Microsoft diversifies, plans Parisian coffee shop…

We’re beginning to warm to Microsoft’s Windows 7 marketing schema – it’s a gift that just keeps on giving, though unfortunately, unlike the XP-Vista-Win7 transition, in marketing there’s no V.2.0 upgrade. And this one’s a doozy…

Take your mind to the streets of Paris: the food, the art, the music from the rooftops, the mix of languages, the landmarks, Crazy Horse Club, Moulin Rouge, the culture and the cafes…Ask yourself, what’s a struggling software giant going to do to get tuned into the Parisian zeitgeist? Read on to find out…

Sure, we know they plan some parties; we know they’re poaching Apple staff to talk knowledgeably about the need to buy an Internet Security package with every PC; we know they plan to open their own chain of Microsoft shops…now it seems, Microsoft’s making an early stage move to diversify its business (and take on another Seattle native, Starbucks), opening its own coffee shop in Paris. Zut alors!

Techcrunch has images of the new coffee shop, situated in the city’s busy heart at 47 Boulevard Sebastopol. There tourists rub shoulders with French natives, exchange a few colloquialisms, chatter idly as they enjoy life in the clutch of cafes there.

Microsoft’s “Windows Cafe” will only be open for a few weeks starting October 22. Inside, you’ll be able to buy snacks and drinks and play on a few Microsoft products, including an Xbox – though you won’t be able to buy any Microsoft stuff. You can already sit on the street outside and enjoy free WiFi access.

We kind of wonder what the coffee will be like, it being Paris and all. Has Microsoft poached some hapless Starbucks employees to serve that hot beverage from an astonishingly confusing list of variations on the theme? Will there be a Microsoft Guru there to deal with the sundry PC systems as they fall over and require rebooting?

We know WIndows 7 is the OS Microsoft hoped Vista would be, but we’re far more curious to read user reviews of the coffee. Will that too need virus protection with every purchase??