Definitely possible. I only meant to say it doesn’t look like an Xserve, sorry if I came across otherwise.
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Mac Spotting
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Whatever that silver box is, it appears to not be plugged in?
Empty three-prong power socket in the foreground.
Of course — you can’t remotely hack what isn’t remotely accessible
No, not at all - happy to be correctedDefinitely possible. I only meant to say it doesn’t look like an Xserve, sorry if I came across otherwise.
Just amusing either way if he had that beast as a desktop!
I wonder whether they just got the hardware from a tech recyclers and hoped no one would notice?
Probably! Although some light is shed on their approach here and here.
This strikes me as strange because Assange was photographed in the embassy - including inside his room and several interviews and documentaries were filmed in there.
No, not at all - happy to be corrected
I knew several people who were close to him and who worked with him during that period. At one stage I would've been able to ask them but I could just imagine the justified paranoia at that kind of quizzing.
Anyhow, here's some images of Assange and his circle using Macs:
That appears to be a "BlackBook."
A MacBook Air and a pre-unibody MacBook Pro?
A MacBook Air?
Like curling up with an old favourite book, I’ve been re-watching the classic sci-fi series Fringe as the wet, winty weather makes it more inviting to stay indoors.
Eventually, I’ll be posting with a big recap of all the Macs I’ve been able to spot within the series (and so far, there’ve been a few rare-Mac appearances which haven’t come up in this thread!).
But in the meantime, I thought this one was too good not to share right away, given… well, I’ll let you see for yourself:
From the 2021 live action remake of the Cowboy Bebop anime...
Fringe is a firm fave of mine, some really powerful stories - White Tulip I think being the best.
Whilst viewing this time around, I’ve also been screencapping appearances of the series’ well-known easter egg (noting when said egg is basically a giveaway — i.e., when they have lines — or when I’m unable to find them). So far, after two seasons, there’ve been two I couldn’t find on my own.
“White Tulip” is indeed an excellent episode. In fact, one of these days I ought to make my own “top five” list. As least one from season five will be on that list. I should add, as supporting characters go, I love love love Sam Weiss.
The PowerBook 5300 that saved the world from certain destruction by malevolent extra-terrestrials.
The PowerBook 5300 that saved the world from certain destruction by malevolent extra-terrestrials.
I cried — in mostly groaning pain — at how bad that whole “let’s upload a virus to the aliens from a Mac!” plot line was. Said crying was at the cinema on 4 July 1996 (because my house mates insisted we all go to see the film). It was so bad that I’ve never watched the film since, despite having the inimitable Jeff Goldblum in it.
The commercial success of Roland Emmerich's films is certainly fascinating but I suppose it's a case of visual flair triumphing over mediocre screenwriting. Although I have to admit that I do enjoy elements of his work as guilty pleasures.
It's still fun to see a Mac save the world though - especially when you remember that Apple's fortunes at the time were in dire straits and naysayers were preparing last-rites for the company.
I didn't catch it till there was a free-to-air broadcast on UK TV a few years later and I freely admit to owning the DVD and having an HDTV recording somewhere on a hard drive. It's highly derivative in storyline and visual style from the work of superior screenwriters, film-makers and authors but some of the action sequences are impressive nonetheless.
A potentially exciting premise which was ruined by a dreadful script.
Now that I finished the series once more (courtesy of weekend binge-watching), it’s time for that Fringe recap!
(Stuff I’ve already posted is omitted.)
Starting with season one, the rare appearance of a unibody MacBook in s01e12:
In this scene from s02e01, we see the first chronological appearance of a 17-inch MacBook Pro:
In s02e03, in one scene alone, we see at least two 15-inch MacBook Pros and at least one white MacBook:
In s02e06, we also see a pair of white MacBooks going on the fritz:
In s02e15, we see not one but three aluminium Cinema Displays (of at least two sizes) and one iMac (very likely a late 2009 model):
In what I believe was s02e17, we see the ever-brief appearance of a 4th-gen iPod nano:
Meanwhile, back at the lab (as seen in s02e15), we see the same late-2009 iMac (background, behind the right arm of the lab coat), two of the aluminium Cinema Displays, a 17-inch MacBook Pro on the table, and probably a mid-2009 iMac in the foreground, in s02e19:
Also in s02e19, we see another 17-inch 2008 MacBook Pro being used to stop a gateway:
In s03e01, we see the brief first appearance of a 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro:
In s03e04, we get an excellent view of a late-2009 or mid-2010 27-inch iMac:
Then, in s03e06, the first appearance of a 13-inch unibody MacBook Pro, with just enough seen to reveal the SD slot:
In s03e12, we also see the brief cameo of a silver 3rd-gen iPod nano, off to the left in the background, docked to a speaker:
In s03e17, we see a pair of 17-inch unibody MacBook Pros being used in a staging area:
But the real coup, and one I completely missed all the times before, happens with one of my favourite episodes, s03e19, in which a dual-processor Power Mac G5, on its side, filthy, and opened up, appears in an effort to save someone:
And here, you can see the two heat sink assemblies and one of the internal fans from that G5:
And here, in one more view of this quietly pivotal G5, the heavily jury-rigged rear fans and mysterious black cable drilled into the case:
Inexplicably, that heavily modified G5 was connected, somehow, to an Apple IIc display, whose case is painted black (similar to the Bell & Howell Apple ][+ and probably a wink-nod to that particular model, given the very particular context of the plot):
In s04e09, we see the prop appearance of a Magic Keyboard (which also appeared once before in another episode, not pictured, alongside a Mighty Mouse):
A unibody 15-inch MacBook Pro makes a brief appearance in s04e20. It took a couple of minutes to parse whether this was a 15- or 17-inch model, with the speaker grille proportions (and the proportions of the display frame relative to the top case) being the final arbiter:
And finally, in s05e10, we see the brief appearance of an iPad (but since I know so little about iPads, I don’t know which model this is):
And that’s Apple and Mac spotting in Fringe.
