While in training, Mr. Newman's technicians are typically relegated to the "triage" area, where devices are laid out on an antistatic mat and diagnosed before being brought to the "operating room, " a workshop in the back of the store that has a large glass window for customers to watch what's going on.

WSJ: Hospitals That Mend the Apple Set

Ritz-Carlton's use of cobalt-blue glasses in its hotel dining rooms can be traced back to Boston in the 1920s, for example, where window glass that had been imported from Europe and turned blue in the New England air was a symbol of wealth.

ECONOMIST: Corporate history