One-of-a-Kind Products Designed by Jony Ive and Designer Marc Newson Sold Off at (RED) Auction

[felixwcf]

So much sour grapes here..

Dafaq just admit that you're having NO LIFE, LAZY and JEALOUS of rich people. A PC which can used to surf Facebook and Internet is what you please yourself in your life.

"Greed of the stupendously wealthy"? Just GTFO. How do you know that they're wealthy without working or filthy rich? Some rich people don't even "have time" think about the poor people in this world.

Hell do you even imagine that what if you're rich would you spend some money to take part in this kind of similar event? I guess no because you're just too lazy to work and not even have guts to think if you become successful..

Whatever good things or hard work seems invalid in your little rotten emotionless world. Surprisingly so many people agreed on ("like") what you said in this thread... I guess you guys spend most of the time on Internet without having a good job or simply a childish haters that's all...

 

[skinned66]

Man, I should start painting random stuff around the house then calling it Carlangas' one of a kind design.

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Since you specified the model then it appears you own one of these ghetto spoilers.

And it appears you own a mercury cougar. You should try one of these spoilers.

 

[Mattjeff]

Also agree. Everything since the uni-body MBP has been less-functional due to being needlessly too thin (MBP Retina, mini, iMac), just plain ugly (iPhone 5/5S) or god-awful fugly (new Mac Pro). It is their almost flawless operation that keeps me coming back despite my objections to the goofy looks and lack of function.

The Mini and iPod touch are still wonderful in my opinion but I have to agree all of the new products (especially that gold color) look gaudy and ugly. It's sad to see how popularity affects them. I miss old Apple.

 

[proline]

Also agree. Everything since the uni-body MBP has been less-functional due to being needlessly too thin (MBP Retina, mini, iMac), just plain ugly (iPhone 5/5S) or god-awful fugly (new Mac Pro). It is their almost flawless operation that keeps me coming back despite my objections to the goofy looks and lack of function.

Again more off-topic trolling. The Retina MBP was specifically designed to be portable, it's thinness is crucial to its function. You have never even laid eyes on a Mac Pro, and the 5/5S is the most popular cell phone design in history. The only shred of ligitimate commentary in your otherwise vacuous post concerns the iMac, but even there you are way off base. The iMac has always been designed to be as portable as possible- this is a machine that first shipped with a giant handle on it! Apple has advertised the imac's weight and portability frequently since the very start, and the latest designs are true to that original vision. YOU may consider portability irrelevant to a machine that will rarely be moved, but in that case you have NEVER been the target audience for an iMac so you have to reason to start whining now.

 

[TouchMint.com]

thought the "desk" in the preview pic was a car spoiler at first glance haha.

 

[NMSUballa]

Only the stupendously wealthy can afford to spend cash like this to buy one-off trinkets to impress their friends.
Good cause? Call me cynical, but isn't it the greed of the stupendously wealthy that causes the uneven distribution of wealth that leads to poverty and hardship in poorer parts of the world (devastation of rain forests for cattle raising, abuse of workers for cheap electronic manufacturing, private ownership of freshwater supplies etc).
The 'saintly' folk who bought these goods will no doubt get a massive tax break on these charitable purchases, and alleviate any guilty feelings (if they are indeed capable of such an emotion) connected with the origins of their income.

I'm sure most of the people on here break their contract and buy a new iPhone every year for $300+. I consider that "stupendously wealthy" as well. How much have you given to charity? If you didn't buy their products then they wouldn't have the money to start off with.

 

[Swordylove]

Yes. Rich people didn't get rich by wasting their money. Unless you win the lottery, then you'll probably blow through it all in a couple of years and be poor again.

Wasting money on charity?

 

[NachoGrande]

so they paid 700K to donate 1mill? Or how much goes to the gvt and how much goes to the charity? Who owns the charity? Apple? Corporate owners of the charities get tax breaks too right? I wonder how much of the mill actually gets to the people that need it?

No, they paid a 1mil to save 300k in their taxes. So they would be 700k out of pocket. All non profits can be viewed on line simply by going to guidestar.org. Give a million in taxes and see how much of that get to the people that needed it.

