areas for Windows Mobile, Windows Media Center, Windows 7, and netbook
  • A Guru Bar where customers can get answers from Windows experts
  • Regular demos and events
  • A special Microsoft shopping bag

But here’s one idea that’s not ripped off from Apple.

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50 comments »

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in Apple, News, Retail Stores, Top stories |

  • Kyle Ackerman

    I wonder why brand computers they will feature?

  • AndyM

    Is this a joke?

  • Allan

    It wouldn’t be the first time MS has ripped off Apple, would it?

  • rick

    Ha, guess if you can’t come up with better ideas on your own, admit the opposition had the better idea and copy them. I bet you Apple stores will stay cleaner though, they don’t need half the crap microsoft does.

  • http://cherokeebydesign.wordpress.com/ Raven

    Shit happens

  • andrew

    and this is what i call the final nail in the coffin that msft has set up for themselves.

  • Robert Castillo

    Great now I know where to go if I want to experience a family setting with other Microsoft product owners. Cause when my computer crashes trying to open a my computer window i’m going to need family support.

  • Steve

    Microsoft is REALLY PATHETIC. Is that why pc’s are cheap, (I do not mean inexpensive) because MSFT saves on R&D and going it on their own. MICROSOFT IS A STALKER AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING SHOULD BE ACTIONABLE AS CRIMINAL. IT IS STEALING FROM APPLE SHAREHOLDERS.

  • A Dark Light

    Birthday Parties? Are they SERIOUS? Do they have a mascot that will show up and sing and everyone gets a free patch to make Vista work? Do they expect to be taken seriously with bull$hit services like that? That’s gonna be one store FULL of pi$$ed off shoppers.

  • OEB

    Gosh… How pathetic and sad. Microsoft cold be so great if it would begin to innovate rather than assimilate. No wonder they are called the Borg.

  • http://chainsmokingbluemonkey.com csbmonkney

    Surely I’m not the only one that remember that MS already tried to have a retail store before. There was one in the Metreon in San Francisco. It survived three years (1999 to 2001).

  • Matt

    Wow, if this actually comes to fruition I’ll be interested to see how empty the place is. Steve, settle down. Everyone else, carry on.

  • Joseph

    MS is a totally different product that will not fit into the ‘Apple store’ mold. $100 says the MS stores fail. I give it 2 years.

    On a related note, why do MS shareholders still let that idiot Steve Ballmer run the company.

  • nthn

    “Is this a joke?” was my original thought too. But whatever the outcome, I’d go into one just to mock them…while talking on my iPhone.

  • http://justasithought.com Gene

    You know what this reminds me of? The infamous Disneyland copycat park. “It’s just like Disneyland/The Apple Store! We can’t fail!”
    http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1678

    ::grin::

  • Andy

    Oh goodness me!

    their “Guru Bar” is going to have a Queue out the door!

    A

  • BMWTwisty

    Microsoft is a POS. Their copying Apple is like the Russians copying a BMW and coming up with the Lada. Miserably embarrassing point in time for Mister Softy. Balmer is going bonkers.

  • lorin

    OK, what is going on in that photo on the right-hand side of the Answer Bar rendering? Is that a white man licking a black child’s hand?? Am I missing something? Looks racy.

  • Paul

    Wow, are Microsoft stockholders actually going to allow this to happen? Microsoft ‘s stock as been hovering in the mid 20′s for 10 years now and this can’t help.

    What a loser company. Ballmer needs to be fired. He is destroying the company and I’m lovin’ it.

    This is about as pathetic as it can get.

  • Eric

    microsoft is so retarded they cNt even come up with any original ideas of thier own

  • taojones

    what are they going to do with all the wires! can you imagine a Microsoft guru plugging in a peripheral a customer is having trouble with and spending the next 4 days trying to get a driver to work . NEXT CUSTOMER ! uh oh the next customer died of starvation. this is going to be A comedy when the cheapest hardware lines up around the block with clueless users whose kids have already deleted the usb drivers . I can hear it now ” i can fix it lady but i have to reinstall your system and you are going to loose all your stuff it was probably infected anyway you can go dig up grandma who died last year and re pose her at the birthday party what’s in a picture anyway its the memories that count. “

  • http://deleted Matt

    Those chairs looks upside down. Which explains a lot.

  • Paul

    Its fine, its competiton and it won’t be so easy either. MS will have to execute well, because you know Apple will. They (Apple) have been doing well with their stores.

    Secondly, it will make it obvious to people how much cooler and better designed Apple products are. The fact that WinTel machines are less expensive is already well know, so no advantage to MS there.

    Thirdly they will have to feature hardware from Dell or HP or who ever they partner with, thus diluting their own brand in their own stores.

    So l think its good competition and it will make it easier for people to compare Apple’s to WinTels.

  • Jessica

    Well hopefully they will have more than 2 people working at a time. And not have to get an appt a week in advance just to get simple questions answered.

  • matajuro

    Oh come on, none of you remember? Apple stole the genius bar from Tekserve in NYC! Steve hated the idea but they went with it any way. Now its the biggest draw to the Apple store. Yes great artists steal, Apple IS Great! MS is just following the crowd.

  • http://www.atozbrand.ecvv.com dannil

    ttp://www.atozbrand.ecvv.com

  • Steve Mobs

    Bad, bad M$…

  • OEB

    Problems:

    1) The guru bar will be useless. I have worked in tech support for over 20 years (mostly windows). Any problem worth bringing a PC to the store will be hard to fix quickly in Windows. i.e. One missing dll file and say goodbye to about 2 hours of a gurus time (1/2 hour problem diagnosis and quick solution, 1/2 hour backup, and 1 hour reinstall OS (don’t forget to bring your key code)). The guru bar is a big mistake waiting to happen. This could back fire so badly… I cringe thinking of the next Mac vs PC commercial using this as a theme.

