Pranksters affix Windows logo to upcoming Hamburg Apple Store
A group of pranksters disguised themselves as construction workers on Saturday in order to post a Windows logo onto the facade of a future Apple Store in Hamburg, Germany.
The .WAV Collective posted a video of the prank taking place, as noted by MacNN. In the video, a fake construction crew member scales a ladder in broad daylight to screw in a mismatched Windows logo to the black facade used to hide the store.
According to the report, the team "took care to make it easily removable," suggesting that the actions were a light-hearted prank, rather than malicious vandalism.
The Jungfernstieg store will be the second store in Hamburg. Apple has already begun hiring for the two level store, which is expected to open by the end of September.
Interestingly enough, the prank occurred shortly after fluctuations in the U.S. stock market resulted in Apple's market value exceeding the combined value of Microsoft and Intel. Microsoft's Windows operating system and Intel's x86 processors comprise the so-called "Wintel monopoly" that Apple competes against with its line of Mac computers. The two companies had a combined market value of $316.8 billion at the close of market on Friday, while Apple closed with a market capitalization of $317.6 billion, Mac Daily News reported.
In 2009, Microsoft followed in Apple's footsteps by launching a new retail initiative. The company even went so far as to open one of its first stores in direct competition against an already-established Apple store in Mission Viejo, Calif.
Microsoft, however, has not enjoyed the measure of success that Apple has with its stores. Last month, Apple celebrated the 10th anniversary of its retail stores by launching a "Retail 2.0" initiative with "Smart Sign" interactive iPads providing product information.
Apple Retail 2.0 display iPad | Source: leoleakey
Apple recently hosted the 1 billionth retail visitor to its stores. Last quarter, revenue from retail stores reached $3.19 billion. As of the end of the March quarter, Apple operated 323 stores, with plans to open 40 additional locations in fiscal 2011.
The .WAV Collective posted a video of the prank taking place, as noted by MacNN. In the video, a fake construction crew member scales a ladder in broad daylight to screw in a mismatched Windows logo to the black facade used to hide the store.
According to the report, the team "took care to make it easily removable," suggesting that the actions were a light-hearted prank, rather than malicious vandalism.
The Jungfernstieg store will be the second store in Hamburg. Apple has already begun hiring for the two level store, which is expected to open by the end of September.
Interestingly enough, the prank occurred shortly after fluctuations in the U.S. stock market resulted in Apple's market value exceeding the combined value of Microsoft and Intel. Microsoft's Windows operating system and Intel's x86 processors comprise the so-called "Wintel monopoly" that Apple competes against with its line of Mac computers. The two companies had a combined market value of $316.8 billion at the close of market on Friday, while Apple closed with a market capitalization of $317.6 billion, Mac Daily News reported.
In 2009, Microsoft followed in Apple's footsteps by launching a new retail initiative. The company even went so far as to open one of its first stores in direct competition against an already-established Apple store in Mission Viejo, Calif.
Microsoft, however, has not enjoyed the measure of success that Apple has with its stores. Last month, Apple celebrated the 10th anniversary of its retail stores by launching a "Retail 2.0" initiative with "Smart Sign" interactive iPads providing product information.
Apple Retail 2.0 display iPad | Source: leoleakey
Apple recently hosted the 1 billionth retail visitor to its stores. Last quarter, revenue from retail stores reached $3.19 billion. As of the end of the March quarter, Apple operated 323 stores, with plans to open 40 additional locations in fiscal 2011.
Comments
(Still, before we know it, Google will be buying MS for their patents...)
Must be Teutonic humor.
Two land masses rub each other the wrong way in a bar?.
Ooh? you said teutonic.
Two land masses rub each other the wrong way in a bar?.
Ooh? you said teutonic.
So the bartender says "We're all out of plates".
Teutonic? Oh, more like "To crush your enemies, see zem driven before you, and hear ze lamentation of zei-uh vomen."
"To crush your enemies, see zem driven before you, and hear ze lamentation of zei-uh vomen."
Something Arnold the governator would say.
As an aside, the English translations of those stories (Struwwelpeter) really do miss the beauty of the original German. The English totally misses the mark on how the cats are warning the girl not to play with the matches. As an even more-aside aside, apparently the leading cause of death for women 200 years ago was childbirth, but another very common one was burning to death, as in dresses catching on fire while women worked in the kitchen or around candles.
