Apple Building Massive Structure at Flint Center for iPhone 6 Event

[CFreymarc]

I'm British and we tend to treat company names as collective nouns.

A company is essentially a descriptive name for a group of people, so using 'Apple are' makes perfect sense. However, it does depend on the context, as you could also refer to the brand itself which would be singular.

We do this with any organization or group of people, such as "The Government are failing to tackle crime", "The Police are underpaid", etc.

You noted a subtle but significant different between American and British Commonwealth business culture. The legal differences of an American Corporation and a British Commonwealth Limited Company are significant.

In the States, a corporation by definition is a single entity that is defined as an individual with very similar rights and privileges as a person. When a legal action occurs with a company, that corporate entity is addressed and not the individuals who are running it. Hence why Americans use company names as singular nouns.

A Limited Company, by most Commonwealth legal definitions, is a group of subscribers responsible for company actions. In a Commonwealth legal action, the individuals running the company are addressed but with limited liability. Hence why a Limited Company is described as a collective noun.

Had a good talk about this over a few pints at a pub in Bayswater a few years ago with some Imperial students.

 

[marvz]

It is just a very big showroom over 3 floors for the new iPhones & iWatch. Think about it, there will be around 2,000 people and they all want to see and try the new devices.

 

[CFreymarc]

It is just a very big showroom over 3 floors for the new iPhones & iWatch. Think about it, there will be around 2,000 people and they all want to see and try the new devices.

They could sell tickets to this. I'm sure it will be up for a few weeks and become the valley's latest ligger feeding frenzy.

 

[Smartass]

Perhaps Cook is about to finally silence his doubters...

or make em laugh even louder

 

[Manderby]

That building is a house made of minecraft snow blocks. So this can mean two things:

- Minecraft runs natively in cocoa/swift

- Minecraft runs more stable. Which can only be accomplished by Apple buying Oracle.

 

[Gutwrench]

Where Steve showed the Mac 30 years ago!? Damn, the hype just increases. It's insane, I'm pumped!!!

Since it implies a big event, I hope they deliver.

 

[Akarin]

(...)

... or its just the hands on area

Yup. My first thought also.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

It is just a very big showroom over 3 floors for the new iPhones & iWatch. Think about it, there will be around 2,000 people and they all want to see and try the new devices.

Wonder where the nearest cell phone tower is. They better juice it up for all the participants.

 

[orioncrystalice]

Definitely a building for iPhone 6. Here's a leaked picture of the smaller of the two models in action, featuring sapphire buttons to quickly and more securely get you to your content:

 

[Moto G]

That giant cube is full of iced water - you better prepare yourselves if you're attending - Tim's gonna flip a switch and drench you all, and you'll be locked in til you stump up the green

 

[Zippitydont]

It's required to house Dr. Dre's ego, or possibly, a scale model of the new Apple iBarge.

 

[woodekm]

What does that blue tent mean? Blue iPhone???? Waterproof iPhone????? HMMmmmmm.

 

[Zxxv]

Its the first ever drive through apple store complete with drive through genius bar. How does it work. Well you shout in the microphone box at one end, throw your iPhone in the shoot, drive round and pick up a refurb unit. It saves apple on retail space and the cost saved offsets the time paid serving customers. Macdonalds is said to be building a drive through right next door so you can get fat whilst you restore over free wifi.

oh and you get a free hat

 

[Moto G]

It's a rumour generating device. When the 9th arrives, all you'll see is a big tent with a table inside it where you can go and claim an "I got had" sticker and pen.

----------

... Or maybe it's to house Craig Federighi's hair...

 

[subjonas]

Question not for just you, jonnyenv, but for everyone. I see many people use "Apple are…" rather than "Apple is..." Apple is a singular entity. Just like "IBM is..." or "McDonalds is…" It's not just you, I see this everywhere.

Am I just a curmudgeon?

How about we split the diff and we say "The folks at Apple are…"?

It seems like the majority here use 'Apple' as a plural noun and this is the first time I've seen anyone other than myself question it. I thought I was going insane, so thanks for confirming it's not just me.

I'm British and we tend to treat company names as collective nouns.

