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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Found Footage

Microsoft retail store opening in AZ copies freely from Apple Stores


The day is Thursday, October 22nd. You're in Scottsdale, Arizona, and you walk into a brand new store being opened by a multinational corporation that produces technology products, including popular operating systems for computers and mobile phones, music/media players, and 'cloud' email and storage services for consumers.

As you walk into the store, employees in brightly-colored t-shirts cheer and applaud. The store is spacious, with large wooden tables placed far enough apart that the opening-day crowd, standing on a hardwood floor, isn't packed into the place. At the back of the store is an "Answer Bar," where you can ask questions about the operating system on your computer.

No, Apple didn't open a new Apple Store in Scottsdale on the 22nd. Instead, this was the opening of the first Microsoft Store. As expected, the stores draw heavily on the highly successful Apple Store concept; the stores are opening near Apple Stores, the former real estate chief for Apple (George Blankenship) was hired to consult on location and placement of the stores, and Microsoft has even attempted to hire away Apple Store managers to run their retail outlets.

The personal shoppers are a blatant rip-off of Apple's Concierge concept, and Personal Training is an echo of Apple's One-to-One training. The Microsoft Store website has similarities to the pages for individual Apple Stores, down to a scrolling list of in-store classes and events (the list for the Scottsdale store is empty at this time).

It's fascinating to see that Microsoft has decided to copycat the Apple Store concept, but it remains to be seen if the execution will be as successful for Microsoft as it has been for Apple.

[via MacRumors]

Filed under: Humor, Apple

Top 5 reasons the Apple Store refresh is taking so long

Wow. This has been an especially long wait for the Apple Store to return. So here's TUAW's top reasons this is taking so long.

Reason #5 (via @serpicolugnut at Twitter, updated via TUAW reader Zaph):The App Store reviewers are "reviewing" the new store. The current average wait is 14 days.

Reason #4: They might be done with their Time Machine backup by now...

Reason #3: Man, WebObjects is outdated technology...

Reason #2 (Courtesy of @verso via Twitter): Still waiting for the iPhone backups to finish...

And our top reason?...

Continue readingTop 5 reasons the Apple Store refresh is taking so long

Filed under: Tips and tricks, Odds and ends, Internet Tools

Auto refresh any web page

Last night when the Apple store went down, I got tired of hitting refresh in Safari every few minutes while waiting for it to come back up, and went searching for something that would do the job for free.

Now, this is not for coders who will laugh hysterically at my incompetence, but for those of you that are either lazy or don't program at all. I fit both categories.

Back in 2005 someone going by the moniker of Biovizier posted the solution on Macosxhints.com. It's a little html snippet that will refresh any web page as frequently as you'd like, and its easily customizable for any page at all.

Here it is:

<html>
<head>
<**** **********="refresh" content="60">
</head>
<body>
<FRAMESET>
<FRAME src="http://www.tuaw.com">
</FRAMESET>
</body>
</html>



Copy this into TextEdit and save it with an .html extension. Then just double click it.

You can change the refresh time from 60 to the amount of seconds you want to wait before the page refreshes, and you can change the URL to anything you want. I was using: http://apple.com/store and having it refresh every 20 seconds which must make me a certifiable fanatic.

Since I saw this I've found a ton of uses for it, like refreshing eBay auctions in the last few minutes, or just leaving it set for TUAW to see new stories coming up when I'm doing something else. At present I have four or five of these snippets in a folder on my desktop for different purposes.

Give it a try and see if you don't find a handful of uses for it.

Okay, you coders can stop laughing now.

Note: TJ Luoma just let me know that this tip won't work with Twitter which intentionally blocks this sort of thing.


Thanks to macosxhints.com and Biovizier wherever you are.

Filed under: Retail, iMac, Apple

Yellow sticky in the sky, are those new iMacs that I spy? Apple Store down 8:30p ET


It's Monday night in America, and that means one thing: football. OK, two things -- time for an Apple Store update, and football. The store is down as of 8:30 pm ET (thanks for the tip, Will T.), and with the ongoing rumors of hardware refreshes, combined with a steady stream of tidbits about reduced iMac inventory around the country... well, you might just wake up to a pleasant surprise.

Let us know what you see when it comes back up, mmkay? Update 9:15pm: Apparently, nothing much. It's back with no visible changes, everyone exhale. Update II, 1:20 am: And now it's down again. What on earth are they smoking over there?

