This is very interesting. If more than 50% of mac purchases were made by Windows users in the Mac Stores, Best Buy might do better this time around. The Apple brand is much more known and it will be easier to sell to non Mac people who are used to shopping at Best Buy.

This is going to be really good for apple.
I can't wait til the day they have more than half the market share, which would be crazy.

Are they going to put them in Best Buys and/or Circuit Cities near Apple Stores? I sure as hell hope not!! I don't think that they will ever be able to provide the customers the expertise that you get from the Apple Store.

As far as the motivation is concerned, unless Apple gives the salespeople superior bribes (oops, did I say that out loud?!, I mean incentives), the Macs will languish on the shelves like they did last time around.

I have my doubts about this, unless its restricted to areas that have absolutely NO Apple Stores within say 25 miles or any other Mac dealers of note.

BestBuy and Circuit City employees tend to be underpaid, undermotivated pimply-faced teenagers/college students who don't know much about computers, period, and what they do know tends to run along the lines of, "Well I heard that PCs are better, and its got more games, so you don't want a Mac dude."

It's just not a great user experience. Maybe if the nearest Apple Store regularly sent out employees to CC and BB to help train the McKids on Macs, it might be okay?

.

You don't even need to offer money. Give the sales people a MacBook to keep (so they can play with and and learn about the machine) or offer iPods as a reward for good sales. Example, every 25 Macs sold you get your choice of a 4 Gig Nano.

"Oh, you wanted an eMachine? Have you thought about one of these Macs over here?"

Too bad Best Buy 12% off coupons won't apply... stingy stingy.

I am a little concerned about how this will chop up the money between Apple stores, Best Buys, and smaller "mom'n'pop" computer stores. Around where I live theres a small place called The Computer Lab and a little bit farther theres a Best Buy and then if I'm willing to go accross the entire state or go into RI then I can visit an Apple store. Frankly I prefer The Computer Lab just because of how well they know me there. But is there the possibility of them being pushed out of the way for Best Buy to grow even more?

Best Buy is unlikely to be an effective Mac vendor for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they don't currently sell Mac software!!

If you've been to CompUSA, you know what a problem this is - they have multiple aisles of PC software and PS2/XBox/GC games, but a pathetically small Mac software shelf hidden behind the tiny Mac section.

Unless Apple can convince Best Buy to stock a decent quantity of Mac software, it will appear that "there is no software available for the Mac."

Of course, Apple could also include CrossOver or some other Windows compatibility layer, but that is unlikely to produce a satisfactory user experience.

(Come to think of it, even Apple stores themselves seem to be gutting their Mac software sections and replacing them with aisles of iPod junk, but that's another problem...)

The weak link in this strategy is the minimum wage, "this one's popular," airhead who is operating at full capacity when pointing you toward the printer isle. Instead of discussing any options with me, the representatives I have met at BestBuy seem to prefer talking with other representatives at BestBuy. When roused from these conversations, they switch to conservation: they say and do whatever takes the least energy. With such reassuring phrases as "I think they're over there..." Even if properly trained, indoctrinated, and incentivized... something tells me the employees I've met at BestBuy simply could not discuss the Mac intelligently, and would fallback on decades-old, untrue generalizations.

On the other hand, lack of genius probably wouldn't stop the determined Mac buyer. If a wave of Mac popularity sweeps the nation... Who knows, maybe the increased availability will help Apple.