Followup! My wife made my dreams come true and we're back from the Apple Store in Bellevue. LOVELY service; I need to emphasize this is the first time I've ever been to one, and it was just as good, if not better than what I've read in various sources, including Leander Kahney's Inside Steve's Brain.
I took my MacBook Pro along on a lark — I hadn't scheduled a formal appointment with the Genius Bar, but something was bothering me a lot lately: my laptop kept spontaneously turning off and checking the battery showed it to be short of full charge, despite not having used my MBP "out in the field" all that much.
9:30 AM happened, and Jenny + I were almost the first people in. We were greeted (very ethnically diverse personnel, I must say) and several of them asked how we were doing without being fake and pushy — I appreciated this regard for our personal boundaries. I explained my problems to one nice woman (sorry, didn't get her name) and she guided me through signing up for a Genius Bar appointment. Pretty cool, I was able to use the nearest instore MacBook to fill in my name and email addy.
Browsing around some more, while this wasn't one of Apple's flagship stores, it certainly was laid out very well. I must've missed sight of Mac Pros, but saw a lot of iMacs and MacBooks, including the "Thinnovation"-touted MacBook Air. It is relatively pricey, but sure felt as nice as I thought it would (after watching the Stevenote where he introduced it, "One more thing…" and all). I also got to play with iPods (I don't own one, but they sure have come a long way) and watched bits of my video tutorials on an iPhone — actually the first time I laid my hands on one. Very, very cool. I lack experience with mobile devices, but it's certainly a technology area I'd like to tap into further.
The waiting list was pretty short, and buy the time my appointment was scheduled — 10:15 AM — my name was called out at around 10:20 AM. So, about 5 min. late, but I understand that. It was definitely a trip to see my list at the head of the queue on the big screen showing motion graphics of various Mac tips, like a futuristic airport timetable.
Jeff, a relaxed, savvy guy in blue jeans and brown thick-framed glasses, was the Mac genius to help me. I recounted what I was experiencing with my MBP's battery, and he plugged it into the power and navigated deftly into the System Profiler. I was pretty impressed by how well he explained things with nary the heavy-handed, unnecessary lingo that you encounter at computer stores, and it was refreshing — and further reinforced what I had heard about Apple Stores.
Just a few moments later, Jeff verified my AppleCare subscription (good thing I got that!) and replaced my battery with care and efficiency. It was kinda neat seeing a new battery come out of a rugged cardboard box — I expected to see it appear from matte white packaging like so many of Apple's other products. This isn't a bad thing because in this case, packaging didn't matter. Still, it says a lot about what I've come to associate Apple with.
Feeling a lot of relief, mainly because I hadn't counted on this being so easy — Jenny taking these pictures all the while — I turned to pick up a shiny new Apple Keyboard. That's literally what it's called. The packaging is so clean and simple, it's awesome!
Some context behind why I got a new keyboard: as much as I like my Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000, I was still finding it to be too high-profile for my fingers, and while I prize the curve, I wanted a feel closer to my MBP, since I can slay on that keyboard. More importantly, it feels less tiring on my fingers. While a different mechanism, the Apple Keyboard is flat and has a very compact footprint. I'm still in the midst of getting some Windows-only keys remapped to work, but it feels pretty great so far.
I wanted to try out the Apple Keyboard firsthand because while I know I could've ordered it online, such a tactile device demands in-person try-outing. And what better place than the Apple Store? I tested it and found myself quickly convinced.
A nice woman named Sandra helped me "ring it up", and I was surprised to notice no bulky cash registers. Instead, the staff (in teal-ish blue shirts) carry portable swipers, and I handed over my credit card. Also: no paper receipt. I shared my email address and the receipt was sent electronically. Again, very smooth.
Leaving the store with a big smile on my face, Jenny under one arm, and my new keyboard under the other (with my laptop w/new battery in my backpack), I swore I had to give positive feedback about a most excellent time at this Apple Store — and a dream come true. 
Jenny + I visited several other fun places, capping it off with lunch at Twede's "Twin Peaks" Cafe. No, I didn't have cherry pie or a "damn fine cup of coffee", but I did opt for the Twin Peaks burger. Massive and tasty. So massive that as I gulped it down with a thick pineapple milkshake, I ate it in portions, disassembling it with fork & knife.
