A gauntlet of wildly cheering sales people dressed in brightly colored T-shirts, a sleek, white store, a simple but elegant design.
You will be excused for thinking the video below is from an Apple store, but it is actually from the opening of a Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, Ariz., today.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Today, Microsoft tweeted a photo of the wall in front of one of its upcoming retail stores, either in Scottsdale, Ariz., or Mission Viejo, Calif.
Although it is not clear which location it is–frankly, those mall potted plants could be just about anywhere–I am guessing some Foot Locker is right around the corner and an Outback Steakhouse is not far either.
This does not bode well, especially if Microsoft is hoping to one-up the sleek and hip Apple store vibe.
In fact, that’s where BoomTown is off to now, to get an early place in line for an iTablet.
Both President-Elect Barack Obama and the man he beat in a historic election, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, gave the kinds of speeches at the end of the last night that make one proud to be part of a country where stark differences still mean grace can prevail when it’s all over.
But don’t take my word for it–the Internet makes it possible to consider them again and again.
They are a shining example of–as Obama quoted our greatest president (in my estimation, at least), Abraham Lincoln last night–of how such a contest should end: “We are not enemies, but friends, though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference.
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
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