It looks like Microsoft’s plan to beat Apple in the retail space by building their own Microsoft Stores right across from mall-based Apple Stores is paying off: Microsoft’s successfully chased Apple out of its space in the Bellevue, Washington shopping mall.
It’s something of a pyrrhic victory, though. Apple’s just moving to the second floor of the mall to a larger retail space. Directly overhead, overlooking Microsoft’s store, where it will literally be living in Apple’s shadow. If there was ever a time to LOL, this is it.
Besides creating obvious comparisons to classic Judao-Christian myth, in which those who are condemned to the inferno are forced to suffer within sight of the paradise that hovers overhead, Apple’s move seems to be purely logistical: by moving to the second floor of the mall, they’ll double the current size of their retail space from an existing 4,600 square feet. That doesn’t mean that the delicious irony of having every person leaving the Microsoft Store look up to see beautiful, angelic beings dangling almost ethereally beautiful gadgets just out of reach wasn’t at least a small part of the decision, though.
Not that any of this should take readers by surprise. Those of us who have been following the news lately know that Microsoft is getting used to living in Apple’s metaphorical shadow. It’s fitting that at least one small part of the empire should factually exist there.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
31 responses to “Bellevue Microsoft Store To Literally Exist In More Popular Apple Store’s Shadow”
It’s Judeo, not Judao.
Watch the use of the word ‘myth’ there, Brownlee. ‘Belief’ would be far less charged and communicate the same sentiment exactly.
That’s a good suggestion. I struggled there, actually, with something that wasn’t charged, and obviously failed. I’ll change. Thanks for the suggestion.
“Belief” is not something that indicates a narrative, though. While “myth” is clearly the accurate word to use, “story” could communicate the same information without indicating that the story is necessarily false.
Myth is perfectly fine, since that’s what it is. I was going to correct the wrong spelling of Judeo before I saw someone else had already done it, though.
That Apple store was too small and often crowded.
Myth does not necessarily mean false; most people believe it does though…
While their “me too!” attitude isn’t doing Microsoft any favours, I really really really like that new logo.
Irony, this is it! :)
I guess the people know the apple stores already, so if they see a microsoft store, they check that out instead
I actually think in the context of this sentence that “teaching” or “dogma” might fit better. Personally, as a Catholic, I didn’t find myth offensive as it wasn’t implying anything about the rightness or wrongess of the belief.
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Does you all “Belief” really exist?
Every time I’ve walked past the M$ store to visit the Apple store the former has been a ghost town…
But you’re implying that someone believes that shit. Aren’t we past that? It’s 2011
Mythos is a Greek word meaning “story, legend, plot”