P.S. If you haven't noticed the Deals of the Day ticker on our front page (powered by our friends at Dealmac.com), take a peek -- maybe you can get a bargain on a previous-generation Mac.

Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail

Microsoft's new retail hiring policy: shop at Apple

If you're an Apple retail employee, you might want to keep an eye out for coy glances across the Genius Bar or little notes emailed to your iPhone -- someone may be trying to offer you a job. Word comes via The Loop, citing anonymous sources, that Microsoft's ramp-up process to launching its new line of retail stores has resulted in the harvest & hiring of some Apple Store managers, who in turn are making offers to their hand-picked lists of colleagues with the promise of higher wages in Microsoft's mall outposts. Some managers have been offered relocation assistance to go along with their salary boosts.

You can't blame Microsoft for going after the best in the effort to build out a retail presence (and apparently this kind of bodysnatching goes on all the time in the retail sector), but one does wonder how well the Apple team members will make the transition over to working for Microsoft -- it's a bit more of an adjustment than going from Victoria's Secret to Lady Foot Locker.

It might not just be the lure of more money that draws the iCrew over to the new shops; some may be profoundly dissatisfied with their current working environment, according to an ifoAppleStore report noted by AppleInsider. Frustrations between employees and management at the Alderwood Mall store in Washington have led to the threat of a walkout scheduled for October 3rd, which would be the first such demonstration of labor power by Apple retail employees, according to the post.

If you're an Apple Store employee and you've been approached by Microsoft directly or by colleagues who are jumping ship, drop us a line at tuaw.com/tips and let us know what's going down.

Illustration via the Iconfactory, in belated honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Filed under: Apple

The Apple Store is down, prepare yourselves


Happy Stevemas boys and girls! As we look forward to the 9-9-09 Apple Event starting later today, which we'll be liveblogging, the Apple Store has quietly gone quiet. Megan noted the early morning price cuts to the iPod line, a bit surprising considering the announcements scheduled for later in the day -- why not wait for the big moment?

Filed under: Retail

Apple Stores finally arrving in Paris

It's been a long wait, but Apple has finally announced their intent to open the first Apple Store in France, which will be located in Paris. In their conference call yesterday, they discussed the opening of new Apple Stores, including the opening of a store in Paris by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, HardMac has posted photos of not one, but two Apple Stores under construction in Paris. The first one, in Le Louvre, is expected to open up later this year. Meanwhile, the second location, in Rue Halévy, is expected to open up sometime after the location in the Louvre.

This should be a much-welcomed addition to Apple customers in France, as they have gone a long time without an Apple Store.

Filed under: Retail

VA Apple store closed due to shooting, armed robbery attempt


The Clarendon Apple Store in Arlington, VA is closed today as police investigate a shooting that took place there this morning. The Washington Post reports that a woman was injured via a gunshot to the shoulder during an armed robbery attempt. TV station WJLA adds the detail that the victim was an employee who went to answer a knock at the store's rear service door.

I've shopped at the Clarendon store, and the staff has always been unfailingly helpful and courteous. I hope that the victim of the shooting enjoys a complete and prompt recovery, and that the Clarendon team can also recover quickly from what must be a very traumatic experience.

Via jdonels tweet, thanks Chris Anderson.

Filed under: iPhone

iPhone 3G S Launch Day: Photos from 5th Avenue

Good morning! All day today we'll be updating with reports from iPhone 3G S purchasers around the country, both here and on Twitter. So far the lines seem modest and activation is reportedly going smoothly. Victor notes that AT&T store lines are short where he is and if you are not the primary account holder on your cell plan, you have to go to AT&T anyway to upgrade.

Morning schedules and slow subways kept me from the 7 am store open at 5th Avenue (since Apple moved it earlier from 8 am due to AT&T opening its stores at 7), but by 7:30 the line was still active and purchasers were beginning to emerge. NYPD reports that about half the barricaded area was full at 7 am.


Filed under: Retail, WWDC

Counting down to WWDC: The store, as they say, is down



As the sands flow through the hourglass, so appears the yellow sticky. If you doubted that we would see some sort of new product today, well, time to get with the program.

C'mon back at 1pm ET for all the latest updates from the keynote.

