Aside from that, customers who visit the shop will likely feel as though they’ve just walked into … an Apple Store.

The store features multiple areas, with sleek-looking tables set up for product viewing, testing and express purchasing. And, of course, there’s a Genius Bar, set up in the southwest corner of the space.

The Grand Central Terminal store is Apple’s fifth in New York City, adding to the company’s footprint of more than 300 stores worldwide. Bob Bridger, Apple’s vice president of retail and real estate development, said Apple has seen more than 12 million visitors in its New York stores this year, and more than 300 million visitors worldwide.

The Cupertino-based maker of the iPhone and iPad is in the midst of a notable retail expansion, though the company recently scaled back its schedule of large store openings in China, where demand for the popular iPhone 4 was said to outpace supply.

Grand Central is currently home to other retailers, including Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole, MAC Cosmetics, Papyrus and Rite Aid; plus a slew of coffee shops and newsstands, restaurants like Michael Jordan’s Steak House and the famed Campbell Apartment bar.

Apple’s lease arrangement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the space, has come into some question following a New York Post story about the terms of the lease, as the company has ramped up for the opening of this store.

The NYP and Associated Press report that Apple signed a 10-year lease with the MTA for the space once occupied by Metrazur restaurant, which got $5 million from Apple to clear out early; and that unlike other tenants in the building, Apple will not be sharing revenue with the transit authority. At $180 per square foot, Apple is also paying slightly less than other tenants in the space, but the MTA has said that cost reflects the $5 million payment to the restaurant, plus Apple’s $2.5 million capital investment in the space and a $1.1 million annual rate.

While the daily foot traffic through New York City’s Grand Central Terminal is somewhere around 750,000 people, according to the MTA, the Apple Store may do more for the other retailers in the commuter and subway train station than the station does for Apple.

One element of this Apple Store that’s different from others: The Grand Central Terminal Apple Store will offer 15-minute express classes on Apple products for commuters looking to kill some time.

It offers a personal pickup service that allows commuters using the Apple Store app to make a purchase using their iPhone and pick it up immediately upon arrival. The store also lets customers make purchases entirely on their own using a barcode scanner.

The store opens Friday, Dec. 9, at 10 am ET.

P.S.: A little history lesson for the kids: It is actually called Grand Central “Terminal” and not Grand Central “Station,” as it is commonly referred to. I’m talking to you, Beyonce!

Though BoomTown was dubious, this trailer for the upcoming J.J. Abrams movie “Super 8″ is pretty cool beans.

It is in the style of an interactive video game–in fact, Abrams worked with the creators of the recently released “Portal 2″ to embed it right into the video game–and turns out to be mighty scary, since the film concerns an escape of dangerous aliens after a train derailment.

Check it out:

BoomTown scrambled the All Things Digital jet (aka, United Airlines, Seat 7A) late last night to get up to Microsoft’s big event for its online advertising clients today.

Called “Imagine 2011: Marketing Leadership Summit” and held at its Redmond, Wa. HQ, the two-day gathering is designed to wow peeps by trotting out a spate of strategery concepts those who buy advertising on Microsoft’s various digital offerings from its Bing search service to MSN to Xbox to Windows Phone 7.

Some program topics: “Elsewhere USA,” “Teens Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out” and “Audience Buying Goes Real-Time: True or False?”

Presumably the goal of all this heavy-duty thinkery is to get these marketers to buy more ads from Microsoft by warning them about being left behind on the platform as the train chugs inevitably off to the digital future.

And just in case that doesn’t work, there will be a free concert tonight featuring the hipster band Train for the Imagine 2011 attendees at Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project venue to open those ad wallets.

Hey, Geek Mister: Stop sending all those digital marketing bucks to Google and Facebook and give them to us!

Before a panoply of various social, design and anthropology experts pontificated, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off the day with his patented loud and lovable Ed McMahon act, complete with the booming catchphrases.

Hey-Yo!

“You have to move forward or die!” (About the Web.)

“If you wanna get big, you have to think big!” (About the Windows 7 Phone smartphone deal with Nokia.)

