Which comp does the Russian president own?

[sash]

Hi,

Guess what, it's Mac:

http://kremlin.ru/dyn_images/big200033.JPG

BTW, that's not a fake.

sash

 

[MaximusNL]

Superb, but what has it to do with "buying tips, advice and discussion", or is this the number one reason to buy a mac

 

[RedTomato]

I'm suprised he would run a US capitalist computer.

Somehow I imagine him running a Thinkpad as they're now Chinese owned, i.e. owned and made by a fellow ex-communist nation. But of course now the new hyper-capitalist russia recognises that Windows is inherently unsuitable for any nation that wishes to seriously challenge the USA.

So he's probably running some form of security-enhanced Unix. But they're rather austere, and the new Russia likes its glamour and luxuries so back to OSX it is.

Must be an old photo - any recent photo would show him with a MBA. However I imagine he has no shortage of flunkies to carry his MBP 19''.

 

[sash]

Superb, but what has it to do with "buying tips, advice and discussion", or is this the number one reason to buy a mac

8)

Well you know, his definitely not programming on his Mac, so Mac Programming is not the right place to post. It's not an iPod nor iPhone, not an Apple TV. Maybe I should have posted that in Mac Gaming...

No, the real reason is that I've personally convinced him to buy the Mac, and he's now kind of Mac evangelist in Russia and amongst other world leaders.

In other words, I've gave him a tip, he bought it. Which makes the post perfectly suitable for this rubric.

 

[Tom B.]

MOSCOW -- Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman president of the Russian republic of Chechnya, seemed fascinated. The object of his curiosity was the latest must-have toy for Russia's elite: the iPhone.

At a business conference in the southern city of Krasnodar this year, Kadyrov sat with Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president-elect; Dmitry Kozak, the minister of regional development, and Alexander Tkachev, the local governor. According to a journalist at the conference, the four passed the Apple phone back and forth as Kozak demonstrated its features to Kadyrov.

These powerful officials are not alone in their interest. There are approximately 500,000 iPhone users in Russia -- a country where the phone is not officially for sale, according to Eldar Murtazin, head of analysis at Mobile Research Group in Moscow, citing data obtained from Russia's cellphone operators.

"Russian people love anything that is forbidden," said Murtazin, adding that iPhone sales in Russia are the third-highest in the world, after the United States and China (where the phone also cannot be sold legally).

The phones are bought in bulk in the United States, and an 8-gigabyte model sells in Russia for at least $700, nearly twice the price in the United States. Still, the price of an iPhone in Russia has fallen dramatically since its launch in the United States last year, when they went on sale here for $1,800.

What was once exotic is now widely available at electronics stores and through Internet sales across the former Soviet Union. Besides Medvedev, other prominent politicians spotted using iPhones include Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

Sergei Bobovnikov, a dealer in Soviet propaganda art, said there was a line of about 40 people, mostly tourists, in an Apple store he visited on a trip to Miami. Bobovnikov and a friend bought seven phones, which they brought back to Russia and sold to friends at cost.

"It's a prestige thing," Bobovnikov said. "Having an iPhone is like being part of a club."

AT&T is Apple's exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States, and the phone is locked to prevent its use on another wireless network. But for about $40, Russian hackers will unlock the phone, install a Russian language pack, and make it work with Russian cellphone operators.

"You can have all the features except visual voice mail," said Maxim, a 16-year-old high school student who unlocks phones and did not want his last name published. "It takes about 45 minutes."

The phone has reportedly become commonplace at the Kremlin and in the corridors of Russia's parliament. But the use of unauthorized software to make the iPhone work in Russia raises some ticklish questions for the leaders of a country that has long been assailed for a flourishing trade in unlicensed goods. The smuggled and hacked iPhones deprive Apple of fees and the Russian treasury of import duties and taxes.

Medvedev's office said no one was available to comment, and his spokesman has previously refused to comment to the Russian media on the issue.

