Apple store is down

Yep, we know, the Apple store is down -- which usually means they're putting some fun new stuff up. Or not. (Hey, the could just be performing maintenance.) Guess we'll find out when it's back up, eh? As always, we advise not to get your hopes up or anything, the likelihood of this being, say, an early iPhone launch (and not just some pro apps stuff) is slim to say the least.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[brutha-man @ May 15th 2007 8:02AM]

guess no one is buying their products......

[Joe Smith @ May 15th 2007 8:04AM]

glossy mirror-finish aluminum macbook pros with LED screens, 3G wireless, HD-DVD reader, flashcard reader, and preloaded with naked pics of steve jobs? woo hoo!!!

[netposer @ May 15th 2007 8:06AM]

Well...yesterday Digg was down for maintenance or something and I didn't see an Engadget story. So why is "this" news? Oh yeah, it's Apple--sorry.

[Zadillo @ May 15th 2007 8:10AM]

It's just news because this is basically a sign that Apple is introducing some new products..... given how they have tightened leaks, the online store being down is usually the biggest sign for "apple watchers" that a new product is in fact being introduced.

In terms of why it is news, it's just because there have been various rumors about new product introductions occurring today (specifically updated MacBooks), so for those people who have been waiting for that, this news story sort of confirms that at least "something" is actually happening.

I appreciate it, because Engadget is one of the first sites I check each morning, and otherwise I might not have even known something was going on.

[netposer @ May 15th 2007 9:37AM]

I hear you but sometimes the Apple buzz gets a bit out of hand. ;-)

[Matt @ May 15th 2007 2:42PM]

Indeed. They post a story when the Apple site is down, but nothing at all when, say, Engadget's comments go down.

[tape @ May 15th 2007 8:13AM]

Like the post mentions, they are probably just adding Final Cut Studio 2 to the store. I hope there are more hardware related updates as well though, hopefully a updated mbp.

[Tinus Lorval @ May 15th 2007 8:20AM]

Engadget, the only site where server downtime is considered worldshocking news. As long as they are iServers, of course!

[Mike @ May 15th 2007 8:29AM]

Why is it when people see a post that they don't care for, they feel compelled to post some snarky drivel about how it's not "newsworthy"? It's not just Engadget, it occurs all over the blogsphere.

There are plenty of posts here that I could do without. I find it very easy to simply skip them.

[alloneword @ May 15th 2007 8:30AM]

It's BACK UP!!

Ha Ha, made you look.

[ScOObyDoo @ May 15th 2007 8:30AM]

Bringing the entire store down to add some products? WTF is this, 1997?

I never see BestBuy or Costco shut down their site just to add some stuff. So either Apple has a shitty backend, or they enjoy screwing with the fanbois by adding this drama.

[Brian @ May 15th 2007 8:40AM]

I was wondering the same thing. They have to take down the entire store to update a version number and price on their Final Cut page. My clients freak out if their sites are down for any amount of time, Apple intentionally takes their down (and probably loses millions) just to make minor updates.

[tape @ May 15th 2007 8:43AM]

Actually I see the Best Buy site down for maintenance all the time. If you are asking why am i checking the site so regularly, I have gift cards that were given to me by family members last year, and I can't bring myself to actually buy any of their over priced items.

[zoara @ May 15th 2007 9:00AM]

ScOObyDoo: The very fact that you're commenting on it answers your question; pulling the store down garners attention.

Consider it a form of cheap advertising.

[MS @ May 15th 2007 8:31AM]

Still strikes me as laughable that they need to take down their entire store to amend or add a few products. Amazon would never be up if they had the same lame update mechanism.

[misterbleepy @ May 15th 2007 8:41AM]

I don't think they actually need to take the store down, I just think they're "playing the game", and getting free coverage.

Now - I hope it's a new iMac...

[nikster @ May 15th 2007 8:36AM]

wow what's with all the flak engadget is receiving here. gadget fans, speak up!

i am sitting at the edge of my seat for a new santa rosa MBP so seeing this in the engadget feed just about made me cream my panties. a feeling of slight euphoria has set in, esp. since some wacko website i had never heard of before reported new macbooks would be out "tomorrow". i know i am not alone here because said website was down all day...

i know i know, most likely it's nothing at all, but i for one am very happy to receive such timely news. thanks!

[netposer @ May 15th 2007 8:39AM]

I bet Apple doesn't have to take down their store but they do it for free press. Look at what Engadget does when they see the Apple store down.

[nikster @ May 15th 2007 8:40AM]

huh? it's not back up, yet...

