Video: Apple Store Grand Opening - Haywood Mall

Thousands of Apple enthusiasts, and more than a few iPad buyers crowded the Haywood Mall on Saturday for the Grand Opening of their Greenville, SC location. I dropped by, pulled out the Flip Video camera and a Droid X that I've been playing with for evaluation purposes and grabbed some shots of the crowd. All of the video you see in this movie was shot with the Flip Video SD version. All of the still shots come from the Droid X.



The event was great spectacle. There was a tremendous crowd and a couple of hundred Apple Store employees to help. Before calling out the countdown, the employees marched around the assembled crowd and yelled out several cheers. Nice job. Welcome to town.

If you are in the video, why not post a comment here? Glad we could share the experience.

Symptom - All of your Apple TV movies, TV shows, and songs appear to be missing

I got the following message from Apple about my Apple TV.

Dear Customer,


If you've installed the Apple TV 3.0 software update, you should immediately update to version 3.0.1. This prevents content from temporarily disappearing until it is resynced.
To update your Apple TV software: 

1. Reboot your Apple TV (unplug the power cord and plug it back in)
2. Select Settings > General from the main menu
3. Select Update Software
4. Select Download and Install


Note: Your Apple TV will conduct a restart, which is followed by the Apple logo and a status bar.


For more information, please refer to this article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3116

Sadly, it arrived too late. The 3.0 software wiped out all of the content on my Apple TV forcing a resync of my entire library. Since I've recently upgraded the WiFi at the house, this took only several hours instead of a few days as it did when I first loaded it.

The new interface on the 3.0 version of the Apple TV is really quite nice and let's you get to things a lot more quickly.

Apple releases a new Touch, Nano, and iTunes 8

Steve Jobs says he isn't dead yet, and he's got some cool new stuff to show for it. He started up by letting the HD crowd know that HDTV shows were coming to Apple TV for $2.99 each. Also, NBC will be returning to iTunes as well. He also showed off the following:

ITunes 8

The new iTunes 8 uses screen space better and makes it easier to find what you are looking for through a new algorithm that figures out what you might like to listen to next.

A New Nano

Of course there is a new Nano. It's the thinnest ever made and now has curved screen, recording, and and "the shake." The built-in accelerometer let's you give the nano a shake and enter the shuffle mode.

The new Nanos will be available in two memory sizes and eight colors. The 8GB version sells for $149 and the 16GB version $199. Jobs says both should be available within the week.

A New Touch

A redeveloped iPod Touch has been unveiled as well, delivering more memory for less money. The latest Touch will also have access to the Apple App Store, with new games to be released as well. The latest version of the Touch OS, 2.1 will be available for download on Friday.

Twice Grinched by Apple Thieves!

In today's Future Tense Podcast, Jon Gordon says that overall satisfaction with online retailers has dropped a wee bit this Holiday season, but that online shoppers remain generally satisfied. The one example he gave of a guy having a crummy experience with the beloved online site Apple.com was me!

I had mentioned to Jon in an email that in the run up to Christmas, I had twice received an empty box instead of a shiny new red iPod Nano. AAARRGH! I am sure that all parties, Apple, my wife, and I felt a bit like the Fates were against us after the second empty box arrived.

All ended satisfactorily, however. My wife's dream of a happy Christmas for her poor waif of a husband came through on the third attempt. And now, I think the Red iPod Nano is better than any bike ever.

qv: [Satisfaction with online shopping dips]