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Apple Opens First 'Next Generation' Retail Store (usatoday.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Apple has opened its new flagship store on Thursday in San Fransisco, throwing the curtain back on a design that puts a premium on hanging out over shopping. About 20 percent of the new store's space features an open Forum area where visitors can learn about Apple's various products. The new design is rolling out to stores in Brussels, Memphis and Guilderland, N.Y. "This is the next generation of Apple retail," Angela Ahrendts, Apple's senior vice president of retail and online operations, told media. "Fifteen years ago today Apple opened its first two stores and we're thrilled to mark the occasion with the opening of Apple Union Square in San Francisco," she said. "We are not just evolving our store design, but its purpose and greater role in the community as we educate and entertain visitors and serve our network of local entrepreneurs." The new stores were designed by Ahrendts and Apple's design chief, Jony Ive. "Among the other big changes in evidence is morphing Apple's Genius Bar to Genius Grove; the addition of a new Boardroom area dedicated to small business customers; and the advent of a new staff position, Apple Creative Pro, tasked with helping consumers with specific questions on music, photography, videos and the like," writes USA Today. "In addition, some of Apple's most significant store locations, include the [Apple Union Square in San Fransisco], will feature a public Plaza that will be open 24/7 and feature free Wi-Fi as well as occasional concerts and other performances." Oh, and you can't forget about the new 6K video wall, which display broadcasts various Apple products.
One of these cities is not like the other...
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
I hope this is a /vertisement because it'd somehow be worse if the editors greenlit this honestly. Also at the risk of being modded troll: no multi-national, maybe least of all Apple, should be touting the be touting their commitment to community given what they do to their workers overseas.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
This is what you do when your products suck; suck ass, suck hind tit and suck moosecock.
When you serve the best koolaide in the world you better have open rest rooms!
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
The one in Memphis has an enormous screen on one wall.
http://appleinsider.com/articl...
They say it's designed to give you the laid-back feeling of shopping in a small town.
I'm so excited. If this isn't true innovation I don't know what is. I'll go line up now for when the store opens.
I'll bet the bathrooms are even transgender!
Good.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
"the advent of a new staff position, Apple Creative Pro" - sounds more like a software title. I'm sure they'll be as "creative" as the Apple Geniuses at the genius bars are "geniuses."
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Nothing says "hip" like a pair of pasty-white toothpick legs poking out from under a utili-kilt. How does Apple stay so bleeding-edge.
Not all of you. Not yet.
You are welcome on my lawn.
for those guys at the Square. The one with the tanks.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I've seen these things called "Hackerspaces", so what about making "Applespaces"?
Originally, when Apple planned to renovate the Union Square retail location, they intended to remove the fountain that was on the property. Regardless of the aesthetic/cultural value of that fountain (personally, I think it's kind of an eyesore but I absolutely respect that others might not feel the same way), the public protested, and as a result, Apple changed their plan, and the fountain remains.
I think that says something about a corporation--even one as large and influential as Apple is--that they are willing to listen to the community. That they designed the store with the intent--whether or not it is realized--to integrate with the community, is something that I doubt many other major tech companies really care about. But in typical pessimist Slashdot "nothing is ever good enough and every action has some sinister and ulterior motive" fashion, people seem to always find some reason to complain.
Yes, it's a retail store. Yes, it's for Apple to make money. Yes, there was an environmental impact. No, Apple doesn't sell your beloved Android system. No, Apple isn't God, and they don't let their iPhones run anything you want. No, Apple doesn't do everything you want them to do exactly how you want them to do it and for free. No, the building is not some miracle of architecture designed to be perfect in every way, even if Apple hopes you might think so. Yes, Apple has their cult following.
Given all that, just take a deep breath, relax, and admit that it's a decent renovation, that there will be people who will enjoy the new store, and that Apple, unlike a lot of other companies and for whatever reason, at least tries to care about doing the right thing in this case. That is neither a case for sainthood nor demonization.
You mean being the best employer in China to work for, by a large margin, because workers are treated better and get bonuses?
It should be said, that is entirely unlike the sweatshop box YOU are typing on, Apple Hater.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I'm not sure what the point is, staying open 24/7 near Union Square. It's very busy during the day, but most of the late-night activity takes place in other parts of town. Is the market so saturated that their next target demographic is homeless people?
If you want to protect children from perverts, you should keep them away from GOP politicians and religious leaders.
Totally agree. On the other hand, if you want to protect them from serial killers and mass murderers it's best to keep them away from Democrats (like John Wayne Gacy, or the Ft Hood shooter, or the Virginia Tech shooter, or the Batman movie shooter, or the Washington Navy yard shooter, or the Tucson shooter, or the Connecticut school shooter). Honorable mentions to he Democrats who killed MLK, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, John Lennon and Malcolm X.
lucm, indeed.
May 19th press release. I guess this is news for nerds, better late than never...
Forget the android, where's the Picard?! It is NOT TNG without the Picard!
