<![CDATA[Gawker: apple stores]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: apple stores]]> http://gawker.com/tag/applestores http://gawker.com/tag/applestores <![CDATA[The Safety of Glass]]> Remember that dizzying, quarter-mile-high glass observation deck that opened on the 103rd story of Chicago's Sears Tower recently? Well, the New York Times now has an interesting article about the science of making the damn thing work without killing anyone.

Basically the designers had to make the glass five layers thick, using various new polymers and whatnot to ensure that the whole structure wouldn't crumble and send people plummeting to their dooms. The firm that built The Ledge and another group, who made big inroads in the glass architecture field by building all of the glass stairs that bedeck Apple stores across the nation, both have an end goal for all this alchemy: "Ultimately what we're all striving for is an all-glass structure." Sounds like fun! But, um, count us out.

Image via Getty

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<![CDATA[Apple Stores are the new Starbucks]]> Apple is the new StarbucksOK, that's it. Apple Stores are officially the new Starbucks. They're everywhere. Rumors have a new store opening in Brooklyn and a megastore opening on 34th Street in Manhattan. Meanwhile, Apple is opening a superstore in my hometown of Boston to go with the eight already in Massachusetts. There are new stores planned for San Francisco, Zurich, Chicago, Maui, Berlin, Taiwan, another in Manhattan near NYU, two in Paris, at least three in Japan, several in Canada, a few in Australia, some in South Africa, Hong Kong and Munich. At least they're decent to look at. I shudder to think what Zune kiosks, probably appearing soon at your local megamall, will look like. (Image by sarahbaker)

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