Digital Trends – Try to imagine you are Microsoftâs CEO, Steve Ballmer. Youâre weary of Appleâs perennial coolness, and of the fact that Mac sales have been growing at a startling clip. Your company basically invented the tablet 10 years ago, but didnât have the chutzpah to take it mainstream, and now Apple has built the most valuable company in the world on the popularity of mobile devices. Youâre still essentially minting money, Windows 8 is just over the horizon, but a voice in the back of your head is nagging that something needs to change. Found in this position, you might direct all your companyâs resources toward innovation, to creating fascinating new products the world canât live without. Or, you could just start building Microsoft retail stores directly across the mall from Apple Stores. As Ballmer told Business Week recently, âWell, the traffic is going to be there, and weâve got to beat them anyway.â