Changing the clothes doesn't change the person wearing the clothes. The products sold in the stores are the same now as they were before the stores were remade or available on the web.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Changing the genius bar to a genius grove, opening a plaza - it sounds like Apple is trying to make enough room in their retail stores. That's good. But here's another idea for making room in Apple stores:
I wish Apple would open Customer Service Centers (CSC). A CSC would take care of non-sales jobs, like genius bars, repairs, and workshops. Apple stores still would do these functions, but customers would have the added option of going to a CSC instead of to a store.
Because a CSC would not do any sales, it should not be in a mall. The CSC should be in an area that's easy to drive to, with plenty of empty parking stalls near the CSC. (The Apple retail stores that I go to are in malls, and the parking spots near the stores are usually taken. If I have to take my iMac to an Apple store for repair, and if I have to park far away from the mall entrance, then it's hard to carry the iMac to the store.) Also the CSC should be large enough to have plenty of room in it for its customers.
If most Apple customers went to CSCs for repairs and genius bars, instead of going to retail stores, then that would help in several ways:
* Apple retail stores would be less crowded, and the sales staff would have more time to attend to the customers. (In the Apple stores that I go to, there are lots of employees and customers, and the people are crammed like sardines. Most store owners would love to have the problem of their stores being crowded with "too many customers", but the crowding makes it hard for me to ask questions and try out their computers.)
* It would be less crowded and stressful for the Apple employees and customers in a CSC. Customers in the CSC would be able to walk into the CSC, talk with a genius, pick up a repaired computer or whatever, and walk out.
* Since CSCs would not be in shopping malls, Apple could choose from plenty of options on where to put them. So Apple would be able to open CSCs in areas with empty parking stalls nearby.
* If Apple opened lots of CSCs, then customers who lived near a CSC but not near an Apple retail store would have a nearby place to go, for genius bars and repairs. (The nearest Apple store is 30 miles away? That's ok - a CSC is just 5 miles away.)
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Society is going to hell when someone shits into the wrong bowl?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Oh please, everyone knows straight males don't need protection. At least if they're white. If they're black, then at best they can hope for protection from white males. Who gets protected from whom when a white female meets a black guy depends on the main agenda of the one yelling at you, at least that's my current understanding.
So far I haven't fully figured out the protection totem pole. All I know is that on the bottom there's the white, straight, protestant guy and on top is the genderunspecified panreligious asexual person of nonspecific racial heritage. The between is kinda a gray area, but what I could tell so far is that the more special a snowflake you are the more protection you deserve.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Does it come with Safe Spaces? And I sure hope the special snowflakes do not have to walk across the whole building with all those horrible people in there to get there.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I'll fetch you an Apple Genius, hold on!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Calling bullshit on that. Having cleaned hundreds of public washrooms such as those in stores and malls... women's bathrooms are absolutely filthy and disgusting compared to men's bathrooms. Shockingly so. it takes much longer to clean a women's bathroom than men's. Though I suspect much of this is due to children. Kids are messy.
I've read enough of their columns to understand it. I don't agree, but I can understand it well enough to explain it.
A lot of the opposition is based in the basic 'icky' element, but the more rigorous justifications turn to natural law. The concept that there is a 'rightness' ordained to society. Some see this order as divine, a plan by God himself, others as simply a part of human nature which cannot be opposed without creating conflict and chaos. This natural law says how things should be. Among other things it says that men and women are not the same and cannot be treated the same, because trying to treat men as women or vice versa denies their different nature and the roles created for them. Men were created to work and to fight, women to care for the children. Boys seek out the toy guns and policeman uniforms and dream of becoming an astronaut, while girls seek the dolls and nurse uniforms because that is how they are created. Men and women partner up and raise a family because that is the natural order - the way things should be.
Then along comes this new-fangled equality thing, and all hell breaks loose. Men in relationships with men? That violates the natural order, and down that path lies madness. Letting boys play with dolls? You are trying to make them into something that goes against what boys are. Women in the military? But that is not where women belong! Their role has always been in the home, and now you are trying to put the square female peg into the round male hole of warfare. And then to acknowledge these 'trans' people is a step beyond that, because it destroys the very distinction of male and female that is central to society. It denies nature itsself. If men can be women then black can be white and north can be south and truth becomes meaningless.
There's a huge glaring hole in all this, though: It's bullshit. There is no natural moral law, or natural lawbook, or any objective measure of how things should be - only how they are, and how they came to be. Every shift in society has been blocked by those who claimed it violated the natural law - the abolishment of slavery, the end of segregation, interracial marriage, the introduction of contraception, universal education. I expect ten thousand years ago there were hunter-gatherers refusing to plant the first crops because it seemed unnatural. Certainly there were those more recently who said it was in the nature of some races to rule and others to serve, and that was as it should be. Every time people have looked at the status quo and declared 'it has always been thus, it is natural that it be thus, and so any change would be in violation of what is natural.' Because natural law does not exist - all it can do is reflect the beliefs of the person who invokes it, and allow them to claim natural or even divine backing for whatever views they wish to defend.
