I’d like to start with a little history about my experience as a member of the Apple community. My first experience as an Apple user was in early 2003 when my Mom purchased a 17″ iMac 1.25GHz from CompUSA. We waited an hour before the store opened the day that the new computer went on sale. It was her first Macintosh and I hooked her in after buying my iBook 600Mhz G3 a year before. Since then, I’ve made the habit of lining up every chance I have for the latest Apple product but it’s not because of the product, it’s actually because of the community. Many times, I’ve stated that Apple’s products don’t truly wow me but the community has been something of awe as I’ve made friends, found work and built a community around my love of The Macintosh.
From 2003-2009, I lined up every year for IDG’s Macworld Expo just to see Steve Jobs’ keynote and from 2007-2009, I was in the same line to see Apple’s WWDC Keynote. In 2002, 2005 & 2007 I lined up for the release of Mac OS Jaguar, Tiger and Leopard (respectively). In 2007, 2007 & 2009 I lined up for the iPhone and I could go on and on at the amount of lines I’ve been in. All in all, if my math is correct, I’ve lined up about 16 times for an Apple-related announcement but I’ve never been first. This time, I was.
You can say that I’m crazy for lining up so early but I was only in line for 8.5 hours. My longest lineup was in 2007 for the first iPhone when I get in line for over 20 hours. This was actually only the 5th longest time I’ve stayed in line but analysts love to poke fun at how long you were sitting there. It’s not too bad and the time flew right by. Being first meant I was “the guy” that every reporter spoke to. There’s tons of content online as I was interviewed over 40 times but I managed to find a few things that featured me and I’ve linked / embedded them below. There were over a dozen people that helped me find these videos & photos. I owe all of you a huge thanks!
MetroNews Edmonton Newspaper (my favorite photo)
FLICKR PHOTOS
FOX NEWS
CNET
ABC7 – 1
ABC7 – 2
CNET – VIDEO
CNBC PART 1
CNBC PART 2
- Venture Beat
- Heavily watermarked photos from Associated Press: (1) (2) (3)
- SFIST was kind enough to reprint my photos taken on that day.
I wanted to personally thank everyone in line, online and in person that kept me company. It was a fun time and I hope you all enjoyed it! Keep an eye out for my iPhone 3G S review coming in a few days.
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