“We arrived at around 8.15am to be greeted by a very small turn out, we placed ourselves in the queue at around the 30 position and began snapping away! At round twenty to nine things started happening, beats started pumping from the store and staff led out through the doors handing out Grand Opening Visitors Guides,” World of Apple writes. They attended the Grand Opening of the Brent Cross Apple Store.
World of Apple reports, “The queue must have grown to around 70 people at this point as the staff looped the queue again cheering and giving high fives. 9am came and we promptly led into the Store, we were given t-shirts and more Visitors Guides, the store is long and thin but they’ve managed to cram a lot in. As you enter the store you have Intel iMacs to your right, iPods in the middle and a mixture of computers to your left (music based). As you move forward into the iLife section you have mini’s the right, iBooks in the middle and PowerBooks to the left.”
Full article with photos here.
World of Apple also has a more extensive photo gallery here.
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Still amazing after 4.5 years that they get 70 people in a line for an opening.
Find me another retail operation that gets that.
Went to the new store today.
Could hardly move in there it was crammed.
Decided im gonna buy one of the new 20in iMacs!
Why Brent Cross ?
Yet another wierd choice from Apple Europe. If you are that close to the city – take the tube to Regent street.
Bristol / Bath – there a loads of more suitable choices for an Apple Store before a second in London.
Ho hum, another day in the Cult of Mac.
Apple better start thinking about a different marketing strategy now that they got the abundance of Intel processors.
This religion thing and Apple Stores looking like churches has got to go.
If Vista is secure, I’m switching to a PC
Screw this cult. It’s making me sick.
Thanks max, I was about to make an ignorant fool of myself and ask what state Brent Cross is in. Looking at the pictures, I was like, hmmmm…this has got to be somewhere that has a lot of very cold white people.
>>If Vista is secure, I’m switching to a PC
You ain’t goin nowhere then, buddy.
You think it’s hard to get out of Scientology? Wait till you try to leave the Mac.
A second store in London is a great idea!!
All the times i’ve been in the Regent Street store i’ve had to wonder around it for about 20 minutes before i could get on anything, a couple of times i’ve just given up.
I agree that they should build more stores away from London but customer satisfaction levels would start to drop without a backup to their prime UK location.
The Brent Cross addition, along with the coming (if not already here, i cant remember) store at Bluewater makes for some great store placement in and around the capital.
Magic word: money, as in, for the love of god spend some proper money on advertising OS X!!!!
Dear MacGrumpy:
Even if the commercial version Vista released in 2006 or 2007 is secure on Day 1, how long do you think it will be before it is observed that malware is circulating the globe?
Recall earlier reports and articles regarding current malware capable of infecting existing beta-versions of Vista. Based on recorded history, the security of Microsoft OS’s can be measure in hours, not years.
PC’s with Windows make great 35-pound paperweights if you want to spend the cash for one. There are other alternatives, however, for personal computers and desktop accessories.
In keeping with your religious theme, leave the congregatation for the temptations of Microsoft and be damned to PC hell.
Jehozaphat:
LOL
isn’t that the truth
“If Vista is secure, I’m switching to a PC”
wake up..more secure, Those lines of Spaghetti code ain’t goin nowhere
Oh and thank you Mr. Jobs for Atantic City store.
Dear MacGrumpy
Bye, bye sweetie, don’t let the door hit your idiot arse on your way out to Losertown.
I’m dead serious guys, I hear Vista is getting another revamp to look even better, it should be secure because they are copying Mac OS X security features.
I’m tired of Apple and this cult of Jobs, it’s cost me a fortune and I really have nothing to show for it but debt.
Windows Vista will have all the software and it will be running on the same Core Dual chips we use.
So what’s a interface anyway? It’s nothing if Vista looks just as good.
What’s hardware? Mac’s use the same hardware as PC’s now. Buy it ugly and cheap or buy it fancy and expensive, my choice. Not at Apple.
Microsoft is gearing up to release a Vista version for Mac’s, hundreds of hackers are trying to get XP to run on Mac’s now as it is.
