Well the Mac Pro doesn't launch until December and this auction is Nov 23. Whomever buys it will have a few weeks head start on the world. iFixIt's earliest teardown yet?
At $40-60k this isn't the most excessive price we've seen for an Apple product going to auction. I assume it’s maxed out in specs so it’ll be a 2.7GHz 12-core processor with 30MB L3 cache, 64GB RAM, Dual AMD FirePro D700s, and 1TB of PCIe SSD storage. That might bring it close it to $10k just for retail pricing, even without considering the one-off build of the RED casing.
It's not in bad taste at all. I think that this red Mac Pro looks great, but I wouldn't want one, because it's associated with AIDS, charity and the poor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jungmark
I can't believe I just read this statement.
Hey, it's Apple ][for cryin' out loud .... nobody pays any serious attention to him/her/it. He/she/it is just doing what "they" always do .... begging for attention. A perfect example of why mommies should hug their children, often.
Hey, it's Apple ][for cryin' out loud .... nobody pays any serious attention to him/her/it. He/she/it is just doing what "they" always do .... begging for attention. A perfect example of why mommies should hug their children, often.
I think he actually means the hate-filled and entitled things he says.
If these people truly cared about helping others, they would not need anything in return for their donation other than the knowledge that they helped; all this suggests is that the buyer actually just wants to raise their own prestige amongst their own friends. The one-off machine itself will probably be worth 3000-5000 or more, which could have been, drumroll, donated to charity. The time spent at the auction house, not to mention the cost of getting everyone there, etc, could have been spent helping charities. In short, Apple could just put a blurb on their page asking people to donate to charity (they could arrange it and all if they like) and that would actually probably get more money. Lots of media time and energy and money is being spent on covering this device, again more money that could be donated.
Then there is the argument that by doing this they are raising awareness and thus increasing donations. I'm sure there is data to support this (as there is to counter it, probably if someone searched).
There are two sides, or more.
And obviously the professionals who know a lot of about how to raise money for causes believe otherwise. Something like this is used to combat donor fatigue and to bring new "whales" (they may or may not call them that) into the fold. After someone spends a bazillion dollars on some snazzy item everyone knows that can hit them up for money for other things.
More importantly, everything for this effort is completely voluntary, so feel free to participate or set up a "competing" charitable effort, or whatever. The money for setting this up could easily have been spent on lobbying politicians to use our tax dollars for the same ends, so more power to them, I say.
It's a beautiful computer but helping the poorest of the poor dying of AIDS, TB and Malaria by selling each other Range Rovers, Leica's, Dom Perignon, 18 karat gold earphones and $40,000 computers seems in bad taste to me.
How so? These items brings attention to the cause.
How so? These items brings attention to the cause.
I guess I was just raised not to be conspicuous with my wealth. Steve Jobs gets it - he made massive donations to local hospitals but no one found out about it until after he was dead.
I guess I was just raised not to be conspicuous with my wealth. Steve Jobs gets it - he made massive donations to local hospitals but no one found out about it until after he was dead.
Agreed, but again, these bling items are to attract attention to a cause. They get into all the outlets usually. TV/Radio/Print/Online. It is not so much about the 20 people who will pay outrageous prices for the bling, but all the (tens)thousands who's attention is brought to the cause, which I think is awesome.
It would be very cool for Apple to retail the (RED) Mac Pro also : )
It would be very cool for Apple to retail the (RED) Mac Pro also : )
It would be cool to have this option, and other colors, but with a starting price of $2,999 for a Mac Pro I would think Apple would have to raise the asking price to offset some of the charitable portion, which I don't think happened with any other Apple (RED) product.
It's a beautiful computer but helping the poorest of the poor dying of AIDS, TB and Malaria by selling each other Range Rovers, Leica's, Dom Perignon, 18 karat gold earphones and $40,000 computers seems in bad taste to me.
By that logic, we should all be riding bicycles and living in tents and definitely should not be owning computers to use to post on websites. It's all relative, owning a $500 laptop would be like owning a mansion in Africa just like you owning a $500 laptop is like Jony Ive owning a $60,000 red Mac Pro.
It's a beautiful computer but helping the poorest of the poor dying of AIDS, TB and Malaria by selling each other Range Rovers, Leica's, Dom Perignon, 18 karat gold earphones and $40,000 computers seems in bad taste to me.
Apparently 900 babies being born with AIDS has dropped to 700 per day, Project Red still has a way to go, but I'm sure the 200 non AIDS infected children being born every day thanks in part to their efforts, will appreciate your sentiments.
It's a shame they don't just sell product(RED) of everything anyway. They'd make more money making a few extra quid on each one than they ever will auctioning off limited edition one offs.
