# Apple Store Waterloo Grand Opening Live ehMac.ca Coverage!



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

ehMac.ca will be providing lots of coverage of the Apple Store Waterloo / Conestoga Mall Grand Opening with photos, videos, tweets and updates! Follow this thread and on twitter at Twitter.com/ehMac (Hashtag *#applestorewaterloo*) 
Coverage sponsored by *Elgato*!

Behold, the new Apple Store in Waterloo! 



































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CBC's the National did a piece on the Waterloo Apple Store opening, portraying it as a "provocative" move so close to RIM's headquarters:





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YouTube Video









ERROR: If you can see this, then YouTube is down or you don't have Flash installed.




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Coverage also by:
*seyDesign* - Makers of Premium Rapidweaver Themes


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## Tech Elementz (Mar 15, 2011)

Good to know....


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

ehMax said:


> ehMac.ca will be providing lots of coverage of the Apple Store Waterloo / Conestoga Mall Grand Opening with photos, videos, tweets and updates! Follow this thread and on twitter at Twitter.com/ehMac (Hashtag *#applestorewaterloo*) Coverage sponsored by *Elgato*!
> 
> Behold, the new Apple Store in Waterloo!


Ah yes, just like the ones in WEM and Southgate in Edmonton. Carbon copies even. 

The meetup is different though.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KufEm-hb_VI


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

No doubt Apple will have pretty similar designs in malls. They save the real creativity for large flagship stores in big cities. Kind of disappointed Canada doesn't really have a cool flagship store. 

The hanging Apple logo is pretty cool I got to admit. Not sure if other stores have those, but then again I haven't been to an Apple Store in awhile. 

The amount of people gawking at the store was really big. Almost everyone who walked by stopped in their tracks and looked inside.


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## ericlewis91 (Jul 12, 2007)

I really wanna go  someone please get me a tshirt!!!


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## Tech Elementz (Mar 15, 2011)

ehMax said:


> No doubt Apple will have pretty similar designs in malls. They save the real creativity for large flagship stores in big cities. Kind of disappointed Canada doesn't really have a cool flagship store.
> 
> The hanging Apple logo is pretty cool I got to admit. Not sure if other stores have those, but then again I haven't been to an Apple Store in awhile.
> 
> The amount of people gawking at the store was really big. Almost everyone who walked by stopped in their tracks and looked inside.


Perhaps an Igloo store in the Yukon? HAHA.... :lmao:

By the way, I am surprise they gave a preview of the store.... I would of thought they have covered it up until the grand opening???


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

Well, I'm up and getting ready to head across the street to see if a lineup formed overnight.


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

So the line up currently sits at 6 people as of 0625hrs. Mall doors don't open until 0700hrs. Lineup is forming at the main entrance by Old Navy and security has stated that this will be the only entrance being used for the grand opening.


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

0640hrs and our numbers have "swelled" to 10. Still no other EhMac'ers so far as I can tell.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Croptop said:


> 0640hrs and our numbers have "swelled" to 10. Still no other EhMac'ers so far as I can tell.


On my way shortly.


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## DeusInvictus7 (Dec 5, 2008)

I'm on my way there in a few minutes.

Wow, I barely ever post here lol


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

0712: We're now in the mall and lined up in front of the store. Lineup has grown to about 25 people or so. At this point I can officially claim to be second in line.


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

0745: EhMax says he's in line but we haven't spotted him yet. I have spotted a couple of other EhMac'ers though.


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## DeusInvictus7 (Dec 5, 2008)

I'm in line as well. About 45th according to the guy ahead of me's head count.


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## Chipper (Aug 31, 2004)

I'm on my way!


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

*What's happening?*

No posts for a while. 

Here's what I imagine is happening;
I'll assume you were all inside, running from display to display, screaming like teeny-boppers at a 1959 Beatles concert. 
Those of you who lined up before the store opened, were then taken to a secret room that looks like the bridge of the Star ship Enterprise. Steve Jobs was in there reclining on a divan, sipping Cappuccino, (you were all offered one), and he thanked you personally for coming.
You were given a new MacBook Air, and an iPhone 5 and you signed an NDA. You also got a T-shirt.
Before you were ushered from the room by English Butlers, Steve invited each of you to stop by his house any time you were in his neighbourhood. He made some vague reference to the work he's doing with anti-gravity and cellular energy.