Where’s Firewire 800 on the new Mac Book Pros?
Where’s the option for Firewire on iPods for Mac users?
Guys, I think it’s time to face the truth, Apple is getting out of the computer hardware buisness. They are switching to nitch devices like iPods and software.
Apple lost the desktop and hardware war.
I’m tired of being called a fag because my computer looks so much better.
I’m tired of being accused of platform supremecy because I never got a virus.
I’m tired of having little software and little hardware choice.
I’m tired of hussling for Apple and then my friends buy one and now they regret it.
I’m going to Vista if it’s good enough and secure
I need a change, I’ve worshiped Apple because their stuff “Just worked” and if Vista does the same then there is no need to remain loyal to the cult anymore.
Nobody wants to hire a Machead in the IT world.
I can’t make any money fixing Mac’s either.
There was nothing motivating Microsoft to fix anything, but Steve Jobs returned and that forced the issue.
IBM, “big blue” with more money than Intel and a heck of a lot more technology smarts than Microsoft has exited the PC market almost completly.
There’s no room anymore for Apple, the damage is already done. The big fish eat up all the little fish.
Steve Jobs is looking to sell Apple like he did Pixar, he’s getting old and will be retiring soon.
But first he will transition us to Vista, as proof Vista will use the same EFI as Mac’s.
So eventually we will just switch our OS and be done with it.
Phil said Apple will not prevent anyone from running Windows on a Mac.
That’s the message nobody wants to hear.
We all have our reasons.
If possible, would you run Windows on your Intel Macintosh?
Yes 48.3%
No 31.0%
Maybe 20.7%
http://www.looprumors.com/loopPolls.php
Proof right there, if Apple allows Mac users to install Windows they will lose about 1/2 of their OS market share almost instantly.
After Jobs’ presentation, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. “That doesn’t preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will,” he said. “We won’t do anything to preclude that.” – 06/06/2005 [10.3]
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said in an interview Tuesday that the company won’t sell or support Windows itself, but also hasn’t done anything to preclude people from loading Windows onto the machines themselves. “That’s fine with us. We don’t mind,” Schiller said. “If there are people who love our hardware but are forced to put up with a Windows world, then that’s OK.” Schiller made the comments at Tuesday’s Macworld Expo, where Microsoft also said it had signed a five-year pact with Apple to develop versions of Office for Macs and announced plans to release a version of Office that will be compatible with Apple’s new Intel-based computers. – 01/10/2006
http://appleintelfaq.com/#10
Sure seems Apple is convinced Mac OS X will always be preferred OS than Windows that they are willing to gamble on it.
All that M$ has to do is fix Windows and make it good looking and there really isn’t a need to stick to a Mac anymore.
IMMO dasboard widgets were a desperate ploy at a OS upgrade, not many people really need them.
There really isn’t much room to grow or new ground to conquor in the desktop OS, M$ will beat Apple on a price war. Improvements can only go so far.
I’m dead serious guys, I hear Vista is getting another revamp to look even better, it should be secure because they are copying Mac OS X security features.
Seems like you do not understand even your own words. Vista cannot copy Mac OS X security features in that they are essentially Unix security features.
Vista ain’t Unix. Vista is going to be as secure as was XP when it was released “The reference in Windows security”. BTW, there are already viruses that affect developers beta version of Vista.
Hackers might try to get XP on Intel Macs but there is a problem: no BIOS available. Real hackers are not even trying: waste of time.
Vista will not use same EFI, but an EFI with a backward compatibility layer in order to run on existing PC hardware. Vista will use and need the layer and not available on the EFI used on Intel Mac. You will not be able to install Vista on Apple hardware.
Schiller statement “We don’t mind” is actually “We do not even NEED to mind”.
As a matter of fact, what hackers are actually trying to do is installing OS X on PC, not Windows on Macs. Get real.
Seems like you do not understand even your own words. Vista cannot copy Mac OS X security features in that they are essentially Unix security features.
