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The Macallan distillery opens up for 4D virtual reality tours
Not everyone has the means to travel to Scotland and visit their favorite distillery a la Ron Swanson. To help connoisseurs live out their dreams of traipsing through its facilities, The Macallan has created the Macallan Distillery Experience. VRFocus describes it as a "4D multi-sensory" group tour that guides folks through the company's process for making its Single Malt spirit. Along the way you'll explore the Scottish distillery an the estate it resides on, learning about the outfit's history along the way. Visitors will step into a "15x15x15 cube-like projection structure" with 360-degree videos beamed to the installation's walls.
Xcom Global opens international MiFi rental / service center in New York City
Serving jetsetters at LAX just wasn't enough for Xcom Global. Engadget's personal favorite when it comes to snagging international data before leaving the States is now opening up shop in the Big Apple -- a wise move for increasing its presence in a market where loads of humans are doing business in nations other than the United States. Xcom's calling its new venue a "satellite customer service center," enabling flyers to swing by before they depart JFK (or LGA, we guess) and pick up a global MiFi. Rather than being positioned within an airport, this one's located near Grand Central Station at the offices of Amnet New York on Madison Avenue, and in case you've forgotten, $12.95 per day (and up) can snag you a wireless data device capable of connecting in some 195 countries. Oh, and you can return the device to the same store or via your carrier of choice. Still trying to wrap your head around it? Have a look at our review.
Optical computing could benefit from new 'whispering gallery' fiber
It's a spooky feature of Grand Central Station that if you whisper something against the wall, your voice can resonate around the perimeter of the building and sneak up on you from behind. The same 'whispering gallery' principle is crucial to next-gen optical computing: light signals have to be sent on extremely circuitous journeys through 'microresonators', which temporarily bottle up the beams and thereby serve as memory. So far, microresonators have generally been made from silicon wafers etched with the a long series of loops. However, even the most precise etching leaves imperfections, which quickly cause the signal to lose its strength and fade away. Now, researchers at OFS Laboratories in Somerset, N. J., have come up with a different type of microresonator that could potentially hold onto light 100 times longer. The new technology diverts light onto a stretch of optic fiber that has been specially manufactured with tiny step-changes in its diameter. When the signal hits this abrupt change, it reverses and goes back the opposite way -- and, if it hits another diameter change, it will effectively enter a whispering gallery inside the fiber, bouncing up and down with only minor attenuation. The OFS scientists claim their microresonator could appear in "specialized devices" in just two or three years, which is good to hear, because electronics is starting to get old.
Apple just arrived at Grand Central Terminal, we hop aboard (video)
For many New Yorkers, Grand Central Station Terminal is where you go to escape the island -- not to leisurely browse aisles of iPhone accessories, or pop in for a Genius Bar appointment. But apparently Apple has a slightly different vision for the city's transportation hub, opening its fifth NYC store along the main hall's 23,000 square foot east balcony. We dropped by for the grand opening this morning, which came complete with the standard Apple Store t-shirt giveaway and what seemed like hundreds of red shirt-clad retail employees. As NYC's gateway to Connecticut, Grand Central is typically incredibly crowded during rush hour, but the enormous sunlight-filled main hall was packed to the brim today with spectators -- eager customers queued up in a hallway out of view, beginning early this morning. The store itself is huge, occupying the entire east balcony and several side rooms, with a large genius bar, training area and accessory alcove at either side. Eager to pop in for a visit? Thumb through the gallery below to step inside, and jump past the break to experience the cacophonous chaos at Grand Central.%Gallery-141464%
Grand Central Apple Store reportedly close to opening
It's possible that Apple's flagship Grand Central Terminal store in New York City is set to open as early as this (Black) Friday, November 25th. If 9to5Mac's sources are to be believed, Apple will announce the store opening tomorrow by removing the black boards that are currently hanging around the store, blocking views to the construction and setup inside. The Black Friday opening of the Grand Central store was first reported by PhoneArena back in October. Apple's Grand Central Terminal store will be notable for many reasons. It will be the largest Apple store, by square footage (23,000 sq ft, including offices and stock rooms), in the world. It will also have a staff of over 300 (impressive, but not a record) to take care of customers from the potential pool of 750,000 commuters that stream through Grand Central each day. Apple's grand openings are usually massive events in themselves, with hundreds lining up at the door hours -- sometimes days -- before the opening. If the store is a flagship store, like the Grand Central one is, the lines of waiting Apple fans can reach the thousands. Throw in a Black Friday opening and you're looking at potentially the largest group of waiting shoppers in the world. Of course since Grand Central Station is one of America's largest travel hubs, due to security issues it's possible the City of New York may not allow early lines to form for the grand opening.
