What's in store for Microsoft's US pop-up shops? Not much, they're being closed Microsoft has quietly swung the axe on a chunk of its retail operation, with "speciality stores" in America bearing the brunt of the blade. All 17 of Microsoft's kiosk-sized stores were removed from the company's website over the weekend, leaving some of the US states that had at least enjoyed a stub of retail presence from …
And just what exactly do they retail in these outlets, apart from a games console and a pricey tablet? They don't even do phones any more so there is no compelling reason to visit one of them. And if your Surface gets bricked by a mandatory update how is the drone in one of these outlets going to remedy that for you, assuming they even have the knowledge or experience to do that?
The only reason I would visit one of these outlets rather than an Apple store would be purely to see why it even exists.
"And if your Surface gets bricked by a mandatory update how is the drone in one of these outlets going to remedy that for you, assuming they even have the knowledge or experience to do that?"
Huh? If I read that right you just said "How is a person with enough knowledge and experience to fix a problem going to be able to fix that problem?"
They use knowledge and experience I think...
The Intellimouse Explorer 3 was just about the best damn mouse on the planet (for regular computer usage - gaming usage maybe not). I stockpiled a dozen or so when they stopped making them.
However, they've recently brought them back as the "Classic Intellimouse" (with some modest changes) - I keep meaning to order some online.
You call 10 years 'aged' - I still have working examples of the original white MS mouse in my museum, though not my very first one that came in the box with my first copy of Windows.
I confess I was an early Windows evangelist. That all stopped years ago I hasten to add, I'd now call myself a Windows 7 die-hard, and my next OS of choice will not be Windows.
Icon - slightly predates mainstream Windows of course, but nicely describes the current one.
I still have (and use) a stack of Wheel Mouse Optical mice, definitely over 10 years old, and maybe considerably more. They are more or less indestructible, and perform very well indeed on most surfaces.
The other Microsoft offering I use regularly is the "Sculpt Comfort Mouse", which is true Bluetooth so no dongle is required for my Surface Pro (obviously short on ports for said dongle). There was a time when Argos was selling them for sub-£20, so I have some new-in-box spares for the day my regular one dies on me. Battery life of about 6 months on a pair of AAs too.
They made good software once upon a time. Anyone that used QuickBASIC and QuickC will know what I mean.
Visual Basic was also very good, though you fairly quickly came up against its limitations. It had it's uses though.
They've stuck at .net which is pretty cool.
Visual Studio Code is good and really popular. Cross platform. Kudos.
Every version of Windows since Windows 7 is shit.
LOL that PR piece, here it is in plain english:
After careful discussion, we closed our specialty stores.
We focus on the customer and will continue to do so.
We prefer flagship stores that have more space.
Seriously:
After careful discussion and evaluation, we’ve made the decision to close our specialty store locations.
We are focused on delivering great experiences throughout the customer journey.
We will continue to connect with and empower our customers to achieve more and discover all that’s possible with Microsoft through Microsoft Store across the globe online and in our physical stores in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, and coming soon to the U.K.
We look forward to continuing to showcase a robust lineup of products and services at our full line and flagship stores, providing the space and support for us to deliver experiences that our customers are excited about.
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