 

[Parkin Pig]

I'm sure most of the people on here break their contract and buy a new iPhone every year for $300+. I consider that "stupendously wealthy" as well.

I agree that the current obsession with upgrading phones on an annual basis isn't a healthy attitude, especially for our planet's finite resources. I was brought up in austere times when we kept and repaired household appliances until they could be repaired no more. Discarding high tech mobile devices after one year does seem frivolous to me, but maybe if I were younger I would think otherwise.

How much have you given to charity?

I have had a regular subscription to a children's protection charity for many years, but since having cancer ten years ago I have actually been quite active in raising funds for cancer and cancer support charities. I didn't come on here to bleat about that but as you and many others here have completely misunderstood the point I was making then there's your answer. Giving to charity is a good thing - I fully support it, and that was never in question.

The point I was making, and thank goodness most people did grasp it, is that a great deal of the injustices which necessitate the formation of charities are actually caused by the wealth-generating methods of the richest multinationals and individuals. And no, I don't count Bill Gates in that - I think he's an amazing example of how someone can generate great wealth and put it to good use.

 

[2457282]

Why not add the $23k and make it the first ever 1m$ Mac!

The problem was that my wifi was not working on my private jet so I was unable to submit my bid. I would have totaly thrown in the extra $23k. I mean, think of the bragging rights of saying I have the only million dollar Mac Pro in the world and before anyone has one at any price.

I almost made James, my pilot, do an emergency landing in Dubai, just t get te bid in.

 

[tbrinkma]

That is $1,200,000 - $914,700 = $285,300 tax dollar deficit for you and I to pay
And, we all much rather have that money go to where we all need it, rather than to some charity, regardless of how worthy *the donor* may think it is. You and I have no say in this matter.

Yep. Congratulations. That evil, nasty, rich person who donated to charity through this auction is taking advantage of you to the tune of $0.0020234. Poor you.

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I am waiting for the guy to post unboxing photos to MacRumors. He has the first MacPro in the wild!

Rocketman

That would be cool.

 

[Meandmunch]

Loving my new table! Thanks Jony!

 

[tbrinkma]

Are they tax deductible? They are buying items - regardless of where the profit goes - not donating directly.

The sales amount, less the actual value of the item being sold, is tax deductible.

So, $977,000 (auction price) - 20,000 (est. actual value) of it is tax deductible.

 

[ctdonath]

Only the stupendously wealthy can afford to spend cash like this to buy one-off trinkets to impress their friends.

When you're spending orders of magnitude more for (what is by comparison) a mere trinket at a charity auction, it's not about buying the trinket, it's about making a large donation to a good cause - buying the trinket just adds some fun to the process.

I realized this when watching someone buy the ugliest d@mn decoration for thousands of dollars at another "good cause" auction.

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Give a million in taxes and see how much of that get to the people that needed it.

Um...for the charity at hand, all of it. "100% of the funds generated by Red partners and events goes to Global Fund programs that provide medical care and support services for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa." - Wikipedia
(Yeah, I know; feel free to back up the obvious retort with better data.)

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we all much rather have that money go to where we all need it, rather than to some charity, regardless of how worthy *the donor* may think it is.

It's his money, not "ours". I'd far rather an individual decide what good cause to send his money to than have a majority of idiots decide for him. (Before you defend mob rule, tell me if you want "the majority" telling you what you may eat - and fining, arresting, and imprisoning you if you don't obey.)

 

[Kissaragi]

It really should be very simple.

Option A - Rich people + charity auction = money for charity

Option B - Rich people + no charity auction = no money for charity

Spot which one of those is the better one.

 

[notjustjay]

Followers of Jesus Christ, for example.

No. Jesus never said being wealthy was a sin. And neither does the rest of the Bible.

Hoarding wealth, and being greedy, maybe. But owning wealth? No.

 

[Shrink]

No. Jesus never said being wealthy was a sin. And neither does the rest of the Bible.