You all high-fived each other before being driven in Steve's personal Limo to breakfast .
Steve's limo is solar-powered, and it hovers. It has no wheels.

I'm right, aren't I? That's pretty much exactly what happened, isn't it?! :yikes:


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

SoyMac said:


> No posts for a while.
> 
> Here's what I imagine is happening;
> I'll assume you were all inside, running from display to display, screaming like teeny-boppers at a 1959 Beatles concert.
> ...


That's exactly what happened. But we're supposed to claim the we are just standing around waiting.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Line up at the store at 8:48 AM


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Currently press in the store. Doors open to public in 30 minutes.


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## Digikid (Jun 22, 2010)

Gotta admit.....that Air attached to the fake balloon display is a nifty gimmick!!!!


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## Daniel911 (Mar 13, 2003)

Any minute now -- a thundering sound of people stampeding like a herd of wild buffaloes...

;-)


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Just before opening....


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Apple Store Waterloo opens it's doors.


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## DeusInvictus7 (Dec 5, 2008)

I was actually surprised at how many people came. Over 400 people in line by the time the doors opened. 

On a side note, are all the t-shirts the same size? I got an XL.


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

DeusInvictus7 said:


> On a side note, are all the t-shirts the same size? I got an XL.


Yep. The shirt looks like a dress on my wife (who normally wears a small).


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

Digikid said:


> Gotta admit.....that Air attached to the fake balloon display is a nifty gimmick!!!!


Photo?!


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

SoyMac said:


> Photo?!


Here you go!


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Still a very big crowd inside the store.


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

ehMax said:


> Here you go!


Balloon is precision-machined from a single block of aluminum.


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## Digikid (Jun 22, 2010)

SoyMac said:


> Photo?!


Seriously? You did not see that from the first few posts?

Wow....what a crowd. Makes you think......


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## garf1108 (May 30, 2006)

Making me jealous as I am working.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Most people have showed up for the ehMac.ca meetup!


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## DeusInvictus7 (Dec 5, 2008)

Aww man, too bad I couldn't have been there. Stupid work lol


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## Croptop (Apr 20, 2004)

My thanks to ehMax and the crew from Elgato for a great lunch at Oliver & Bonacini. It was nice to put some faces to some names. Next time, I promise to leave my Android phone at home!


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## Cliffy (Apr 18, 2005)

Good times had by all. Nice seeing everyone who could make it out!


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

*Video of Apple Store Waterloo in Conestoga Opening*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxTUoiTZVzw


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## Commodus (May 10, 2005)

Very slickly produced opening video, ehMax! I must admit, the cheeky drive-on-by looks at the RIM offices were a great touch.


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## Digikid (Jun 22, 2010)

Looks like I missed a good time. Damnit.


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## seyDoggy (Aug 13, 2011)

Nicely done! I want that little video camera you were packing there. What was it called again?


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Awesome video.


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## spudmac (Aug 23, 2002)

Thanks Mr. Mayor for organizing the ehMac meet-up and please pass on my thanks to the Elgato crew for sponsoring. Great food and great conversation. It is very cool to be able to put faces to some of the online handles. Oakbridge - best of luck this upcoming hockey season.... hopefully the Blackhawks have a good run!

Spudmac


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

seyDoggy said:


> Nicely done! I want that little video camera you were packing there. What was it called again?


That's the *GoPro camera*. Will hopefully have the video review on the camera _finally_ done next week.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Commodus said:


> Very slickly produced opening video, ehMax! I must admit, the cheeky drive-on-by looks at the RIM offices were a great touch.





HowEver said:


> Awesome video.


Thanks guys! *Check this out!*


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

spudmac said:


> Thanks Mr. Mayor for organizing the ehMac meet-up and please pass on my thanks to the Elgato crew for sponsoring. Great food and great conversation. It is very cool to be able to put faces to some of the online handles. Oakbridge - best of luck this upcoming hockey season.... hopefully the Blackhawks have a good run!
> 
> Spudmac


You're very welcome, thanks everyone for coming! I'll pass on the thanks to *Elgato*, and don't forget our friends at *seyDesign*.


