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Did you ever stand in front of an Apple retail store all night? I have...and it's an interesting experience! This personal, non-profit Web site was originally posted in August, 2003 to support the "Overnighters," a group of people who camp in front of (ifo) Apple Stores the night before their grand opening. Since the site debuted in August 2003, it's grown to over 1,900 pages of information on all aspects of Apple's retail store operation, and consistently receives over 300,000 sessions, 1.1 million pageviews and 3 million hits each month--sometimes lots more. Information posted on this site comes from various non-Apple sources. Tips are posted only when I can confirm the information, usually from multiple sources. I may post my own speculations, but I don't post rumors. If you spot errors or inaccuracies in anything posted on this Web site, send me an e-mail with a correction. The site carries Google ads, but the revenue doesn't cover anything close to the cost of the twin servers I use to host the site's traffic. The $19.95 per month hosting plans just don't provide enough horsepower! As for me, I'm a long-time Apple computer user, and have owned a series of computers over the years: Apple ][+, Macintosh 128k, Mac SE, IIci, 7300, 7600, Quadra 605, Strawberry and flat-panel iMacs, two Powermac G4s, a Powerbook 1400, two Powerbook G4s, dual 2 GHz G5 with 23-inch Cinema Display and most-recently a Mac mini and iPhone (and a bunch of iPods). I don't have any official affiliation with Apple Computer, except being a registered Mac user! I've shaken hands with Steve Jobs at one of the many MacWorld conferences I've attended, and also bumped into him at the Palo Alto and Stanford store grand openings and the Palo Alto iPhone debut. I've visited Apple stores in northern and southern California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Tokyo, Osaka, London, Rome, Sydney and China--about 61 stores total. I've spent overnight on the sidewalk for the Palo Alto, Bay Street, Walnut Creek, Burlingame, Ginza, Shinsaibashi, Regent Street, Century City, Fifth Avenue, San Luis Obispo, Chestnut Street, Boylston Street, Sydney and Beijing store grand openings, and arrived early for several others. Somewhere along the way I became fascinated with Apple's retail initiative, including the stores' architecture, operation and philosophy. My then 14 year-old son suggested my first overnighter at Palo Alto (N. Calif.) and the experience turned into an interesting social event. He and I have done several overnighters, including five in other countries, and have met so many great people. I created this Web site as a way of sharing all the information I collected about the stores and the grand opening events. Now the Web site seems to have a life of its own!
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