Doug visits the Microsoft store

You probably never know just how old your computer is until you play around with a new one.

That happened to me during a trip to the outdoor Fashion Valley shopping mall.  My wife and I had a few free moments away from the CSTA Conference to take a tour and took in the sights.  One of the first computer stores that we saw was the Apple Store.  That’s not a terribly big deal for me; I’ve been into a number of them and always enjoy looking around.  Particularly on times when schools are not in session, the store is a popular destination place for kids and this one was no exception.  As per normal, it was business and poking around in front and then a place at the back for them to have hands-on.  Lots of noise and good activity.

But a little further down the mall, we passed a Microsoft store.  I’d never been in one so I was “allowed” to go in for a quick look around.  The layouts of both stores were pretty similar – business out front and exploration in the back.  I did a couple of things …

At the back – it seemed to be all Minecraft.  The kids were building and chatting and laughing.  It was great to see.

But, I had to choose my allotted time wisely.  I looked and poked at some of the new computers out front.  Just the looks of them made this computer look like a dinosaur.  They’re so light, so thin, and even the i5 models were so fast!  Unlike the Apple store, it wasn’t just Microsoft products.  There were all kinds of manufacturers on display.  I’m sure that there is some sort of marketing plan for the layout and the lighting.  Everything looked so polished and professional.  Unlike going to a generic computer store at home, these weren’t sitting with fingerprints all over them and leave you wondering if they were somehow broken.  All of the Windows computers look like they had just been taken out of their packing.

If only my cheque wouldn’t bounce!

Buying a new computer wouldn’t be a quick thing.  Design, power, and functionality comes in all kinds of shapes, colours, and pricing.  I tried to find something that would compete in the marketplace with the Chromebook but couldn’t.  The pricing and the quality made it pretty clear that they’re in the competitive forum with Apple products.  Buying a new computer would seem to be a longer term investment.

I enjoyed the quick tour; I wish it could have been longer but that was OK.  There will come a time.  Later, we passed the store after it closed so I was able to get a picture without people in the store.  Alfred Thompson was with me (we were walking back from supper) and he made an interesting observation that would be appropriate for a marketing class – the Apple Store clearly is coloured with their two colour brand; the Microsoft Store reaches out and includes many more colours.

In other things Microsoft, I snapped a picture of this banner at the Microsoft booth in our CSTA Conference exhibitor area.  I was quite impressed – usually these banners are colourful but just identify the exhibitor and gives a couple of ideas.

This banner was a full-length infographic devoted to Computer Science.  I like the concept; I hope that other exhibitors were paying attention.