2008 January

Ever wanted to build your own Apple Store?

Now you can. Here’s how.

First, visit oobject to obtain all the items that you need to get the right look and feel. Here are some of the items that you will need:

One particular item that I’m really interested in would be Item 21, which is the Motorized Shades by Mechoshade. It completes the sterile and futuristic look that I’m so in love with. I just have to wonder when I will be able to install that in my place somewhere.

Why Prices End in 99s

I have always wondered why prices ends with 99s, but never really remembered the question long enough to search for the answer, until I read this article.

Why Prices End in 99s: Humans Are Mathematically Incompetent | Epicenter from Wired.com

Which is smaller: 298,548 or 298,000? If you picked 298,548, you’re not alone. That’s the ol’ precision heuristic in price magnitude judgments doing its thing.

I have always thought that they are just trying to make the price ’sounds’ lower than it is by reducing it by 1. To say ‘300 something’ for a product priced at 399 surely sounds cheaper than ‘400 bucks’!

Need an example? Here’s a very good one:

Apple Store

Here’s another theory to the same question.

It started at Bill’s Texaco in Waco, Texas during a price war. I say it’s a much older management technique to force employees to open cash register drawers for each transaction (making simply pocketing a bill more obvious).

You can read a couple more at The Sraight Dope if you’re interested. Unfortunately, trying to find out who invented it is like trying to find out who invented the hat.

“There’s something in the air”

What can we expect from MacWorld this year? A new product? Maybe something wireless. We’ll see in a few days.

Source: AppleInsider