@talkingstove: Right? I was thinking the same thing. How is this different than before?

@KLanD: In all fairness, it's still not touch screen. You still have to use a keyboard, mouse, or trackpad.

I see the App store being a plus for companies like Adobe that tend to have a lot of their software pirated.

@mths: This video looks like Martin Scorsese directed it compared to the Ballmer video. In all fairness, I didn't realize MS had so many advertisements.

@Tech-Shizzle: I personally wish people would stop saying ,"For the love of god..."

@Zoroaster: Once again, you are assuming that the kid is only doing 1 thing. Putting a puzzle piece together and moving a virtual object on a screen from one place to the other both deal with developing a child's understanding of spatial relationships. They are just at different levels.

@irishfighter: Me too. It was a little strange, but I thought it did what it was supposed to do - get people talking.

@Zoroaster: Once again, you are assuming that the kid is only doing 1 thing. Putting a puzzle piece together and moving a virtual object on a screen from one place to the other both deal with developing a child's understanding of spatial relationships. They are just at different levels.

@Zoroaster: I would just say that if any parent just dropped their kid in front of a TV or an iPad would be lame, particularly if there is no supplemental material.

Not sure how this could be bad for a kid, I guess we should leave that to the experts.

@MazdaMania: RIM is a Canadian company. Buying anything else would be considered treason, punishable by death in Quebec.

@yipcanjo: Sort of comes with being a control freak. However, I would say most companies would rather go at it alone, but most either can't afford it or don't want to take full risk. So, like you said, Apple is hugely successful because they do it by themselves, but the risk is only theirs, too. They don't have to…

@Shawn Roy: Having one more to pick from doesn't hurt. It's funny how people that sing praises about Android or WP7 are all about choice of phones - "Look at all these great Android phones I can choose from!", "Ah! Finally Windows is coming out with a new smart phone os.", "The more the merrier!" ,"More phones = more…

@LVL32: That was my first thought. I hope they update iChat. Compared to Skype, it is a steaming pile.

@planetarian: Well, they could certainly encourage developers to create a 'lite' version or allow in-app unlocking.

@FauxReal: Who decides which app is 'useful'? I suppose that person would be you or a committee of like minded people like you.

@planetarian: A store full of crap is inevitable for all app stores. However, I disagree about the 100 apps being a 'win'. The number of developers participating in an app store means I have more choice when it comes to picking software. I'm not stuck with 1 weather program or 1 version of sudoku.

KIN3???

I think Matt Lauer's face during Ballmer's demo on the Today Show says it all (he looked confused). On a gadget site it may look impressive to some, but in the consumer world, it's just more noise in the overpopulated cell phone market. Good Luck MS.

@Donuthead: I'm using iPhone 4. I work in a space that requires my phone to constantly search for service. Off the charger, I can run from 7 a.m. to 11:00 without a need to charge unless I go crazy with the games or video.