Another Apple movie tie-in commercial, this time involving the PowerBook 540c - which of course is featured in the film.
Judging by the style, it appears to have been produced by the same marketing team who devised the Independence Day tie-in.
Judging by the style, it appears to have been produced by the same marketing team who devised the Independence Day tie-in.
I spotted an older iMac in the German tv series "Alarm für Cobra 11". This screenshot is from the penultimate episode of the latest season. The iMac has to be at least 12 years old and 14 years if it is one of the first aluminum iMacs (2007). Great to see such old machines in current movies and tv shows. I also think it is funny how they try to hide the Apple logo in the shots which has to do with the fact that they don't want to give free advertisment to Apple if I'm correct. I've been watching the series like forever and it is still great. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend watching it (I think it is available in English also)
They have to hide the logo because Schleichwerbung is illegal according to German law.
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That’s a first-generation iPad; you can tell by the squared-off edges and aluminum back. Interesting that they covered up the logo on the iPad but not any of the other Apple products in the show.
The logo is covered because that scene takes place in 2036 under a punitive regime. The logo you see covering the Apple is the logo mark of the regime, because this scene is located inside one of their ministries.
Something like that, but a little less G.O.-abstract and a lot more prescient as a parable on tampering with mother nature and a re-framing of classic colonialism.
Richard Dawkins reads (electronic) hate mail with the help of what appears to be a MacBook Pro.
NSFW - do not watch if profane language upsets your sensibilities.
NSFW - do not watch if profane language upsets your sensibilities.
Here are a couple Mac (and Apple) music video appearances from the 1980s into 1990:
In the background of a studio shot, there’s a Macintosh SE (1987 edition), in the dual 800K disk drive configuration, on this very late 1989 (November/December) music video for Jane Child’s biggest single, “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” — in which she performs on a Fairlight CMI 3 (whose appearance always gets my heart to flutter). Fun fact: Warner Brothers allowed her to produce her début album, which at the time they’d only allowed for one other artist: Prince; second fun fact is the classically trained Jane not only produced but also wrote and performed all instruments on her album.
In the May/June 1984 music video for the single, “No Way Out”, there’s a member of Jefferson Starship (the last album before renaming as Starship in 1985) working on an Apple ][+ — which is apropos considering how Apple was the locally available personal computer maker in San Francisco at the time.
In the background of a studio shot, there’s a Macintosh SE (1987 edition), in the dual 800K disk drive configuration, on this very late 1989 (November/December) music video for Jane Child’s biggest single, “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” — in which she performs on a Fairlight CMI 3 (whose appearance always gets my heart to flutter). Fun fact: Warner Brothers allowed her to produce her début album, which at the time they’d only allowed for one other artist: Prince; second fun fact is the classically trained Jane not only produced but also wrote and performed all instruments on her album.
In the May/June 1984 music video for the single, “No Way Out”, there’s a member of Jefferson Starship (the last album before renaming as Starship in 1985) working on an Apple ][+ — which is apropos considering how Apple was the locally available personal computer maker in San Francisco at the time.
I think that may be an Apple IIe as the II Plus did not have a key next to the keyboard in the upper right hand corner. The IIe moved the reset button there.
The editing suite of acclaimed film editor and sound designer of Walter Murch. For years he was a devotee of Avid and was groundbreaking in his decision to switch to Final Cut Pro whilst working on Cold Mountain - which was a landmark moment that helped revolutionise digital non-linear editing and propelled FCP into the spotlight as a cost-effective but highly capable alternative to other NLE software.
Those who are curious to read more about this should check out the excellent Behind the Seen (sic) which documents the process of what was considered a risky endeavour - and it also mentions an apprehension at the senior levels of Apple when they discovered that Murch would be using OS 9 instead of the (then) fledgling OS X.
(On a side note, in more recent years Murch has turned away from FCP and derided FCPX as lacking the professional features which he'd come to regard as standard components of the software.)
This is either a Mac Pro or a PowerMac G5 - Murch used the latter to put together Sam Mendes' Jarhead in 2005.
Those who are curious to read more about this should check out the excellent Behind the Seen (sic) which documents the process of what was considered a risky endeavour - and it also mentions an apprehension at the senior levels of Apple when they discovered that Murch would be using OS 9 instead of the (then) fledgling OS X.
(On a side note, in more recent years Murch has turned away from FCP and derided FCPX as lacking the professional features which he'd come to regard as standard components of the software.)
This is either a Mac Pro or a PowerMac G5 - Murch used the latter to put together Sam Mendes' Jarhead in 2005.
I believe you’re correct. In another scene (below), the power light, left of the space bar, appeared white, not green, and somewhere in my brain I associate a white power light with Apple ][+.
It’s also entirely possible two different Apple II-series computers were used as props, as I’m also noticing there are other peripheral props varying between the two shots, and this one here seems to lack that reset button.