Some people just are n’t frightened by the vista of big felines on the loose .
Hundreds of Mac exploiter in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan certainly did n’t seem to be , while they stood patiently in dividing line and watched a homo in a cat suit dance to the melodic line of “ Eye of the Tiger , ” upgrade the launching of Apple ’s new operating system .
The scene was repeated at Apple Stores from slide to coast at 6 p.m. local time for the worldwide unveiling of Tiger , the latest update to OS X. In New York , masses had queue up in an ever - renewing line for nearly three metropolis blocks around the Prince Street store in rescript to buy the $ 129 update for their home data processor systems .
Across the country in San Francisco , the line outside the Apple Store snake up Stockton Street enfold around to O’Farrell . Ten instant before the San Francisco opened its doors , more than 200 citizenry were line up , waiting to get their handwriting on Tiger and its assure 200 features and enhancements .
client standing in line on Friday evening seemed peculiarly delirious about the various Modern feature Tiger is offering . One of them was Willie Fuchs , a 56 - year - sometime in writing artist from Queen who sat well in a foldout chair at the front of the SoHo waiting line . Klaus Fuchs arrived on the smirch at 2:45 p.m. and learn the iPod photo exploiter ’s guide to guide the time .
Was there a special reason he wanted to be the first in the store ?
“ Somebody has to be number one , ” he said with a smile , adding , “ I like the Spotlight and the Safari RSS . Plus , it has , like , a total of 200 raw features . It ’s really deserving it . ”
Mike Davidson , a in high spirits school teacher who had do all the way from Rutherford , New Jersey , to compete with Fuchs for the selection spot at the front of the line , agreed . “ I ’m excite about every one of the 200 features , ” he enjoin . “ I ’m really hoping that the Spotlight feature of speech makes my life easier . ”
In San Francisco , first - in - furrow honors went to Mario Ortiz , who show up at the Apple Store two hour before the Tiger effect . Ortiz , from San Francisco , had ordered a copy of OS X 10.4 from Amazon.com , but the software had n’t get in yet ; he decide to come down to the San Francisco store to get his hand on a written matter .
“ I ’ve pretty much been an Apple fan for a while , ” pronounce Ortiz , adding that he progress to it a habit to be among the first transcriber of Mac operating organisation . “ I want to keep up the custom . ”
Right behind Ortiz was San Franciscan David Dellinger , who fare to the Apple Store even though he planned to wait a workweek or two before instal Tiger to “ lease the dust settle . ”
“ I had never do to a launch event before , ” said Dellinger , who was eager to try out the later version of iChat AV . “ Hands down , the character [ of iChat ’s video ] is so much good than what ’s out there . ”
Andrew Taylor and his married woman may have travelled the farthest to be a part of the San Francisco launch — they ’re on holiday from England and decided to take reward of their close propinquity to an Apple Store . “ We do n’t have this back domicile , so it ’s good to be in San Francisco , ” Taylor said .
Automator is the feature article that most stimulate Taylor . “ As a prick , the opportunity are just endless , ” he said .
Other Mac drug user created their own excitement . In New York , 14 - year - old Richard Hart remain firm out from the rest period of the gang by donning a Winnie the Pooh costume . “ I tried to buy a Tigger costume , but I could n’t find one , ” excuse Hart , who ’s hoping Tiger will speed up his work on documentary about the industrialisation of Long Island . “ It ’s a small ‘ out there , ’ but most of the masses here are . ”
Costumes were n’t just restricted to customers . At the San Francisco Apple Store , employee Nikki Bongard donned a set of ears and duad of Tiger - stripped arm to help greet patron . “ You ’ve got to get into the spirit , ” she sound out .
More than just the outlook of trying and buying a brand unexampled operating system of rules bring out Mac partisans . Apple employees also handed out scratcher card to some of the early arriver . At a minimum , customers won a loose Song dynasty download from the iTunes Music Store ; other prizes include assorted iPods , AirPort Express hubs , and 15 - inch PowerBooks .
Although most people in the queue were excited to bribe the new software , others standing outside the computer memory seemed less sure why they want to be there . In New York , Joyce Bautista freely admitted that , after project all the Modern features Tiger whirl , she suppose , “ I do n’t need any of that . ”
“ I just learned that I ’m presuppose to get it , otherwise my iPod ’s not go to work , ” she said , adding in a voicelessness , “ I do n’t even have the Internet at habitation . This is all in the hobby of the iPod . ”
Meanwhile , some passersby outside the SoHo storage search on in bemusement at the ever - growing line of Panthera tigris - emptor and cheering Apple fund employees ( arrant with a dance man in a Tiger cause ) . One charwoman who walked by shrugged and enjoin , “ possibly there ’s a celebrity . ”
Little did she know that , for devoted Mac user , there are few bigger star than Tiger right now .
[ Philip Michaels contribute to this report from San Francisco . ]
