[NewsPoster]

Apple is known for making history by inventing the future, but even its designer could not have predicted a new record shattered on Saturday as a special one-off red version of the new Mac Pro (which is not officially available for sale yet) was sold at a charity fundraising auction for $977,000 -- an all-time record for the priciest personal computer ever made or sold. A couple of other items also designed by Sir Jonathan Ive of Apple and designer Marc Newson also fetched record sums.

The Sotheby's auction in London also commanded high prices for other items from the pair, including a custom-designed Leica Rangefinder digital camera which sold for $1.8 million; a Product (RED) custom desk that sold for nearly $1.7 million, and a unique pair of rose gold Apple Earpods that sold for $461,000. The Mac Pro, the normal versions of which will become available next month, was only expected to fetch between $40,000 and $60,000 - some 10 to 15 times the machine's starting retail prices - but ended up selling for nearly $1 million as part of a benefit for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Maleria.

The Global Fund and Product (RED) fundraising have been spearheaded by U2 lead singer Bono, who enlisted the help of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Jony Ive in 2006 - a collaboration that saw the iPhone maker release a string of (Product) Red items and accessories, most memorably a series of iPods, along with Smart Covers and Smart Cases for the iPad and a special leather case for the iPhone 5s. Since 2006, the company has donated over $65 million to the cause, not including this latest auction.

[Inkling]

I'm never been impressed by those who do their charity too visibly (President Carter) or through giant foundations with covert political agendas (the Rockefeller and Gates foundations). Maybe I should add this tacky consumerism to the list. Do they think these purchases will impress their friends? Do they see this as a likely lucrative investment in art? I don't know.

And don't get me off on "U2 lead singer Bono." He and his band use every trick in the book to evade taxes but he lectures governments on spending more on charitable causes. Don't color him (Red). Color him a hypocrite.

I am impressed by the wealthy who give their money carefully and quietly and still more impressed by those who give sacrificially from out of the little they have.

[GopherAlex]

Product Red: Helping Africans outbreed their carrying capacity since 2006

[armwt]

There appear to be some truly miserable people on this board.

They raised millions to fight Aids. Yeah. Sounds like something we should criticize alright.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by GopherAlex 

Product Red: Helping Africans outbreed their carrying capacity since 2006

Were you born a full-fledged asshole, or did it have to be beat into you?

[xomniron]

Fighting AIDS in Africa is a worthy effort, certainly. But, like the war on poverty and the war on drugs, the result has been just as dismal. It takes responsibility, integrity, and making better choices by the people involved. Hasn't happened. Probably won't. And the money continues to be spent without results. In that context, I understand what @GolperAlex is saying. Those who disagree with him did not make a counter argument, but rather chose personal attacks.

So some very wealthy person paid a ridiculous price for a custom Ives-built Mac Pro. Thank you for your help. Your heart is in the right place ...although the cause may be misplaced.

[Charles Martin]

I will beg to differ without any name-calling. Steve Jobs was exactly the kind of charitable giver Inkling describes as admiring -- yet he supported this cause (as the article notes, more than $65M dollars raised from Apple alone). I think there has, in fact, been measurable progress against AIDS, tuberculosis and other problems like Malaria thanks to the work of the Global Fund and other foundations. It's easy to sit back and criticise but hard to actually do the work that has to be done to wipe out these diseases. Fixing the disease issues in Africa isn't going to magically solve the poverty issue or the population issue, but it has benefits for *both* those in Africa *and* for everyone in the west. Provided the foundations involved can demonstrate progress (and I believe they have), they deserve support.

[TheGreatButcher]

The efforts may be misplaced or inefficient, but are you trolls that are complaining doing more?

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by chas_m 

I will beg to differ without any name-calling.

I was less charitable because the piece of human scum I was replying to implied that it was better not to fight epidemics in Africa because they were "over-breeding" beyond sustainability.

[Bittyson]

That's kind of expensive for a computer. I thought they were less.

[driven]

Originally Posted by xomniron 

Fighting AIDS in Africa is a worthy effort, certainly. But, like the war on poverty and the war on drugs, the result has been just as dismal. It takes responsibility, integrity, and making better choices by the people involved. Hasn't happened. Probably won't. And the money continues to be spent without results. In that context, I understand what @GolperAlex is saying. Those who disagree with him did not make a counter argument, but rather chose personal attacks.

That seems to be the common response when (in many subjects) someone points out that the results don't match the good intentions. Rather than having a worthy debate, or a mild-disagreement, or an examination of "why", the challenged resorts to name calling.

Not pointing out anything that just happened on this board, but that seems to be fairly common in general, in society at large today.

I wish that would change. But if anything, it's likely to get worse.

[Spheric Harlot]

If there is any way to interpret GopherAlex's comment that doesn't include the sentiment of "let them die; their continent can't support them anyway", I'd be glad to hear it.

[iBricking.com]

So you people think that the world's elite personalities are busy solving the world's problems? Quite to the contrary!! They are causing unbelievable amounts of harm. They are the ones who make sure that your water is loaded with fluoride, that your ice cream has carrageenan, that your milk is loaded with rBST, and or rBGH, that you are getting loaded with glyphosate, that you are prescribed drugs that do more harm than good, and so on. Better accept Jesus Christ as Lord God and Saviror - the one who has risen. That's the only way. You all need to go read the Bible - I recommend the KJV. You are all being duped. These NGOs aren't out there to help anyone. Their purpose is to distract, misdirect, misinform... It's eugenics with a smiley face. And quite a few of you are like 'woo hoo...'. Go see Bill Gates spell it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vzFeiKH1jQ And if you are paying attention, you should know that those living in the industrialized world, which probably includes most people on these boards, are bigger targets then poor Africans. If you really love your fellow men, and there is no reason you shouldn't, as loving others is essential for your being, don't encourage this kind of hypocrisy.

[Spheric Harlot]

Wow. The weather is bringing out the crazies, it seems.