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Thurrott, that is by far the most awakening and interesting article I have ever read!! Wow, I am glad people like you are getting paid to write exciting, motivating articles like you write. Wow, that made my day to read that!! More, please!!
An article about a possible WORLD RELEASE of the iPhone would be so boring...great decision not to cover that!!

May 16, 08 - 10:20 am Comment from: ron

Did your mother-in-law hold your hand The-rott.

May 16, 08 - 10:21 am Comment from: ericdano

He'd ruin the party as soon as he got within 50 feet of it. His death stench of Windows lovingness would kill Mac lovers dead.

As a stockholder, I'm glad the stores are so massively successful, but he's right, lining up for hours for a retail store opening is kind of weird...

It's probably frightening to squirm into the light and out of Gates' rectum.

May 16, 08 - 10:25 am Comment from: oh no my shorts

> Hey, Paul, looks like macitpro.com is still available.

Not any more.

@ericdano

Death Stench?

That's kind of catchy. . . . Do you mind if I use that?

May 16, 08 - 10:32 am Comment from: CYxodus

Windows users just don't understand why someone would be passionate about their computer and its OS.

This man is a wet wod of snot on the sidewalk of life. Soon he will dry up and fade away. Go Apple!

@wish i was here

absolutely agree and though i can't believe what i say: thurrott is right on this one. (for the first time though)

May 16, 08 - 10:41 am Comment from: Mr. Peabody

Thorrott says, "... I have this vague notion that waiting in line for a retail store to open for the first time is one of many small steps down the road to the collapse of Western civilization,..."

You mean kind of like the first Macys and Sears stores - and how our civilization collapsed because of that? Get over your bad Windows self.

May 16, 08 - 10:41 am Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Windows users don't get Mac users' MacPassion™, because loving Windows is the equivalent of loving a shovel.

I don't get the standing in line thing, either. I hate standing in line for ANYthing. Stand in line to go into a store? Apple Store or not, NO thanks. I value my time a little more than that.

Anyone else likes this new apple video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kxDxLAjkO8

May 16, 08 - 10:42 am Comment from: Harvey

Well, maybe it's weird that people would stand in line for the opening of a retail store. However the weirdness is a red herring.

Retailers and manufacturers would do well to ask themselves, "How does Apple manage to do this over and over again?" And when they figure out the answer, they should go and do likewise. Microsoft especially should take this as a cue for introspection: people stood in line at MIDNIGHT to get Windows 95 (I was one of them.) They need to figure out what they did then that they don't do now.

Imagine if all businesses had the quality and service that Apple has.

May 16, 08 - 10:45 am Comment from: Famous Grouse

Look who's talking. Windows IT Pro == Collapse of Western Civilization

May 16, 08 - 10:47 am Comment from: Buster

The real reason?...He doesn't go because if people in line found out who he was, he'd get the snot kicked out of him.

Besides, if you write tech articles, then part of that is the cachet of interviewing, or at least trying to understand what it is that makes Mac users wait in line.

Waiting in line is the downfall of civilization? What a load of rotting turds, or TurdRot in this case.

Actually I'm just sick and tired of the "Cult Mentality" surrounding Apple

As lifelong Apple user, I think it's time for Apple to dump the "cult" and just sell computers, they obviously have a superior product, it's that they fscking ALIENATE nearly everyone who inquires about switching.

I'm not joking, the "CULT" is killing Apple from taking over any further than they already have.

That and not paying their salespeople worth a dam.

I applied and was accepted for a Apple Store position. UNTIL I HEARD HOW MUCH THEY WERE PAYING!!!

Love the machines though. Grow up Apple please!

May 16, 08 - 10:51 am Comment from: jtc

this compares to nothing like when the sony PS3 was being released... though no one ever did say gamers had much intelligence to them.

@ Harvey

I think you put it well. Yeah, it's very weird that people wait in line for a store to open. But there's a reason people do it! And all retail stores should strive to have people lining up for an opening.

