So one of today's big news items (aside from Steve Jobs and iLiver taking the stage in San Francisco to roll out the latest Apple toys) revolves around the leaked Best Buy slides created by Microsoft, the ones supposedly intended to educate the box store's associates on why Windows 7-equipped machines are a better deal than devices -- particularly "netbooks" -- equipped with Linux.

I asked Microsoft whether the Linux slides were real, and a spokesperson confirmed that they were. That spokesperson also had this to add: "Microsoft works with its partners to help them prepare to sell our products in a competitive marketplace. This deck, which is just one of many reference materials we provide our retail partners, was specifically developed to show sales professionals the important differences between Linux computers and Windows computers, so they are well equipped to help customers purchase a PC that gives them the experience they expect."

Such news, it goes without saying, is liable to send the blogosphere shrieking like a gaggle of tween girls at a Jonas Brothers concert -- especially ever since the slides themselves started appearing on sites like Ars Technica.

Microsoft has not yet confirmed for me whether a similar Best Buy deck, this one matching up Apple products with Windows 7, is also genuine; if it does, then those slides seem to be training Best Buy employees to repeat many of the arguments made over previous months in favor of Windows products over Apple: namely, the supposed inexpensiveness of Windows 7-equipped PCs relative to MacBooks, and the (equally supposed) higher number of programs that will run on Microsoft's platform.

With the Linux slides, Microsoft opens a much broader front, claiming that its open-source competitor is incompatible with games such as World of Warcraft, and capable of running only a paltry number of peripherals.

The counter-argument being made by bloggers and the respective Linux and Apple communities, of course, is that Linux users could use Wine (an emulator) to run Windows programs on their machines, while Apple users needing a Windows 7 application have several options, including dual-boot or running Windows in a virtual machine via a program such as Parallels.

That's almost beside the point. Your average Best Buy customers are looking for whatever PC will take them fastest from Point A (startup) to Point B (Internet, word processing or beating the almighty crud out of worthy foes), and if you tell them they'll need to download Wine or else dual-boot in order to hit that Point, their eyes will likely glaze over. (No insult intended to Best Buy customers, considering I've been one at a number of points over the years.)

Whether or not these slides make false claims -- read the language yourself, and let the parsing and flaming commence -- the fact remains that every company spins its message. Look at Apple's TV spots, which portray Macs as blissfully malware- and-virus-free, even as Apple adds a malware scanner to its "Snow Leopard" OS. To get indignant over a company's rhetorical line is to assume that it's not doing everything in its power to express its best interests.

What is sort of fascinating about these slides is how they suggest Redmond's strategy as it gears up for retail competition this autumn. Despite those early concept slides of the Microsoft Store emulating many details of the Apple Store, it seems -- at least based on the arguments presented in these most recent slides -- that Microsoft will be going for much more of a Best Buy audience, with a focus on lower prices and broad compatibility with the widest range of applications and peripherals. If that's the case, though, what's Microsoft doing giving a playbook to the retail chain that might soon become one of its prime rivals?

The answer is that Microsoft wants to disseminate its newest products through as many channels as possible, especially considering that Windows 7 and its ilk represent the company's main chance to reverse its declining revenues. The problem with that is similar to the one facing Microsoft in its deal with Nokia to port Office apps onto Nokia's Symbian OS, even as it pushes its own Windows Mobile 6.5: Assisting your rivals can quickly lead to cannibalization of your market share in other areas. In other words, when Microsoft helps Best Buy compete against Apple and Linux, it may be shooting itself in the foot with regard to its own retail outlets.