To eBay’s CEO John Donahoe, employee loyalty means actually using your employer’s products. “You should be using our products and using PayPal products wherever you see them.” Should or can companies demand employees not to use their competitors’ products or shop at competing retailers?

A recent article for Bloomberg Businessweek entitled “The Case against Digital Sprawl,” argues that companies need to get ahead of the extreme data density being driven by what the author called “an Internet of data-savvy and data-spewing objects.” What should retailers and brands do to get ahead of any concerns and backlash over the potential marketing use of Big Data?

According to the headlines, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is betting the tech giant’s future on Windows 8. A Wall Street Journal report makes clear that Microsoft is playing a more active role than ever before in the retail merchandising of the operating software. Do you agree or disagree with the notion that somehow Microsoft has bet the farm on Windows 8?

Talk about finding new ways to Kinect with consumers. As initially reported by GeekWire, in 2010 Microsoft filed a patent application for a technology that would deliver ads based on the mood and body language of individual viewers. Will consumers welcome or be horrified at the thought of technology like this?

A recent speech given by a Microsoft executive has the blogosphere abuzz with speculation on whether Microsoft will brand Windows on just about everything it does or eliminate the brand altogether. What do you see as the pros and cons of Microsoft keeping or dumping the Windows brand in its single ecosystem future?

A RetailWire piece back in October looked at Microsoft’s plan to open its retail stores as close to Apple as possible, even if that meant being right across the hall. A number of people chiming in on the strategy saw it as a me-too path to failure. What are Microsoft’s biggest challenges with regard to its retail store business and what are your solutions?

Gesture- and facial-recognition technologies, so far developed for security purposes and more recently for video gaming, are finding traction in the advertising world. What do you think of the potential for gesture or facial recognition technologies for marketing or retail selling purposes?

The Location Based Marketing Summit held recently in New York blended strategic and tactical insights about location-based marketing techniques. What does the future hold for location-based marketing?

Whether it’s a good or bad idea will soon be put to the test at the Mall of America as Microsoft opens a store directly across from Apple. One big difference — Microsoft will be operating in a space roughly twice that of the Apple location. Does Microsoft have the right products and approach to succeed in retailing?

Much like Tupperware parties of yore, brands are recruiting consumers to host house parties. The more relaxed, informal settings are proving to be a better way to introduce consumers to brands. What are the advantages and disadvantages of house parties for brands as a marketing tool?

Hopes were high when Microsoft introduced the Zune in 2006. But the concept never took off; Zune adoption was limited, while Apple’s iPod line continued to dominate the media player space. Is there anything Microsoft can do to compete better in the media player category?

Jay Harris, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Charles Komar & Sons, recently wrapped a children’s book from 1959, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and “pizza stress” parties into a lesson on the challenges of technology implementation. What are some of the best strategies to get employees to embrace new technologies?

A report on the Seeking Alpha website said Microsoft plans to pay consumers cash to use its Bing search engine to make purchases online rather than Google, Yahoo or others. Will this result in greater share of the search market for Microsoft?

Microsoft is going head-to-head with Apple yet again. In high-end malls across America, Microsoft plans to not only open stores in close proximity to its rival, but in some cases right beside them. What do you think of Microsoft’s strategy for opening its new stores?

The Microsoft Retail Experience Center near the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington is a faux electronics store, replete with big-screen TVs, laptops, Xbox games and boxed software. But beneath the surface, the emphasis on connectedness bubbles up in some unique and new ways. What do you think of Microsoft’s push into retail technology?

Borrowing a page from Apple’s playbook, Microsoft plans to open Microsoft-branded retail stores. Although details were limited, Microsoft said the stores’ purpose will be to “create deeper engagement with consumers and continue to learn firsthand about what they want and how they buy.” What do you think of Microsoft’s move into retailing?

Building on the early successes retailers are experiencing with short codes and other mobile marketing, a new technology platform being ushered in by Microsoft could dramatically change the game. Debuting at NRF this week, the Microsoft Tag is positioned as a “leap” in mobile barcode technology. What do you think about the Microsoft Tag?

Theories abound that economic downturns are conversely ripe times for entrepreneurs, partly because so many venerable companies are born during tough times. The reasons range from having fewer competitors in the marketplace to filling a void for innovation and new ideas in the marketplace. Do you think entrepreneurs gain any advantages during downturns?

Apple has its geniuses. Now, Microsoft has its gurus; a group of customer service representatives the company plans to send to major retailers such as Best Buy (which has its Geeks) to help people make their PC purchases. Do you see gurus providing a Nordstrom-like experience for consumers shopping for PCs?

Microsoft has hired comedian Jerry Seinfeld to star alongside Microsoft chairman Bill Gates as part of a planned $300 million fall advertising campaign. The overall objective is designed to erase Microsoft’s stuffy image and counter the ‘cool quotient’ that Apple has captured with younger consumers. What do you think of the hiring of Jerry Seinfeld as a spokesperson for Microsoft?

In an attempt to undercut Google’s dominance of the search engine world, Microsoft last week announced it was offering cash incentives for people who shop through the company’s search engines, Live.com and MSN.com. If elements of the cash-back plan are adopted more widely, search engine followers predicted the internet’s cost-per-click advertising model could change in fundamental ways. What do you think of Microsoft’s Live Search cash-back program? Do you think cash rebate programs around search engines have the potential to replace the internet’s pay-per-click advertising model?

The New York Times, citing anonymous sources this week, has tried to confirm rumors about Microsoft developing a hand-held multimedia player to rival the iPod. Word has it that the device, which makes use of Microsoft’s own software platform, may be ready for this year’s holiday season. Is Microsoft’s historically successful come-from-behind strategy going to work in the digital music and video download sector, or are they too late on the scene?

Microsoft is hoping to leapfrog a competitor once again. The company, which has made a practice of entering markets such as personal computer operating systems and web browsers after others and then dominating the market, is hoping to repeat its success in the downloadable music arena. What will it take for Microsoft to capture significant market share in the downloadable music business? Are there lessons for it to learn from any of the other competitors that have taken on Apple with little success to date?

Windows users have been put on alert as Microsoft warned that newly discovered flaws leave computers running on the operating system vulnerable to virus and worm attacks similar to the recent Blaster virus. Are the recurring security breaches in Windows beginning to make IT departments seriously consider using alternative operating systems?

The Dallas Morning News reported last week Fossil, a designer and marketer of watches, is introducing a wristwatch targeted to men that not only tells time but will display news headlines, weather and instant messages. The technology used in the watch was developed by Microsoft as part of its Smart Personal Objects (SPOT) program. How will further miniaturization of microchip technology impact consumers’ and businesses’ use of computing and communication devices?

Exhibitors at this year’s Marketechnics show think that many retailers are due for a technology overhaul.Will there be a marked increase in technology investments made by retailers in the year ahead? Where do you expect to see retailers putting their technology investment dollars?

Microsoft has announced that it will begin to comply with an antitrust settlement by making public what was, up till now, proprietary computer code for its Windows operating system. How significant is this latest move by Microsoft?

Microsoft Corp. answered Sony Corp’s markdown of its PlayStation 2 video-game machine to $199 by slashing the price of its Xbox by 33 percent in the U.S. Will the current price war permanently depress unit pricing of gaming console products such as Playstation 2 and Xbox?

Attorneys for Microsoft told U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly that eight of the 17 witnesses remaining on its list would not take the stand, including four Microsoft executives. What should be the final resolution of the Microsoft anti-trust case?