May 18, 2006
Hark, The Apple Store Opening Draws Nigh
Word is that the Apple Store Fifth Avenue is hosting its press opening today! For us mere mortals, the store will be open at 6pm on Friday-- and rumors say it will NEVER close. That's right, Apple insiders are saying the store is going to be open 24/7, which is perfect if you need your iPod fixed at 4am. It's also good if you get kicked out of your apartment because you blew too much cash on Apple gear-- in that case, we recommend bringing a sleeping bag and crashing on those bean-bag chairs in the kids area.
If you are lucky enough to sneak in tonight, please send us a couple of pictures-- we can't bear the suspense! Also try to get some pix of the people sleeping outside in sleeping bags-- apparently they've been offered a special pin.
Photo by MARK LENNIHAN for the AP and dggraphics for flickr
UPDATE: the black board has been removed from the cube overnight! Pictures on Flickr are starting to emerge, dggraphics has a few photos from them taking the covering down last night. A cookie for anyone who gets a shot of the entire structure.
UPDATE: Ifo gets the cookie!
UPDATE: strange as it may seem, we appear to have gotten a man inside the cube for the press tour. He's sending text and Flickr images even as we speak!
UPDATE: Dan has the reverse shot of the staircase-- nice job! Check out his other pix too.
UPDATE: Neil txts: "Five years since first retail. 147th store. First all underground store. [Editor's note: do malls count?] 32 feet cubed. Fire percent of the plaza for the cube. Improved whole plaza by agreement with NYC gov. 10,000 sqft of retail space. Equals floor space at Soho."
HOLY SHAT: "24 HOURS A DAY SEVEN DAYS 365 CONFIRMED! FIRST 24 HOURS GIVING AWAY A MACBOOK ON THE HOUR EVERY HOUR! STARTING AT 6PM OPENING TOMORROW. Apparently even the employees didn't know until last week."
UPDATE: Neil continues to txt: "providing free wifi to entire plaza. Next store is in Freehold NJ. Glass elevator is in the enterior of the spiral staircase. 558 sheets of glass in the cube-- from Germany and LIC."
It's also worth noting that this Apple store did not have any Photography or Video equipment on display. When we asked the staff there we were told that this location wasn't carrying any. So all you photobloggers will need to stay at the Soho store. Also, this store does not have a theater like Soho.
Free T-Shirts will be given to the first 2500 visitors at the 6pm opening tomorrow.
A set of high res shots are now up on flickr from Neil.
UPDATES: The first person in line according to ifo Apple Store the "first person in line, Stormy Shippy, arrived from Texas and took his place at 12:15 a.m."
There are 100 Macs and nearly 200 iPods on display, so there shouldn't be such a wait as there is at the soho location. They've hired nearly 300 employees, with 96 geniuses to help you troubleshoot your machine.
Rumors are persisting that there will be a big event at the store's opening tomorrow. Bands names have been thrown around, like Apple's resident musician Bono. But he's in Africa at the moment...
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Ever since I installed 10.4.3 iTunes won't let me buy from it anymore. Hey Steve, I'm trying to SEND YOU MONEY!
I like the Cube, but wasn't the Mac Cube a washout?
www.forgotten-ny.com
Oh yeah, what the heck is that guy wheeling in the second photo? The iLawnmower?
www.forgotten-ny.com
The IFO Apple Store web site has some pictures up.
URL: http://ifostore.ord.cachefly.net/fifth_avenue/photo1/index.htm
They've a picture of the entire unveiled cube, as well.
It's a sidewalk sweeper.
I hope they have some iGlassCleaner for that thing. What a mess.
why do all the mac users i know seem to be chronic masturbators?
Belle,
Fewer mouse buttons and IRQ conflicts means more time for wankin'!
Photos of cube here .
for those still spreading the idiotic "U2 IS GOING TO BE THERE" rumor, i'll point out that bono is in africa right now.
You obviously underestimate the powers of Bono. He can easily be in two places at once.
If you thought the glossy/metal iPod was prone to fingerprinting...
As for Bono being in 2 places at once, I'm a believer.
U2 is definitely playing... with Axl Rose is subbing for Bono.
Obviously Steve didn't focus too much attention on the store entrace. Can you imagine how hard it's going to be to get into and out of the busy store down those tiny stairs?
No wonder it has to be open 24 hours. Set your clock for 3am.
For those who are handicapped or have serious vertigo when it comes to glass stairs like that, how do the elevators look?
Excuse me while I wet myself.
That suspended logo is pretty badass
Fix your iPod at 4 AM? Ha! More like the guy at the genius bar will tell you to throw it out and buy a new one. Or charge you $75 to send it away for battery replacement.
Ehh I'll Pass.