And Windows doesn’t look like the Macintosh GUI right?
Protected memory, file permissions arre rather easy to copy.
Vista ain’t Unix. Vista is going to be as secure as was XP when it was released “The reference in Windows security”. BTW, there are already viruses that affect developers beta version of Vista.
For your info the “proof of concept” viruses only attacked a developer version that had extras not going to be seen in the actual release of Vista. Also there is plenty of time to fix things before release.
Hackers might try to get XP on Intel Macs but there is a problem: no BIOS available. Real hackers are not even trying: waste of time.
I’m not talking about XP, I’m talking about the future and that is Vista and onward.
Vista will not use same EFI, but an EFI with a backward compatibility layer in order to run on existing PC hardware. Vista will use and need the layer and not available on the EFI used on Intel Mac. You will not be able to install Vista on Apple hardware.
And you really trust M$ to not allow Windows Vista on a Mactel?
What are you STUPID?
Schiller statement “We don’t mind” is actually “We do not even NEED to mind”.
I would think he would mind very much that Microsoft will take what little market share Apple has left, but he’s not.
Either he’s delerious, or they intend to switch us over to Vista.
I refer you to the poll above where almost half of Mac users will install Windows on their hardware if given a chance.
As a matter of fact, what hackers are actually trying to do is installing OS X on PC, not Windows on Macs.
I am real, OS X has already been installed on generic PC’s.
Apple won’t release a OS X for generic PC’s. We know that.
But that doesn’t preclude Microsoft from releasing Vista version for Mac’s
Since Apple is doing nothing to stop it basically means they are resigned to the fact that they need to move their user base over to Windows.
Apple has to stop the apx. 50% of Mac users willing to install Vista on their Mac hardware, but they are not, they do not mind.
An the reason they don’t mind is they are switching us to Vista
Much like they switched to Intel chips.
It’s game over.
Ok, I was just playing devils advocate
Apparantly Phil must have come to his senses by now and realized what his statement means.
Maybe he didn’t want to give the impression of being vunerible and that they had to protect Mac OS X from Windows domminance.
But they will have to take steps to protect the OS user base or developers won’t code for it.
OSX users who will want to install Vista (or XP) on their Mac will do so if given the chance, mainly because they have applications that are not available for Macs. This doesnt mean they will stop using OSX and switch over to Vista.
If they wanted to do that they couldve done that anytime in the past.
And people who have always wanted a Mac but couldnt get one because they depend on XP for work or apps that are not on the Mac will be able to BUY a mac and run BOTH OS’s and use what they want when they want. So not only will Apple sell more hardware, they will increase there OSX users
Hey, MacGrumpy (as well as all your ghostnics in this thread): Maybe people calling you a fag has more to do with you being such a whiny, annoying drama queen than the fact that your computer never caught a virus. Just my guess.
(Hint: When you double-space between every sentence and put random sentences in bold, it’s a pretty distinctive writing style and it makes it very easy to tell that you’re conversing mostly with yourself in this thread.)
The vulnerability affecting Vista Betas is the WMF flaw; not a “proof of concept”. The Vista OS is built on Windows Server 2003, so most everything it has been vulnerable to, Vista will be as well. Microsoft is already showing off new ways that content “auto previews” in Vista without ever clicking on it. I guarantee this will be one of many attack vectors. Furthermore, the latest betas are using over 550MB of RAM just idling on an empty desktop as there are a TON of new services running in the background. It’s an absolute pig. Vista is XP with lipstick, nothing more. All the vulnerabilities & spyware will continue to plague it; the only difference being anti-spyware and anti-virus will now be built in, and Microsoft will charge you a subscription fee to keep “Windows Defender” definitions up to date. I manage 250+ MS servers for a living, and have had access to all the latest Vista and Office 12 betas. Trust me, your faith in Vista rescuing you from the Mac experience is unfounded.
