What did Microsoft get for splurging half a billion dollars to hype the Windows Vista release? Apparently, a public reaction that paled in comparison to the heady days of Windows 95 (shudder). Rather than vast heaving lines of eager consumers broken up by occasional gunplay, release-day mobs for Vista (in New York at least) petered out in under an hour. Marketers have several explanations for Vista's lack of curb appeal — media balkanization, short attention spans, that old devil Internet — even though all their excuses don't stop the crowds gathering outside any Apple Store whenever Steve Jobs clears his throat.

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