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## Bryce (Dec 26, 2007)

Opening of a new Apple Store is the equivalent of a Hadassah bazzar!

Mapleview Mall Burlington next Apple Store?


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## kelman (Sep 25, 2010)

Bryce said:


> Opening of a new Apple Store is the equivalent of a Hadassah bazzar!
> 
> Mapleview Mall Burlington next Apple Store?


Im looking forward to it! Tired of they travel.


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## macmac (Oct 22, 2006)

I'll never understand.... to be in line at 6am just to wait for a store to open... ???? Man...you guys must live the life...seriously...you have nothing better to do than to wait in line for a store to open..... next time im on vacation, i'll drive around town and see if any new stores are opening and wait in line in the am hours.....maybe i'll experience the same 'high'... lol


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

macmac said:


> I'll never understand.... to be in line at 6am just to wait for a store to open... ???? Man...you guys must live the life...seriously...you have nothing better to do than to wait in line for a store to open..... next time im on vacation, i'll drive around town and see if any new stores are opening and wait in line in the am hours.....maybe i'll experience the same 'high'... lol


It's not just the store and the excitement and anticipation of it, its also hanging out with like-minded people in line. 

Some people would question the sanity of someone who has posted over 500 posts on a Mac based forum as well.  

It was fun.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

*Our video* is currently the *25th most viewed tech movie* on YouTube. 

Would appreciate if you watching it on YouTube and liked the video (And even added to your favourites) to see if we can get it to move up the charts.  If you have a blog to post it on or could Tweet it, that'd be swell.


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## robert (Sep 26, 2002)

Having stood in line (20 minutes) for an ipad2 at the local FS, I can see the appeal.
Talked to a lot of interesting people whom I would probably never had met let alone talk to.
Everyone wastes time doing something others would shake their heads at. That's what makes life so colourful.
Robert


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## seyDoggy (Aug 13, 2011)

ehMax said:


> Thanks guys! *Check this out!*


 Wow! That's awesome!




---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.412371,-80.477119


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## seyDoggy (Aug 13, 2011)

macmac said:


> I'll never understand.... to be in line at 6am just to wait for a store to open... ???? Man...you guys must live the life...seriously...you have nothing better to do than to wait in line for a store to open..... next time im on vacation, i'll drive around town and see if any new stores are opening and wait in line in the am hours.....maybe i'll experience the same 'high'... lol


Have u never bought tickets to a rock concert back before the days of online ticket sales? People queue up for less and less these days. It's nice to see there are still things to get excited about enough to bring people together.


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## idesign (Aug 19, 2005)

Just went there today @ 4:15, and it's a good size store, considering its in Conestoga Mall. Had an appointment for 4:20 but waited a good 20-25 minutes to see a Genius. The staff seemed incredibly tired but also were really friendly and as helpful as they could be, and seemed very well trained. I just love knowing that I can book an appointment if I have an issue and get it resolved fast, instead of driving to Toronto!


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

however said:


> awesome video.


+1.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

SoyMac said:


> +1.


Thanks. 

The video is the #8 tech video in Canada today on YouTube! 










Would appreciate if anyone enjoyed the video to *give it a thumbs up* on YouTube and even add it to your favourites.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

A few other notes and observations from the grand opening:

- Something really cool I noticed is that Apple no longer has 'spec sheets" besides their products. They used to have paper spec sheets beside their products encased in a really neatly designed plastic holder. Now instead, there is an iPad beside _each product._ The iPad is encased in a nicely designed plastic holder and each iPad is running custom software that has all the specs for the specific product it is beside. (Go to the 2:58 mark *in the video*). Each iPad also has an option to call over a sales rep to that exact product. It really is a slick design.

- I think it's been this way for awhile now, but it's still funny to see... there are no real checkout / cash-out terminals, just each rep is carrying around a little handheld. (You can sort of see the device in the reps hand at the 2:42 mark). I believe this is an iPod Touch using a system called Easypay, but I could be wrong. Where there used to be a cash-out desk, is just the Genius bar. 

