Meth | BLURBOMAT

While we were away this weekend, the Apple Store opened in Salt Lake City. Since Heather and I used to live two blocks from the flagship store in Los Angeles, we have experienced the crack before.

Yesterday afternoon, we ventured down to check it out. Still very crowded. Lots of iPods and accessories. Plenty of surfing stations. Nice. There are one or two good Mac stores here, but the way Apple displays the goods is second to none.

I hadn’t seen a video iPod, and it is very sweet. I was surprised at how sharp the video was and how wide it is. The screen seems much larger than the 3rd and 4th generation iPods, even though it’s only a bit larger. If I were doing a commute on Caltrain and/or a subway, this would be a serious coveted item for me. I remember seeing the first iPod in Glendale at the Apple store and thinking that it was a little ahead of its time, but would be huge. I think video is the same way. Once there are more sources and it’s easy for me to get those sources this could be bigger than the original iPod has been for music. For example, if we could travel with one of these, Leta would be a different kid being able to watch an episode or two of Sesame Street, Teletubbies and Boohbah.

The other thing I loved about the store was all the iPod accessories they carried. It was great to hear so many different external speaker sets.

For the Apple insane, here’s a video of the opening. It was 27∞ the night before the opening. These people are crazy. I used to work with a couple of them. Here is a photo gallery of the opening.

I’m very worried about what this is going to do to our bank acount.

http://www.bryanstrawser.com BS

Of course the displays are hot! The Senior VP of Retail at Apple was recruited from Target!

Bryan
http://www.auniverseaway.com Chris

300 N. 28 E. …being within walking distance is going to eat me alive. I got there at 9:10 and made it into the store by 11:30, still got the t-shirt and the high fives. What a rush, and very addictive. It was nice to see the collection of software titles, and laptop bags. All in all much better selection than the competition.
http://www.ransom-note-typography.com Jon Deal

I was too busy in the morning to get up and snag a t-shirt, but I did finally make it over there ten minutes before they closed. Still very crowded. I shudder to think how much coin I’ll eventually drop there.

Bought a Mighty Mouse and a new keyboard. The video iPods are very nice, indeed. Perhaps my daughter “needs” one! Well, she needs my old one and I should get the new one, right?

The prepubescent behind the Genius counter needed some acne treatment, though.
http://bornfamous.com lavonne

Blurbodoocery’s new mantra: “Sell more calendars, sell more calendars, sell more calendars…”
http://www.nightcreature.net Jason

totally off-topic, but when I went to participate in a psychology experiment here at UBC (in lovely Vancouver BC), the research assistant’s name was Heather Armstrong.
http://www.blurbomat.com Stuling

Does anyone remember the game Dragon’s Eye — Apple IIe circa 1980 mumblesomething.…? Even then apple was drool inducing.….
http://www.spamboy.com/ Spamboy

I was able to avoid the Apple/crack craze for most of my life, thanks to my relationship with a father who worked at IBM. Then…I met my wife, a graphic designer, and now we have two Macs with a third on the way. We have more Macs than we have kids (or dollars in our bank account). All praise Jobs!
http://www.skunkstripe.com Megan

Apple products are gorgeous. I’d love to have the video iPOD, but outside the US you can only buy music videos and Pixar shorts. WTF?
http://hairburner.diary-x.com Wen

Yesterday TiVo announced that it would be making content available from it’s “stand alone” DVRs. Meaning that if you own a TiVo that is not connected to DirecTV or Comcast, and a video iPod life will be sweet.

Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/cwxxp
http://www.24stgeorge.com Dale Cruse

I think if the manager of your local Apple store was smart, he or she would set up an in-store blogging workshop featuring two of the most famous bloggers in the world.
http://www.melanhead.com Melanhead

While we were living in Los Angeles, we lived right across the street from a Starbucks. Our IRAs went into that thing.

Now, one loner Starbucks is opening across the street from us in bohunk Southeast Louisiana. That coupled with our new love for Southern drinking will decimate everything in the account.
aap

Just picked up an Ipod Nano for the sister in law, very nice, packaging like no other. Apple is becoming less a technology company and more of a brand that you can associate a cool lifestyle with. My Ibook is next — hopefully the wife got the hint and it’ll be under the Christmas Tree!!
http://www.digitalcatharsis.com the mighty jimbo

it has taken heroic efforts on my part not to buy a video ipod even if only cause it seems to be half the size of my current 60 gig.

actually it’s not all that heroic. it’s just a matter of having zero income and a visa bill that would choke a goat.
http://www.katiecarman.com Katie

I don’t get it. Were they giving away Ipods at the store opening? Coupons even?
What would possess all those people to wait outside in the 27 degree cold?
http://www.katiecarman.com Katie

ahhhhh, it was the promise of a free t-shirt. Well, now that sounds like something worth freezing ones toes off for…
http://blogs.salon.com/0004595 Meg

Ohhh, the Apple Store. Every time I go inside one, the world seems like such a clean, sweet, orderly place.

Then I step outside again.

Sigh.

Maybe I should live in an Apple Store.
http://aredeaf.blogspot.com Coelecanth

Look, I get it with the love of good tech and all, but to wait in line all night? It’s a store for god’s sake, all that stuff (minus the free shirt) will be there tomorrow.

I love the beautiful toys our affluent society provides, but to make a cult out of consumer products seems a little scary.
gabby

Hey–does anyone here remember an early Mac game (like waaaay back, around 1989–90?) that was some kind of emergency room/surgery thing. I remember performing an appendectomy…
http://www.tuneouttv.blogs.com Tommy from Michigan

What Dale said.
http://epipie.diaryland.com Jennifer Baldwin

In all of the pictures I’ve ever seen of SLC, this is the FIRST TIME I’ve caught a glimpse someone who wasn’t of aryan descent.
southerngirl

I’m contacting Steve and telling him about you guys. Honest.

Course, could be the tequila talkin’.
http://cvcobb02.squarespace.com/3rd-rail/ cvcobb01

My new rule: no shopping at Apple stores in my home town.

But since I’m a couple of miles away from the Grove store here in LA, I expect to break that rule on a regular basis.
DH

Jon/Heather; are you still using the D70? Also, what photoshop programs do you usually use? I am starting up a new business specializing in photography, looking at buying a D70, if that’s the newest/best out there. Any tips?
Sarah

I bought my boyfriend a video ipod a few weeks ago and it’s pretty darn sexy if I say so myself. Funnily enough in Australia there is very little advertising for them, as all major retailers are trying to offload 20gig ipod photos for the same price as 30gig video…

As someone else mentioned, outside the US it’s a bit tricky to get a hold of anything other than music videos which is a downer.
DA

Re travel with Leta …Don’ wait get a portable DVD player with headphones …best $150 we ever spent. Keeps the kids entertained the whole time. Mom and Dad can carry on a conversation and now have their choice of tunes on the car stereo.