New York City
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Rockstar using graffiti to promote The Warriors
While I was walking in downtown NYC, something interesting caught my eye: a spray-painted tag of The Warriors on the sidewalk. While it's true that Rockstar's offices are located in my fine city, I'm sure Mayor Bloomberg won't be too pleased about this apparent graffiti advertising. Remember when Sony tried the same thing? They were busted, and fined. Will Rockstar also get caught?
New York looking to clamp down on walk-and-play gamers
Hey, watch where you're going! Reuters reports that New York State senator, Carl Kruger, plans to introduce legislation this week to ban the use of all manner of handheld gadgets while crossing the street. It seems that some inhabitants of the city become so embroiled in the contents of their musical pods, their dark electronic fruits and their portable Playstations, that they fail to notice things like four-wheeled hunks of metal coming to crush them."What's happening is when they're tuning into their iPod or BlackBerry or cell phone or video game, they're walking into speeding buses and moving automobiles," says Kruger. "It's becoming a nationwide problem." Ignoring the proposed ban will not only place your fragile life in immediate danger, but also result in a decidedly unpleasant $100 fine.In the coming weeks, New York State is expected to ban glitzy neon signs, second-rate street musicians and loudly gossiping girlfriends in a continued effort to keep the streets free of deadly distractions. You're not reading this on your smartphone, are you?[Via Gamespot UK, thanks Gabe]
NYC residents to use cellphones as line of defense
The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has announced a plan to equip the city's 911 centers with the ability to accept cameraphone images from its residents. If you see a dangerous situation, snap a picture, and send it to a 911 operator via MMS or email. Sounds good to us -- but it may not seem as cutting edge as you think. Several months ago we a mighty similar patent, but New York's system has the distinction of being... well, real. We do see a few problems with this: A) Quality of the picture, B) Convenience of taking a picture or placing a call and C) getting the perp to smile for us.[Via Cameraphone Report]
Modeo announcing NYC trial next week
See, that wasn't so bad, now was it? We're guessing a few DVB-H fanboys and girls this side of the Atlantic were miffed at the news Modeo had slipped the go-live date for their trial (or "commercial beta," as they're calling it) in New York City -- but just two short weeks later, everything's ready to rock. A few hundred lucky participants will get hooked up with HTC Foreseers to experience music and video services powered by Modeo's DVB-H network, which GigaOM reports will be officially blessed next week at CES. Without any carriers yet signed to their platform, the folks at Modeo have got to be sweating bullets at this point, especially in light of the fact that Verizon and Sprint have both hopped aboard the MediaFLO bandwagon. Cingular and T-Mobile have yet to finalize their plans for mobile TV, but we'd imagine they'll be keeping a keen eye on Gotham for the next few months.
NYC mulling pay-per-use phone lockers for students
In our formative years we were kept on the straight and narrow with wireless leashes, and we got in touch with our folks the old-fashioned way -- two cans and a string -- and that's the way we liked it. Modern high school students, though, have a decidedly different take on the best way to drop a line, ditching pay phones (or, heaven forbid, the principal's office) in favor of trusty cellphones. Yipes, seems we've got a little hiccup: New York City's public schools have recently started clamping down on its longstanding ban on wireless goodies on school grounds, leaving a healthy percentage of tech-savvy pupils in the lurch. Parents aren't too happy, either, noting that it's the most effective way to keep tabs on lil' Johnny and Susie from afar in the event of an emergency. School officials are responding with the standard arguments, distraction and the threat of cheating, and are coming to the table with a proposal to install lockers outside schools for the sole purpose of housing phones during the school day. Sounds to good to be true, right? A rare case of taxpayer dollars being put to exactly the right use at exactly the right time, you say? Well, there's a catch: thanks to the crushing cost of said lockers, students would likely pay 25-50 cents a day for the privilege of being separated from their technology for a few hours. Needless to say a legal fight seems inevitable, though parents, teachers, and the school board will try to iron things out on the 18th of this month with a little face-to-face time. Of course, they could just give in and make texting a school subject, but we're not really seeing that happen.
