Very interesting read on AAPL's start into retail: http://lowendmac.com/orchard/08th/roots-of-the-apple-store.html Even if no one actually buys from the store, it is a place for people to touch and feel the products. This is especially effective for a brand that sells "it just works" devices like the ipod.

coming from the business side of things, i don't think that tech workers are necessarily "looked down upon, because people only ever come to us when things go badly and most of us literally "sit on our asses", which they dont see as working. so we're seen as lazy and bad at what we do". i think that people just naturally concentrate on whatever is important to them. for the sales guy whose blackberry doesn't work, the technology is simply a tool that allows him to access is salesforce automation client or email. for the IT guy whose job it is to administer the email server and blackberry, the sales guy is simply the guy who is using the blackberry.
people concentrate on their own problems not necessarily because they are assholes and egocentric, but because that's how a company functions. if the sales guy were to say to himself "oh having that data on my blackberry is too hard to do, let's not even bother" then he might miss a sale. if the IT guy were to say "oh the sales guy really needs XYZ, i'm going to compromise the network", then the network might fail. some level of the animosity that the original poster is talking about is i think in some ways necessary in order to have each department focused on doing its job properly. ideally the key to getting through the animosity would be some manager who can see both sides who could weigh the pros and cons of implementing XYZ and figure out what is in the best interest of the company as a whole.