AWilliams87 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 These Two Photos Show What a Disaster Microsoft Is Today Steve Ballmer is chief executive officer of Microsoft. He's been in the job for some time, but he recently announced that he's stepping down. The fact that Ballmer's departure was announced without the simultaneous announcement of a successor is a good indication he was pushed out the door by the board of directors. And these photos taken Sunday around noon at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va., show why. Here's the Microsoft Store: This is not a trick of the camera. There were zero shoppers in the store. At noon. On a Sunday in December at peak retail shopping season. And here's the Apple Store: It is crowded. Of course Microsoft operated for many years as a fantastic company without any retail stores at all, so it's not as if the failure to build successful stores is the problem per se. The real issue is that there's nothing wrong with the store. It's a great place to shop. Much better than the Apple Store, really, because the Apple Store is crowded, and it's a little hard to get an employee's attention. At the Microsoft Store you get a very pleasant physical environment and a helpful staff. It's just that nobody wants to buy their stuff. It's still a very profitable company thanks to its enormous strengths in the enterprise market. But enterprises are made of people. If nobody wants to buy Microsoft's stuff, that will trickle up into the enterprise. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/12/09/microsoft_store_pentagon_city_is_empty_on_a_pre_christmas_saturday.html COKid 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrack Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 If all those folks are in the Apple store because they all need warranty "Genius" support, then I'd say Microsoft is doing a pretty good job :). gohpep, FiB3R, Buttus and 5 others 8 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dot Matrix Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I need a MSFT store display to hang up on my wall. Not enough tiles. Seriously, though, they don't need a clusterf*** store full of people to be doing something right. Microsoft still makes a living off third party retailers, and other sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Red King Subscriber² Posted December 10, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted December 10, 2013 (edited) Apple is monkey see monkey do. That is why there are so many shoppers at the Apple store. 123456789A 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Eternal Tempest MVC Posted December 10, 2013 MVC Share Posted December 10, 2013 The leaked 12 days of christmas deals at the stores (and the limit on the door buster qty's) probably didn't help too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winrez Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I need a MSFT store display to hang up on my wall. Not enough tiles. Seriously, though, they don't need a clusterf*** store full of people to be doing something right. Microsoft still makes a living off third party retailers, and other sales. My nephew works at the place where they make fibroglass Microsoft signs and the tables they put in the Microsoft store area in retail, he's gonna try to buy one for a Xmas present for me :) Dot Matrix 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganX Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Apple is monkey see monkey do. That is why there are so many shoppers at the Apple store. That sounds good but it's false. I'm a Microsoft person, but reality is what it is. Here's an example of why the MS store is empty and Apple is full. In the gym, I can Soundhound a song I hear playing with my iPhone 5S. I can tap a button twice and purchase and download it with my fingerprint for pw, quickly and easily add it to playlists and be playing in less than 5 minutes max, never mission a bit of my workout. I can go home, plug it in to it's' cradle and sync it to my desktop and iPad. With iTunes I can quickly drag and drop it to several other playlists, and it will sync and I'm good with my new songs wherever I go, on the device I want, on my playlists, with very little effort. Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. GotBored 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Method Man Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I need a MSFT store display to hang up on my wall. Not enough tiles. Check the dumpsters behind the mall. I'm sure they'll be showing up there soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dot Matrix Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 That sounds good but it's false. I'm a Microsoft person, but reality is what it is. Here's an example of why the MS store is empty and Apple is full. In the gym, I can Soundhound a song I hear playing with my iPhone 5S. I can tap a button twice and purchase and download it with my fingerprint for pw, quickly and easily add it to playlists and be playing in less than 5 minutes max, never mission a bit of my workout. I can go home, plug it in to it's' cradle and sync it to my desktop and iPad. With iTunes I can quickly drag and drop it to several other playlists, and it will sync and I'm good with my new songs wherever I go, on the device I want, on my playlists, with very little effort. Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. Um. Ok. You do know they have music detecting capabilities built right into the OS, right? I can then purchase the music, save it to Skydrive, and have it accessible to my devices. 