[Nick @ May 15th 2007 2:10PM]

maybe they've learned that by doing it.. they get all of this free advertising and hype from all the tech blogs announcing that the store is down and then causing their readers who are interested in Apple to all of a sudden want to know what will be new when it gets put back up.

I cant imagine that they are loosing money because if you wanted to buy an Mac and the eStore was down you would probably just try again later and make the purchase then. Do you decide you dont want a product anymore based upon the store being open the first time you go there?

[Scott @ May 15th 2007 8:42AM]

This isn't rocket science, people. They don't shut the store down because they can't update everything in real time, they shut the store down to build up the anticipation, it's all part of their carefully crafted marketing strategy.

I'm just surprised more companies don't take cues from Apple.

[Quake97 @ May 15th 2007 8:48AM]

New MacBooks

[dilla @ May 15th 2007 8:49AM]

new macbooks, on front page

[JD @ May 15th 2007 8:51AM]

I'm hoping it's an iPod refresh since mine died yesterday.

[mrmckeb @ May 15th 2007 8:55AM]

Not news. Please post news only.

[Tinus Lorval @ May 15th 2007 9:02AM]

"they shut the store down to build up the anticipation, it's all part of their carefully crafted marketing strategy. I'm just surprised more companies don't take cues from Apple."

Other stores don't take this cue from Apple, because it only works on the Apple fanboy types. Normal people consider store downtime simply a nuisance.

[supermeerkat @ May 15th 2007 9:04AM]

I hope they are announcing widescreen touch screen ipods.

*Crosses fingers*
*Screws up eyes*
*Wishes that Uncle Steve has something lovely in his bag of lovely things*
*Waits impatiently*

[CJON @ May 15th 2007 9:12AM]

faster macbooks

[DJ @ May 15th 2007 9:15AM]

Today, 5-15, is supposed to be the day that no one buys gas for their cars as a way to boycott the oil industry. Apple is just showing their solidarity by making it a day that you can't buy Mac's, iPods, etc., which would require shipping via vehicles that use gas.

[DAZA @ May 15th 2007 9:16AM]

New Macbooks. Base model has 1GB RAM. Faster CPUs, too. Bigger HDDs, better bang for buck over all.

Just a refresh, hardly new Macbooks.

[Tim @ May 15th 2007 9:28AM]

umm. Does apple not know that you can actually make changes to a website without taking it down? .htaccess anyone?

[DannyBee @ May 15th 2007 9:29AM]

Macbook Update

Faster processors (1.8 becomes 2.0 and 2.0ghz becomes 2.1ghx)

The minimum memory is 1gig but the slowest macbook still only had a CD-RW and not a DVD-RW

These are not the latest intel core2duo chips however but there has been a slight drop (£50 in UK) in price

[dogarms @ May 15th 2007 9:31AM]

[Processor and memory
* 2.0GHz or 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 4MB shared L2 cache running at full processor speed
* 667MHz frontside bus]

If they've updated it, it's not to Santa Rosa. It has an 800MHz bus. I'd say Santa Rosa upgrades are going to be reserved to MacBook Pros only.

[Phil @ May 15th 2007 9:38AM]

Back up.

Final Cut Studio 2 is up now.

The fanboys can breathe easy now....

[Christian Martin @ May 15th 2007 9:51AM]

The downtime is to give the average sheep a reason to look for changes when it's back up. Nothing makes you want to see what all the fuss is about like a missing storefront and the subsequent masturbatory news posts.

[DJ @ May 15th 2007 9:51AM]

BTW, I noticed that the iPhone unit shown on the Apple site has the Cingular logo on it. Given that Cingular basically no longer exists, why wouldn't they change it reflect the ATT logo? Or would they have to take the ENTIRE Apple site down to do that?

[supermeerkat @ May 15th 2007 9:58AM]

Bah! New loveable Macbooks.

[Sapo @ May 15th 2007 10:25AM]

guess why the minimum ram is now 1giga, because osx it's RAM hungry! and runs sluggish with 512mb..
then people complains about vista minimum requirements..

[Seth @ May 16th 2007 1:21PM]

Whats funny is that there is no reason for a site to 'go down' to change products - thats what staging servers are for - the site 'going down' is probably nothing more then yet another marketing tool to create buzz.

Of course there could be a legitimate problem with the site.

[Bob @ May 16th 2007 5:32PM]

What amazes me is that Apple have to take down the whole store in order to add products, thats just bad system design. They should be able to add content without any down time. If what I'm reading is correct and this is a common occurance to the point where it has become a sign to the apple community that they are releasing something new then it really indicates incompetance on the side of their web developers.

[Revrant2394 @ May 17th 2007 6:40AM]

What is this? Apple Ad space? Who cares?