MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Oct 31, 09 - 09:33 am Comment from: Wandering Joe

Wide eyed cultism is better than closed minded cultism in my books. Even if it is just a soupçon.

Staff at the Brighton store are a great bunch it's Brighton store has seriously dented my bank balance

Oct 31, 09 - 09:53 am Comment from: TheConfuzed1

People line up at Apple stores to spend money.

People line up at Microsoft stores for consolation prizes.

Oct 31, 09 - 09:57 am Comment from: kneugent

I just read the story below this one entitled "Microsoft Retail Stores have to resort to free concert tickets to generate opening day crowds", and noticed these two similar sentences:

Above (regarding Apple Opening):
"...the staff, lined up inside the store on either side of the door, applauded wildly and high-fived the folks in the queue as they streamed into the shop."

And the previous story (regarding MS Opening):
"...workers within the store...danced and lined up to give high-fives to patrons as they streamed through the doors."

Probably coincidental, for if taken at face value they are two quotes from two seperate people located aproximately 5,437 miles from each other. Most likely it is yet another glaring example of the depth to which MS's blatant copycat-ism will shamelessly sink.

Sorry folks...it's Sunday and I'm bored...

Oct 31, 09 - 09:59 am Comment from: chabig

It's absolutely a case of Microsoft copying Apple. Their store are managed by former Apple employees.

Oct 31, 09 - 10:02 am Comment from: kneugent

Oops. I just noticed MDN's take: "Sounds very familiar yet horribly perverted."

Simple and to the point. That's probably why I only do feedback and MDN's not beating down my door with a Staff Writer position...

@kneugent

it's actually saturday

An apple store opening signifies that your city/area has made it. So the "big deal" is that your city is now a city with an apple store city. Having moved to the middle of the country from the east coast, you have no idea how many times I have been asked. "Do you even have an apple store out there?" When I respond that we do, it somehow makes my city okay. Strange, but definitely true.

yo momma

Oct 31, 09 - 10:38 am Comment from: Mister Snitch

"Sorry folks...it's Sunday and I'm bored..."
It shows. And you don't even know what day it is. You really shouldn't be criticizing anyone when it's so obvious your own act stinks.

Oct 31, 09 - 10:38 am Comment from: Zeke

Portland, Oregon, for some strange reason, has 3 Apple stores.

Oct 31, 09 - 10:39 am Comment from: Zeke

@Mister Snitch: My! Didn't WE get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!

kneugent might be from Australia

There certainly seems to be geniune excitement for the opening of an Apple Store. And it doesn't sound like Apple needs to resort to giveaway gimmicks to foster that excitement.

Live in Palo Alto... we have two apple stores!

here's the kicker, ...even before there were apple stores, we had an apple store... for decades... on the cupertino campus. 1 infinity circle.

Oct 31, 09 - 11:27 am Comment from: Cubert

"soupçon"?

Ahhhh....there's nothing like Cmd-Ctrl-D early in the morning!

Oct 31, 09 - 11:27 am Comment from: CYxodus

My area has two Apple stores and Best Buy mini stores. Yeah, the Triangle is the coolest.

Oct 31, 09 - 11:50 am Comment from: Steven Jefferson

Ok, so best this from the land of the turnip eaters and webbed hands and feet!

LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SDPB_1d_L0

Oct 31, 09 - 12:06 pm Comment from: m159

I've been to an Apple Store opening and the enthusiasm is genuine. For al the lines, high-fiving, and colored shirts, though, the actual source of excitement is all those beautiful and powerful Apple products in their own appropriate space.

As much as msft tries to cut-and-paste the identical experience, it isn't them, and can never be. In their commercials, laptop hunters reject the idea of great design in favor of cheap. The contrast of their copy-cat stores with unwanted zunes and other people's pcs only underscores their dishonesty and thievery. As the months wear on, the contrast of derelict msft stores close by crowded and happy Apple Stores, will make them wonder who's bad idea was this anyway.

Oct 31, 09 - 12:13 pm Comment from: Cascadians

Yes and Portland needs another Apple store, in the new shopping center called The Rivers By Oregon City, to be built by the same folks as Bridgeport. Bridgeport is always crowded. 3 is nowhere near enough for Portland and surrounding area.

Oct 31, 09 - 12:15 pm Comment from: db

What's amazing is that when the Fairview store opened here a few weeks ago, it wasn't even publicized. If I hadn't been on the Apple mailing list, I never would have known. And yet, when I got there at about quarter to 9, there were already many hundreds of people lined up.

Despite figuring that it would take at least a half-hour to an hour to be let in, I got in right away because the store is HUGE! It was a little crowded and warm, but buzzing, and the line-ups at the cash were still going 1 hour after the opening. The last time I saw that many people lined up was during the holiday season (i.e. December 23 or 24).

