Billed as Boston’s flagship branch — not to mention Apple’s largest store in the US of A — the shiny shop will offer visitors tons of technological amenities, such as “64 iPod music and video players, 104 Mac laptops and computers, and a third floor dedicated entirely to service that can accommodate 100 customers receiving one-on-one training at the same time,” according to a recent article in the Boston Globe.

The doors to the long and eagerly anticipated retail location will open at 6pm EST on Thursday, May 15, just in time to give the 9-to-5 crowd a few moments to catch its collective breath after the mad dash from offices all around the city. Closing is five hours later, at 11pm.

If you need a little incentive to put some pep in your step when you head over, how about the fact that Apple plans to hand out free limited edition T-shirts to the first 1,500 lucky souls to drop by? I bet they’ll be gone fast enough to make heads spin. Better still, the celebration will continue into and over the weekend, with free workshops and other special events.

Regular hours for the Back Bay Apple Store are Monday-Saturday, 8am to 11pm, and Sunday, 9am to 7pm. Expect large crowds and insanely happy faces, at least during the first few days.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

Lots of people in the Hub are excited about one major thing these days — the gigantic, allegedly 21,350-square-foot flagship Apple Store currently under construction at 815 Boylston Street in the historic Back Bay area of Boston.

A February 2007 Boston Globe article speculated the massive retail location will give eager Apple connoisseurs, fanboys, and fangirls three or more floors (the company is super secretive about forthcoming branches, so reported numbers differ) of opportunities to browse, sample, and hang out, all in a relaxing, glass-motif retail environment that encourages loitering, er, lingering.

Although no definite opening date has been released as of this writing — or at least not one that I know of — the picture above leaves no doubt that Apple fanatics will be able to get their hip Back Bay fix very, very soon. Since the store’s opening has already been delayed several times in the past, for the sake of the hordes of devout Apple worshippers, I hope that means in 2008.

Folks are already loving the temporary Fenway Park Green Monster façade. Check out a couple of additional photos after the jump, as well as even more construction-phase images at The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

Post from: The Boston Traveler

The information is not a big secret. It just happens that many places offering free Internet access don’t publicize it very much, probably out of fear that hordes of freeloaders will take over their place of business and refuse to leave for hours, if not days, at a time.

So, from me to you, a list of ten places where you can surf the Web for no charge follows. Keep in mind, however, that it’s always common courtesy to at least purchase a beverage or some other small item when eateries are kind enough to make such a valued amenity available.

Show your thanks by not taking up precious space and bandwidth without giving something in return. In addition, always practice safe Web browsing and remain mindful of the details you transport over what might very well be unsecured lines accessible by anyone with the appropriate skills.

Ten Free WiFi Spots Around Boston

• b.good
  131 Dartmouth Street, 617-424-5252
• Boloco
  247 Newbury Street, 617-262-2200
• Boston Architectural Center
  320 Newbury Street, 617-262-5000
• Boston Public Library
  Central Library, 700 Boylston Street, 617-536-5400
  (Requires library card and PIN number)
• Newbury Guest House
  261 Newbury Street, 1-800-437-7668
• Omni Parker House
  60 School Street, 617-227-8600
• Rachel’s Kitchen
  12 Church Street, 617-423-3447
• Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center Boston
  200 Seaport Boulevard, 877-732-7678
• Sonsie
  337 Newbury Street, 617-351-2500
• Trident Booksellers & Cafe
  338 Newbury Street, 617-267-8688

Post from: The Boston Traveler