Microsoft unveils online store for the United States

One of the things Apple has on Microsoft (among many) is that they have a fully functional online store available in many countries around the world. Not until recently, Microsoft only had online stores set up in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Korea. However, they unveiled a website for the United States, which sells many Microsoft products such as Office 2007, games, Xbox 360 components, and Zune products.

Microsoft essentially has two ways of getting the products you requested to you. The first way is the traditional shipment delivery method. Basically, after you order something, it will be shipped to your within however much time it specifies. The other way, which is more modern, to get what you purchased to you is via download.

Microsoft calls this ESD or Electronic Software Distribution. The advantage to this is that as soon as you purchase something (for example purposes let’s say you purchase something from the Microsoft Office suite) you will be able to download it right away and then proceed to install. One of the drawbacks to this is that since it doesn’t come on a physical CD, it could potentially be stuck on the computer you downloaded from. Microsoft offers a simple solution to this, you can always re-download said product as long as there is mainstream support for it. Mainstream support for products varies, but it is safe to say they typically last for 5 years after it is available.

It’s about time Microsoft made a site for the United States, let’s hope they are successful in selling their products. If you purchase something from their online store, let us know how it goes in the comments.

Online Store [Microsoft] Read [Trevin Chow]