I remember reading that the Microsoft opening didn't seem to have lots of purchases...

@kneugent
"... Probably coincidental, for if taken at face value they are two quotes from two seperate people located aproximately 5,437 miles from each other. Most likely it is yet another glaring example of the depth to which MS's blatant copycat-ism will shamelessly sink."

It wasn't coincidental at all. The ONLY reason the M$ store did the high-5's was to copy AppleStore openings.
M$ can't think of anything for themselves.

Oct 31, 09 - 12:42 pm Comment from: Jubei

Microsoft is an embarrassment to themselves. The blatant copy of the Apple store makes them the laughingstock of the planet.

Oct 31, 09 - 12:54 pm Comment from: Ting

Interesting point to note on the number of Apple Stores there are in the UK relative to population: 21 stores to serve some 56m people equating to an average of 2.67m people per store.

On that basis, we Australia should have about 9 stores and not the 5 we currently make do with. And the US should have enough Apple Stores to ensure there is one in Duluth MN (the birth place of Mr Zimmerman).

Also, since Apple has the smaller market share, Micro$oft needs to create a chain of... how many stores in the UK? Australia? US? Crudely calculated, I think it’s 420 stores for the UK alone.

Does M$ have the horses to go in that direction? Does M$ even have a strategy other than its default copying one?

Apple is Microsoft's Daddy.

Oct 31, 09 - 01:12 pm Comment from: MacRaven

Dream on Microsoft.

I live in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. We have 3 Apple stores in the area. I wen to the one yesterday to get an Applecare for my MBP. The one I went to is the smallest of the 3 and is in the most economically challenged area of the 3. I went there on Friday afternoon at about 12:30. On a workday. There were at least 50 people in that store - all talking to employees and lots were buying (including me!). I could not believe it. I asked the employee working with me when the store would usually be less crowded - I like to shop with fewer people around - he said: "This IS the slow time!" I'm still amazed by how well these stores do.

Oh yeah - the rest of the mall - dead - except for the food court.

@marko

1 infinity circle ?

Maybe you are thinking of 1 Infinite Loop? Those of us old enough to have experienced early development of programming know about infinite loops. The expression refers to a malformed piece of code (inadvertent for most, deliberate for some with a special sense of humor) that would cause the computer to repeat the same series of instructions over end over again, with no logical escape. It would keep going until it was forcibly interrupted. At the time, Infinite Loop was a clever moniker that resonated with programmers.

Just a little history lesson, if you don't mind. AB
magic word: "going," like in "going forever."

Oct 31, 09 - 01:45 pm Comment from: kneugent

@ Mister Snitch:

WOW. I really labored over responding to such a venomous and unprovoked slur from an absolute stranger, but part of me really can't help it. I'll attempt, if I can, to be utterly objective in my response.
I'm first, clearly, stunned. In the same way that I would be if I were walking down the street and a completely unknown individual walked up behind me and punched me in the back of the head. It's that utter shock you experience when you get steamrolled by unseen and unexpected violence, usually the M.O. of your basic internally unbalanced overly aggressive and dim-witted thug.
Once that clears, however, you can hopefully, with patience and reason, begin to piece together the events so that you might better understand them. In this case, the first and most interesting thing I saw was that in no way whatsoever in my original post did I actually or even remotely critisize anyone. To the best of my knowledge I was simply making an off the cuff observation about nothing of importance, something I simply found amusing. The ironic part, though, is that you use nothing but ugly mean spirited words of CRITICISM to point this out to me !!! AMAZING !!!! Well, you probably responded quickly and with a bit of anger, so I understand. People who put on vain and unwarranted airs of superiority, intellectual or otherwise, usually show themselves to others to be a bit small, and a little sad ( as in "Awwww...").
Not entirely sure what got your nuts all twisted up, and truly, I don't care. I do wish you luck on dealing with it though. Perhaps look into some anger management, or at least get a girlfriend or something.
By the way, I get that it's actually Saturday (thanks @slevin, for pointing that out nicely). I've pulled an all-nighter and my brain is a bit fried. Like YOU'VE never gotten the days mixed up...
One last thing...I'm going to do a little backstepping here. I said I would be objective, but screw it. You can kiss my ass in general. People like you make the world a remarkably unpleasant place to hang in.

Oct 31, 09 - 02:17 pm Comment from: grognard

@kneugent.

Just roll with it for goodness sake.
You could have deflected Mr. Snitches initial stupid remark by simply saying "OOPS" I got my weekend days mixed up. your right. End of story.

No need to equate it to a random attack. More like a careless tussle in a crowded train terminal when someone is being rude and self centered.
____________________________________________
In the immortal words of Monty Python:

.."And now for something completely different".

