THE LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT: REMEMBERING STEVE JOBS

The world became a little different yesterday when Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple died at age 56 of pancreatic cancer.

And, the lights went out, literally! For the first time in the history of Apple Retail stores, the big Apple logo that identifies each and every store and that is illuminated 24/7 has gone dark. It's hard to see in daylight but will be an eerie reminder into the evening...Apple Retail's version of a flag flying at half mast.

Steve Jobs showed us how to "Think Different." And in the last 30 or so years, we have done just that, no matter what the level of our technical expertise. He made tech stuff understandable to just about everyone. Apple products are loved throughout the world from seniors who use their iPads to email and keep in touch with their families to film producers who create blockbuster movies on their Apple desktop computers.

In fact, the way I learned of Jobs' death was through a text alert from a local radio/TV station that I received on my iPhone at 4:40 p.m PST yesterday...Just the way Steve wanted it to be.

In my household, we've had a least one of every Apple product that has been introduced since my very first Apple IIsi in the 1980s.

Apple products are beautiful, intuitive, functional, easy to use, fun to use.

I am such an Apple fan that I belong to Apple clubs, go to Apple conferences, wear Apple-logo clothing that I buy at the company store on headquarters campus in Cupertino, and even worked at an Apple retail store in my home town for several years.




Around the world, the Apple curious and faithful are paying tribute to Steve Jobs at Apple stores.

I visited mine this morning and the memorials to him were starting to be placed outside the store...flowers, post-it messages on the windows...Inside, I hugged and talked to several of my former colleagues...we are family and it felt good to grieve together.

Thank you, Steve for enriching my life.

iPhone 4: I'm in Love...Again

The day dawned cool and a bit foggy. I'd set the alarm for 5 a.m. My goal was to leave the house by 6 a.m. to get in line for new Apple iPhone 4 which went on sale today.

I got to the Apple Store in Walnut Creek at about 6:15 a.m. The line went almost around the entire block.





I debated since I had not pre-ordered and had no idea what kind of inventory the store would have. I quickly checked at the AT&T store nearby where there was no line...NO LINE? Then I got closer and the sad truth was revealed on a sign on the door: despite what they had told me several times in the past week, there were no iPhones for sale today for those who had not pre-ordered. AT&T will not have any to sell until June 29...next Tuesday.

I debated a few minutes more and decided to give the Apple line a shot.

I was in line before 6:30 a.m.

Within a few minutes, after a run by of Apple Store employees with lots of high fives and thank yous to us, the big long line was split between the pre-orders and the rest of us.

At 7 a.m., the lines started moving. Apple employees worked the line and always gave words of encouragement, but never gave information about wait times and inventory.



Word spread that for every 4 pre-orders, one of the rest of us would get in the store.

We were moving very very slowly. And the batteries on our older iPhones and iPads were starting to run low.






After awhile, I started calling those in the pre-order line, "The Chosen Ones." And, that they were, as evidenced by a cheerful Man of the Cloth in their line...he was smiling even more when he paraded past us with his new iPhone 4 in hand.



After a few hours, Apple people came through the line with bottles of water.

Also, being good citizens to their fellow retail neighbors, the store employees picked up the garbage that those who spent the night out on the street in line left behind.



The Apple folk also made sure that we did not block entrances to any of the businesses where we were in line.

Barnes & Noble set up a coffee cart by their front door, before they opened for business at 9 a.m. A bit later in the day, they wheeled a cart of soft drinks through our line, for sale, but welcomed by many.

We made runs to Starbucks, to move our cars from limited time parking spots, to make restroom runs, to buy food.

Then, about noon, an SUV pulled up and unloaded cartons of KFC to-go boxes. We thought this was food for the Apple Store employees, but no, it was box lunches for US...Fried Boneless Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Mac & Cheese, and a Biscuit. Not my usual fare, but, let me tell you, it was delicious...and a bit of carbo loading was just what we all needed.



This fortified us for a few more hours.

Security people walked the line, kept doorways clear, and strategized about keeping things calm...it worked; there were no problems that I saw.



Finally, at 2 p.m., I was allowed into the store and I made my purchase...and not a minute too late!!

This is what the store activity looked like.



As I was leaving the store at about 2:15 p.m., those still in line were told that there were just 5 16 GB iPhone 4's left.



Was it worth nearly 8 hours in line? Of course!!!

It was an adventure. It was fun! And I enjoyed the company of my "Apple Family for a Day."



Thanks guys for the company.

Thanks Apple for the food and encouragement and for creating amazing products that keep me falling in love over and over again.

Today is Day One for the iPhone 3G S

Last July I was in line, well before sunrise, to purchase the second generation of Apple's iPhone, the iPhone 3G.

Today, less than a year later, a faster more capable less expensive iPhone, the 3G S model, went on sale at Apple and AT&T stores at 7 a.m.

But, I wasn't there. Despite the nifty new features, I cannot justify replacing last year's model...at least not just yet. Yesterday, I was, however, among the first to install the latest iPhone upgrade which gives me some of the new features...search, cut & past, and voice recorder, to name a few. But, I will need the new model to take advantage of Voice Control, a camera with focus features, a camcorder, more memory, and a faster speed.

So, I went about my morning as usual, but by noon, I could not resist being part of the "action." I had to see what was going on at the Walnut Creek Apple Store. So off I went.

There was a line outside, but not a line around the block, as was the case last year.



For this iPhone, customers could reserve one in advance to assure getting one on Day One, thus the shorter lines. But, as is typically the case, there are always those who don't get their act together to reserve in advance, and so there were several hopeful customers, patiently waiting in line outside the store, on the chance that not all the iPhones were reserved.



Last year, Apple passed out bottles of water to keep those in line cool and hydrated. I am not sure about the water, but this time around, those in line were under the shelter of very nice black umbrellas, provided for use by the store.