(Two) Grand Central locals worry about an Apple Store
New York's PIX11 has a report up about the new Apple Store that was just confirmed to be installed right in the middle of Grand Central Terminal. While most are excited about the idea, some are not. One Grand Central visitor complains that the place is already too crowded (it is, after all, Grand Central), while the other worries that putting an Apple Store in such a historic, classic place "will take away from it all." Of course, that's two people out of the 500,000 who pass through the commuter hub daily. We'll presume that -- especially if Apple got the paperwork done -- most New Yorkers won't mind having yet another Apple Store in their fair city. As for the guy who thinks an Apple Store would ugly up the place, is that really a concern? Apple retail spots are about as beautiful as a store can get, and this one's meant to be designed all out of glass, in order to fit right in with the rest of the building. Would you rather have yet another big orange-and-yellow Jamba Juice in there?
Artist rendering of NYC Grand Central Terminal Apple Store
A few days ago we told you that Apple signed a lease to open a retail store in New York's Grand Central Terminal. A few more details have emerged since then. First up are the renderings by the Wall Street Journal as to what the store will look like inside the iconic station. Not too much of a surprise: wooden tables and shiny Macs. However, the store's wall will be all glass so as to not disrupt the architecture of the station itself. In addition to the renderings, the WSJ reports that Apple "paid Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant $5 million to vacate its space on the terminal's east balcony more than eight years before its lease expires." That's something the Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials had no problem with as Metrazur's annual rent was $263,997 and Apple's will be $1.1 million.
Apple Store coming to Grand Central Terminal, travel disruptions guaranteed for next iPhone launch
It's one thing for Fifth Ave. to get clogged up each time a new iPhone or iPad gets released, but Grand Central Terminal? Avid NYC commuters best plan their vacation days accordingly, as one of the city's biggest transit hubs is about to get a heck of a lot more busy -- and not because White Plains is the new Southampton. The New York Post is reporting that Apple and the MTA have agreed on a decade-long deal that'll see a 23,000-square foot Apple Store take the place of Charlie Palmer's Metrazur restaurant, with Cupertino's rent to be set at $800,000 per year (rising to $1 million after ten years pass). For those curious, that's around $500,000 more than the eatery before it, and Apple's responsible for refurbishing the space. That cacophony of voices you hear? Touristy cheers drowning out local jeers.
WSJ: Apple still eyeing Grand Central terminal for new retail store
Last week, The New York Observer claimed an anonymous source within the Metropolitan Transit Authority confirmed that Apple has killed plans to lease space within New York's Grand Central terminal. Today, the Wall Street Journal refutes that report with its own sources that suggest Apple is still considering the lucrative retail space. According to the WSJ, the MTA has spoken with Apple and is hopeful the retail giant will bid on a balcony space, which will be available this summer. The site is the current home of the Métrazur restaurant, which is closing July 1st. Owned by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, the restaurant has a lease on the spot until 2019, and any prospective bidder would have to pay Palmer a lump sum to vacate his lease. It's a small location with a mere 15,000 square feet of retail space. Apple may also find it difficult to customize the site to its liking as Grand Central Station is a historic landmark, and all renovations require approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Despite these limitations, the retail space is a high-profile location with tens of thousands of visitors each day.
CBS brings 3D advertising to Grand Central Station, glasses makers drink to that
We know good and well what kind of extravagant displays are available to gawk at in New York City, but now it looks like the locals will have yet another one to check out when they're taking a breather from the rat race. CBS Outdoor has unveiled plans to deliver two solid hours (from 11:30AM to 1:30PM throughout February) of 3D advertising on an expansive, high-definition video screen installed within Grand Central Station. Unlike the glasses-free solution that we spotted at Intel's CES booth this year, this one will still require onlookers to rock those heinous and soul-crushing glasses in order to "see" the "effect," and with around 70,000 commuters passing by each day, we'd guess that the spectacle manufacturer who nabbed this contract is feeling pretty good right about now.
Caption Contest: Sony Vaio P is escorted to Grand Central Station
Sony looks to drum up a little more buzz for its new ultraportable, the Vaio P, at Grand Central Station.Paul: "There's a Vaio P configuration for every wig-adorned model in your life."Josh T.: "She's so fine, there's no telling where the money went. Wait, no. It went to the VAIO P."Nilay: "Alias has really gone downhill."Joseph: "It's nice when replicants find honest work."Laura: "You have no idea how expensive it is to make something look this cheap."Donald: "Ok, now bring out the mimes."Chris: "Don't just stand there, let's get to it, strike a pose, there's nothing to it... vogue."Tim: "Seven blondes walk into a Sony Style ..."Thomas: "Hey look, those mannequins are just as slow with the VAIO P as Vista!"Ross: "And like that, Andrew McCarthy and Meshach Taylor knew just what to do to kick-start their careers."