- The Conestoga Mall really is a nice mall. They've spent 75 Million on renovations recently to give it a much more modern feel including a very large food court equipped with large LCD displays and futuristic looking architecture. Conestoga gets 30% of its energy from Bullfrog Power. 

- There was A LOT of security there and boy did they take their job seriously. I went to stop at the front of the line to say hi to Cliffy and Spudmac (Who were behind velvet ropes), and the security was like, "Sir... *SIR*... You have to go to the back of the line!" Whoa... take it down a notch mall police.  I think it was the most exciting day for them ever in the mall. 

- For the Grand Opening, some of the Apple Staff were from the Sherway Gardens Apple Store to help out. 

- There's a lot more area to do one-on-one training and setup towards the back, which I think is at the expense of some 3rd party accessories. I remember quite a few displays for 3rd party speakers and printers and what-not, but there doesn't seem to be as much of that. Apple has a daily *schedule of workshops* on their site. 

Anyone else take anything any other observations from the store?


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

ehMax said:


> ... give it a thumbs up[/URL][/B] on YouTube and even add it to your favourites.


Hey, Boss, I just tried to give the video a thumbs up, but Youtube wouldn't let me sign in to my Youtube account without creating a Google account.

As much as I like ehMac and this video, I'm not giving Google access to any of my info. 

Is this cool video up on Vimeo, perhaps?


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

SoyMac said:


> Hey, Boss, I just tried to give the video a thumbs up, but Youtube wouldn't let me sign in to my Youtube account without creating a Google account.
> 
> As much as I like ehMac and this video, I'm not giving Google access to any of my info.
> 
> Is this cool video up on Vimeo, perhaps?


Funny you should ask about Vimeo. At the ehMac.ca Meet-up, I met my old friend there, and he was telling me he puts all his video's on Vimeo. Then today, I just did my Apple TV update, and it added Vimeo support, and was watching a lot of the videos there. I'll upload it to Vimeo as well soon.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

On another neat note, our video is now the #3 most viewed video in the technology category on YouTube Canada! Currently has over 5,000 views. Kind of exciting.


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

ehMax said:


> Funny you should ask about Vimeo. At the ehMac.ca Meet-up, I met my old friend there, and he was telling me he puts all his video's on Vimeo. Then today, I just did my Apple TV update, and it added Vimeo support, and was watching a lot of the videos there. I'll upload it to Vimeo as well soon.


*Video is on Vimeo as well. *


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## jhuynh (Mar 21, 2011)

SoyMac said:


> Hey, Boss, I just tried to give the video a thumbs up, but Youtube wouldn't let me sign in to my Youtube account without creating a Google account.
> 
> As much as I like ehMac and this video, I'm not giving Google access to any of my info.
> 
> Is this cool video up on Vimeo, perhaps?


Doesn't Google already have your info? They do own Youtube...


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Mayor, did you film that with the GoPro? Did you do a review of it here?


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## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

jhuynh said:


> Doesn't Google already have your info? They do own Youtube...


I'm not exactly sure how it works, and I may be wrong, but from what I've read, by signing up for a Google account, Google gets much more info than what they acquired when they bought Youtube in 2006, when just my contact info was included.

Here's an (edited) response to an article from GigaOm that reflects my own discomfort with the new, GoogleYouTube:

_Reading the blog, she makes it sound like it’s a good thing that Google is tracking your every move and doing its best to form at least an outline of who you are — if not knowing outright. Hey, while they’re at it, maybe they can “link up” with a 24-hour tracking camera that follows me around the city and watches me sleep at night? Maybe then they can “better tailor” my Internet experience!

Yep, that’s just Google “giving back to the community.” Like the trial membership that requires your credit card info and requires you to wait on hold for two hours to cancel — just “giving back,” how generous, think I’ll pass, I’m good.

I had disabled Google cookies awhile ago on my browser, if I need Google mail or something I use my alternate browser; but I still used to stay logged in to YouTube and used to interact quite frequently with it.

However, since Google now forces you to log in to YouTube WITH GOOGLE COOKIES ENABLED (ensures they can give you the “best, most enriching experience,” don’t you know), I no longer log in to my YouTube account either. My once-active YouTube account is now stagnating and long since grown cold._

Looks like _my_ Youtube account will also be dying on the vine.

Here's to Vimeo!


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