Modeo slips date for New York trial
The wait for DVB-H-based mobile TV this side of the pond may have just gotten a little longer. A management shakeup at Modeo -- patron saint (along with Hiwire) of American DVB-H -- has hit the company as their search for a carrier partner continues, and its commercial-grade service trial in New York City using HTC's Foreseer appears to be a casualty. Originally scheduled for a Q4 2006 launch, the trial will now begin (knock on wood) in early '07. Between Hiwire and various MediaFLO-based efforts coming down the pike, Modeo's drama may not ultimately mean much to mobile TV's outlook in these parts, but it'd be tragic nonetheless to see one of these guys bite the dust before they even get out of the gate, would it not?[Via Phone Scoop]
Details emerge on Cingular's NFC plans
We'd previously noticed that Cingular was collaborating with Citigroup on some sort of mobile payment system in New York City, though details were pretty slim for the picking at the time; now the carrier has come out with full disclosure on exactly what it is they have up their sleeves. Like its Atlanta trial last year, the New York program involves Nokia handsets fitted with NFC (near-field communication) guts -- though for the sake of the trial participants, we hope Cingular is offering something a little more up-to-date than the lowly 3220 this time around. Unlike Atlanta, however, Cingular has switched up their financial partner from Chase / Visa to Citi / Mastercard, giving users the ability to use their phone for payment anywhere Mastercard's PayPass system is accepted. Parties involved expect the trial to last a total of three to six months, at which point we should all have a better perspective on how folks feel about shedding cash by tapping their cellphones against various surfaces. Of course, Japan seems to like it just fine -- so why not us?
Joystiq at NYC's Final Fantasy Day festivities
New York City's Times Square was overwhelmed by Final Fantasy fans as Square-Enix premiered the English language version of the upcoming Final Fantasy XII, which will be playable at this week's DigitalLife conference, which starts tomorrow. The trailer, shown to great excitement amongst fans, featured great visuals (as expected) and some truly impressive voice acting. For those of you that have HDTVs, you'll be glad to know that the US version has been enhanced with new anamorphic widescreen (16:9) functionality.Check out a shaky-cam version of the trailer, and some pics from the event after the break.
DS Lites invade McDonald's in Times Square
Yesterday, we told you about a series of DS Lite demonstrations being held at various McDonald's joints in New York City. While some of you made the astute observation that the nearby Nintendo World Store made that sort of thing a bit redundant, it didn't stop one of our fellow bloggers, Andrew Yoon, from stopping by and shoving his camera into every available face. The fact that Mr. Yoon writes for PSP Fanboy will be conveniently glossed over.He summed up the event as follows: "The DS guys aren't timely. They arrived half an hour late." "The games playable include New Super Mario Bros, Tetris DS, True Swing Golf, Brain Age and Big Brain Academy." "Every person that plays will get an iced coffee and cool (but useless) frisbee thing." "It seemed like a success: people asked, 'Where's the nearest Toys R Us?' so they can buy these suckers." "A mom seemed completely entranced by Tetris DS." Entranced mothers could likely be taken as a good sign for Nintendo's ongoing Touch Generations campaign, and events such as these are a great way of grabbing the attentions of those who call every single gaming device "a Nintendo." More pictures follow in the second part of the post.
Sample the DS Lite at an NYC McDonald's
If you live in or around New York City and have yet to part with your old DS in order to embrace the Lite, you may want to stop by a McDonald's in the next few days and try the system out for yourself. Several of the burger joints will have demo units to try out and, if you're lucky (or a rampant kleptomaniac), you might just walk away with a free iced coffee, a handful of Nintendo vouchers or even a DS Lite. These are the times and places you need to barge in:Thursday, July 13, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:220 West 42nd StreetNew York, NY 10036Friday, July 14th, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:1560 BroadwayNew York, NY 100364:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.McDonald's restaurant at:427 10th Ave and 34th StreetNew York, NY 10001Wednesday, July 19th, 200612:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.mMcDonald's Restaurant at:946 8th Ave and 56th StreetNew York, NY 10019Just be sure not to get your filthy hamburger grease all over the precious things.[Thanks to Elicia Baker at MWW.]
NYC under NuVisions WiFi skies
For those in NYC, get ready to cut loose -- literally. In a city that isn't typically exposed to rollouts of this magnitude, NuVisions is, well, envisioning an ever growing "cloud" of WiFi over the metro areas. Their plan to dominate the airwaves with internet access begins with hardwiring buildings throughout the city with gigabit Ethernet (presumably via fiber), which is then distributed to tenants via short range powerline networking. Then the real fun begins. With every building that is hardwired for internet access, they light another WiFi zone on location. NuVision's CEO refers to it as "a virtual fiber optic network in the air." Pretty bold statement, we'd say, but until WiMAX is no longer a semi-distant fantasy, there isn't anyone who's more ready to see it happen than us. Well, aside from those waiting anxiously for NuVision to invade Chicago and San Francisco, the firm's next two targets. Unlimited access requires residing in a pre-wired building and costs $24.95 per month, not too shabby at all.
