I love New York! I know it probably sounds kinda corny or cliche but it's true. I was there from Aug 21st to 29th (with a 2-day excursion to Boston in the middle). It wasn't my first time in NYC and I had done some of the typical tourist things, so when thinking about my plans I said to myself that I should check out some "other" sides of the city. After all, the "city that never sleeps" has something to offer for anyone. I read some of the travel guides online but found most of them very "touristy". Being kind of a geek (and proud of that :-) I wanted to see things that would particularly interest me, like techie stuff, games, comics, etc. So I looked for that type of info online and tried to collect them and make my own geeky itinerary. And I ended up with The Ultimate Geek Guide to NYC (or at least the version 0.9 of it).
You may ask what's that got to do with the PC User in the Mac World. Short answer: nothing. A little longer answer: it'll mention Apple store! But the real answer is that I wanted to diversify the blog and make it more than just a comparison list of features. It's a conversation and I'm not going to limit it as long as it stays within the general topic of information technology and culture.
One quick point: NYC includes five boroughs: Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. But when people say "the city" they mean Manhattan and that's what I'm talking about here. One night I went to a German-style pub/restaurant in Brooklyn (in a recently popular area called Williamsburg), and that was my only off-Manhattan experience (and of course trips to Boston and Newark airport in New Jersey).
Anyway, here is what I have to say to fellow geeks going to NYC:
NYC is the model for Gotham City. The head offices for DC and Marvel comics are there and many comic artists call it home. In a way it's one of the best places on earth for comic lovers. And the comics are the origin of many other interactive and non-interactive types of art and entertainment, including of course video games. So that's where I started. You will find plenty of places in NYC to explore if you like comics. I'm going to mention only a few that I visited and are probably the best in town.
* Forbidden Planet on Broadway and 13th Street is one of the most famous ones. It is a rather fancy place with all sort of collectibles, T-shirts and toys, and new publications. You may not find many old and non-mainstream stuff there, though. Still it's a must see.
* Midtown Comics on 200 West 40th, just off 7th Avenue and close to Times Square is probably the biggest comic shop in NYC. It has a very good collection of all sort of stuff (even some "adult" titles), also toys and collectibles on two floors. Since everybody visiting NYC should and will go to Times Square, a trip to MC is easy and necessary. They have other branches too but I didn't go.
* Jim Hanley’s Universe on 33rd Street, across from the Empire State Building is a less-known but worth-visiting place, especially if you are looking for older items, but not toys and collectibles. For the pervert in you, the adult section will be interesting as well ;-)
* Time Machine on 207 West 14th Street (14th & 7th Avenue) is the place for older comics, both buying and trading.
* St. Marks Comics on 11 St. Mark’s Place in the East Village (between 2nd and 3rd Avenue) is a small and typical comic shop but you should go there because it is in the heart of East Village and that is the place to go if you want to have fun! St. Mark's Place is basically East 8th Street east of 3rd Avenue. The neighbourhood used to be for junkies in the old days, but it's the party place right now. It still has a hippie funky atmosphere that makes it different from West Village, another party place but more traditional and typical North American, and of course fancier. I like East Village more but West Village is cool too
* Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art located on the fourth floor at 594 Broadway, between Houston and Prince Streets is a rather unknown gem. It's small but has a good set of examples from comics to comic strips and New Yorker style cartoons. Absolute must see!
After comics, the next category of places to check out is game-related.
* Nintendo Store at Rockefeller Plaza is the obvious first. From life-size game characters to collection of old Nintendo consoles, you'll find a lot to see. You may buy some T-shirts too. I did!
* Video Games New York on 206 E. 6th Street, off Cooper Square and close to St. Mark's Place, is another small but great place. Another reason why you should go to East Village. You will find all sort of old hardware and games in this little place, sure to make you feel good and a little nostalgic.
* Dave & Buster’s, 234 West 42nd Street (between 7th and 8th Avenue), is a pub by Times Square right in the middle of theatres. It has a big game section and supposedly not bad food (I didn't try). After seeing a show or film, you can go there, eat and drink, and play some games.
* GameStop is probably the biggest chain of game stores in NYC. They are everywhere and nothing special about them!
Some of the other geeky stores you need to check out are:
* Apple Store in Upper West Side, 1981 Broadway (at West 67th Street) and the one midtown on 5th Avenue (at East 58th). The glass cube is the big attraction obviously, so the downtown location is less recommended as it's just an Apple Store. I recommend the 5th Avenue location as it is just south of Central Park which itself is a must see (even if you have seen it, the park is a great hang-out place).
* The Wired Store on 15 West 18th Street (in Soho) is supposed to be a great place for all sort of electronic gadgets. Unfortunately it was closed when I went there. It's in Soho which is another great neighbourhood you must check out. South of Houston Street downtown, it used to be a low-class artzy area but now is full of fancy boutiques and stores and so expensive that young artists cannot afford it.
* Evolution Nature is a really cool store in Soho, 120 Spring Street, full of "evolution-themed" items, from fossils to skulls. If you like Darwin and make fun of Intelligent Design theory, you gotta go there :-)
* Hayden Planetarium in Rose Centre for Earth and Space, Central Park West at 81st Street, is another great place you should go. No need to say what you should expect to see there! It is part of the same complex as American Museum of Natural History with all the dinosaurs! Check them out both but expect a long line of kids in tourist seasons.
* Robot Village on 252 West 81 Street was another interesting store for electronics (and robots) but it's out of business now :-(
* If you can manage to go to Boston while staying in NYC, check out the MIT Museum. Boston is 3-4 hours from NYC by bus or train. It's a beautiful city with a rich history and an amazing mix of old and new architecture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is in Cambridge, part of Greater Boston and separated from the City of Boston by Charles River. MIT Museum is not big but has a nice collection of research done in MIT, such as robotics and holography (the ones that were the main exhibitions when I visited).
Last but not least, here are some less geeky and more traditional places that even a geek want to see:
* Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), 11 West 53rd Street (between 6th and 7th Avenue), is the number one art museum you need to go, if you want to learn about modern art. Be sure to check out MOMA Design Store, across the street or in Soho, for amazing products with great modern design, from kitchenware to lamps, etc.
* Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street), also has a focus on modern art and includes more recent and less famous works by contemporary artists.
* Metropolitan Museum probably doesn't need any introduction as every visitor to NYC is likely to have it on the itinerary. It has examples of artworks from almost any civilization that ever existed!
* Carnegie Hall, on 7th Avenue and West 56th Street, has high-class musical performances if you are into that kind of stuff.
* Max Brenner is probably the best chocolate shop in NYC (now is full restaurant). It is located at 841 Broadway (between 13th St & 14th St) in Union Square area. Try going there in the afternoons or other less-busy times as it can be very crowded.
This was my preliminary version of the Ultimate Geek Guide to NYC. Hopefully I can make it better soon. To make this post a little more related to the whole PC-Mac discussion, I'd like to add one thing: I really don't like iPhoto which is a very inconvenient photo gallery software with the annoying need to import/export files and lack of ability to structure your albums. On a second thought, I'd like to add another thing: My MBP screwed up some of my photos. I attached my USB card reader and it wasn't detected. I disconnected it and got a message saying I'd better eject first! Well there was nothing to eject. To make things worse, I checked my photos and many of them were damaged (I know they were ok because I had checked them on the camera before).
Well, it's enough for this week. Stay tuned for more.
I'LL BE BACK!
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