This will be the center of Yuppie/Hipster activity in midtown for years to come. Observe:
"Omg its 1am and im like, totally bored. Like, what do you want to do?"
"I know! Lets go to the Apple store!, thats like the hella cool thing to do after midnight"
There are other more productive things you can do at 2am then hang around in an Apple store.
Such as having a life.
Kojak,
get a life and stop trolling.
Unclear who took the picture on top, but that is one *awesome* photo. Totally creepy and unsettled. Cool.
Its just funny how much time is being spent covering this store.
Gothamist should throw a party in the cube and invite Prince to perform.
Will the hipster asshole from the Mac commercial be there? Shaggy with an attitude.
How people can love an item that breaks so often and then gets a pass because of the Apple care waranty is beyond me. Whatever.
Sounds like a good place for muggers to scope out.
Will they provide a 24 hour hotline for people who have lost their husbands to the cult of Apple?
Despite being open 24/7, mac users will still find it impossible to book an appointment at the genius bar...
Great store concept, but isn't this a tremendous fire hazard? I assume there's additional exits through the GM building, but still.
Kojak, the "get a life" comeback is a clear sign of poor message board skills. If you're going to go that route, you should also pick apart everyone's grammar.
We don't need any more trolls my friend...
What we NEED on this thread is more Cowbell
They should totally have more cowbell at the Apple Store. And on all threads.
All you MAC haters are probably just to poor too afford one. Go back to your Kmart and Olive Garden. Losers. Trailer park savages the lot of you.
I fear the reaper...
I have a Powerbook and it works fine for me. But I hate all the Yuppie bullshit that surrounds apple and its stores.
You can be a Mac user and a Mac hater at the same time.
*And agreed. We need more Cowbell
Of course the only logical choice to perform at the opening is Mr. O'Shea Jackson himself- Ice Cube. I think running through some of NWA's better songs will get Midtown rockin. Plus, all the cowbell...
OOOO! I'm all hot now.
To: hiimamac "How people can love an item that breaks so often"
I have used Macs since 1987, and have never had one break, or suffer the kinds of crashes/meltdowns/losses of data that my PC user friends seem to take for granted with their machines. I run a successful business on Macs, use a Powerbook for both my business and personal use, and wouldn't switch to a PC if I was paid to! The machines are built better, they look better (Yeah, I know. Next you'll be telling me that looks don't matter. Right.), the interface is simply easier to use and is both more elegant and more intuitive, and, according to the pros (pro-PC types like the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal) they run Microsoft software faster and more reliably than any PC on the market. The Wall Street Journal even went so far as to say that the Mac is the best desktop computer available at any price. Now, from what experience do you draw your conclusions? Years of testing every machine on the market, or just a jealousy of the cool kids who don't slavishly follow the "everyones" who use PCs?
Putting down Macs is just so yesterday, and does nothing but demonstrate your ignorance of the facts and blind prejudice.
What's the upskirt potential on the spiral staircase like? Looks like it's glass. Report?
I was refering to thier Ipods.
I don't give a rats ass what my computer is,
it's just a tool I use, mainly for work.
NY Times and Wall Street Journal???
Please.
I'm Glad Columbia went to Microsoft.
I'LL give a cookie to the guy who hangs a "MORE COWBELL" banner on that glass entrance.
"I've got a fever! And the only thing that'll cure it.. is MORE COWBELL" BOC lives.
"Putting down Macs is just so yesterday, and does nothing but demonstrate your ignorance of the facts and blind prejudice."
is your business "being awesome" cause if it is, you're in the fortune most awesome 500.
the glass elevator, while was not in operation, looked to be pretty sound for any people that needed it. The floor of the elevator isn't transparent.
And to the prev upshot question. The stairs aren't clear glass, they're a green hazy industrial type similar to what they're using at SOHO. The onlything you see from below are peoples feet shadows.
Still waiting for my IPod battery refund and/or replacement. Sent out the paperwork about 9 months ago. Wonder if the geniuses can explain that one.
Interlard,
If you're going to try to be snarky, it helps not to be foolish. The stairs are wider than some subway entrances. Maybe you should get up at 3 a.m. to get into the subway system.
Macs rule! (And Kevin, get thee to the Apple store so the Geniuses can fix your Mac. Sounds like some kind of problem with your iTunes authorization. They'll know what to do.)
Brightliner has obviously never tried to make an appointment to the genius bar in soho
I never understood the desire to wait on line for a long time to be in someplace crowded. Just wait a few weeks when the hype dies down and take a look. It is just a bloody store you know.
fire percent?
>>>Macs rule! (And Kevin, get thee to the Apple store so the Geniuses can fix your Mac. Sounds like some kind of problem with your iTunes authorization. They'll know what to do.)
don't want to get too tech...this isn't macfixit.com...but keychain is missing some doodad it needs, therefore iTunes is blocked from purchasing anything. Limewire here I come till it's resolved.
www.forgotten-ny.com
b,
You're right, I don't use the Genius Bar. I have yet to run into any problem I haven't been able to solve myself.
