[Mint via FastCompany]

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but already Best Buy seems to have won the “most annoying holiday ad of the season” award. Seriously, try to sit through one of these without squirming around uncomfortably and wanting to punch the screen.

You will learn important lessons like: sizing your TV to optimise resolution, whether to choose LCD vs plasma vs LED and why you don’t need to spend money on a 240Hz TV. So make sure to check out the following link before you shop. [HDGuru]

I brought an ancient and non-functioning Mac to the Apple Store in the Meatpacking District in NYC, and this is what happened.

Overall, they were surprisingly unfazed by my request for repairs. They were impressed that I had it, and seemed genuinely interested in helping me get it fixed. They couldn’t do anything for me, since Apple only keeps equipment from the last five years on hand, but they pointed me towards Tekserve, another Apple-centric store in NYC.

Thanks to Blakeley from Gawker.tv for shooting the hidden camera footage!

I’ve heard the Microsoft Store pays well and all, but seriously, what a dick move for making employees do this. That’s what Disney World and Cruise Lines are for. [YouTube via Engadget]

1. Capsule Hotel
Say you’re in Union Square. It’s 4am and you’re drunk. Far too drunk to figure out how to get back home. Well, why not go and crash in the capsule hotel at Best Buy for $US15? And when you get up, you can make a quick video-game impulse purchase to help nurse your hangover with.

2. Pay by the hour video games
Best Buy has tons of huge, beautiful TVs. They also have boatloads of video games and consoles. Why not use all that gear? If they set up Xboxes on those big TVs, they could charge people by the hour to play on them late at night. Say, from 11pm-6am. I’m sure they’d make a boatload of cash from semi-drunk people paying $US20 to kill each other in Call of Duty before going home after the bars.

3. Food
Of course, you gotta have food late at night. Might I suggest a make-your-own sundae bar? Just make sure you’ve got enough serviettes on hand to keep all of your nice products from being covered in sticky fingerprints.

4. Skee-ball
Everybody loves skee-ball!

5. Karaoke
Again, this would be a great way to showcase your TVs as well as the big musical-instruments section that this new flagship Best Buy is going to have.

6. Hot Tubs
Look, if you want to get people into your store late at night, you’ve gotta offer incentives. And there are few better incentives than a hot tub on a cold night. Combine this with #2 and I’d practically live there.

7. A Bar
Why only settle for people shopping after they’ve been out drinking when you can sell them their drinks as well? Do you know what the profit margins are on booze sales? Enough to make you rethink being an electronics retailer, that’s what.

The good news, if there is any, is that the early termination fee only applies to early termination. Surprised you there, didn’t it? The bad news is, what Mark said about the ditch fee being $US110 in the 23rd month is true. And pretty much anything you’d want to buy from Verizon these days — not just Droids and BlackBerrys but netbooks too — are locked into this new fee.

Verizon is pretty clear that this is about recouping the cost of the subsidy; a gadget lands on the “advanced” list when it has a combination of features that “drive up the cost”. Only wireless modems and dumbphones (below referred to as feature phones) appear to be exempt. Here are the details from a spokesman:

The higher tier of early termination fee applies to a device category that generally includes smartphones, netbooks and other advanced devices purchased at a subsidized price under contract. Please remember, feature phones still carry a $US175 early termination fee when purchased at a subsidized price with a new customer agreement.

Advanced devices include a combination of advanced capabilities that combined drive up the cost of the device, including premium HTML browser; high-resolution MP camera with optical zoom; dual processor chipsets; WiFi; very high-resolution displays, and/or operating systems such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, or Android. The category also includes netbooks. (Modems will still carry a $US175 ETF.)

We are informing customers at the point of purchase/contract renewal—whether on line, in person or over the phone. On Sunday, when the new EFT takes effect, we will post the list of advanced devices.

By the way, it is important to note that this change has no impact on customers with previously signed contracts, and as a practical matter has no impact on the majority of customers who choose to complete the terms of their contracts.

Remember, if you sign a long-term contract and complete it, there’s no early termination fee. In addition, customers always have the option of buying any device at full retail without an early termination fee.

