I dropped into the Microsoft Store at a mall in suburban Chicago yesterday, which of course, looks and feels vaguely like an Apple Store. A key difference, which could have been a one-time-visit fluke, was that a sales rep kept asking me questions after I said I was just looking.
As in, "Are you looking for business or personal use?"
Neither. I just want to fold this laptop back and forth like on the commercial. And I'm kinda curious about the Microsoft Store.
Speaking of plastic replicates, Microsoft Stores across the country are demoing the Makerbot Replicator 2 3D printer. At the Woodfield Mall store, the machine sits inside a transparent case, where you can see it working, spitting out little plastic sharks. You can also handle the little sharks and a wrench and other products of the Makerbot.
With a sticker price of around $2,200, many, many more people will be trying to figure out what these machines are than will be buying them at the Microsoft Store. That's a big deal, though. Introducing 3D printing to consumers as something that really exists and can be seen and bought at the mall is a step on the road toward 3D printing being the disruptive communication technology that it can be.
And, hey, it also makes the Microsoft Store a place with something cool to check out.
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