[Fahrenheit]

Sorry, if I didn't make it clearer - its fake! The dog dies

So, I don't really know what to make of this to be honest. By letting people coming in and playing with stuff (maybe even if they're not serious about buying one today), they were getting lots of attention, oohs and aahs, and people who were passing by were seriously getting excited about these OSX products they might never have used. But by charging, I think you are going to put a lot of people off. I mean - Its a shop! Store President Phil McCrackin was unavailable to comment, which makes me even madder about the whole situation.

f you want to see the iPhone at an Apple store, be sure to bring some cash. Large crowds flocking to see the iPhone and next generation iPods have forced Apple to begin charging a $5 entrance fee for Apple stores. Many analysts anticipated the move, and expect a positive response from customers. "Part of the move was to limit crowds to keep the stores safe, but also we wanted to keep the right kind of people in the stores," said vice president of retail outlets, Vince Sciopiano. "By 'right kind of people' I mean true Apple customers with money, willing to pay just to look at our newest wares." While Apple Geniuses patrol inside the store, Apple "Muscleheads" will guard the window displays and entrances. For the $5 fee, customers will get an Apple button which will allow them entrance into the store and is used to track the customer's movements. Sciopiano noted that the $5 fee could be applied to purchases on that visit Customer reaction at a pilot project at the Apple Store in Canoga Park, California was positive. Alexander Hu, an avid Mac user, said, "I don't mind paying $5 to get into the store, if it keeps out the iPhone gawkers and Windows lusers who want to drool over the new Macs." Not everyone was pleased though. Kyle Martin said, "Five dollars to just walk into the store? It's like they want to be elite snobs or something." When told of the criticism, Sciopiano said, "That's exactly the case." Apple shares were up on the news.

Link to article.

Opinions?

[curiousuburb]

Trolling

[Fahrenheit]

Its still a good article!

Opinions obviously are most welcome! Oh, and Digg it here.

[thegeriatric]

Oh dear. Just destroyed months of work convincing windows users that Mac people are not snobbish or elite, but just chose different. Apple what the Fu.. are you playing at.

[Engine Joe]

Ah yes, BBspot...

Called "the world's greatest tech humour site" by The Register, BBspot creates entertainment for the geekier side of the world.

[Brad]

I hope none of you are taking this seriously. The article is from BBspot, a satire web site.

edit: Ayup. What Engine Joe said.

[Bryson]

BBspot is a humour site, folks.....

EDIT: So much for the spoiler tags....

[thegeriatric]

Ok everything is ok now, situation normal, core temperature returning to normal, alarms resetting, nothing to worry about.

[dmegatool]

Like I always say: If it's on the internet, it's true.

[pscates2.0]

Ohmigosh, I had a nine-second minor freakout there at first. I'm going there Saturday with my Dad and stepmom (the Atlanta Perimeter one) to look at MacBooks for him. I didn't know how I was going to break it to them that we were looking at a $15 cover charge just to get in the door. I already knew what his response was going to be...two words, four letters each and starting with "f".



Whew...glad to see it's just funnin'.

Oh yeah: I wonder how long it'll be before a Dvorak or CNBC tie/suspender type picks up on this, takes it seriously and writes a 2,200-word blog about it, ripping Apple to shreds? I almost hope it happens...

[alcimedes]

The sad part is that we actually thought it *might* be true, which should tell you something.

Not sure what exactly, but something.

[pscates2.0]

It tells us that we know Apple - in their amazing ability to balance out the good and the cool with the lame and the "WTF?!?" - might be capable of doing such a thing. We know that at any given moment we're merely one press release away from something incredibly deflating and/or tantrum-inducing.

It's Apple. It's part of it. If you've been a Mac user for more than five or so years, you just accept that as part of it.

"I love 'em, but, man, they sure can piss me off sometimes...".



I bought the above hook, line and sinker and was ready to unload a major "WTF?!?" rant until I realized it was a joke. But I obviously believed Apple might pull something like that, so yeah...it says something, doesn't it? They've not completely washed off that elitist, snob-appeal stink, apparently...

[Jason]

I know it`s satire but maybe this isn`t such a bad idea.
Ever been into the store on Regents Street on a weekend? Hordes of chavs and general pond life hogging all the computers surfing the net and reading their mail with no intention of buying.

seriously, you`d be amazed at how busy a store may look until you actually see the number of people queing at cash desks to actually buy something.

Apple, bring it on!　

[cosus]

you and your silly chavs.

[turbulentfurball]

Originally Posted by Jason I know it`s satire but maybe this isn`t such a bad idea. Ever been into the store on Regents Street on a weekend? Hordes of chavs and general pond life hogging all the computers surfing the net and reading their mail with no intention of buying. seriously, you`d be amazed at how busy a store may look until you actually see the number of people queing at cash desks to actually buy something. Apple, bring it on!

When I was in the 5th Avenue store, I saw several PC laptop users just in the store to use the free Wi-Fi. That's sooo worse!

[Schnauzer]

Originally Posted by dmegatool Like I always say: If it's on the internet, it's true.