The $US30 Pixis (Pixies?) are back-ordered already, probably because this is the best deal in town. This news does two things: It raises the possibility of a free-on-contract Pixi sometime in the near future, and calls into question again whether or not the Pixi can ever be a truly good deal. Today, the Pre is $US100 at Amazon, so a $US30 — or even free — Pixi might not be worth the loss of screen size, speed, Wi-Fi and camera quality. And as BusinessWeek crunches it:

Amortised over the required two-year contract, with the cheapest offering being Sprint’s $US70 a month unlimited data, 450 voice minute Everything Data plan, the Pixi works a out to $US74.15 a month and the Pre to $US76.25. Not much to choose from there in budgetary terms.

And that’s at $US100 and $US150 prices for the Pixi and Pre, respectively — not the new bargain basement rates. What does that leave in the Pixi’s favour? Size? Style? The fact that its name actually sounds like a noun? [EverythingPre]

I call it a temple because the architecture conveys a nearly religious aesthetic, a place to worship Apple, beyond any other Apple store you’ve ever been to. The top floor’s a vast open space, enclosed by spartan stone walls which support a massive glass ceiling. The rows of tables in the main room feel like pews.

I can’t tell you — and the pictures can’t show you — how utterly open and expansive the room feels. To give you an idea of the space, the walls are about 14m tall, and could fit 11 Apple Cubes inside. The spareness is breathtaking. It’s cold. Not literally, but the stone walls, the glass, the sheer space rob it of any sense of warmth or feeling. The only sense of life in room comes from the products. It’s a temple to them, really.

The beating heart, where things actually happen is tucked underground. The Genius Bar and personal-training space is the biggest ever in an Apple store, able to handle up to 100 customers at once. It’s pretty much like any other Apple store down there, just bigger.

It’s impressive. Especially considering that it used to be a Victoria’s Secret. It opens Saturday, and they’re giving away 2500 commemorative shirts, if you’re that kind of crazy.

Apple Store Upper West Side Opening on Saturday, November 14

NEW YORK-November 12, 2009-Apple® will open its newest retail store on New York’s Upper West Side on Saturday, November 14 at 10:00 a.m. Set beneath a breathtaking all-glass arched roof, the street level of the Apple Store® Upper West Side offers more Macs, iPods and iPhones than any store in the world for an incredible hands-on experience. The lower level features the largest area ever created by Apple for personal training and technical support, including a 45-foot Genius Bar. Located on Broadway at 67th Street, the Apple Store Upper West Side is just minutes from Lincoln Center and Central Park.

“We opened our first store in Manhattan seven years ago, and the response has been incredible,” said Ron Johnson, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail. “We hope our new store on the Upper West Side will become as much a part of the community as our stores in SoHo, the Meatpacking District and on Fifth Avenue.”

A highly trained team of more than 200 employees brings the unique Apple retail experience to the Upper West Side, offering the same legendary services that Apple stores provide around the world. At the Genius Bar, customers can get free advice and expert tech support from knowledgeable experts. Customers who buy a Mac® at the Apple Store Upper West Side can join the popular One to One program for personal set-up service and personal training for just $99. Visitors can also get free tips from Specialists who are on-hand to help shoppers find the perfect gift or choose the right Mac, iPod® or iPhone® for themselves.

In time for the holiday season, customers can now reserve their favorite Apple product online at www.apple.com/retail/reserve and pick it up at their local Apple store between December 15-24. Apple retail stores will also gift wrap any iPod or portable Mac for just $5.

The Apple Store Upper West Side is the fourth in Manhattan and Apple’s 15th in the New York metro area, joining the hugely successful Apple Stores SoHo, West 14th Street and Fifth Avenue. Nearly 170 million people on four continents have visited Apple retail stores this year. Apple now operates 280 stores in ten countries including the US, UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, Switzerland, Germany and France.

The Apple Store Upper West Side is located at 1981 Broadway, on the corner of West 67th Street. The first 2,500 visitors to the store will receive a limited edition, commemorative t-shirt.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.