apple schmapple...world is divided into people who use mac and people who don't!! anyway, getting back to the topic, just because philly doesn't have an apple store doesn't make it a bluecollar city, and vice versa. I personally feel it's all very overrated and Jobs has got a really awesome marketing gimmick is all. It's more of a status symbol than anything else. And can we not get apple products at other places like radioshack and best buy?

At heart, Philly is a blue-collar town still, and an Apple Store opening within the city limits won't change that much, at least not in the short run.

__________________
Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

Uh, not to nitpick, but YOU came into THEIR thread to trashe something they obviously want.....

Nitpick away. But my intent was not to trash Apple. I was commenting on someone's remark that all anyone had to do was walk through an Apple store to see why we needed one. I had done so, and I still didn't understand. I hoped that someone would be able to explain it better. They did the opposite, now I understand even less. End of story.

__________________
You know, the homeless make desperate, passionate lovers. But they will rob you blind.

There are services you can only get through an apple store that you can not get elsewhere such as the genius bar. I have an iphone and everytime I have needed technical suppost I have had to trek out to Ardmore or KOP to have it looked it at. It would be nice to be able to walk to a CC location and have the same services available. Springboard does not have this option. NO its not the end of the world not having an Apple store in the city but I think if every Mall just outside the city can get one then why can't CC? Its kinda odd.

What if they put an Apple Store... INSIDE WHOLE FOODS!!!!! Holy shite, I think you people would explode from sensory overload.

Here's what StuffWhitePeopleLike thinks about Apple. Basically he says you're weak pawns to consumerism who will do anything to distinguish yourself from the "wrong kinds of white people," and will irrationally pay a lot of extra money to do so. Here ya go:
#40 Apple Products

January 30, 2008 by clander










It is surprising that it took all the way to #40 to call out Apple products. Initially, we were planning for an entire week on Apple products, but that would just be over kill.
Plain and simple, white people don’t just like Apple, they love and need Apple to operate.
On the surface, you would ask yourself, how is that white people love a multi-billion dollar company with manufacturing plants in China, mass production, and that contributes to global pollution through the manufacture of consumer electronic devices?
Simple answer: Apple products tell the world you are creative and unique. They are an exclusive product line only used by every white college student, designer, writer, English teacher, and hipster on the planet [LOL so true].
You see, a long time ago Apple’s were super popular among layout artists and graphic designers. Then Apple released Final Cut Pro and became the standard for film editors. As a result, lots of creative industries used Apple computers instead of PCs. Eventually, people started making the connection, and all of a sudden all white people need to have a Mac [Hahaha don't stop, don't stop. This is good stuff].
When you ask white people about Mac’s they will say “oh, it’s so much better than Windows,” “it’s just easier to use,” “they are so cutting edge,” and so forth. What’s amazing is that white people NEED to meet people who use Windows to justify themselves spending an extra $500 for a pretty looking machine.
It is also important that white people are reminded of their creativity, and remember you need a Mac to creatively check email, creatively check websites, and creatively watch DVDs on planes [BEST. BLOG. EVER.].
White people also need iPods, iPhones, Apple TV, AirPort Express stations, and anything else that Apple will produce. Because you need to express your uniqueness by purchasing everything that a publicly traded company produces.
Apple products also come with stickers. Some people put them on their computer, some people put them on windows, but to take it to the pinnacle of whiteness, you need to put the Apple sticker in the rear window [Only one of you admitts to doing this? I'm not buying it] of your Prius, Jetta, BMW, Subaru 4WD Station Wagon or Audi. You then need to drive to a local coffee shop (Starbucks will do in a pinch) and set up your apple for the world to see. Thankfully, the Apple logo on the back will light up! So even in a dark place, people can see how unique and creative you (and the five other people doing the exact same thing) truly are! [Random House just gave this dude a 6 figure deal for a reason. Stuff White People Like Textbook is out this summer; 234 pages].
Knowledge of Apple products can be useful in a number of social situations. If you see a white person with a Mac, an easy way to approach them is to say “Is that a Powerbook? What OS do you have?” They will happily start talking to you, after the requisite five minutes, you can invite them to an 80s night.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpres...pple-products/

The "geniuses" are far from it. I had to queue 45 minutes for them to tell me that my motherboard on my Powerbook was fried, an assessment I had already reached on my own the previous evening. I've never purchased another Apple computer since.