A company is essentially a descriptive name for a group of people, so using 'Apple are' makes perfect sense. However, it does depend on the context, as you could also refer to the brand itself which would be singular.

We do this with any organisation or group of people, such as "The Government are failing to tackle crime", "The Police are underpaid", etc.

You noted a subtle but significant different between American and British Commonwealth business culture. The legal differences of an American Corporation and a British Commonwealth Limited Company are significant.

In the States, a corporation by definition is a single entity that is defined as an individual with very similar rights and privileges as a person. When a legal action occurs with a company, that corporate entity is addressed and not the individuals who are running it. Hence why Americans use company names as singular nouns.

A Limited Company, by most Commonwealth legal definitions, is a group of subscribers responsible for company actions. In a Commonwealth legal action, the individuals running the company are addressed but with limited liability. Hence why a Limited Company is described as a collective noun.

Had a good talk about this over a few pints at a pub in Bayswater a few years ago with some Imperial students.

How enlightening... So everyone here who uses 'Apple' as a plural noun is British? I never imagined at all it came down to a difference in corporate law between the two countries.
Downpour, what's funny about your examples is in America we use "the government" as singular, but "the police" as plural. I'm not sure why.

 

[Keerock]

These are singular in American; plural in English English.

Thank you for answering without being snarky. Having spent some time in London I really should have figured that out on my own. I really like when people don't flame someone who is honesty just clueless about something.

Cheers

----------

These are singular in American; plural in English English.

It seems like the majority here use 'Apple' as a plural noun and this is the first time I've seen anyone other than myself question it. I thought I was going insane, so thanks for confirming it's not just me.






How enlightening... So everyone here who uses 'Apple' as a plural noun is British? I never imagined at all it came down to a difference in corporate law between the two countries.
Downpour, what's funny about your examples is in America we use "the government" as singular, but "the police" as plural. I'm not sure why.

Totally digging the lack of nastiness in those who answered my original post. I found all direct responses polite and helpful.

 

[orioncrystalice]

Just heard they will be pumping in 100,000 gallons of water and bringing in a wave machine so Craig can demonstrate iWatch while surfing.

 

[nex4k]

Given their post-Steve strategy to highlight their bright past every now and then, the timing and the location, I say there's a Steve memorial statue slumbering inside which will be unveiled in the near future.

 

[Christianer]

U2 - Apple partnership

I have a strong suspicion this is related to U2's new single/album.
U2 have been extremely secretive with their new album coming this fall, but there are rumours they have made some kind of deal with Apple again.

"It looked like a sound stage going up for a rock concert behind Flint Center,"
Mangini asked a worker about the project .
"We really can't say," the worker told him. "All I can say is this is one of the largest shows I've ever worked on, and I've worked on them for 30 years."

Source:
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/08/29/could-it-be-biggest-apple-launch-original-macintosh-30-years-ago

Being a huge U2 and Apple fan I can't wait for this event!
Maybe Apple is revealing some new iTunes/Beats music service at this event and thats where U2 come in...

 

[chip91]

Um...am I the only one that thinks that this just looks like a typical stage for perhaps musical performances? It's September and the weather is nice, and Apple usually does have musical performances at such events. Why it is covered is uncanny, but not so much so for Apple. They may just want to fuel what is already happening—the hype. I don't mean to be cynical, but we already know a lot about the iPhone 6, and if the past is doomed to repeat itself, there's going to be quite a lot of folks who are bummed (or at least bored) with the announcements that will be made on September 9th.

 

[iososx]

This event is going to be EPIC!

It's Apple everything's epic...zzzz

 

[The1MadMacs]

It houses the new Steve Jobs exhibit, Steve will be presenting the best lineup of Apple products in 25 years via his Hologram.

 

[Moto G]

*This* is an EPIC:

Please stop misusing words for effect. The impact of "epic" is now impotent, due to people (usually Americans) using it WAY out of context, therefore diluting it completely.

 

[twoodcc]

maybe something setup to show off homekit?

 

[Ugg]

Given their post-Steve strategy to highlight their bright past every now and then, the timing and the location, I say there's a Steve memorial statue slumbering inside which will be unveiled in the near future.

That's a very interesting idea and it would be a very fitting spot.