This type of stuff is such bullshit. Apple wants everyone in the store selling at all times. So if this is a community space, it's about meeting with their underpaid college / drop out employees and getting sold something while you think you are just hanging out. And their employees are not SMEs or customer service wizards. They offer nothing to the apple experience unless you are a parent who can't get in touch with with their kid to help reset a password on an iCloud account.
I used to respect Apple more when they were honest about it. They are stores and you are there to buy something. The experience crap is so dillusional.
Or maybe gender neutral? Never understood why single occupancy bathrooms even need a gender assignation?
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
If you want to protect children from perverts, you should keep them away from GOP politicians and religious leaders.
Totally agree. On the other hand, if you want to protect them from serial killers and mass murderers it's best to keep them away from Democrats (like John Wayne Gacy, or the Ft Hood shooter, or the Virginia Tech shooter, or the Batman movie shooter, or the Washington Navy yard shooter, or the Tucson shooter, or the Connecticut school shooter). Honorable mentions to he Democrats who killed MLK, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, John Lennon and Malcolm X.
Atheists FTW! :-)
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Don't know where you got your "information" from, but there's no need to "keep having it cut open again when it inevitable heals up."
As for dilating, a hard man is good to find.
My body, my choice - that's not some "special rights." Women have been saying it for decades. Get with the times.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
By the way - two points:
ONE: Psychiatrists don't classify it as a mental illness, so who should people believe, professional specialists or some random coward on the net with zero credibility and zero studies to back them up? Gee, that's a hard one ...
TWO: If it is a mental illness, do you always go around berating the mentally ill? How sick are you? Why would you deprive someone that you claim has a mental illness from receiving a treatment that is 98% successful? (which is higher than the success rate for any mental illness, btw)
Do you also kick guide dogs? Push people in wheel chairs down stairwells? Make fun of people who stutter or lisp?
THREE: The majority want us to have the same rights as others. It's just the sex-obsessed right-wing bible thumpers and their political cronies who are so interested in what's in (or not in) other people's panties. They need to learn that hot, sweaty, dirty sex is good sex.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
So long as you have money and an address, stay as long you'd like!
That's all the Apple stores are. Gateway stores, but without the cow motif.
ONE: Psychiatrists don't classify it as a mental illness, so who should people believe, professional specialists or some random coward on the net with zero credibility and zero studies to back them up? Gee, that's a hard one ...
Uh, yeah they do. DSM V classifies it as "gender dysphoria disorder." It's still a mental disease, no matter what the crazed PC crowd wants to believe.
ONE: Psychiatrists don't classify it as a mental illness, so who should people believe, professional specialists or some random coward on the net with zero credibility and zero studies to back them up? Gee, that's a hard one ...
Uh, yeah they do. DSM V classifies it as "gender dysphoria disorder." It's still a mental disease, no matter what the crazed PC crowd wants to believe.
No matter how you want to lie, there is no "disorder" in "gender dysphoria. Transsexualism itself is also no longer regarded as a mental disorder. So like I wrote, who should I believe - some asshole on the internet or professionals?
Also, you failed completely to ignore my point about "so what if it's a mental disorder?" Here it is again, an ugly consequence to your attitude:
TWO: If it is a mental illness, do you always go around berating the mentally ill? How sick are you? Why would you deprive someone that you claim has a mental illness from receiving a treatment that is 98% successful? (which is higher than the success rate for any mental illness, btw) Do you also kick guide dogs? Push people in wheel chairs down stairwells? Make fun of people who stutter or lisp?"
Admit it - you're just a misogynistic bully who hides behind anonymity.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
No matter how you want to lie, there is no "disorder" in "gender dysphoria. Transsexualism itself is also no longer regarded as a mental disorder. So like I wrote, who should I believe - some asshole on the internet or professionals?
Uh, no. The DSM V fell prey to the call of PC-ism and removed a lot of "triggering speech" to try and make people with mental disorders - such as trannies and austists - feel better about themselves. But it's still a disorder or it wouldn't be in there.
Also, you failed completely to ignore my point about "so what if it's a mental disorder?" Here it is again, an ugly consequence to your attitude:
We used to lobotomize mental patients until we realized that was barbaric. Mutilating people and fucking up their biology with hormones is just as barbaric. As a mental illness, the proper treatment would be to help individuals with gender dysphoria disorder accept the bodies they were born with. Unfortunately, the PC morons currently ruining our country are also ruining mental health treatment by demanding their barbarous treatments be accepted as "medicine." Future generations will look back at us and wonder what the hell was wrong with us.
You aren't a woman and you never will be. The sooner you accept that and learn to live with the body you were born with, the better off you'll be.
This does not sound like an actual business with an actual business plan.
This sounds like modern day Douche-Marketing.
Hey you stupid douche, look at the shiny crap in the apple store!
Moderate down all you want. I don't agree with the views explained above, I just understand them well enough to try to explain how that manner of thinking works.
Give it up already. If the law says I'm a woman, and my birth certificate says I'm a woman, and everyone around me treats me like a woman, who am I to disagree?
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.