I love the U.S. government, I don’t want to give it a hard time.” (About its crappy Web site, not the antitrust conviction thing.)

Ballmer outlined some key trends, which are not new to anyone paying attention over the last five years: Location; social; pervasive displays; ubiquitous connectivity; computers everywhere; cloud; data; and natural user interaction

He also joked about how there were 10 fake Steve Ballmers on Facebook, all using Steve Ballmer photos. Imagine that!

You’d think Microsoft’s badillion-dollar investment in the social networking site would get you a verified account!

Status: Monkey boy mad!

Actually, pissed off is more related to the fact that the person who conceived and organized the Imagine 2011 event was former global ad sales head Carolyn Everson.

But, she left the company in mid-February after only six months, for essentially the same job at Microsoft partner Facebook.

Since then Microsoft and Facebook have been wrangling over the talent raid, including Microsoft even considering legal action to block the move.

Nonetheless, the show must go on and it did in a pretty classy way.

But not without another road bump in today’s action–the news that Microsoft’s own marketing head, longtime company veteran Mich Mathews, was leaving the software giant later this year.

The departure had the halls buzzing about what happened and who will be taking over the big job with a $1 billion marketing budget.

Maybe some external CMO sitting right there in the audience or perhaps some internal Microsoft candidate such as Yusuf Mehdi or Capossela?

I suppose it’s time for some strategery stat!

Until it is all figured out, here is the music video for Train’s hit song, “Hey, Soul Sister”:

Microsoft–furious over a recent talent grab of its top advertising exec by Facebook–has been considering a wide range of options, including legal action to block the move, according to sources close to the situation.

Lawyer at both companies have been in back-and-forth talks in recent days after the hiring of Microsoft’s global ad sales head Carolyn Everson by the Silicon Valley social networking powerhouse to be its VP of global sales.

Among the more likely solutions being discussed: Barring Everson–a longtime ad sales exec who came to Microsoft from MTV Networks–from using any strategic information she learned at the company and also from contacting certain ad clients on behalf of Facebook for a certain period of time.

While a legal action to stop her from actually taking the position is the most serious option, it is certainly not without precedent for Microsoft. The company recently got a temporary restraining order to block one of its top government relations execs, Matt Miszewski, from working at Salesforce.com, pointing to non-compete and confidentiality contracts.

Whatever happens, it is clear the Everson hiring has infuriated Microsoft execs, especially CEO Steve Ballmer, since the company regards Facebook as a close partner. Microsoft is also a longtime investor in Facebook.

While considering a temporary restraining order against Everson in this kind of situation–since it is essentially the same job–is standard operating procedure for any company, several sources said tensions are higher than usual.

“This is just tone deaf on Facebook’s part not to think this would not be a problem,” said one person.

One particularly irksome aspect–top Facebook execs did not call Ballmer before news of the appointment leaked out to assuage the situation.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg did release a statement when BoomTown broke news of the move in mid-February, in an attempt to make nice.

“Microsoft was one of our earliest partners and is still one of our most valued,” she said, in part. “We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship with them.”

Her dulcet words have apparently not worked.

In fact, the talent raid came as a surprise to many at Microsoft, especially since Everson (pictured here) had been hired in June after a long search and had become a high-profile presence at internal and external Microsoft events.

That included organizing the splashy “Imagine 2011, Microsoft Advertising’s Marketing Leadership Summit.” The event is set to take place at the end of March at the software giant’s Redmond, Wa. HQ and will include an evening concert by the band Train.

Now she will be doing such things for Facebook, where Everson will be replacing longtime and well-regarded ad exec Mike Murphy, who left the Palo Alto, Calif., company last fall. She will report to former Googler David Fischer, VP of Advertising and Global Operations.

Having a top exec who is amenable to and well known by Madison Avenue is key for Facebook as it ramps up its business, in anticipation of an IPO next year.

Despite being private, Facebook has recently been valued at between $50 and $60 billion by investors, who have been eagerly buying up shares of the company on secondary markets.

