Microsoft Shamelessly Rips Off Apple For Upcoming Stores
7:21 am, July 25th, 2009, Leander Kahney
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.
The Microsoft Store will host birthday parties!
Posted by Leander Kahney in Apple, News, Retail Stores, Top stories | Comment on this article
I wonder why brand computers they will feature?
Kyle Ackerman, on July 25th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Is this a joke?
AndyM, on July 25th, 2009 at 7:47 am
It wouldn’t be the first time MS has ripped off Apple, would it?
Allan, on July 25th, 2009 at 7:54 am
[...] 25, 2009 in photography Microsoft rips off Apple store designs Creativity and hard work need not apply. Possibly related posts: (automatically [...]
Microsoft rips off Apple store designs for their own « Digital Photography by Frank, on July 25th, 2009 at 8:12 am
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.
rick, on July 25th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Shit happens
Raven, on July 25th, 2009 at 8:21 am
and this is what i call the final nail in the coffin that msft has set up for themselves.
andrew, on July 25th, 2009 at 8:40 am
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.
Robert Castillo, on July 25th, 2009 at 8:45 am
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.
Steve, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:08 am
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.
A Dark Light, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:12 am
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.
OEB, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:15 am
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).
csbmonkney, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:17 am
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.
Matt, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:43 am
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.
Joseph, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:44 am
“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.
nthn, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:46 am
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::
Gene, on July 25th, 2009 at 10:10 am
[...] Cult Of Mac Powered by [...]
Como Inovaremos Hoy?? Amm No Lo se, Ve y Fijate en una Apple Store |, on July 25th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Oh goodness me!
their “Guru Bar” is going to have a Queue out the door!
A
Andy, on July 25th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
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.
BMWTwisty, on July 25th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
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.
lorin, on July 25th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
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.
Paul, on July 25th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
microsoft is so retarded they cNt even come up with any original ideas of thier own
Eric, on July 25th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
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. “
taojones, on July 25th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Those chairs looks upside down. Which explains a lot.
Matt, on July 25th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
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.
Paul, on July 25th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
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.
Jessica, on July 25th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
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.
matajuro, on July 25th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
ttp://www.atozbrand.ecvv.com
dannil, on July 25th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Bad, bad M$…
Steve Mobs, on July 25th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
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?
OEB, on July 25th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
[...] – Cultofmac > Gizmodo] Tags: microsoft store, Store, Apple [...]
Microsoft does it again -Rips off Apple for upcoming stores | iPhoneIndiaBlog.com, on July 25th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
My condolance for those “guru’s”. They’ll need to solve a lot of problems, if I remember Windows pc’s right.
Unknown, on July 26th, 2009 at 2:37 am
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.
lrd, on July 26th, 2009 at 4:52 am
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.
Joseph, on July 26th, 2009 at 5:08 am
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.
KenC, on July 26th, 2009 at 6:58 am
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.
Ian Eisenberg, on July 26th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
“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
OEB, on July 26th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
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.
Blackjesus, on July 26th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
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.
Dan, on July 26th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
In related news, Windows 7 will sport a revolutionary, shiny, 3D GUI called “Agua” and IE will now offer “Tabular” browsing.
Hucbald, on July 26th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Study from each other.
superwill, on July 26th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
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
Richard, on July 27th, 2009 at 1:18 am
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.
Denis, on July 27th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Has any one considered that the image could be a fake?
Jonathan, on July 27th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
EEWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!
(>_<)
*Ahem*
Stealing is a sin.
Bekky, on July 28th, 2009 at 2:17 am
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!
Thomas, on July 28th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
“Good artists copy, great artists steal†– Pablo Picasso
I believe Picasso actually stole that line from Stravinsky…
Rich Rosen, on July 29th, 2009 at 8:39 am
[...] few days ago, it was revealed that Microsoft is considering many of the same features that make Apple’s stores so successful, including a rival to the Genius Bar called the “Guru [...]
Microsoft Opening First Stores In — Surprise! — Upscale Malls | Cult of Mac, on July 29th, 2009 at 8:49 am
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.
monkeythepig, on July 29th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
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
d4m4s74, on July 30th, 2009 at 12:49 am
Hmm, Apple has never ripped anyone off ever… oh wait, that statement would be a lie.
phil, on July 30th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
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.
sean, on August 1st, 2009 at 8:54 pm
[...] Microsoft Shamelessly Rips Off Apple For Upcoming Stores (cultofmac.com) 0 people like this post. Like [...]
Apple Tablet: The Wet Dream Concept : The New Dork Times, on August 12th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
[...] Center, Windows 7, and netbook; Regular demos and events; a special Microsoft shopping bang; and a “Guru” Bar (as compared to the Apple “Genius” Bar) where customers can get answers from Windows experts. [...]
Apple V. Microsoft: Innovation Vs. Carbon Copy? | Steele Agency, on September 24th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Won’t matter. Most Windows users have no idea what actually happens in an Apple Store.
Tricia Steele, on September 24th, 2009 at 1:43 pm