Filed under: Retail, Apple

Apple Store down on a Sunday?


Well, that's unusual. Price drops? New gear? Regular maintenance? We'll know soon enough.

Back up now... no visible changes reported and the main difference appears to be an enhanced UI for the shopping cart screen. Before & after pics below (thanks Joachim).

Old cart UI:


New cart UI:



Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, Multimedia, iTunes

Billboard: iTunes prices up, sales down

I coulda told you this, though I am a little surprised that we've seen the results so fast. Despite iTunes having put the new tiered pricing into effect just last week, Billboard is reporting that they've already seen sales drop on the higher-priced tunes. The iTunes Top 100 chart has 40 different songs with a new price of $1.29, and one day after the changes, those songs dropped an average of 5.3 places on the chart, while cheaper songs moved up on average. And on the second day of the price change, ten of the tracks that saw their prices rise within 24 hours dropped a huge 12.4 chart positions on average.

Of course, we're talking only a matter of days here, and there are all kinds of things that could have affected this average drop -- lots of the tracks that became expensive were from a Rascal Flatts album, and it could be just that the album has lost popularity, bringing the average down. And don't forget that even though these sales figures may be dropping, they haven't dropped nearly enough to show a loss of revenue (though fewer songs may be selling, they're still making more money).

But for those convinced that higher prices mean lower sales numbers, these first few days of figures will seem to connect all of the right dots. We'll have to wait and see if the long-term effects match up to the figures Billboard has seen so far.

iTunes drops all DRM, adds variable pricing

In the never-ending battle of where to spend your George Washington's (the paper ones, that is) some battles are won and some battles are lost. In this case, however, it's turned into a bit of a draw. As we previously mentioned the day hath befallen on which iTunes now "features" a variable pricing structure. The three flavors available are $0.69US, $0.99US, and $1.29US with, according to Apple, "many more songs" available at the $0.69US price point.

The idea of a DRM-free iTunes is definitely a popular one that has been requested for years. The unfortunate side-effect, as imposed by the record labels, is that more popular songs are going to be charged a premium over the tried-and-true $0.99US price point. On the other side, however, is the $0.69US price point for songs that nobody wants are less popular. This is unfortunate because, as Victor mentioned, a single dollar is an easy impulse buy to swallow. I'll add to that the fact that it's easy to understand that 3 songs = 3 dollars; while a price of $1.29US is a little bit more challenging for those of us without calculators in our brains.

In my opinion, record labels are going to see a decrease in sales due to this decision. Many people have iTunes account balances and gift cards that are now going to get them less "tune for their buck." The result of that is consumers will buy less (they have less to spend) and they will be more meticulous in deciding what to purchase. DRM-free, iTunes Plus tracks are a novel idea, but the main benefit will be lost on many consumers. The only change they will notice is that the bill has gone up.

Via Macworld

Filed under: Apple

Apple Store down, speculation runs wild in the streets for maybe another hour


UPDATE: And we're back with new Xserves, featuring the snazzy (and totally expected) Intel Xeon "Nehalem" processor. Check out the specs on the store.

The headline pretty much says it all. We'll pack up our crystal ball and stick with the refresh button until this clears up. Stay tuned!


Note that variable pricing hit iTunes in the wee hours of the East Coast morning.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, Jailbreak/pwnage

Cydia Store now open for jailbreak app sales

As previously reported, users of jailbroken phones and the developers who cater to them now have an avenue for commerce in apps: the Cydia Store. Smoking Apples visits the store and has a solid rundown, noting that Amazon Payments is the only funding source for the moment (PayPal is on the way, says Cydia lead Saurik/Jay Freeman). Users who update to the latest version of Cydia on their phones get the store capability automatically; if your phone isn't already jailbroken, though, you'll have to jailbreak it and install Cydia.

The limited number of apps on the store versus the overwhelming bounty of the official App Store may help users find the apps they truly want, says SA. Freeman has a list of apps queued up for release over the next few weeks before he begins accepting unsolicited submissions.

If the functionality you want and need is uncertain or unlikely to show up in the App Store (*ahem* -- tethering, anyone?), would you jailbreak your phone and buy from the Cydia Store?

Tip of the Day

F11 moves all your windows off the screen so you can quickly glance at your desktop. F10 shows you every open window in an application. F9 shows every open window for every application that isn't hidden or in the dock.


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