At 12:20 p.m., over 5 hours after the store opened, an employee came out to announce that they were out of iPhones for today. This lucky customer clutched his bag a bit tighter as he left the store while the announcement of no more phones was being made.



It looked like they were taking the names of those who wanted to reserve one from the next shipment. And, those in line were invited to return tomorrow.




Of course, the City of Walnut Creek benefited by the release of the new iPhone by issuing parking tickets to the cars in front of the store that had exceeded the time on their parking meters, probably because their owners were inside making their purchase or were still in line and didn't want to risk losing their place.

I am already starting to save my pennies for next year's model.

ANOTHER FRIDAY FOR SHOPPING

Friday shopping is starting to become a habit. This past Friday...7/18...I was up at 5:30 a.m. not to get in line for another iPhone, but, rather, to get to my local Nordstrom for the start of the Anniversary Sale. This is a terrific once-a-year event when the store brings out many of it new items for the Winter season. The entire store is on sale...that means, men's, women's, children's, and gifts and home stuff too.

Now, granted, shopping for winter clothing in the middle of July is not everyone's cup of tea, but at discounts on some items close to 40% off what will be full retail prices in a few months, I can handle it. And, the stores are air conditioned so, what's the problem with tryng on Winter coats and pants?



My Nordstrom opened at 7 a.m. on this, the first day of the sale. I got to the door at 6:55 a.m. and they had already let customers in.

First thing I noticed was that there was no complimentary coffee table by the entrance...hmmm...is Nordstrom cutting back on customer amenities?

Undaunted, I headed for jewelry and shoes...got a few pairs of earrings. Next on my mission was a Nike workout outfit for a young friend who is turning 21. As I started up the escalator, I spied, in the men's department, not only the coffee table but, also on it, Danish pastries and muffins. At the second floor, I headed for the down escalator for my coffee and what had to be the world's best pain raisin, raisin danish.

With proper nourishment, I headed back up to the second floor where I bought the Nike outfit.

From there on, I was in sort of free fall mode...I wandered from department to department...two pairs of winter slacks, a dressy top, another birthday gift for a friend, a black sweater, some cosmetics...I was truly in heaven and remained in the store until about 11 a.m.

When I emerged for air, I made a quick run over to the Apple store




where, one week later, there was still a long line waiting to buy an iPhone! I said hello to one of the assistant managers who gave me a bottle of Watermelon water, what Apple retail is handing out to its customers who are patiently waiting in line.


This Friday, I promise myself, I will get some work done to pay for all my shopping.



One final Nordstrom note: The Anniversary sale runs through August 3.

APPLE iPHONE 3G LAUNCH: 7/11/2008 !!!

My alarm was set for 5 a.m.

At 6 a.m., I headed for the Apple Store in Walnut Creek and Jim and Louie headed to the AT&T Store on Broadway Plaza. By 6:15 a.m. we determined that the line at Apple was much much longer than that at AT&T, but the party atmosphere was much better at Apple, where the store manager was working the line that went around the block, well past Barnes & Noble, and the local TV stations were set up, in hopes of getting some news worthy interviews and video clips.

Why were perfectly sane (??!!) people lining up in the early morning hours? Because...AT 8 A.M., BOTH APPLE and AT&T were opening their stores to start selling the much awaited iPhone 3G.

So, the immediate decision at 6:15 a.m. was festivity over shorter wait. Shorter wait won out and off I went to the AT&T store. Although the line at the AT&T store snaked around the back of the store by the parking garage (not very beautiful), we still managed to create our own kind of festive atmosphere.

And, the AT&T staff could not have been nicer and more friendly. They brought us planning worksheets and pens so we could have all our pertinent information ready when we bought our phones. They also came around several times with bottles of water to make sure we remained hydrated and kept cool...we're in the midst of a heat wave out here.





As with waiting in line for any special event, we made friends with our line mates...a recent high school grad with her Dad...they were in line to get an iPhone for Dad...an Air Force pilot, and an architect.

At 8 A.M, sharp, the doors opened and the first group of customers entered the store.







As we got closer in line, Jim made his last phone call on his Verizon phone...from here on in, it is AT&T all the way!













Even Louie tried to stay on his best behavior...was there a black 16 gb in there waiting for him as he joined our Family Plan? He'd need unlimited messaging too, of course!


We stayed positive as the first customers started coming out of the store, bags in hand.

And, carrying their chairs and other gear that had sustained them during their wait in line.



















Once we were in the store, our sales person, Grace, efficiently created our new account. The one glitch was that the store could not activate our phones on site, as had been expect. The iTunes network was overloaded and we had to do it on our own at home.
By 8:50 a.m., we were out of the AT&T store, with two iPhones in hand.

Our new friends had their phones too...and, the about-to-be college girl and her Dad, not only bought an iPhone for Dad, they got one for her too!



From there, we headed over to check out the scene at the Apple Store...the line still snaked around the block and the crowd remained cheerful. When a group of customers entered the store, the staff cheered them loudly.

















The sidewalk looked the worse for wear...from a night of Apple faithful living on the streets of Walnut Creek, but the crowd remained optimistic about snaring a 3G iPhone!



















And, before I headed home to activate my iPhone, I stopped to visit with the Men of iWait.com

, the people who made it "happen" for those who did not want to camp out in front of the Apple Store for three days to be a the front of the line. These guys had been here since Wednesday...hopefully, they made enough money to buy their own iPhones!
As they relaxed under a tree and checked for their next waiting assignment, they told me that they not only wait in lines, they also are available to run errands, and to do just about any job you are willing to pay them to do.

And, one final, final note...I got interviewed by KTVU-TV when I returned to the front of the Apple Store and I and my new iPhone were on today's Noon news!