Pete,….LOL
M$ is losing the OS war and…old Stevie boy is rolling out yet another major upgrade to the already VIRUS free OS before the ill fated Windoze in LATE December..lol XP is like system 7 in terms of technology.
http://xvsxp.com
will microsoft users ever learn that the Mac makes more sense??
We actually enjoy using our computers…….REALLY
MacGrumpy-you are a prick. Get lost in your virus infected windows, maggott infested world.
…This doesnt mean they will stop using OSX and switch over to Vista…
Yes they will dump Mac OS X for Vista because most developers won’t code for Mac OS X, our market share is too low for them to bother. People will want to run Halo3 for instance and the only option will be to boot Vista on their Mac’s.
It’s all downhill after that. You’ll get used to Vista, you’ll be running it more and more, and later you’ll be saying “Mac OS X is sure nice, but I got no choice”
And people who have always wanted a Mac but couldnt get one because they depend on XP for work or apps that are not on the Mac will be able to BUY a mac and run BOTH OS’s and use what they want when they want. So not only will Apple sell more hardware, they will increase there OSX users
But Vista is supposed to be pretty nice and secure, what’s the use running Mac OS X at all if all the software is written for Windows and the developers won’t code for it since all Macs will be able to boot Vista?
If I was a developer I wouldn’t spend more money to code for Mac OS X in addtion to Windows, why pay double?
“Just boot Vista” they will say.
Peopl automatically assume what they see today will always will be.
But see I have seen the early pictures of Vista (Longhorn) it was awlful, but now it’s looking good and the next update is supposed to be better.
So what happens if M$ fixes the security issues?
What advantages will Mac OS X have any longer over Windows?
All the developers will say a Mac can boot Vista so there is no need for us to code for Mac OS X.
Mac OS X users will be dual booting into Vista, getting used to it (like so many OfficeMac users do now) and they will slowly unload Mac OS X, much like most Mac users have dumped OS 9.
Apple already has taken the big step, switching to x86 processors. Dumping Firewire 800, adopting PC hardware standards.
The OS is nothing.
The only way Apple can survive is by getting all the Vista software developers to code for Mac OS X really dirt cheap.
Without those third party programs, games, etc., we are history.
MacGrumpy is right on many points (dodgy religion, expensive computers, Mac owning status frowned upon… etc. etc.)
However, the point that if Vista is secure he’s switching is a worry. Well, maybe he might, but for the wrong reasons. I couldn’t care if it was the most secure OS in the world… it’ll still be a total f*** (rhymes with duck) to use.
I thought Windows 2000 was supposed to be better than ever (compared to NT.) XP was supposed to be fan-bloody-tastic as well (compared to Win 2K). It goes on and on… it’ll never be any freaking different. In fact, I’d bet it’ll get even more difficult to use. But hey, at least it’ll look pretty. Each release is more and more like performing plastic surgery on a 95y.o…. it’ll look good on the outside (perhaps), but underneath you know it’s decrepit and falling apart.
ps Jehozaphat – very funny comments
devnull, I hope your right, because if Vista is
1: As good looking as Mac OS X
2: Is as secure as Mac OS X
3: Has most all developers coding for it
and in addition
4: Mactels will be able to boot Vista.
Mac OS X is history as a platform unless…
5: Apple makes it impossible to run Vista on Macs.
It will be the greatest comeback in history followed by the greatest folly in history.
Phil may beleive Apple will sell more hardware if Mactels can boot Vista, but what REALLY sells Mac’s (polls have proven)
1: is Mac OS X first,
2: then Apple hardware,
3: then third party/Apple software.
Most Windows users will not pay for expensive Apple hardware and little choice, they have thousands of choices with generic PC’s.
I admit based upon previous Microsoft history, they put out nothing but pure insecure crap.
But that was with a weak almost dead Apple, things are different now, Apple is a REAL THREAT to Microsoft, just look at the iPod.
Microsoft thought Longhorn UI would be good enough, but then Mac OS X came out and Apple knew they would copy it.
Sure enough Vista (previously Longhorn, new name too, Moo!) now has better security and GUI improvements so Mac OS X won’t be so much of a attraction to potential switchers.
