Put On Your Shoppin' Hat (11/17/00)
SceneLink
 

Everyone knows that Steve likes his secrets. Every time he takes the wraps off of some new surprise during a keynote, you can just see that twinkle in his eye. He lives for that perfect instant when he can cast his gaze over a sea of awestruck, open-mouthed faces and know that he just blew the mind behind each and every one of them. No wonder he instituted a strict "no leaks" policy at Apple; how else could he have stunned the world with the iMac unveiling back in May of 1998? Keeping an engineering effort of that scale hidden for so long is no small feat.

Unfortunately, while developing a blue-green space egg on the sly is tough but doable, working on some things just really can't be kept under wraps all that well. Like, say, a building. Those of you who have been following the "Apple retail" rumors from the beginning know what we're talking about. For a long, long time, now, there have been whispers that Apple is planning to counter what can only be described as a pretty awful Mac presence in retail stores with the ultimate solution: Apple's own stores, in which the company has total control over those niggling little details like presentation, availability, and customer shopping experience-- which chains like Best Buy seem to consider costly and unnecessary frills.

But it's far easier for Steve to clamp the muzzle on his own company's employees than to silence outside contractors, and since Apple never planned to branch out into architecture, construction, and various other building-type areas, it comes as no surprise that details about Apple's own retail plans have come bubbling to the surface via looser-lipped outside agencies. Industry design magazines such as (appropriately enough) The Industry Design Magazine published tidbits of info about various firms who were designing Apple's new stores, etc. So this is one rumor that eventually started looking more and more like a certainty, barring any last-minute "Ah, screw this, let's just sell 'em door-to-door instead" decisions by His Mercurialness.

Here's the latest piece of the puzzle, which blows the whole story wide open: the San Jose Mercury News reports that the very first meatspace Apple Store will cater to the late-night geek crowd by selling Apple gear until 11PM each night once it opens its doors at the corner of University and Kipling Avenues in downtown Palo Alto, "just a couple of miles from Jobs' home." How do they know, you ask? Because a member of the city's architectural review board went ahead and blabbed. Thank heaven for garrulous civil servants!

As for the store itself, we're only calling it the Apple Store in lieu of any hard evidence to the contrary; reportedly the premiere Apple shop (not counting the company store at Apple's headquarters) "won't come with any signage, just two white Apple logos illuminated on glass doors." (Terrific. We sense a "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince" naming scenario.) According to the board, Apple was "pretty clear" about wanting a University Avenue address in Palo Alto, and so the store is going to settle in a 6500-square-foot space that used to be a HomeChef until it "burned down"-- wow, sounds like Steve really wanted that space. The lesson here, kids, is this: never cross an iCEO with a lighter and some kindling.


 
SceneLink (2685)
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors
 

From the writer/creator of AtAT, a Pandemic Dad Joke taken WAYYYYYY too far


 

The above scene was taken from the 11/17/00 episode:

November 17, 2000: The secret's out; apparently Apple's first retail store will open in downtown Palo Alto. Meanwhile, rumors of a 600 MHz Power Mac G4 slated for a Macworld Expo introduction have been "confirmed," and the Cube racks up yet another award from yet another impressed periodical...

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 2686: Everything Lasts Forever (11/17/00)   We at AtAT hereby propose that the Mac community retire the whole "glass half-empty"/"glass half-full" measure for whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist, at least for the next couple of months. Instead of that outdated and overused classification method, why don't we use a "faster G4s by Macworld Expo"/"we'll be at 500 MHz until we die" dichotomy instead?...

  • 2687: Kudos, Kudos Everywhere (11/17/00)   And the awards keep rolling in! Nary a fortnight's passed since we proudly reported that the Power Mac G4 Cube had been honored with a Popular Mechanics Design & Engineering Award, and scarcely a week went by after that that we told you about the Cube's "Grand Award" in the Best of What's New race over at Popular Science...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...

Vote Early, Vote Often!
Why did you tune in to this '90s relic of a soap opera?
Nostalgia is the next best thing to feeling alive
My name is Rip Van Winkle and I just woke up; what did I miss?
I'm trying to pretend the last 20 years never happened
I mean, if it worked for Friends, why not?
I came here looking for a receptacle in which to place the cremated remains of my deceased Java applets (think about it)

(1233 votes)

Like K-pop, but only know the popular stuff? Expand your horizons! Prim M recommends underrated K-pop tunes based on YOUR taste!

Prim M's Playlist

DISCLAIMER: AtAT was not a news site any more than Inside Edition was a "real" news show. We made Dawson's Creek look like 60 Minutes. We engaged in rampant guesswork, wild speculation, and pure fabrication for the entertainment of our viewers. Sure, everything here was "inspired by actual events," but so was Amityville II: The Possession. So lighten up.

Site best viewed with a sense of humor. AtAT is not responsible for lost or stolen articles. Keep hands inside car at all times. The drinking of beverages while watching AtAT is strongly discouraged; AtAT is not responsible for damage, discomfort, or staining caused by spit-takes or "nosers."

Everything you see here that isn't attributed to other parties is copyright ©,1997-2024 J. Miller and may not be reproduced or rebroadcast without his explicit consent (or possibly the express written consent of Major League Baseball, but we doubt it).