Looking at the (collectible) menu, there were 50 burger choices from A-Z! Steven Paul Jobs would not approve.
Cool story. I have never owned a Mac, but I love going to the Apple Store at the mall near where I work. Makes me wish I had a spare 20k to spend on a shopping spree.
And that burger looks good, ya shoulda gone for the pie though………
[...] Torley visits the Apple Store Instead, the staff (in teal-ish blue shirts) carry portable swipers, and I handed over my credit card. Also: no paper receipt. I shared my email address and the receipt was sent electronically. Again, very smooth. … [...]
I wish you'd gotten one of the penryn macbook pros with the nvidia 8600gt m so you could witness the beachballs the os x sl client brings and the system lock ups that the 1.20 rc4 brings. The more lindens that see this stuff, the more likely it is to get fixed. It's become very frustrating, especially knowing what a rockin laptop this is. But SL is crippling at the moment.
You know, I love the MBP keyboard better than anything else also. I do love the new Apple aluminum keyboards, and I have one, but the MBP is by far the best of anything I've used - ever. The aluminum keyboards are harder to adjust to after a day of work using various other keyboards. But using it alone for 2 - 3 days when I can makes me appreciate it much more.
Great to see you liked your Apple store experience. Your work is always appreciated as is your positive attitude. You do good work!
Wow Torley I can't believe you own a Mac Book Pro and never been in a store well either thats probably that youve allways bought online or you've never had to get a repair which is great. Do you use your Mac Book Pro for your windlight pics? and how does it all run for you on Mac? In Australia we have verrrry slow internet by comparison and the Govt, (our shiney new Govt) promise we will be getting super fast internet sooon, Im hoping that it will improve my experience on SL with my Mac book Pro. I love the MBP keyboard too, I had a bluetooth apple keyboard but it Clacks too much
(too noisy) and as I don't want a clacky keyboard when Im recording my show, I find the MBP keyboard nice a quiet? is the new keyboard you bought a similer experience 
oh and …one more question, is your monitor conected to your MBP or is that a seperate system, I want to get a larger monitor for my MBP…not sure if its worth it
regards Paisley
I still miss my Apple days - and mind you I am talking about old Macs upgraded to 'almost G3'. These days I make do with an HP Pavilion, and I really really like it - it has never seized up on me or shown any of the more notorious Windows crap (/me knocks on wood). But comparing it to any Mac is like comparing your Honda compact to a Mercedes limo.
Please, Torley, hire me as Laetizia Linden (ooooh… that has a ring to it, doesn't it! ;-)) so I can afford something like a Macbook Pro.
Hate to spam you, but i hadc to share this. Here is what I found for you. It's totally Torley! Admit it! And perhaps designer De Nijs is willing to make one in watermelon coloured denim, too.
Not sure if they have a Genius Bar to help you with your pants though…
HAHA Laetizia how could anyone justify wearing those things!
I also cannot belive you have not been to the aple store.
This is a place I frequent, in attempt to pick uo cute nerd boys! And yes it works.
BTW, that burger looks goooood!
Welcome!!!!!! Finally you joined us! I am so happy you are now in mac world:))
Perhaps i could give you tips to use softwares like final cut studio… I am kidding of course :))) You so much more talentive than me but see this:http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=OnsKj9AVxHA You will see what a french mac user like me could do without any talent even it is not well made :))
A hugge hug to my favorite Second Life "doctor" :)))
Nice store, hmm? I was severely tempted to try out Second Life on one of their machines, but decided to wait to see it on my own 24" iMac when it arrived instead.
I just visited my first Apple store this week, too. And my experience was very similar to yours. Very trendy and diverse staff. Very cool. Great customer service. I will say that I found the crowd a bit overwhelming. And the sales lady said that wasn't even busy for them, that weekends were even worse!
Several thousand dollars later, my daughter was all set for college with her new Mac Book Pro. And we got lots of great educational discounts on everything. Including $100 off the Apple Care 3-year subscription, and $100 off a new Canon printer, which ended up costing us $29.99! I was too busy taking it all in to think of taking any photographs. Do you and Jenny take a camera everywhere with you, or are those taken with a camera phone? I'd love to document my life the way you seem too, but I never think to take pictures.
