OS X Leopar Event

On October 26, 2007 Apple released version 10.5 of its OS X operating system nicknamed "Leopard." I attended the event at the Burlingame (N. Calif.) store, where the line didn't start forming until 3:56 p.m. when a young man too his position to the left of the front door. The store closed at 4 p.m., when employees began preparing the inside of the store for the debut.

Among the preparations were apparently seeing OS X for the very first time--the employees were all huddled along the left side of the store at the computers, pointing and typing.

At about 5 p.m. a man and a young woman holding an iPhone appeared at the front door. The man learned from the kids in line that the store was closed and wouldn't re-open until six. He tried to get an employee's attention, and eventually knocked very loudly on the front window, asking in a demanding voice for "the manager." Within a minute someone came outside holding a new iPhone box and some papers. The conversation then continued, with the man very agitated. Essentially, the young woman had purchased the phone very recently (the day before?), and had dropped the iPhone, damaging the top case portion.

The staffer with the new iPhone went back inside, and then employee Barney came out to talk to the man. Again, essentially, Barney explained that the warranty didn't cover accidental damage. The man was calming down at this point, but then asked about repair services. Barney said Apple did not repair iPhones, either at the store or at a central depot, because it's not cost-effective to do so. He suggested other alternatives: wefixmacs.com and some companies that sell iPhone parts. The man wasn't totally convinced that there was no repair service, but seemed to understand the situation better now. Barney went back inside and the man moved on.

Well, almost on. He recognized someone in line and went to talk to the the person. He explained the situation, and remarked that it was "incredible" that the iPhone wasn't covered by the warranty or that there was no repair service. Apparently he still didn't get it. Like a toaster, if you bust it, you buy a new one.

Apple employees rolled out carts with bottled water and fresh coffee from Peet's Coffee next door, and the line grew very slowly. There were just 37 persons at 5:30 p.m., but then at the 6 p.m. opening time there were about 150 persons.

Staffers hounded out the commemorative T-shirts (in a plalstic bag) when we entered, and someone with a hand counter asked, "Personal or family pack?"

The employees placed stanchions outside the store to insure it wound around the corner. They also used stanchions to guide the crowd into the store to the right, then to the back where there was a table of family-pack and individual copies of OS X. There were promo cards in plastic holders at some tables, posters on the tables, and copies of OS X scattered among the product display tables.

The line went to a table in the rear-center of the store, stocked with OS X copies. An employee would hand you the appropriate version, and then immediately check you out using the portable computer, or direct you to the rear of the store if you were using cash (yes, someone did, with 129 one-dollar bills!). After your purchase you were free to roam the store.

Along the left side of the store, on the wall display counter, the employees had put out announcement cards on the top of metal holders (the same ones used for One to One sessions?). The cards stated, "Ask me..." and referred to one or more features of the new OS X, including iChat, Time Machine and e-mail. Employees staffed each station to answer questions and demonstrate the various features.

Here are some photos I took of the event.