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To glimpse Windows' future, get thee to a Microsoft store

The Microsoft store provides a bright snapshot of where Windows is headed. And it's by far the best place to get some positive feedback on Windows 8 devices.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers

Getting to a Microsoft store isn't easy. That's a problem.

It's a problem because in the wake of the Windows 8 release late last month, the best selection of the coolest devices is at a Microsoft store. Throw in solid ambiance too.

Best Buy? I don't think so. Though my local Best Buy in Los Angeles has a few interesting Windows 8 PCs, like the Lenovo Yoga convertible, it's mostly business as usual.

Same old big box chaos with clam shells that look pretty much like the clam shells that were there last year.

And customers? Microsoft store customers actually seem to be interested in what they're buying, if not obsessing a little. Check out the photo below.

Customers obsessing over devices with lots of staff. Hmm... just like that other boutique store that sells laptops, tablets, and phones.
Customers obsessing over devices with lots of staff. Hmm... just like that other boutique store that sells laptops, tablets, and phones. Brooke Crothers

OK, so that photo was taken on the day of the Microsoft Surface launch, but I've been back a few times since and the store is, if not packed, certainly bustling.

So, again, here's the problem as I see it. How do you spread that kind of enthusiasm across the rest of America? Last I counted, there were only a few dozen Microsoft stores.

My advice: hurry up and build more. There are lots of cool Windows 8 tablets, hybrids, and touch-screen laptops out there, and the more top-notch venues to demonstrate this, the better.

The Acer Aspire S7 is one of the most impressive touch-screen laptops you'll find at a Microsoft store.
The Acer Aspire S7 is one of the most impressive touch-screen laptops you'll find at a Microsoft store. Brooke Crothers