123456789A, Jarrichvdv, thomastmc and 8 others 11 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dot Matrix Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Check the dumpsters behind the mall. I'm sure they'll be showing up there soon enough. \Right. Because MIcrosoft stores are closing up left and right... (N) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Norris Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 In the gym, I can Soundhound a song I hear playing with my iPhone 5S. I can tap a button twice and purchase and download it with my fingerprint for pw, quickly and easily add it to playlists and be playing in less than 5 minutes max, never mission a bit of my workout. I can go home, plug it in to it's' cradle and sync it to my desktop and iPad. With iTunes I can quickly drag and drop it to several other playlists, and it will sync and I'm good with my new songs wherever I go, on the device I want, on my playlists, with very little effort. Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. SoundHound has been around for a while now for Windows Phone. Not available (yet) for Win 8, but again there are alternatives, including one built in. thomastmc, FiB3R, Wapoz and 1 other 4 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Method Man Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 That sounds good but it's false. I'm a Microsoft person, but reality is what it is. Here's an example of why the MS store is empty and Apple is full. In the gym, I can Soundhound a song I hear playing with my iPhone 5S. I can tap a button twice and purchase and download it with my fingerprint for pw, quickly and easily add it to playlists and be playing in less than 5 minutes max, never mission a bit of my workout. I can go home, plug it in to it's' cradle and sync it to my desktop and iPad. With iTunes I can quickly drag and drop it to several other playlists, and it will sync and I'm good with my new songs wherever I go, on the device I want, on my playlists, with very little effort. Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. You can do that with Windows. No need for a third-party application like SoundHound either. thomastmc 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctebah Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Apple retail stores are extremely profitable. To me Microsoft stores look dull compared to Apple ones. Apple knows how to attract customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted December 10, 2013 Member Share Posted December 10, 2013 Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. Before spouting turds, give it a try. Jarrichvdv, thomastmc and Matthew_Thepc 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinomian Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 That sounds good but it's false. I'm a Microsoft person, but reality is what it is. Here's an example of why the MS store is empty and Apple is full. In the gym, I can Soundhound a song I hear playing with my iPhone 5S. I can tap a button twice and purchase and download it with my fingerprint for pw, quickly and easily add it to playlists and be playing in less than 5 minutes max, never mission a bit of my workout. I can go home, plug it in to it's' cradle and sync it to my desktop and iPad. With iTunes I can quickly drag and drop it to several other playlists, and it will sync and I'm good with my new songs wherever I go, on the device I want, on my playlists, with very little effort. Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. Actually, do this also for the Android system...I switched and I love my note2 device, but damm, it sucks not being able to use something similar with iTunes with it. Kies sucks, and doesnt syncs files properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COKid Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 If all those folks are in the Apple store because they all need warranty "Genius" support, then I'd say Microsoft is doing a pretty good job :). Yeah, you just tell yourself that if it makes you feel better. HoochieMamma 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganX Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Actually, do this also for the Android system...I switched and I love my note2 device, but damm, it sucks not being able to use something similar with iTunes with it. Kies sucks, and doesnt syncs files properly. I tried HTC's app, but it was just a waste of time. Otherwise I would probably be on an HTC One. My preference is probably a Zune-like client for Windows 8 that syncs WP8 and Surface. But it's just not happening. I leave iPhone, but always end up back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzdawg Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 The apple store near me is usually just filled with kids playing with the ipads and computers. I dont see people actually buying anything, usually just genius support and killing time. Ive never gone into an MS store so I cant compare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 I tried HTC's app, but it was just a waste of time. Otherwise I would probably be on an HTC One. My preference is probably a Zune-like client for Windows 8 that syncs WP8 and Surface. But it's just not happening. I leave iPhone, but always end up back. Very easy to do on ANY Android phone with Google Now capabilities - just use Google Now to come up with song results, you can buy it via Google Play Music, then add it to playlists (if you want). Since Google Play Music is a cloud based service, you don't need to sync any device... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganX Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Very easy to do on ANY Android phone with Google Now capabilities - just use Google Now to come up with song results, you can buy it via Google Play Music, then add it to playlists (if you want). Since Google Play Music is a cloud based service, you don't need to sync any device... 1) I did not like Google Play. When I tried to live with Android, I used third party players, my fav was Cloudskipper. 2) More importantly, I have a huge personal library or rips and remixes (30GB) that I want to listen to at 320kbs or 192kbs. I imagine most hardcore Apple users can put that library to shame. My music needs are too dynamic for streaming services or the cloud. It's a key part of my daily workout. Nothing comes close to what Apple is doing. Zune did, but MS has chosen to drop that for WP8 and Tablets. Their solution is to buy Xbox Music Pass and limit yourself to what is available there, or do it manually. Apple has chosen to maintain iTunes and it's easy local media management/syncing along with it's cloud offerings. Apple has its flaws and I'm not interested in OS X or it's desktops, though the newest Mac Pro is cooler than #@#%. I don't want one, but it's cool. What Apple does well, it does better than anyone else. Syncing media quickly, easily, pleasantly and as transparently as possible between your desktop and mobile devices is one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio384 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 So what, on when hour was that first photo taken anyway? Before the shop opened? Anyway, the difference between Microsoft and Apple is very important if you want to compare those pictures, because Microsoft has a lot, if not, a sh*tload of third party vendors and doesn't need to sell everything themselfs. Apple products are mostly only available (available, not possible to buy) at Apple stores. MorganX 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Scrip Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 If all those folks are in the Apple store because they all need warranty "Genius" support, then I'd say Microsoft is doing a pretty good job :). They're not... see comment below: Apple retail stores are extremely profitable. Exactly! If Apple stores were only giving out free Genius tech support... they wouldn't be making any money. Clearly they are doing something right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Studio384 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 That sounds good but it's false. I'm a Microsoft person, but reality is what it is. Here's an example of why the MS store is empty and Apple is full. In the gym, I can Soundhound a song I hear playing with my iPhone 5S. I can tap a button twice and purchase and download it with my fingerprint for pw, quickly and easily add it to playlists and be playing in less than 5 minutes max, never mission a bit of my workout. I can go home, plug it in to it's' cradle and sync it to my desktop and iPad. With iTunes I can quickly drag and drop it to several other playlists, and it will sync and I'm good with my new songs wherever I go, on the device I want, on my playlists, with very little effort. Do that with a Surface, WP8, & Windows 8.1 Desktop. You've a prety good point, with Windows, it's completely different... we don't need 3rd party apps, nor do we need another program then the actual OS to sync our stuff. thomastmc, gohpep, Jarrichvdv and 3 others 6 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 1) I did not like Google Play. When I tried to live with Android, I used third party players, my fav was Cloudskipper. 2) More importantly, I have a huge personal library or rips and remixes (30GB) that I want to listen to at 320kbs or 192kbs. I imagine most hardcore Apple users can put that library to shame. My music needs are too dynamic for streaming services or the cloud. It's a key part of my daily workout. Nothing comes close to what Apple is doing. Zune did, but MS has chosen to drop that for WP8 and Tablets. Their solution is to buy Xbox Music Pass and limit yourself to what is available there, or do it manually. Apple has chosen to maintain iTunes and it's easy local media management/syncing along with it's cloud offerings. Apple has its flaws and I'm not interested in OS X or it's desktops, though the newest Mac Pro is cooler than #@#%. I don't want one, but it's cool. What Apple does well, it does better than anyone else. Syncing media quickly, easily, pleasantly and as transparently as possible between your desktop and mobile devices is one of them. The Google Play Music has gotten a lot better. I have about 40 GB of music in 320Kbps, and Google Play Music has an option to allow playing for 320Kbps. I don't keep any media on my Nexus 5, and streaming works perfectly at full quality. If you can't stream it, there's an option to keep media on your device. It is far better than managing a local library - who wants to maintain a playlist and sync it to all devices, too much work. I was very skeptical of cloud based systems, but Google Play Music has knocked it out of the park for me. I find Google Play Music far more transparent than a local iTunes/media solution. Besides, iTunes on Windows is the most bloated piece of software. I use other alternatives to sync an iPod Touch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Been in to the MS store once in AZ but went past it a lot. Looked busy every time. Crap article green_link 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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