So while I would never do it, I aplaud Apple for making something that gets people so excited. That said, someone who is so excited to see an Apple store that they'll wait in line for an opening might have some issues...

sounds like Thurrott is jealous, and a bit worried that the mac is getting closer and closer to him.

it's sounds almost like an article from a worried christian, about that new mosque around the corner

"... I have this vague notion that waiting in line for a retail store to open for the first time is one of many small steps down the road to the collapse of Western civilization,..."

Waiting in line for a store to open will lead to the collapse of Western civilization? How far do you have to go to rationalize your irrational hatred of Apple. Now they're destroying Western Civilization. Un. Be. Lievable.

May 16, 08 - 10:56 am Comment from: ElderNorm

I checked out the article. I once thought that Thurrott and Enderle and others were just making a MS buck and surviving. You know, making fun of Apple users cause the money was in the masses of PC users.

Now that I read the article, I really have to wonder. Are these people so stupid that they just do not want to see the world as it really is??? Why is standing in line for an Apple event bad but standing in line for a Microsoft funded event some how really good??? Its sad really. Religion is one place where pure faith works. But when its for computer companies, especially ones that do not care for the customer, then its just sorry. Sorry. :-(

en

Just a thought.

If so, they will get what they deserve as the MS world slowly crashes.

@ Manny

that's not an Apple vidéo, it's just some guy who did that in his free time.

brilliant stuff by the way !

May 16, 08 - 10:59 am Comment from: Zune Tang®

Stick to your guns, Paul. You and I both know better than to follow the MAC herd off the cliff. Besides, who can stand waiting in line with smug and pretentious MAC elite who have no idea what it's like in the IT trenches. If I were clueless about technology and wanted to make small talk about the latest artsy fartsy emo band or photo exhibit around the corner I'd go to a Crapple Store opening.

Paul, we'll have our day in the sun at the soon to be opened Microsoft Store. Meet me in the Zune Squirt Zone when you're done talking with the knowledgeable staff about Outlook updates at the Service Pack Bar. I can't wait.

Your potential. Our passion.™

May 16, 08 - 10:59 am Comment from: 7over

Another one bites the dust... (the 'cult' is growing!)

A long time windows using friend of mine purchased a macbook for his son a few days ago.
He said that he's simply amazed at how fun it is to use a computer that 'just works'. He said that as a windows user, he could never understand why 'other people' were so turned on by the Mac. Now, he says, it's like he's come out of the darkness and in to the light, into a new reality that he could not have dreamed was there.

He could not stop talking about how much he was really enjoying using a Mac and his whole family is now letting the dust collect on their three windows machines because using the Mac is just so much easier and more enjoyable than their "windows junk".

He went on and on so enthusiastically about how great the Mac was that the other guy in the meeting said "Wow! I didn't realize... Sounds like I need to get a Mac!"

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

May 16, 08 - 11:01 am Comment from: Demon

Apple Knows that the long lines at openings is one of the things that drives the increasing awareness of Macs. I've been to a few Apple Store grand openings, and evening release of MacOSX.x events and will say that everyone who sees the line and questions us in line it's always the same. So why you in line? Are they giving stuff away? How can I join the club? I thought every computer had to run Windows, There's no software for Macs. Why would all of be standing in line when there is no software?
We chat them up dispel the Windows FUD and most will visit the Apple Store, most of the ones that do, end up buying a Mac within a month and for the others well they end up buying a Mac too, it just takes them long.

@Zune Tang
Microsoft stores, this is an oxymoron. But, I digress. How much does Microsoft charge to add points to your Live account at this Kiosk? Are the points sold a la carte or do they only come in bundles or groups? Are there different classes of MS Points (White, Black, Red, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond)?

May 16, 08 - 11:04 am Comment from: HMCIV

I gotta give Paul credit [THIS TIME] for one thing. Name one other retail store that get's this kinda attention on opening day. Can anyone explain WHY the throngs are there??? It's just a store folks. The iPhone2 isn't here yet.

He is right about the online fanboys.

