Filed under: Odds and ends
Mac: The platform fit for a king
Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, or just King Abdullah for short, is among the expanding league of world leaders who choose to 'think different' and use Apple products.
In a photo provided to us by TUAW tipster Mohammed Al-Muhaidib, King Abdullah is seated on the right, in front of a 30-inch Cinema Display. His highness was monitoring the procession of the hajj in Mecca, the holy annual pilgrimage.
Michael Rose and I joked before last night's talkcast that former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who sits on Apple's board of directors, sure is busy selling Macs to all these leaders at home and abroad, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, and U.S. Vice President-Elect Joe Biden.
Thanks, Mohammed!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ethan said 11:25AM on 11-10-2008
The mac always looks fairly subdued, but never quite so much.
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Kishen said 12:03PM on 11-10-2008
President-Elect Obama also uses a Mac according to The Telegraph (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/3401168/Barack-Obama-The-50-facts-you-might-not-know.html
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mikeylee said 12:11PM on 11-10-2008
Sweet! King Abdullah and Lord Obama both use Macs. I see Steve Jobs being appointed to a World Cabinet seat. :-)
Remember, keep laughing 'cause it hurts less than crying.
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Level 5 said 12:13PM on 11-10-2008
Former Vice President Al Gore is also fairly famous for using a Mac. I don't have a reference for that but, I know there's a well known photo of his office with a Power Mac hooked up to 3(!) 30" Cinema Displays. Good Stuff.
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Robert Palmer said 12:15PM on 11-10-2008
If you click on the text "Al Gore" in the story, it will take you to that picture. :)
xian said 5:13PM on 11-10-2008
Not to mention HE IS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT APPLE.
=)
extremesims said 12:20PM on 11-10-2008
Where the women at?
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Kelmon said 12:59PM on 11-10-2008
I don't think I'd want to be associated with people like this. This is the regime that still decapitates people in public, restricts women's rights and commits widespread human rights abuses. With "friends" like this, who needs enemies?
Seriously, this is an article that should be deleted.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17502
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Brian said 1:10PM on 11-10-2008
@Kelmon
Why should it be deleted again? Just because you don't agree with a country's politics, religion or culture?
The post simply reports that the Saudi king uses a Mac. I've bought Apple products when I lived and worked in Riyadh... nothing wrong with that (especially since I didn't have to pay taxes).
balls said 1:18PM on 11-10-2008
I tend to agree, but I think there is a difference from the Royal Saudi Family, and the very conservative Saudi government.
balls said 1:23PM on 11-10-2008
Also, Apple is associated with many countries with lousy human rights:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/usa/report-2008
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/canada/report-2008
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/uk/report-2008
Matt said 2:26PM on 11-10-2008
I have been waiting for a response like this all morning just so I can have the attempt to flame the ignorant geek who posted it. In an effort to further derail this comment thread, I give you this:
Why don't we, U.S. Americans, get our stands on human rights (and education for that matter) in order first before we start decrying people who purchase computers. That is hardly relevant to the fact that we ignore the Geneva Convention in wartime by torturing and deny basic liberties to prisoners in Guantanamo, among an ever-increasing laundry list of violations.
USA! USA! For there is no other country that's capable of such double standards and hypocrisy.
IowaSuby said 3:28PM on 11-10-2008
wow Matt, let's compare what happens in War and to terrorists in prison camps to regular women (who unfortunately are citizens of S.A.) that can't go outside without a male family member as escort and if they do they are stoned to death. They can't drive, vote or have any say in anything at all. Not to mention what happens to homosexuals, the mentally ill etc.. in Saudi Arabia. How in the world you can equate the two is beyond me. I think the U.S. has a fantastic stand on human rights compared to other countries. Of course, that doesn't stop U.S. haters like yourself from bringing up our worst offenses, which are common in other countries every single day and are a matter of policy, religion or culture.
Matt said 3:43PM on 11-10-2008
I would expect nothing less from a Joe Six Pack such as yourself. How am I the only person from this country that is mortified at our recent track record? How dare we spread democracy abroad when we can't even handle our own 300 million? Yet, all of senators and representatives rushed to pass the PATRIOT Act after September 11th without even reading it. How are illegal wiretaps, false arrests, imprisonment without trials on our OWN CITIZENS any worse than public stoning?
If you are SO concerned about our image (albeit loosely connected to an American company selling computers to the Saudi royal family), how can you possibly state that our "worst offenses, which are common in other countries every single day and are a matter of policy" and be proud of this? Can we say contradictory? Why would you ever want to associate this country with human rights violations? But regardless, we are! We are no better than ANY of the big offenders. But, oh, it's okay, we're in a war. 9/11! Terrorists! 9/11! Terrorists! Clearly this is all it takes to get us to take it up the rear on our reputation without lube.
We're the country that's supposed to give a damn about people! And look what we've succumb to.
Kelmon said 5:04PM on 11-10-2008
Ah, crap. The point is that the Saudi government are a nasty bunch and I don't think that we should be saying the likes of "aren't Apple products great because they are being used by the heads of a despotic country". They might be but I don't think that we need to advertise the fact. Kim Jong-il is supposed to be a fan of the iPod so why don't we have an article about that if this sort of thing is so good?
Even if the export of Apple products to such countries were banned then I am quite sure that they'd get through anyway and the ban would only impact the common man. I just don't see how we can possibly see that the King of Saudi Arabia using an Apple Display is good for the image of the Mac. The whole tone of the article is wrong.
Matt said 7:21PM on 11-10-2008
And on humanitarian Kelmon's note, I don't want to eat rice with my Thai food tonight because rice is associated with China and China is a "despotic" country.
Brian said 10:49AM on 11-11-2008
I understand the human rights violations are plentiful and real. You're right, Apple isn't going to want to say if their products are good enough for the Saudi King they are good enough for you because the reality is my standards (for human rights) are much higher then the Saudi King.
The point is, it's not Apple saying this and Engadget is free to publish whatever they wish because this isn't Saudi Arabia.
The US and many other countries are allies with Saudi. There are no trade embargos. They continue to do business with Saudi. Have you taken a stand and decided not to use any products imported from Saudi Arabia?
kenc29 said 1:25PM on 11-10-2008
Of course Gore uses Apple. He's on the Board of Directors! He gets his stuff for free. He got so much stuff free, as a board member that they implemented a new rule, limiting how much stuff you could get. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, Gore was the only board member who got stuff free.
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Rob said 2:00PM on 11-10-2008
Is it just me, or is the power cable the only thing hooked up to the monitor?
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cgrinolds said 3:04PM on 11-10-2008
Cable branches out into power, USB, DVI and FireWire... makes for a very clean look.