A spokesman for Apple in Moscow would only say that the iPhone is not for sale in Russia; officials at the company's headquarters in California did not respond to messages requesting comment.

.

 

[surferfromuk]

cool. I love these kinds of stories. Thx for posting.

 

[redAPPLE]

and he already got that smug look in his face... yeah. a mac user

 

[sash]

"Russian people love anything that is forbidden"

... which sounds quite hallucinant when applied to a Russian president.

 

[Stampyhead]

comp owns Russian president?

In Soviet Russia you don't own computer, computer owns you!

Or post-Soviet Russia in this case...

 

[kkat69]

In Soviet Russia you don't own computer, computer owns you!

Or post-Soviet Russia in this case...

/russianaccent

In Mother Russia, computer no owns you, KGB owns computer, KGB owns you, is good yah?

/russian accent

Nice story, was good reading yah.

 

[sash]

In Soviet Russia you don't own computer, computer owns you!

Or post-Soviet Russia in this case...

You're right, I'm sorry, my English is far from perfect. Shame on me. I meant 'does the Russian president own'.

 

[hickster]

Yeah, Al Gore, Rush Limbaugh, and Carl Rove all use Macs too.
Interesting yes, But I just think it's funny how people continuously drag politics into computer choice. What works, works

 

[leighonigar]

Hi,
Which comp does the Russian president own?

Whatever old Vlad tells him to own, of course.

 

[jjahshik32]

I thought that was antonio banderas with a bad haircut

 

[nick9191]

Why the hell do people get excited when they see celebrities with a mac. If 7% of all computer users are mac users, and the number is a lot higher with celebrities because there rich, then yes a lot of them will own macs.

Who cares?

 

[sash]

Why the hell do people get excited when they see celebrities with a mac. If 7% of all computer users are mac users, and the number is a lot higher with celebrities because there rich, then yes a lot of them will own macs.

Who cares?

You're right in general, but 'excitement' is a wrong word in this context. Curiosity is a much more suitable word. Why does the WP write about their story (quite related to the issue)? Do you know that this photo has been changed after the elections? Do you know what precisely has been changed and why? Isn't that plainly interesting to know?

 

[jjahshik32]

Why the hell do people get excited when they see celebrities with a mac. If 7% of all computer users are mac users, and the number is a lot higher with celebrities because there rich, then yes a lot of them will own macs.

Who cares?

You know what would be more interesting??.. if Bill Gates uses any Apple laptop/desktops! I bet he does!

 

[MattZani]

Microsoft Gaming use Macs

 

[LizKat]

Why the hell do people get excited when they see celebrities with a mac. If 7% of all computer users are mac users, and the number is a lot higher with celebrities because there rich, then yes a lot of them will own macs.

Who cares?

It's a kind of doubling of interest. Macs are still "different" so they stand out in general. And celebrities are special (or so our media outlets insist). So a celebrity with a Mac may seem quite extraordinary.

It's actually the Mac that makes the celebrity special...

Imagine that you pass by a celebrity's ranch property and there are some horses or cattle grazing in the distance. Big deal, that's Joe MovieStar's place. Only thing makes it special is Joe Moviestar, eh?

But if you pass his place and there are a bunch of palomino horses or some Belted Galloway cattle, the place will tend to stick in your mind even more, because not that many people have either palominos or that breed of cattle (at least not in the USA.

So now it's "Joe Moviestar's place, you know.. the one with the adorable oreo cookie cows!"

btw you have not lived until you've seen a baby Belted Galloway. They are the next teddy bear craze, probably.

And yes, they are expensive, like a Mac. And just as worth the $$.

 

[Stampyhead]

You're right, I'm sorry, my English is far from perfect. Shame on me. I meant 'does the Russian president own'.

No dude, don't worry. I wasn't making fun of you. In fact, your English is much better than my Russian, which is очень плохо. The way you wrote the title just reminded me of that stale joke that's floating around the internet, that's all.