As an aside, the English translations of those stories (Struwwelpeter) really do miss the beauty of the original German. The English totally misses the mark on how the cats are warning the girl not to play with the matches. As an even more-aside aside, apparently the leading cause of death for women 200 years ago was childbirth, but another very common one was burning to death, as in dresses catching on fire while women worked in the kitchen or around candles.
Uh, thank you Cliff Claven...
"Ehhhh.....it's a little-known fact Nammie....."
The two companies had a combined market value of $316.8 billion at the close of market on Friday, while Apple closed with a market capitalization of $317.6 billion, Mac Daily News reported.
Brilliant!
A Windows logo on an Apple Store!
How else can MS stores draw a crowd?
I switched away from Windows because it was driving me crazy. I hated being angry at the computer so often. That mostly ended when I got my Mac Book. When I bought an inexpensive HP desktop as a spare computer it had Vista. MY GOD, IT WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY! I'm sure I've spent at least a weeks worth of hours on the telephone with HP technical support. It is now dual booted with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.
I can understand the people who become fans of Linux distributions. It's free. It is used by rebels who are more adventurous than most people, and thus they might be more inclined to preach about its benefits. Still, setting up Linux is plenty of work, but it's free. That makes a difference. I think Ubuntu works better than Windows once it is set up with all of the necessary drivers.
How can people love Windows enough to put such a sign on an Apple store? Is it just that they haven't experienced using an Apple computer? Are they just put off by the initial price tag and somehow decide that Apple computers are a rip-off?
I don't believe that anybody using Windows is immune to program freezes, window freezes, defragmenting, constant restarts due to updating programs and anti-virus software, and on and on. If Windows users love doing all that then more power to them, but really, why would anybody like doing that?
I don't believe that anybody using Windows is immune to program freezes, window freezes, defragmenting, constant restarts due to updating programs and anti-virus software, and on and on. If Windows users love doing all that then more power to them, but really, why would anybody like doing that?
Not everyone has those problems with Windows.
If you owned a Mac in the 80s, you would have had a mouse when most people were still typing at the DOS prompt. If you had an iPhone in 2007 you would have had a touch screen when most people were still using clumsy menu buttons. But once Apple enters a market everyone soon copies them, and for that reason Windows is very similar to Mac, and I can understand why some people would like that instead.
But that doesn't change the fact that, by being an Apple customer, you get to use what everyone will be using - 2 years sooner! And as a fan of technology that is what I like.
How can people love Windows enough to put such a sign on an Apple store? Is it just that they haven't experienced using an Apple computer? Are they just put off by the initial price tag and somehow decide that Apple computers are a rip-off?
I don't believe that anybody using Windows is immune to program freezes, window freezes, defragmenting, constant restarts due to updating programs and anti-virus software, and on and on. If Windows users love doing all that then more power to them, but really, why would anybody like doing that?
I think it's a great prank. I think the pranksters are actually Apple fans. It's an ironic thing.
Just because you love something doesn't mean you can't have fun with it.
I use a Mac and PC. Like I've said before in various posts, I keep the PC mainly around for games but I do web surfing with it because it is connected to my 21" monitor. I have a MacBook Pro 13", iPad2, iPhone4, been using Apple since blah blah blah. The main thing preventing my PC from going straight into the trash is the Xbox360 not being officially available in my country, and the fact that there's no Xbox720 out anytime soon, sadly, even after all these years.
All said and done, Apple is big and tough enough to handle pranks, criticism, competition and defections to Android. I am keeping an open mind now. My hardcore Apple phase was 2003-2010, with doing work for an Apple reseller from March 2007 - April 2011 (4 years more or less with a break in-between).
Now... The adventure begins.
How can people love Windows enough to put such a sign on an Apple store? Is it just that they haven't experienced using an Apple computer? Are they just put off by the initial price tag and somehow decide that Apple computers are a rip-off?
Hey, I'm as much an Apple fan as the next person. This was a clean prank, nothing more. I'm sure Microsoft would have loved to put a store there, but no one would visit.
I run both Windows XP and Windows 7 using VMware. It works great on Apple hardware. There's room for both, as long as it's with the better hardware quality of Apple.