welshdog

AI, did the person with the rings actually say the surface was treated with a silicone compound like polish or was that an assumption on the part of the furniture finish experts?  The photo with the rings looks to me like butcher block which is usually finished with mineral oil, not furniture polish or silicone.  Mineral oil is a light oil byproduct of petroleum refining and contains a mixture of oils and other compounds.  Normally liquid silicone should be avoided on furniture as it almost always will interfere with refinishing.  Same for cars - silicone wax products have to be chemically stripped from the car before new paint can be applied.

I have not heard of the reaction between molded silicone polysiloxanes) and silicone liquids - but sounds possible. It could also be a reaction with mineral oil if that is a kitchen butcher block type counter the Homepod is sitting on.  Even the wood itself could cause a reaction with the silicone rubber.  If the wood has only an oil finish, there is not much isolation from the natural chemicals in the wood.

Kudos to Apple for using a more expensive silicone rubber for the foot for the Homepod, as it normally is very non-reactive with just about everything.  It is unfortunate that users have found something that does react with it.

volcan said:

Soli said:
While there's a case to be made that upholstery will likely wear out faster and look worse than the Aeron chairs, they may also be a point for making the office quieter if cushioning absorb sound.

Aeron chairs are not noisy at all, although the cushioning of these Pacific chairs may help to absorb fart noises but there are lots of things in a typical office environment that are noisy. Just typing on a keyboard is noisier than a chair. People talking on the phone, having an impromptu meeting near your desk, people eating a snack, slurping a hot cup of tea, incoming notifications on computers, etc. I know I'm easily annoyed but with an open floor plan, other people are going to be making a lot more noise than any reasonably high quality chair. 

Pretty sure when the article said "quiet" they meant from an industrial design language standpoint, not actual noisiness.  And BTW Aeron's are not that quiet either literally or in their design language. The Aeron mechanism makes a fair amount of noise when people get up and sit down in one.  Also, the Aeron ergonomic design became outdated and was been surpassed by many other chairs.  It has been redesigned with new mechanisms and features to improve it's comfort for long term use.  It is $1287 list in the polished aluminum, $987 in black.  

I was a video editor for 15 years and sat in one every day. I do appreciate the mesh which was a truly original idea at the time and is exceptionally durable.

xraynano said:
I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't chosen as an assist to launch of new design by a local company.

Vitra has been in business 1950. They are known for quality and for building the designs of famous designers like George Nelson, Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison etc.  They also have a design museum with a collection focussed on furniture and interior design.  The museum also produces miniature versions of famous furniture designs.  This company is totally in Ive's and Apple's design bubble.

foggyhill said:

Often, pros, even those that are by themselves, keep the old computer around and just buy new ones. If your billing a million dollar a year, spending $7000 on something you'll use for 3-4 years (or less if you resell it) isn't so bad is it?

That's what the post house where I worked always did. I had all manner of Macs throughout the facility doing all manner of things.  Serving, transcoding, FTP server, client email/web machine, Quicktime streamers etc.  Those machines worked one way or the other for many, many years.  We had a few older HP Windows machines, but they were less useful as they aged.  Plus as a full-on Mac house, nobody wanted to use Windows for anything.

Boy these amazing numbers and the forward guidance really paint a grotesque picture of Tim Cook's incompetence. Must be fired now! Sad.