This bird for president.

Sorry, but if you can't anticipate your computer getting low on storage or not having enough RAM, then I suppose you deserve to pay Apple's absurd premium prices for such materials. How do you use a computer to a point that you've no idea how little hard drive space you have left, and then just decide, "I need a new drive TODAY."? Unless you're swapping 20 gigs of video files on a daily basis, I can't see how that happens. Filling your hard drive is usually a slow(ish) process.

• Steve Dowling
  Director
  (408) 974-1896
• Amy Barney
  Retail
  (408) 974-2046

These are the Corporate PR people at Apple Computer who are responsible for Apple's image. I got this by going into their investor page and looking up their public media contacts.


I would suggest writing an email to them directly.



Here is my email I sent to them:


Hello.

My name is {snip!}, a long-time PC and Mac user who has been a loyal customer of your products for decades, from age 8 to now, a cynical 30 year old. As a loyal customer, owner of 3 iPods and an iPhone and as someone who has mind-numbingly rushed to the stores to get anything Apple as it comes out, something has puzzled me for quite some time.

Why does Apple hate Philadelphia so?

In fact, you purposely erect stores around the Delaware Valley which make it difficult for those of us, especially the young/student-type, to get to. Philadelphia County, population 1.5MM, has absolutely no Apple retail stores, only authorized partners who are poor substitutes for Apple retail locations.

The latest store in Cherry Hill, NJ... while thankfully is more convenient than the one in Ardmore, PA [Suburban Square] and King of Prussia, it still costs us some money in bridge tolls and expensive gas to get to. Which leaves us who live in the city further asking---why is Apple ignoring Philadelphia County and it's 1.5 million people?

Philadelphia is a highly urbanized city. But 1/6th of Philadelphia's residents don't even have cars, which includes many young students (University of Pennsylvania, St. Joe's, Drexel, Community College of Philadelphia, Temple University, etc). We have several subway lines, a large metropolitan railroad system, trolleys and we're a major stop on the AMTRAK Northeast Corridor. There are plenty of places around the Center City and University City areas to open a store that is close to where many native Philadelphians and suburbanites who work here can buy your products, get accessories and help.

However, you continue to ignore us and build stores in the suburbs.


Why?


Locally in the city of Philadelphia, many in the young-professionals and student populations ponder at these decisions from Cupertino, and they echo in the pages of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, City Paper and the like. It's also a running joke on local blog sites such as Phillyblog.com and Philadelphia Will Do.

Consider this brief example: http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com...will_soon.html


As a city with many loyal Apple customers, we wonder:

- Is Apple afraid of Philadelphia and its urban problems?

- Does Apple only want to open in Rittenhouse Square and ignore other Center City locations, and thus is unhappy with the exorbitant rents Walnut Street charges to open a store there?

- Or, is it something deeply inherent in corporate racism. Such as... are there too many black people in Philadelphia for it to ever want to open a store here for fear of crime?

- Does Apple just not "get it" and think that everyone in Philly who uses the trains to get around will happily find cars or hitch a ride, sit in crushing traffic simply to get to an ex-suburban store?

- Did Apple employees take a wrong turn driving from the Airport one day an wound up in the ghetto and scare them off?


Folks, I've been to Cherry Hill Mall and shop there... about two times a year, if I'm lucky to want to bother to go. I haven't been to King of Prussia in 3 years because the traffic is just to terrible to deal with [I own a convertible in the city]. The ambiance of Cherry Hill Mall is just above that of a strip center catering to nearby trailer parks. Why I can spend $300 at a Diesel store a few blocks away, go across the street to Center City Macy*s and buy iPod accessories from a vending machine, or visit one of 11 Starbucks in Center City but have to waste 4 hours of my day to go to New Jersey at a dumpy mall to visit your closest store rather irks me.

Why you continually refuse to open a commercial store in the city that gave you the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States is beyond me.

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You can never have enough check cashing, wig shops, nail salons, hair braiding, cell phone, gold plated jewelry and sneaker stores in Philadelphia!!!

Take a stand. Today, I will do better.
http://www.hotghettomess.com/