Limbaugh could sell new Mac

The Hill ^ | 1/26/05 | David Hill

[Vermonter]

Will Rush and Steve ever be best buds?

Tune in tomorrow

[Vermonter]

ping

[Prairie Pubbie]

Amen! Our household includes 4 very conservative, registered Republicans AND 9 Macs (everything from a Mac Plus to a dual-processor G5!). Steve Jobs needs to learn that Macs & conservatives are not mutually exclusive:^)

[Jackie]

I don't think that price ($499) includes a monitor.

[Bommer]

Know nothing about Macs, but this is pretty cool

[Vermonter]

Correct. The price doesn't include monitor, keyboard or mouse.

The assumption is that you have one laying around from the PC you are upgrading from

[The Great RJ]

While the sub $500 Mac is a step in the right direction, it is still a Windows dominated world. It is ironic that my son's new Mac comes with the ubiquitous Microsoft Office. If Apple succeeds in better integrating the Microsoft software into its platform it may open new markets particularly at the lower price. However, many of us still have large software investments in our Windows machines and would be reluctant to make the trade if it meant starting over.

[jacquej]

Same here, Prairie Pubbie, and our grown children are also conservative Mac users. Even the one who has to use a PC at the office will only use Macs at home.

[George from New England]

Since when do PC peripherals work with Mac!

[SedVictaCatoni]

I don't think that price ($499) includes a monitor.

Nope, it doesn't. The idea is that most people already own a perfectly good monitor, because practically everybody has bought some kind of computer at some point in the recent past.

If you don't, you can always just pick up something cheap at Wal-Mart or your local bargain-basement computer parts store.

Know nothing about Macs, but this is pretty cool

It's even cooler when you realize that it's about the same size as a hardback book and almost perfectly silent. No more huge, whirring PC tower.

[SedVictaCatoni]

Since when do PC peripherals work with Mac!

Since 1997. Any USB peripheral will work on a Mac.

[Golden Eagle]

Just as there are red states and blue states, there are also Mac Democrats and PC Republicans. These battles were especially nasty after Apple went public with its politics and added Al Gore to its board of directors.

Not sure what Rush is up to anymore. At least he's not running foreign freeware like Linux.

[Vermonter]

The Mac version of MS Office is reportedly better than the PC version. I can't verify this as I have never used it.

Macs come with most of the software the average user would want, but there are limitations in the area of games and specialized apps. There are workarounds, like Virtual PC, a program now owned by Microsoft.

[rs79bm]

Macs are very overpriced pieces of equipment with fancy cases and colors and sleek looks that are built with the same equipment that I payed for a $899.00 Dell. Probably a couple thousand less than you would pay for a Mac of similiar quality and speed.

[Stars N Stripes]

WOW, why didn't Commodore think of this...

Time to dust off the 'ol Amiga!

[Vermonter]

Since when do PC peripherals work with Mac!

Just about any USB or Firewire peripheral will work on a Mac just by plugging it in.

[RushingWater]

But how can we forgive them for putting up that huge picture of Jimmy Carter on their homepage last year?

[benjaminjjones]

For anyone wanting to read the real history of the Apple and PC computer revolution, I would recommend reading "Hackers"

Link to Amazon: Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy

I found it after my fifth year as a LAN administrator and it was wonderful.

Here's a review from Amazon:

Steven Levy's classic book explains why the misuse of the word "hackers" to describe computer criminals does a terrible disservice to many important shapers of the digital revolution. Levy follows members of an MIT model railroad club--a group of brilliant budding electrical engineers and computer innovators--from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. These eccentric characters used the term "hack" to describe a clever way of improving the electronic system that ran their massive railroad. And as they started designing clever ways to improve computer systems, "hack" moved over with them. These maverick characters were often fanatics who did not always restrict themselves to the letter of the law and who devoted themselves to what became known as "The Hacker Ethic." The book traces the history of hackers, from finagling access to clunky computer-card-punching machines to uncovering the inner secrets of what would become the Internet. This story of brilliant, eccentric, flawed, and often funny people devoted to their dream of a better world will appeal to a wide audience.--

[Political Junkie Too]

Limbaugh talked about this on his show a few months ago. A caller asked if he uses the products he endorses, asked why Apple hasn't called him, and asked if he gets products for free, like the SleepNumber bed. Limbaugh said that he uses the products, says that Apple won't let his sales people anywhere near their offices because Apple's so liberal, and said that he doesn't take freebies because he wants a straight business arrangement -- they don't give him free stuff and he doesn't deal on the sales rates. He said that he has to buy 11 SleepNumber beds for his home. Then he offered the caller a gift of a top-of-the-line SleepNumber bed, just to prove his point.

-PJ

[wagglebee]

Rush has been almost single-handedly responsible for the success of the Select Comfort mattresses, Snapple beverages and the Hotwire travel site, not to mention being the savior of AM radio and the "voice" of conservativism. I'm getting ready to buy a Mac for two reasons: 1) I fooled around on a friend's recently and loved it, everything about it blows Windows away; and 2) I am so sick of all of the ongoing problems with Windows. I think if Rush gets behind the new Mac, it will become huge.