    2) What are they going to sell in there? Third party computers and peripherals? Zunes and xboxes? Common… This one doesn’t even need an explanation. They have 2 products, a few MS brand peripherals, and the rest is 3rd party stuff u can pick up at the local Best Buy. Microsoft is a “SOFTWARE” company that makes 2 (yes ‘two’) pieces of MS brand hardware they can sell in their ‘store’; The Zune is a dismal failure and the xbox is a success. But how are they going to make any money? By selling xboxes that would sell anyways in a Best Buy or a Game Shop? How do they expect to even get close to breaking-even when they are placing their stores on some prime real estate (i.e. near Apple stores) and selling minimal products?

  • Unknown

    My condolance for those “guru’s”. They’ll need to solve a lot of problems, if I remember Windows pc’s right.

  • lrd

    Let me get this right, MS is bleeding money with everything but Windows and it’s going to chase Apple with stores of its own? Can MS afford another money loser?

    Apple’s got a 255 store head start on it and is building like another 5 as we speak.

  • Joseph

    Imagine if instead of trying to build an MS clone of every new successful product and business model that comes along, MS they focussed on improving Windows OS and MS Office. Not in this universe, I know, but it’s nice to imagine.

  • KenC

    Uhm, based upon Steve’s quote, and the fact that you describe this as a direct copy, then the more apt conclusion is that MS is a “good artist”.

    What Steve was getting at, is that a great artist takes an idea, and improves it, far beyond the original idea. That’s what makes that artist great. Good artists only copy ideas. One would think, a guy who studies Steve so much and writes books about him would truly understand what Steve was getting at in that famous quote, which I think he got from Pablo Picasso.

  • Ian Eisenberg

    I’m sorry but that is a misquote of Steve Jobs.

    What he is famous for saying is:
    “Good artists copy, great artists ship”

    Referring to the habit of Microsoft of talking about vapor rather than actual products ie; Project Natal.

  • OEB

    “Good artists copy, great artists steal” – Pablo Picasso

    http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Pablo_Picasso

    However, Job’s ‘did’ use this quote. And he quoted Picasso as saying it. See for yourselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

  • Blackjesus

    Project natal is shipping in less than a year. It will revolution the industry because it is complete way to interact with the console and most of the wait has to do with having launch titles. Also Apple stole the Mouse driven GUI. Also the 2 button mouse (sic!). Always remember that.

  • Dan

    My Apple friend was charged $120 just to have a graphics card installed. They even made him leave his mac there because they wouldn’t just order the card for him unless they did the installation for him…and he’s an IT guy. Doesn’t sound too “Genius” to me.

    Perhaps the Gurus will charge less to do the most menial of tasks.

    The Genius Bar and The Guru Bar…how come you guys aren’t bashing Best Buy for their Geek Squad? OH yeah, thats right..its okay to have a themed customer service department as long as it isn’t Microsoft.

  • http://hucbald.blogspot.com/ Hucbald

    In related news, Windows 7 will sport a revolutionary, shiny, 3D GUI called “Agua” and IE will now offer “Tabular” browsing.

  • http://www.superwill.cn superwill

    Study from each other.

  • http://toomuchgreen.eu Richard

    I think I should open an Ubuntu store, not sure how I’d make money from free software though……I’d need to work on that.

    Maybe people would just pay me for saving them from MSFT :-)

  • Denis

    This could become a sitcom, almost like The Office. Except its The Microsoft Guru Bar. Some of the crap that will be going on in there is going to be priceless LOL.

  • http://www.filmguide.co.nz Jonathan

    Has any one considered that the image could be a fake?

  • http://www.justbekky.com Bekky

    EEWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!

    (>_<)

    *Ahem*
    Stealing is a sin.

  • Thomas

    They are setting themselfs up for a disaster. Many Windows users that are expereincing blue screens will come to the store for customer support. Expect large lines!

  • http://www.neurozen.com/website/ Rich Rosen

    “Good artists copy, great artists steal” – Pablo Picasso

    I believe Picasso actually stole that line from Stravinsky… :-)

  • monkeythepig

    sorry, blackjesus… you got this one wrong:

    “Also Apple stole the Mouse driven GUI.”

    no, what apple did was sell xerox one million dollars of pre-IPO apple stock *in exchange for* three days of access to xerox PARC’s facilities and their engineers. xerox agreed and made a very nice profit.

    no theft. just a business deal between two corporations.

    thanks for playing, though.

  • d4m4s74

    there’s one difference
    the microsoft store will have a large Game section.

    I wonder what Linux stores would look like.

    BRB, applying for Guru

  • phil

    Hmm, Apple has never ripped anyone off ever… oh wait, that statement would be a lie.

  • sean

    So a more successful company whose operating system has a much higher share of the market can’t have their own store without it being a rip off of the “trendy” company? Good thing you’re not biased or anything.

  • http://www.steele-agency.com Tricia Steele

    Won’t matter. Most Windows users have no idea what actually happens in an Apple Store.

  • Zane

    Windows will always rip-off ideas from other companies. Just look at the 360s avatars. Their “idea” looks similar to Nintendo’s Mii. Also a certain MS pc has an exact start up “music” as Sony’s PS3. Including the money they leech off of the Xbox community from countless reports of RRoD and disks melting after extended use. Anyone else notice a pattern here?