Microsoft might be beating Google at retail. No, really. [Washington Post]

At my local mall, what Microsoft has probably learned about what people want is that they want Apple products rather than Microsoft products

"Microsoft declined to break out sales revenue generated by the stores, but it's at least been significant enough to justify the company's commitment; it opened 51 new stores in 2012 and is looking for more. Even if people don't walk out with computers, executives explain that the stores are more about revivifying a brand that's become more identified over the years with corporate enterprise software than objects of consumer adoration. And it also helps to learn what the consumer wants.
"The biggest single thing we've learned from the stores is it's helping us to transition from thinking about our customers to thinking like our customers," Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said in 2011."

Microsoft might be beating Google at retail. No, really