Hoarding wealth, and being greedy, maybe. But owning wealth? No.

Pretty close here...

"The eye of a needle" is scripture quoted by Jesus recorded in the synoptic gospels:

I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:23-26

 

[Sv3n]

Smartypantses

All the smartypants comments on this thread are entertaining to read through. The same people selectively read biased books to make them feel good about beliefs they already hold, then sit down at their computers and pass judgement on everyone else on forums such as this...these are the ones who will change the world!

 

[marco114]

All this was, was a donation to a charity, the products are merely just a thank you for the donation. People need to get over the fact that people can "spend" money like this on a product. Thats not what this was about.

People on here vilify people with a lot of money on here all the time and I think it's truly sad. People have the right to earn money in this country. Don't you think Steve Jobs earned his Billion? He probably should have earned a lot more but regardless, that is what makes this country great is you can make something people want, and you will get rich.

If you don't like it, don't buy the products.

 

[kdarling]

All this was, was a donation to a charity, the products are merely just a thank you for the donation.

Exactly. The cash donations are not for the products, they're for the charities.

The products are more of a thank you to the donor, and also work as virtually free publicity for the companies donating them.

A similar thing is often done (on a much smaller scale) in lots of towns, where local merchants and artists donate items for people to bid on at local charity functions.

.

 

[Parkin Pig]

All the smartypants comments on this thread are entertaining to read through. The same people selectively read biased books to make them feel good about beliefs they already hold, then sit down at their computers and pass judgement on everyone else on forums such as this...these are the ones who will change the world!

Open forums are for people to voice their opinions and see the opinions of others. You accuse others of passing judgement whilst in the very same sentence pass judgment with your fabricated theory of selective reading for self-validation.
As for changing the world - I know I can't change the world, but I'm wise enough to recognise when some large corporation is burning my house down and charging me for the heat.

 

[FloatingBones]

The cash donations are not for the products, they're for the charities. The products are more of a thank you to the donor, and also work as virtually free publicity for the companies donating them.

Agreed. Also, there's a very fine line for buying goodwill by the donations and abusing the free publicity. I had first thought that the AL table in the iPad Air commercial was the Red auction table, but it's clearly different.

A similar thing is often done (on a much smaller scale) in lots of towns, where local merchants and artists donate items for people to bid on at local charity functions.

They seem similar but the scale of the transactions are vastly different. For local merchants, the cost of the goods donated is significant. For AAPL, the material price of the donated goods is immaterial; the much higher expense is the time of executives and very expensive design personnel.

I think this a clever and exemplary win-win partnership. I fondly wish that Samsung, MSFT, and others would copy this kind of charitable action.

 

[69650]

lol..RED auction.... oh man, that's good..

I still reckon these should be sold on the Online Apple Store and in Retail stores in multiple colors...

Everyone would rather have a Red Mac Pro on their desk..... wouldn't they?

It would complement the Gold iPhone.

I'd love it if they made the Mac Pro in a range of metallic colours such as the Product Red version. That would look awesome on my desk.

Or maybe if they made a smaller version as the new Mac Mini and made that in a range of colours. Priced right that would be a big seller IMO. Could even have the same impact the original colour iMac had back in the day.

 

[kdarling]

I think this a clever and exemplary win-win partnership. I fondly wish that Samsung, MSFT, and others would copy this kind of charitable action.

Apple's not exactly been known as a charity giver. Jobs stopped most of that.

I don't know what Microsoft donates, although of course Gates has given a LOT more than Jobs ever did.

As for Samsung, apparently they're no slouch when it comes to charity and community involvement. They have programs all over the globe promoting education for underprivileged children. From solar powered classroom trucks in Africa, to a recent million dollar United Way gift in Austin to celebrate a factory expansion.

 

[NachoGrande]

Um...for the charity at hand, all of it. "100% of the funds generated by Red partners and events goes to Global Fund programs that provide medical care and support services for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa." - Wikipedia
(Yeah, I know; feel free to back up the obvious retort with better data.)

I was supporting the charity, by stating that the money is best spent in the private sector than in the public...