Widgets are now “Gadgets” get it?
Buisneses wil pay big bucks to upgrade hardware to run Vista, they don’t like change but Vista will off course address the high cost of ownership of Windows PC’s due to better security. (Another Mac benefit lost)
Now it all depends how awlful Vista is whether or not Mac OS X has a chance to increase market share.
But if Mac’s can boot Vista and run Vista only programs, expect Mac OS X to die a quick death.
Apple MUST protect Mac OS X’s tiny market share and force developers to code for it
Phil was very wrong to get Mac users hopes up to run Vista unless they really plan to make us switch.
who said London doesn’t need a second apple store?
the population is like what, 14,000,000 ???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London,_England
duh! they need like 20 more stores.
Just to extend Jolly Old Brit’s comments≥
Regent St. is right in the heart of London, and probably no more than two miles from the geographic centre which is pretty much Trafalgar Square/Nelson’s Column/Charing Cross Station.
The problem with buying something at Regent St. is getting it to your car, which you’ve parked in a car park costing £4.00/hour. On top of that, if you’ve made the mistake of entering Comrade Ken Livingstone’s Automobile Exclusion Zone (or Congestion Zone, for it’s official title) that’s another £8.00.
So a drive into Central London and back home will probably cost £4.00 in petrol, £8.00 in Congestion Charges, and a two-hour stay will cost you another £8.00 in parking making a grand total of £20.00.
Or you can use Bluewater serving South and South-East London and most of the commuter towns in Kent, East Surrey and East Sussex for free.
And if you live in the North/North-West of the London conurbation, you can use Brent Cross.
Now all we need is a store in Kingston, Guildford or somesuch to serve the West/South-West bit of London and that’s pretty much it.
MacGrumpy, Exhibit A from CNET:
“That said, Allchin maintained there are plenty of new things to try out in Vista, pointing to a chart filled with added features. In particular, he demonstrated a collaboration tool that uses a “People Near Me” feature, which searches over a Wi-Fi connection for other Vista users nearby and then sets up a peer-to-peer network with them. The tool is meant mostly to enable laptop users to share applications and files, among other things.”
Don’t know about you, but that to me is a security disaster. The LAST thing I want is 7,500 computers looking around to set up private WiFi peer-to-peer networks with untrusted machines; bypassing our corporate LAN, firewalls, and security appliances to “share applications and files”. I guess the “among other things” includes viruses, trojans, and stolen company data. That means more work, time, and $$ spent for my corporate IT staff to disable/secure this “feature” with group policies or other countermeasures.
Sounds like Microsoft still has not learned their security lessons and continue to add features that cause pain and open up new attack vectors. History has shown the success of a paranoid, zero ports open operating system and Microsoft is continuing to ignore it.
Bottom line, Windows is no fun to use. There are a ton of proprietary business apps written for Windows only. There is no true Exchange equivalent on the Mac that I know of. Not as important to everyone but there is no true MS Project equivalent on the Mac. Windows computers are not less expensive when you do a true comparison. If Apple can get an Exchange killer program out the door they may be able to turn things around for business. IT will be extremely threatened because they will be much less important. However, OS X Server, needs someone who knows what they’re doing to administer. Mac OS X Server requires no where near the amount of people that MS Server needs. My large construction company very successfully gets by using 99.9% Macs. We have a couple of Windows machines to access GPS vehicle tracking reports. They are web based but hobbled by Active X so you can’t use just any browser. Annoys me to no end. We need one for ADP too. Annoys me again. I am very familiar with running both operating systems and using Windows sucks compared to using a Mac. Can you get buy using a Mac? Sure. But it is awkward, annoying, and very unenjoyable to use. Here’s to hoping that Apple keeps focussed on improving the Mac line. I have a strong feeling that they will.
I meant “can you get by not using a Windows PC”. I apologize. It’s very early where I am right now.
One more time. Get by using a Windows PC. That’s what I’m trying to say.