So how about that Magic Mouse Mr. Sniitch and Kneugent? Have you had a chance to play with it yet? I have with some success, but the anti-theft device at the Apple Store has made it rather difficult to evaluate. Either one of you had a chance to visit one of the many Apple stores to try it out?

Oct 31, 09 - 02:17 pm Comment from: Big Als MBP

@ Noodle-Armed Choir Boy,

"Apple is Microsoft's Daddy"

Close, Macintosh is Windows PC's Daddy.

Oct 31, 09 - 03:15 pm Comment from: kneugent

@grognard:

Well said, well spoken. Lightening up as we speak.
I have not gotten my hands on the Magic Mouse yet, but will soon. I have to admit, I'm going in with a bit of trepidition. Everytime I try some new piece that tries to reinvent the surface mechanics (I absolutely HATE trackball mice) I can't adjust no matter how hard I try.
BUT...if anybody can change my mind, who else but the mad scientists down on Infinite Loop? We'll see. Of course my 2 bits will be posted once I get one on my desk.

(Thanks for the redirection and the help, by the way. I appreciate the diplomacy).

Oct 31, 09 - 04:01 pm Comment from: DogGone

@ Norrid

I get the same thing at the Apple Store in Santa Clara. Always busy with ~10x more people than the other most crowded store in the mall.

It is truly amazing the traffic in Apple Stores. What also gets me is that ever since the Apple Stores opened, 50% of Mac purchases are by people new to the Mac. That's been going on since 2001.

Oct 31, 09 - 05:06 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

kneugent...

ignore the idiots and they eventually go away bro. glad to have you on the site.

Oct 31, 09 - 05:50 pm Comment from: silverhawk

@Norrin Radd
I live in the Twin Cities as well. But we have 4 Apple Stores, not 3. We have Rosedale, Ridgedale, Southdale and Mall of America.

British Mac fans: What is the British definition of a punter? Thanks.

@ Ting
Rosedale is about 130 miles south of Duluth. But that's close to Hibbing.

Oct 31, 09 - 05:59 pm Comment from: kneugent

@Jim-TIV:
Much appreciated. My your cup runneth over.

This happens to me every time too. I'll say "Wow, it's really busy in here today!" And the Apple employee kind of looks around and says "naw, not really, it's pretty slow at the moment."

--clip from Norrin--
There were at least 50 people in that store - all talking to employees and lots were buying (including me!). I could not believe it. I asked the employee working with me when the store would usually be less crowded - I like to shop with fewer people around - he said: "This IS the slow time!" I'm still amazed by how well these stores do.

@ silverhawk

4!?!?! I didn't know about the one in Ridgedale. Damn!

Oct 31, 09 - 08:52 pm Comment from: alsoran

Look, this is just a hate website. We Mac people are all here because we hate everything that is not Mac. We even hate each other a lot of the time. It is just a place to go to express your hate.

Oct 31, 09 - 10:34 pm Comment from: Ting

@silverhawk

Thanks for letting me know about Rosedale.

I merely mentioned Duluth as representative of any “small town USA” that is served so well by Best Buy, Walmart and other purveyors of MScrap but not by Apple (except through its online store).

Oh, and also because Duluth the birth place of one Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan... which leades me on quite nicely to quote:

The times they are a-changin'...

Oct 31, 09 - 11:03 pm Comment from: Ting

@silverhawk

'Punter' is English slang for gamblers at horse races and is now used for customers in general.

@kneugent
Like blast, I thought maybe you were Down Under in my timezone but I did not post because I may have come a cropper on account of the first three letters in the word 'assume'...

Nov 01, 09 - 12:43 pm Comment from: Jamie

I live in Liverpool UK, home of the Beatles, but more importantly we now have an Apple Store.

I think we've made it



Jamie…

Yep!

And one day you'll get decent football team as well.

CRAPple retail store opening is not such a big deal because they are too cheap to give away free stuff and more important they lack style and choices for the consumers plus their stores sucks! Microsoft stores are a million times better than CRAPple store.

http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide

@kneugent...you were right the first time. Screw diplomacy and tell Mr. Snitch to stick his head where the sun don't shine. Yep, you made a mistake. Big whoop and Mr Snitch...get a life....or at least a happy pill.

seriously. can you imagine the work they have been doing for probably a good couple of weeks if not more. receiving the product, putting it out on the shelves and the tables. putting demo stuff on the computers and the ipods.

an opening is a big deal because the employees can celebrate that all that work is over and the fun is just starting. so yeah they applaud. they high fi. they hug sometimes even. and they have fun. why not. they earned it

@Zeke
"Portland, Oregon, for some strange reason, has 3 Apple stores."

As does Orlando, which also seems strange. But the stores are almost always full of people.

@MDN

Looks like you need to set your forum clock to account for the end of DST. You're an hour off.