Under Murphy and Fischer, ad sales have been doing well already. Facebook’s share of online display advertising has more than quadrupled, from about three percent to almost 14 percent of the nearly $9 billion U.S. market, according to a recent survey.

In growing so quickly, Facebook has grabbed ad revenue–reportedly $2 billion last year–from old online powerhouses, especially Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL, and is also in a big fight with Google over premium ad sales.

Facebook’s surging usage and engagement are the reasons for the increased interest from advertisers, as well as its global growth in both market share and mindshare of consumers.

The opportunity at Facebook is clearly a big–and probably irresistible–move for the dynamic Everson, who has mostly worked in the mainstream media for much of her career.

Still, while movement of execs among top tech companies is not uncommon, there has been a lot less from Microsoft to Facebook.

Instead, Facebook has been most aggressive in its efforts to attract talent from Google.

No longer. In fact, the week before Facebook grabbed Everson, it also hired an up-and-coming exec, Chris Daniels, GM of Bing Mobile Product Management, to be its director of business development.

Still, there is some hiring war history between the companies. In late 2008, Microsoft’s Ballmer managed to lure former Yahoo exec Qi Lu to run its Online Services Division, several sources at both companies said, after he had told Facebook he would work there as its engineering lead. Lu had also been heavily recruited by Google.

Eventually, that was water under the bridge, which is what Facebook is hoping will happen with Microsoft over Everson.

Also important in the weighing of options at Microsoft is the obvious importance of keeping up good relations with Facebook. It is an important partnership, especially for its Bing search business, as an advantage over Google.

“Everyone is hoping to resolve this amicably,” said one person close to the situation. “There has been some damage to the relationship for sure, but the question is whether Microsoft wants to do something that would escalate that damage.”

Not surprisingly, both Facebook and Microsoft declined to comment on the fracas.

Apparently, it’s lumos time.

Universal Orlando’s “Wizarding World Of Harry Potter” theme park opened this weekend to record crowds, all eager to experience the real-life and decidedly high-tech version of the popular book and movie series.

Along with reproductions of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there is a Hogwarts Express train, rides and more in the 20-acre park in central Florida.

Also ladled generously over all the innovation: A whole lot of commercial overkill.

Here’s a video of the proceedings making the rounds online, including stars of the film and author J.K. Rowling:

While BoomTown is trapped on, oops, fully enjoying, an overnight train trip to Portland for the Thanksgiving holiday (and just beginning to sweat from not enough broadband), here’s a very funny video of the Muppets doing Queen.

The puppets–part of the Disney (DIS) Muppets Studio–just got themselves a channel on YouTube.

Here’s one of the more popular video posts so far, a most excellent version of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” done with chickens.

After seeing it, you have to ask yourself: Can it be done any other way going forward?

I think not, but you be the judge:

Tragically, that’s not the case.

The Metrolink engineer responsible for the worst U.S. train crash in the last decade sent and received 45 text messages while helming his train the day of the deadly collision in California last month–including one just moments before running a red signal and crashing head-on into a freight train. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the last message the engineer received was at 4:21:03, more than a minute before the accident. The last one he sent was at 4:22:01, just 22 seconds before the trains, traveling at some 40 miles an hour, collided.

Rail experts were aghast at the news. “For me, it just gives me heart palpitations thinking about it,” said Tim Smith, California chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “The last thing you want to be doing is something that takes your eyes off the road.”

Well, here’s a good reason not to write off Joost quite yet: When the London-based company officially debuts its new Web-based service in mid-October, it will have some pretty hot content with its half-dozen seasons of the former NBC hit, “Friends.”

Also, there will finally be no more irksome plug-ins.

In other words, anyone with an Internet connection can watch streaming television shows and movies on Joost, with advertising embedded in various forms.

There will also be social-networking elements–you can see what your friends watch and form groups, make comments with cool tools and the rest of that sort of thing.

While all this is not going to make up for the lost time the online video service has wasted with its annoying P2P-based desktop client download, going to a Web-based, all-Flash service with more robust content is certainly the right way to stop rival service Hulu from continuing to clean Joost’s clock.

