"Microsoft to open cafe" to promote Windows 7

Microsoft is doing everything under the sun for branding its new windows 7

Its a good sign. Though they have monopoly in the market, yet they have come up with innovative strategies for customers to look at them time and again.

Kudos to Microsoft...

a good marketing strategy to build confidence and trust in MS products. it would definitely increase the awareness among the masses and prospective users.

I think this would be a great initiative from MS since they can pull the direct customers to these cafes and demonstrate the products instead of de facto method of product launch and marketing and even more important to gather the real HUMAN feedback upon their new products.

One more thing that would be interesting is MS can deploy their much touted "Surface Technology"-touch interfaces in these cafes and create an entirely different experience for the customers which would also help to sell.

I am not sure whether MS will not sell their products through these outlets since such things can be the "after release" strategy.

I say yes, they are forcing the people, but by making aware of the product to turn them to be a customer.

They are here to promote the product, not just blindly, but making aware of the product and explain the public how far it suits them. 

There are people who turn on by media hype, but not many though. 

When you are on window shopping and when you see a product which absolutely suits your needs, wont you go for it ?

I would like to say yes, and microsoft is surely thinking out of the box here and this cafe is a complete different from the normal ones, this for the tech kind of people who are always on look out for new things in technology, and this Microsoft cafe is a good strategy to promote their new product Windows 7, and not only windows 7 is getting promoted in a way they are promoting other Microsoft products to the conusmer. A great way to remind people regarding their portfolio of products under one roof which is there for public.

Yes, I do agree. By both of the ways mentioned, Microsoft can easily make its product reach the customer world and every individual will come to know about the product and of course, it will increase curiosity among people.

Always super markets attracts people than normal shops. 

I guess this is what is called out of the box thinking according to me, first the Amway style of marketing and now this Cafe, in a way they are touching more number of people with their product and its details before its launch and are creating good curiosity among the consumers, with fierce battle with other competitors in this category, Microsoft is doing everything before Oct 22(Windows 7 launch date). So works fine for me, and the retail format which will be coming out later from Microsoft is a new way of marketing its product.