Princess Ivory
Torley,
Grats on the pilgrimage!
The Apple Store is quite an experience in America's Best Buy-dominated retail wasteland, and I trust you'll be going back for more. =)
First, thanks for the warm Mac welcomes! I must clarify that I'm a relatively OLD-skool Mac user, dating back to the time when I wanted an LC III (1993 or thereabouts) and I eventually got a Quadra 660AV. Gorgeous machine for its time. I also have had a PowerBook 190 and an iMac G4, but due to a lot of audio production software being Windows-only, I essentially focused on PCs for awhile before getting a MacBook Pro (the one with the X1600) over a year ago.
I once received a big box of "Why Mac?" stickers and materials and tried to convinced friends to "switch". Nowadays, it's a lot more colorful and a lot less black-and-white for me as I celebrate what's good about each of the tools I use.
@Sougent: Maybe I'll have that cherry pie next time.
@radar: I've heard of some of those awful problems through some of Linden's graphics devs; I don't know what the latest status is but I remember seeing it on the Issue Tracker. Sucks to hear that, and thanks for the kind words! Whenever possible, I'm up for experiencing problems firsthand to gain a close understanding of the pains involved.
@Paisley: A lot of it had to do with me being a Canadian before, in a place faaaar from any Apple Stores. I hardly use my MBP for Second Life, primarily because performance is slower than I'd like and I can't enable graphics antialiasing. The new Apple Keyboard I have is a little clacky, but overall, VERY quiet due to the short key travel and overall effective design.
Flat-panel monitors are dropping in price and I don't know what Aus. prices are, but I'd definitely opt for more screen real estate if you find yourself drowned in windows, it's a pretty clear win. I don't currently have an external monitor hooked up to my MBP but I do have dual monitors (1600×1200 and 1920×1200) attached to my Windows PC.
@Laetizia: OH MY GOSH that is geeky. Could look obscene from a distance, tho. XD
@Jezabell: Nerd boys are useful when there are tech probs! My wife knows this firsthand. Burger SURE WAS NOMMY.
@samlowry: I'd like to use Final Cut Pro Studio in focused stretches in the future, but I don't have it and until I have more time, don't plan to soon. In the future, I'm open to a "Hackintosh" setup that'll give me the best of both worlds. *saves your link to check out*
@Kara: How'd it go?
@Princess: Good to hear! Yeah, Apple Stores tend to be pretty busy and active. That's a good thing unless one is agoraphobic. Jenny and I sometimes photograph trips, but usually don't do it for routine stuff like grocery shopping. We took those shots with a Canon A560. I document my Second Life WAYYYY more.
@Josh: Thanks! Haha, yeah… just like Steve Jobs said something to the effect of, even if people can't articulate what's different, they'll still feel it.
That burger looks soooooo yummie!!!!
@13 pretty well! since one of my first comments was "is 40 FPS good?" (my old machine does <5 FPS)
Lately I have been having the spinning pizza wheel a lot though. I still have yet to track it down to my graphics settings, using the 1.19.1 client (I do not remember this problem on 1.19) or just a corrupt data file in my cache or prefs file.
Torley- I went to one of the local Apple stores for the premier of Leopard and made sure to get there early. Not for the OS since I qualified for a 10$ OS upgrade anyways, but I wanted the launch shirt the first 500 ppl would get. Pretty fun, those of us at the front of the line were die-hard geeks and it was like a star wars movie premiere line (but add in iPhones so we could call people in lines at other stores).
That was Halloween weekend, and I was dressing as a cat (inspired by my SL AV) for various things the next few days. For one I went as OSX (the launch shirt, leopard ears/tail, drawn on whiskers, a mouse tied around my neck, and some Leopard pamphlets).
I have to be REALLY careful when visiting Apple Stores. Time seems to warp and I find that I could stay there all day; not to mention the tendency to want to buy everything.
You went to Bellevue?! In what state do you live?
Happiness is a ludicrously big screen.
You know what I find funny about the Apple Store? Those handhelds they use run on Windows. You think Apple would have built their own system to use in the store. Glad you enjoyed your first trip to the Apple Store!