Joost was first out of the gate last year with a giant slug of funding, fancy founders (Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, who were also founders of Web phenoms Skype and Kazaa) and blue-chip investors (Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, as well as CBS, Viacom and wealthy Hong Kong investor Li Ka-shing).

In any case, Hulu quickly grabbed the lead in terms of press praise (I ate my words even!), ease-of-use and, most importantly, user numbers.

In the most recent stats, for example, Hulu had more than 100 million monthly video streams and 3.3 million unique monthly visitors. (But since Joost has just soft-launched its new Web-only service, it’s hard to make comparisons just yet, although the competition is now clearly afoot!)

And, although it has been written off by some, I do not think it is too late for Joost.

First, it is still early in the premium online video game.

Second, success will depend on having increasing amounts of quality content. And Joost–with CBS, Warner Bros., Sony and other unusual content like anime–certainly can keep up with Hulu’s programs from its partner parents, News Corp. (News Corp. is the owner of Dow Jones and this Web site) and NBC Universal.

Lastly, despite decent consumer uptake, the business is still in its nascent popcorn-stand stage of revenue and profit generation.

And while spending too much money and having too many employees did not help Joost, it seems as though CEO Mike Volpi has finally gotten control of the start-up beast.

Thus, while in London this week, I stopped in at the offices of Joost (near the famed King’s Cross train station, where, of course–to no avail–I tried to make it through the wall at Platform 9 3/4!) to chat with Volpi about all the changes at the much-hyped company.

Here’s a longish video, in which the always-well-turned-out former Cisco exec talks about all that and more:

All of the major digital maps contain erroneous information about our street in Virginia, and don’t even show several new streets near our home that were built over three years ago. I infer that there is one source of cartography used by these Web services, and also by my Garmin navigation system. But I can’t find out what it is. How can an individual get something like this corrected?

There are actually two main companies that make the underlying maps that most of the navigation-device makers and digital-map sites use. One is called Tele Atlas (TLATF.PK), and one is called Navteq (NVT). Garmin (GRMN) uses Navteq. Each mapping company has a Web page where users can report errors or changes.

For Navteq’s error-reporting Web page, go to navteq.com and click on “Map Reporter.” For Tele Atlas’ similar page, go to teleatlas.com and click on “Report Map Changes.”

In reading your review of the new Gogo in-flight wireless Internet system, I wondered about two things: Does it support “virtual private networks,” and when will it be installed on Amtrak trains?

While I didn’t test this, Gogo’s maker, Aircell, says that VPNs, which are used by many big companies, do indeed work over the service.

As for Amtrak, the Gogo system wouldn’t work for trains, because its antennas point up, into the sky, and don’t cover ground locations like railroad tracks. However, if you are on an Amtrak train in an area where cellphone towers are near the tracks, and your laptop computer or cellphone can pick up cellular data signals, you can already surf the Web and do email and other online tasks on the train.

In fact, I happen to be writing this column on an Amtrak Acela train between Washington and New York, and, using a Verizon (VZ) laptop card, my laptop is able to access the Internet with only occasional lapses.

Because of problems I had with my computer, I lost my Internet Explorer favorites. How can I save them so I can easily restore them if they get wiped out again?

There are several methods. You should, of course, be backing up all your key data, including your browser favorites or bookmarks, regularly, either to a local external disk, or to an online backup service. That would create a fairly fresh backup of your favorites. You could also use one of several Web sites that specialize in hosting, and sharing, bookmarks or favorites. They allow you to add bookmarks to your online list as you surf, and also to upload and download the favorites and bookmarks you keep locally on your computer. The best known of these sites is probably del.icio.us, which is at http://del.icio.us.

The simplest method, however, is probably to just export your favorites to a file and save it in your Documents folder, on your desktop, or on a USB thumb drive. You can then use this file to restore your favorites in case of disaster. To do this in the latest version of Microsoft (MSFT) IE, click on the “Add to Favorites” button, select “Import and Export,” click “Next,” then click “Export Favorites” and walk through the steps that follow. Detailed instructions for all versions of IE are at: support.microsoft.com/kb/211089.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.