You can't just copy what Apple does and make it work. You have to have a 10 year long-term plan and a diverse and continuously evolving product line to match. You have to unpredictably intrigue with a slight touch of arrogance, but your products have to live up to the hype you create in order to get people to return later. It isn't an easy thing to do, and that is where Jobs vision rules. Don't forget, you don't always win a la the Cube. As silly as it sounds, watch American Idol on their last episode next week and you'll see an example of well thought unpredictability that makes and keeps you number 1. Apple's redefining how marketing is being taught in universities.

Duh! Apple emails the people living in the area of a new store opening and offers a 10% across the store discount

That's why people wait in line.

I know I did it and got my 10% discount.

Sure I saved HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS.

Ask the people in the lines, they will tell you. Most will anyway. Some hide the fact because they are buying bulk for ebay resale.

Dirty little Apple Store trick revealed.

It is hard to believe that a man that writes for window will not take time to see what the competition is doing may not the first day but soon.

@Mad Mac Maniac

Sorry, not buyin' it. This myth that potential switchers to the Mac platform are turned off by Apple "cultists" is a fantasy - one made up by PC fan boys pretending to be Mac loyalists.

In the real world (that's the place outside of your mother's basement) there just aren't little armies of Jobbists running around in black mock turtle necks and jeans. Most people see main stream advertising in magazines and TV - not the supposed zombie cultists you claim are ruining computer culture. The stores are a hit because they fill a market demand, something people want. And because Apple is cool. Dell? Not so much.

May 16, 08 - 11:13 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

Un-EASY..?

Paul, you should be shitting kittens.

Standing in line at an Apple opening just sort of comes natural. I'm sure Apple was surprised by the phenomenon. They simple advertised the opening of the first store.
I was visiting a friend in an affluent Washington suburb, and he mentioned the opening and asked if I wanted to see what the store was like.
We drove over there, and there were about twenty enthusiastic people in line already. Now I was a total newbie to computers, but had an early iMac. My friend is in publishing, and his house is almost all Mac.
It was pleasant being in the company of geeks and Apple enthusiasts. Everyone knew why we were there, . . . because this was Apple.

May 16, 08 - 11:15 am Comment from: KingMel

"...but not overly aggressive like the fanboys you run into online,"

Obviously this man has not encountered ChrissyOne. She would carve him up.

"Still, I have this vague notion that waiting in line for a retail store to open for the first time is one of many small steps down the road to the collapse of Western civilization..."

Actually, shoddy journalism is a much larger step towards the collapse of free societies. Standing in line for a retail store is not necessarily crazy, just a bit odd. But, in my book, thronging a celebrity or sports star is far more bizarre.

May 16, 08 - 11:16 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

I have to say I've never had quite the pleasant experience standing in line for anything as when I have done so in front of Apple stores. The iPhone launch and the Panther release, in particular, I met hundreds of nice people from all walks of life.

That's weird? Okay, well then I guess I don't want to be Normal.

But then, you knew that.

May 16, 08 - 11:19 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ KingMel



I'm actually quite nice in person. I tend to give people back what they put out to me, which is why I eviscerate trolls with aplomb. But in person, troll don't have the guts they do behind the glass of anonymity.

I just love the take on this one.

May 16, 08 - 11:25 am Comment from: Harvey

I didn't know about the 10% discount. Now it's not so weird after all. If I were planning to buy a 17" MacBook Pro, and Apple offered to pay me $300 to do it, I might stand in line for it.

Some of us are there to check out the new digs, have a chance to talk shop with like-minded MacHeads (not unlike a Music Store), scam a free T-Shirt and maybe luck into a special sale price. It's not a cult.
P.S. sometimes it's a celebration that we don't have to go to a lame Big-Box retailer staffed by morons that spread FUD, disinformation and might actually know something about the computer we are spending our money on.

May 16, 08 - 11:28 am Comment from: shen

"I tend to give people back what they put out to me"

i always used to feel bad when i let an @$$hat have it, until i realized i did the same, and reflected at people.

....now i love it!