@ascii : you're raising the question here of "are we blinding ourselves to the duties we have to our fellow man by using NGO's to 'buy' ourselves moral status". It's a good question and a reason why some choose to shun any other NGO than Reporters Without Borders and Doctors Without Borders, one for reporting on the issues, and the other for emergency relief.
Comments
Well the Mac Pro doesn't launch until December and this auction is Nov 23. Whomever buys it will have a few weeks head start on the world. iFixIt's earliest teardown yet?
It's not in bad taste at all. I think that this red Mac Pro looks great, but I wouldn't want one, because it's associated with AIDS, charity and the poor.
Originally Posted by jungmark
I can't believe I just read this statement.
Hey, it's Apple ][ for cryin' out loud .... nobody pays any serious attention to him/her/it. He/she/it is just doing what "they" always do .... begging for attention. A perfect example of why mommies should hug their children, often.
I think he actually means the hate-filled and entitled things he says.
Who said that?
No, not exactly; his companions usually say that.
helping the poorest of the poor ... seems in bad taste to me.
That's what I heard you say.
There is this argument:
If these people truly cared about helping others, they would not need anything in return for their donation other than the knowledge that they helped; all this suggests is that the buyer actually just wants to raise their own prestige amongst their own friends. The one-off machine itself will probably be worth 3000-5000 or more, which could have been, drumroll, donated to charity. The time spent at the auction house, not to mention the cost of getting everyone there, etc, could have been spent helping charities. In short, Apple could just put a blurb on their page asking people to donate to charity (they could arrange it and all if they like) and that would actually probably get more money. Lots of media time and energy and money is being spent on covering this device, again more money that could be donated.
Then there is the argument that by doing this they are raising awareness and thus increasing donations. I'm sure there is data to support this (as there is to counter it, probably if someone searched).
There are two sides, or more.
And obviously the professionals who know a lot of about how to raise money for causes believe otherwise. Something like this is used to combat donor fatigue and to bring new "whales" (they may or may not call them that) into the fold. After someone spends a bazillion dollars on some snazzy item everyone knows that can hit them up for money for other things.
More importantly, everything for this effort is completely voluntary, so feel free to participate or set up a "competing" charitable effort, or whatever. The money for setting this up could easily have been spent on lobbying politicians to use our tax dollars for the same ends, so more power to them, I say.
So many racist Apple fans. It's sickening.
\s! couldn't resist, sorry.
I wonder how much custom third party skins will be? Slide it on and shrink to fit with a hair drier.
I thought the exact same thing. They could be made like the shrink sleeves for easter eggs.
Spray Paint?
It's a beautiful computer but helping the poorest of the poor dying of AIDS, TB and Malaria by selling each other Range Rovers, Leica's, Dom Perignon, 18 karat gold earphones and $40,000 computers seems in bad taste to me.
How so? These items brings attention to the cause.
How so? These items brings attention to the cause.
I guess I was just raised not to be conspicuous with my wealth. Steve Jobs gets it - he made massive donations to local hospitals but no one found out about it until after he was dead.
I guess I was just raised not to be conspicuous with my wealth. Steve Jobs gets it - he made massive donations to local hospitals but no one found out about it until after he was dead.
Agreed, but again, these bling items are to attract attention to a cause. They get into all the outlets usually. TV/Radio/Print/Online. It is not so much about the 20 people who will pay outrageous prices for the bling, but all the (tens)thousands who's attention is brought to the cause, which I think is awesome.
It would be very cool for Apple to retail the (RED) Mac Pro also : )
It would be cool to have this option, and other colors, but with a starting price of $2,999 for a Mac Pro I would think Apple would have to raise the asking price to offset some of the charitable portion, which I don't think happened with any other Apple (RED) product.
It's a beautiful computer but helping the poorest of the poor dying of AIDS, TB and Malaria by selling each other Range Rovers, Leica's, Dom Perignon, 18 karat gold earphones and $40,000 computers seems in bad taste to me.
By that logic, we should all be riding bicycles and living in tents and definitely should not be owning computers to use to post on websites. It's all relative, owning a $500 laptop would be like owning a mansion in Africa just like you owning a $500 laptop is like Jony Ive owning a $60,000 red Mac Pro.
Apparently 900 babies being born with AIDS has dropped to 700 per day, Project Red still has a way to go, but I'm sure the 200 non AIDS infected children being born every day thanks in part to their efforts, will appreciate your sentiments.
It's a shame they don't just sell product(RED) of everything anyway. They'd make more money making a few extra quid on each one than they ever will auctioning off limited edition one offs.
Maybe someone has a conclusive answer.