TechFlash’s Todd Bishop regarding Microsoft’s new retail stores:

People visiting Microsoft’s new store in Scottsdale, Ariz., have started noticing something interesting, apart from its shameless similarities to Apple’s retail outlets. The computers on display in the Microsoft Store come without any run-of-the-mill “crapware” — the derisive term used for generic trial software and other unwanted programs that commonly clog new PCs when they’re shipped by computer makers.

I think Microsoft’s retail strategy will be a complete failure but this is the smartest part of the whole endeavor.