"As lifelong Apple user, I think it's time for Apple to dump the "cult" and just sell computers, they obviously have a superior product, it's that they fscking ALIENATE nearly everyone who inquires about switching.

I'm not joking, the "CULT" is killing Apple from taking over any further than they already have."

A. There is no cult.

B. If there was or is a "cult," it's tiny and certainly not big enough to negatively impact Apple sales in any significant way.

C. Yeah, Apple has been doing so lousy the last several years, they should change everything they're doing. Grow up!

Sorry, not buyin' it. This myth that potential switchers to the Mac platform are turned off by Apple "cultists" is a fantasy - one made up by PC fan boys pretending to be Mac loyalists.

Not, I'm stating the fact from being a Mac "loyalist" since 128k Mac's first appeared.

To PC users, a computer is just a machine. To Mac users, it's a GOD and the cultists act like brainwashed religious idiots in the eyes of PC users.

In the real world (that's the place outside of your mother's basement) there just aren't little armies of Jobbists running around in black mock turtle necks and jeans. Most people see main stream advertising in magazines and TV - not the supposed zombie cultists you claim are ruining computer culture. The stores are a hit because they fill a market demand, something people want. And because Apple is cool. Dell? Not so much.

In the REAL WORLD, there ARE Mac cultists running around and pushing their "smugness and superiority" on others. If they were wearing a turtleneck and blue jeans they would be easier to spot!

The Apple Stores are a hit is because Apple doesn't provide enough of them to meet demand, and then when one does open in a area, it's a media spectacle from a 10% discount emailed to the local mac population beforehand.

Dell has some nice machines, but the OS sucks ass. For instance, find me a Apple monitor that does all the things a Dell monitor does. Why do so many "Mac" users use Dell monitors?


Apple is a cult. Plain and simple.

I'm tired of it. When I meet another Mac user in public, I just shun them.

Others think I'm a cultist too, but I state these Mac's are 1000% more secure than Windows and run better than Dells, the only reason I use them.

Spare me the cult SHIT please. Apple will die when Steve does.

May 16, 08 - 11:33 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

It's hard for many Windows users to comprehend any sort of feeling of community or camaraderie seeing as their lives are so devoid of love or color or fun.

But I'd rather light a candle than curse your darkness.

Thurrott trashes M$ (same link as above):

Unintentional Hilarity: Innovation Should be Formal Process, Microsoft Exec Says

And really, who knows more about innovation than Microsoft? Joe Boggio, the director of innovation management solutions for Microsoft, was in Kansas this week to speak at the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Innovation Conference, where he said that innovation, like accounting or human resources, should be a structured business practice. "Today, most people don't know where [innovation] fits in the organization or how to participate in it," he said, suggesting that companies create a job post called Chief Innovation Officer. Or... you could just stop copying what other companies are doing, stop milking your decades-old core businesses, and actually figure out what people want. Just a thought.

Jake: Wow! Is Thurrott actually evolving into a sane human being? Now, there's your proof for "macro" evolution!

OH YEA I FORGOT!!

Look at the GODAWEFUL GLARE on this Mac, a "superior machine".

http://www.engadget.com/gallery/apples-new-imac-and-keyboard-first-hands-on/343533/

STUPID!!! Ruining the yes of millions with eyestrain!!!

"Apple emails the people living in the area of a new store opening and offers a 10% across the store discount"

Sounds like smart marketing to me.

"Paul, you should be shitting kittens."

FINALLY, a practical reason for YouTube to exist.

May 16, 08 - 11:43 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ Jake

And therein lies the fatal flaw in Microsoft's entire business structure. The idea that creativity can be forced.

See what happens?

May 16, 08 - 11:51 am Comment from: Woody

Way to go, "oh no my shorts". LOL. I can't believe that macitpro.com hadn't already been taken. Better hang on to it.

Paul see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's not being producted by anything M$$$$... which is anything but good for his billfold!

Wonder how paul feels out there in the cold?

For those who have not seen it, here's a hilarious parody from The Onion...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/thousands_wait_overnight_at