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| Crowds line up at the Apple Store in The Falls, waiting for Jaguar. (Dave Game) |
The cry of the Jaguar could be heard across South Florida, as hundreds of Mac users lined up in the heat of the night Friday, August 23, 2002, to be the first to take home Apple's most up-to-date operating system. The enthusiasm here mirrored that of events held by Apple retailers across the nation, in one of Apple's most successful product launches ever.
In both Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, Gold Coast Mac representatives were on hand to answer questions and to help new Jaguar owners discover where to get support for their purchase.
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| Gold Coast Mac members wait for Jaguar at MacCenter in Ft. Lauderdale. (Rose Lynn) |
In Broward County, the doors opened at 9 pm on Friday at MacCenter, and people were lined up and waiting. GCMac Vice President Rose Lynn and member Robert Lasky were on hand for the event, which included special gifts, demos of Jaguar technology, and some snacks to help keep people occupied until Jaguar was released for sale at 10:20.
Copies of the software flew off the shelves, as some people took advantage of the new OS update to purchase new systems. More than a dozen Gold Coast Mac members took part in the launch event, which kept people in the store well past the official midnight closing.
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| Huge crowds wait in the heat at The Falls (John Burkowski) |
In Miami-Dade County, people lined up outside the Apple Store at The Falls as the mall was closing. Despite the hot and humid night, nearly a thousand people were lined up along the entrances to the store, so many that Apple brought in extra security to handle the crowds.
As they waited, store employees including GCMac board member Felicia Sternbach handed out door prize entries to the crowd, while other Gold Coast Mac officers including Jan Barkan and Sandy Medina offered information about Gold Coast Mac to the gathering enthusiasts.
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| GCMac President Dave Game, cameras in hand, welcomes the crowds (John Burkowski) |
GCMac President Dave Game welcomed the gathered crowd, and helped them whip up a little enthusiasm as the launch hour drew closer.
When the doors opened, at 10:20 pm, the crowd poured into the store, snapping up Jaguar mouse pads handed out by employees. Many went immediately to the register, waving cash, to buy their copy of Jaguar.
So many people were waiting that the store quickly reached its allowed capacity under fire codes, and employees were forced tomake people wait outside until others left, copies of Jaguar under their arm. It was after 11:00 before the last of the waiting customers were allowed into the store.
Many took advantage of a 10% off special on anything in the store for people who purchased Jaguar or a new Mac system. Others gathered in the Apple theater for an overview of the new features, and a good number flocked to the Genius bar to ask questions about Jaguar's changes.
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| Felicia Sternback hands out the goodies (Dave Game) |
Apple store employees said they had prepared for crowds, but even they seemed surprised by the turnout at launch hour, which exceeded the crowds seen at the store's opening last November.
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| Sandy Medina advocates GCMac membership (Dave Game) |
Gold Coast Mac had been invited by Apple Store management to be a part of the event, and the group was well represented, with President Dave Game and board members Jan Barkan, Guiseppe Di Franco, Sandy Medina, and Esver Camacho forming the official group presence. A large number of Gold Coast Mac members were also on hand, and hundreds of people were given cards or flyers promoting Gold Coast Mac as the place to get support for their new Jaguar purchase.
Those who did buy walked home with not only new software, but a collectors item T-shirt featuring the new Jaguar X logo.
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| GCMac sets up for questions at MacCenter (Rose Lynn) |
Not everybody turned out late Friday to get their copy of Jaguar, Many waited until Saturday, which was the official launch date, and Gold Coast Mac teamed up with MacCenter for a full day of Jaguar activities. Also on hand were representatives of the Broward user group NatMac, who placed a person in the store in shifts an help answer questions.
Gold Coast Mac set up shop at the entrance to MacCenter, welcoming Mac users, offering "Jaguar Chips" (cookies), pastelitos, and "Jungle Juice" (apple juice) for everyone. In addition to answering technical questions and providing information about the help which User Groups could provide, GCMac helped with drawings for copies of Apple's .Mac
service, and gave shoppers a chance to win prizes by tossing rubber apples into the shell of a Lime iMac. People lined up to play for prizes including hats, t-shirts, and posters.
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| Board Member and Mac Center employee Rafael Marerro surveys the GCMac display (Rose Lynn) |
The lobby display included balloons, tables draped with jungle cloth, an iMac connected by Airport to the Internet for registrations, and a huge banner proclaiming Gold Coast Mac's involvement.
Inside, people were given the chance to learn more about Gold Coast Mac, as the store places copies of GCMac videos on demonstration machines. Jaguar buyers were encouraged to sign up for 90 day trial memberships in Gold Coast Mac offered through MacCenter.
The event also included demos on the .Mac service given by Don Ice, Apple's .Mac product manager.
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| Apple's Don Ice explains .Mac (Dave Game) |
MacCenter CEO Michael France called the event a huge success, and thanked Gold Coast Mac for being a part of it.
Helping to make the event possible were President Dave Game, Vice President Rose Lynn, Past President Charlie Carlon, board members Sandy Medina, Guiseppe DiFranco, and Jan Barkan, as well as members Bob Lasky and Gus Monte.
August 2002
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