Apple Store panoramic
This will probably be my last post about Apple's new Fifth Avenue store, but I'm not making any promises. The Cult of Mac points us to this very cool Quicktime panormic image of the store on opening night. It is very cool.
Line to get into the new Apple store .45 miles long
That's right, at the height of the opening madness this blogger, using only Gmaps Pedometer, estimated the line to be .45 miles long. Waiting in a line that long for the privilege of getting into a store, and perhaps getting a free t-shirt? I suppose there are worse things to do with an afternoon (though if the line were that long a Suburban Station I'm not sure I would have waited).So, fess up, how long would you wait in line to get into an Apple Store?[via Gothamist]
Time lapse photos of NYC Apple Store opening
Apple has just updated the Fifth Avenue store's page to show a series of time lapse photographs for each hour of its first 24 hours of being open.Apple really is going all out for this store opening, though when you spend millions of dollars on a glass cube, you want to get your money's worth.
Steve Jobs at the new NYC Apple Store
Ben Shapiro, an eagle eyed TUAW reader, spotted His Steveness at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store set to open today at 6pm. Pictured above we can see the real reason Steve wanted a gigantic glass cube, so he could stare lovingly at his own reflection.Check out all of Ben's Steve pics in his Flickr stream.
Apple Store 5th Ave: Your reports
Hooray, it's opening day! You cannot deny the lure of the cube, New Yorkers. Resistance is futile. While Apple Store Fifth Avenue in New York City doesn't officially open its doors until 6:00 PM, we'll be taking your reports all day. Use the comments of this post to share your experiences: When did you get in line? What's the atmosphere like? Have you seen any celebrities (from the Mac community or otherwise)? Will you be moblogging photos with your phone? Is your credit card literally burning a hole in your pocket? Does your boss think you're home sick? Check back throughout the day for updates. Have fun, New Yorkers! Here's hoping you score a T-shirt.Updates:Steve writes: "I'm standing out in front of the Apple location right now. The extreme cold and rain has scared off most of the mac faithful. Right now there are only about 20 soaking wet fans waiting outside. We haven't seen any celebs yet, although ABC news dropped by and interviewed some of us..."More updates from Steve:"...Steve Jobs has just showed up. He and some of the other Apple bigwigs are currently looking over the outside of the premises. It's getting better by the minute."TUAW reader Ben took some great photos of Steve Jobs at the 5th Avenue store! He writes:"So I'm outside the new Apple store but [I'm] not near the crowd and Steve Jobs comes from behind me, I think a lot of people were surprised...here are some photos." Very cool! Thanks, Ben!
Flickr Find: More Fifth Avenue Apple Store pictures
I'll admit it, I am obsessed with the cube outside of the new Apple Store in New York. Neil Epstein (who was taking pictures for Gothamist) has posted a whole set of pictures from today's Apple Store event (press only, thank you very much). This store looks very cool, and that Genius Bar? Immense.
5th Avenue Apple store to be open 365 days a year?
The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue has been rumored to be open 24 hours a day. ifoAppleStore now reports that not only will Apple's new flagship store be open 24 hours a day, but also 365 days a year (366 on leap year).If this is true I imagine that some Mac geeks will be ringing in the New Year at the Apple Store.Who is going to be attending the grand opening? I am pondering taking the trip into NYC to see the mystical cube with my own two eyes.
Manhattan Apple Store to open May 19
You now it's going to be a big deal when Apple creates a webpage dedicated to counting down the minutes until a single retail location opens. Apple Store Fifth Avenue in NYC (yes, the one with the huge cube) will open on Friday, May 19. This store is located at 767 Fifth Avenue at 59th Street. Get there very early for a free T-shirt and an amazing experience.We're eager to receive all of your reports, so let us know what the scene is like it you attend. It should be great.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Prediction: NYC Apple Store to open May 13th
Ok, we admit it. We're just as crazy about Steve's Manhattan cube as he is (maybe more). There's no doubt that when this location finally opens, it will be a very big event indeed. ifoAppleStore has made a prediction: The massive cube will open wide is gleaming doors on Saturday, May 13th. You may remember that ifoAppleStore released a chart earlier this year that identifies their guesses for all of the 2006 retail openings. They've also produced a great overview of what is know about the 5th Avenue store thus far, which we appreciate, because it makes us look a little less obsessed.