Kevin,
Try an archive and install of OS X. It's drastic and will take a little while, maybe half an hour, but it should fix any problems with a broken Keychain without risking any of your personal data. The only things that might get messed up in the process are license keys for certain programs that install them, like Maya, and those can be a chore to fix afterward since you have to track down where the program put these invisible files and manually move them to the proper location in the new system folder. Or you can call up now and get an appointment at the new store. I'm sure you can score a nice 4 a.m. spot. So who needs sleep? ;-) You can also try updating to 10.4.6 if you haven't done so already. I didn't know if you meant you got a problem at 10.4.3 and never upgraded past that. Or you can always buy one of those nice, new Macbooks.
Safari crashes more than Explorer ever did on my Mac.
And thanks to a recent update to iTunes I have trouble ripping mp3s off of my legally purchased (although older) CDs. Does Steve Jobs want me to repurchase my music in his proprietary iPod format? Isn't this how Microsoft's legal problems started?
And I recently got the "gray screen of death", again due to iTunes. I thought Macs never crashed.
anyone have any info on how the macbook giveaways are going to be working? I can see myself waiting around the mac store after a couple rounds of drinks trying to get a new computer for free. If anybody knows how this is going to work, please share, so I'll know the best way to spend my friday night / saturday morning.
Well, Apple isn't realy all that different from any other company. Of course they're going to hype everything, every chance they get. They want you to buy their products. Hey wait a sec... am i talking about Apple or Microsoft? Like it or not, it's all the same shiat.
..MORE COWBELL!
from their terms:
How to Enter: Complete an Official Entry Form between 6:00 p.m. (EDT) on May 19, 2006, and 5:00 p.m. (EDT) on May 20, 2006, and place the form in one of the entry boxes located in the Apple Store, Fifth Avenue. Entries must be deposited by the end of the hour preceding the hourly drawing in order to be eligible for that hourly drawing. At the end of each one-hour segment, a winner will be selected at random from all entries received during each drawing period. Entry is limited to one entry per person per hourly drawing. Only Official Forms with legible, accurate, and complete information will be accepted. Apple Computer, Inc. is not responsible for lost, mutilated, illegible, or incomplete entries. Entries become property of Sponsor and will not be returned. No mechanically reproduced entries are allowed.
http://www.apple.com/retail/fifthavenue/sweepstakes.html
Apple users are cooler than PC users; I've seen the commercials.
Nice looking Apple logo hanging there in the cube! But why the cool glass cube when the store itself looks pretty ordinary? Strange. And why not a "full" store with all the equipment one woudl want to buy, this is a prime location in NY, right? Strange again.
Hm the glass for the cube comes from my country, Germany, but when is Apple eventually building its first Mac store in Germany? Come on Steve, lots of kids with lots of money over her! ;)
cheers,
geezer
http://geezer.twoday.net/stories/2029471/
Huzzah!! Apple store after party for me tomorrow night.
Yes, yes. Criticizing Macs is no longer cool. But Mac people, let's criticize Windows for things that are currently wrong with it- not things like IRQ conflicts, blue screens, and crashes, which haven't been a real problem in at least five years.
i am so there this saturday morning...
mac people remind me of macrobiotic people. insufferable bores.
Macs *are* toys, but then again, if you gave me one I wouldn't turn you down.
Macs are great machines! I lost years of personal files and music recordings because of my virus infested PC. Macs are ideal for creating Art and recording music. I will never go back to PCs because Macs are simply superior machines.
Wow, what a Vista out those windows. Btw, where is Vista, PC fans?
Everything looks so clean. Give it a week and the grubby fingerprints on all that beautiful plastic and chrome will start showing. Another week, and the place will become a disease machine. But lovely concept. And I do love my Mac.
Who's complaining about IRQ conflicts? What is this, 1994? Are we going to complain about how little space floppy disks have next?
Mac's make wonderful machines. Its their fans that suck. I just imagine a bunch of really hardcore ex-Magic the Gathering Players.
classic apple
awesome!
Nu nog in Amsterdam reeds!
our family is slowing making the switch, but not from Windows - from Linux
:-)
Face it. Poor people use PCs and rich people use Macs. Whine whine whine. It's too expensive. I can get such a better deal at Dull. Wake up. News flash. We don't give a crap about your insignificant lives.
Lay off the kool aid, macaddict
No one gives a crap, it's you mac addicts that's annoying. You're the trolls of the computer world.
I hope your PB get's jacked on the subway. Notice it's only PB's you see on the subway? why?
You need something to prove?
Don't you have a goatee to trim?
Bitter much, rev?