MCCFR
Or I could just walk to Regent Street. It takes what, all of ten minutes?
Dave H >
And here in Guildford, I can avoid asthma, pickpockets, being run over by homicidal motorcycle couriers and I can be in the Surrey Hills, admiring the view from Newlands Corner across the South Downs in five minutes.
You pay your money, you takes your choice.
All of that is slightly more important to me than the proximity of an Apple Store, although given the amount of money sloshing around in this part of the world, Apple Retail are missing out on an opportunity by leaving the area to the tender mercies of Cancom’s broom closet showroom.
Ah, the A31 down to Winchester. Great biking road, especially that bit when you come out from between the trees and see the landscape open out on both sides. Stunning even in January when it’s so cold you can’t feel your fingers.
Not that far from home either if you ride like a homocidal motorcyle courier.
You see, I’ve got it all
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Dave H>
Please do not tell other people about the A31 – I would prefer them all to stay on the M3, so that my drive to the New Forest stays at 75 minutes unencumbered by sales reps in their Vauxhall Vectras and assorted soulless bits of German machinery.
This also applies to the A32 and the A272.
BTW, if you’re ever out on “cyclist’s business” (or riding/driving for pleasure) in this neck of the woods, try the road between Pirbright and Mytchett starting at School Lane in Pirbright. Once you get over the humps near the school, It’s a hoot in my Fiat Coupé so on a bike it should be a bit of a laugh.
-the software that pcs come with are shit.
-the operating system is shit.
-vista is based on the same old legacy crap. so security is going to stay the same. ie more viruses every day.
-the computers look ugly.
-bill gates is a unimaginative dork.
-all pc users deserve to use them because obviously they are so dumb they cant see that macs are better.
macgrumpy,
sell your mac and suffer for the rest of your life in the virus infected hell that is windows. call us in a year and tell us how youre doing. i dont know if you can make outgoing calls from a mental assylum though.
Building more Apple Stores in large shopping centers on the outskirts of London is a good idea – they attract people with time on their hands (men/kids who hate clothes shopping with their wives!) and reach a very big, middle class market.
I’ve always found that with the Regent Street store, unless you take time off work and go in early in the morning or early afternoon, you won’t get near a Mac for 10-15 minutes because of all of the foreign students who study in London using the machines to check their e-mails/book flights, etc.
These people have no intention of buying a Mac (the shop could be full of Commadore Amigas for all they care), they just want to use the free internet access – it’s well known in the student community for that.
Why can’t the Apple staff in the shop reserve a few machines in a ‘business zone’ for serious potential buyers to use, without cueing.
MDN magic word: ‘stood’, as in “stood around like a lemon waiting for a machine to demo…”
(Why are these words so appropriate to what you want to post? At times it really does seem like magic!)
Vista is the Microsoft OS for the next 4 years, and I believe it’s already 3 years behind.
Enjoy.
MacGrumpy you Troll-head–your posts reveal you have a lot of unsolvable issues going on inside you. I think going back to PC is absolutely the right move for you. You’re a perfect match for each other.
Consider permission to defect from “The Cult” as granted.
Did they say 70 people were in line for the opening. According to the security on site 1300 people were in line before 9am for the Toronto opening!
Re: Mr Grumpy.
Ho hum, another day in the Cult of Mac.
Apple better start thinking about a different marketing strategy now that they got the abundance of Intel processors.
This religion thing and Apple Stores looking like churches has got to go.
If Vista is secure, I’m switching to a PC
Screw this cult. It’s making me sick.
—-
Good ridence!
You won’t be missed.
Look forward to your virus’s, spyware, maleware, adware and blue screens of death.
Remember to allow 6 hrs a week for security updates and system crashes.
Bye.
re: Pete.
UTTER CRAP.
Now stop taking the drugs and be a good boy.
Snapper
Remember this is a small store less than 10 miles away from Apple’s best in the world. Brent Cross is like Tesco Metro to Regent St’s Harrods.
There’s no competing with that sort of glamour.