“I just took delivery of my new Mac Pro, which is a workstation — not a computer — that’s designed for serious film editing or Photoshop gymnastics,” Leander Kahney reports for Wired News. “I’ll use it mostly for e-mail and photos of my kids, and I’m wondering if I’ve overindulged my needs. But what’s ‘needs’ got to do with it? I’ve wanted this machine for a long time. I’ve been waiting for the Intel upgrade since Steve Jobs said it was coming about a year ago.”
“This is as slick a toy for adults as can be had, and it’s the most beautiful computer I’ve ever owned,” Kahney reports. “The machine speaks power. Fashioned from thick, sturdy aluminum, it has a weapon aesthetic, like an expensive handgun. I abhor guns, but I admire how beautifully they’re made. Same with this full metal Macintosh. Every component is precision tuned.”
MacDailyNews Take: First, why does Kahney “abhor” guns? “Abhor” means to “regard with disgust and hatred.” So, Kahney hates an inanimate object? Maybe he means he abhors “gun violence?” Now, that would be understandable, even if still a totally irrelevant statement to include in a computer review.
And secondly, does this combination of statements mean that he “abhors” Mac Pros, too? Kahney writes, “same with this full metal Macintosh” directly after writing “I abhor guns, but I admire how beautifully they’re made,” so we’re naturally a bit confused. It sounds like he “abhors” Mac Pros, same as with guns, but admires their design and quality of manufacture.
We have to wonder, does Kahney really “abhor” guns or is he just trying (consciously or subconsciously) to interject some measure of political correctness and therefore needlessly confusing his point? Our point isn’t that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Our point is that perhaps Kahney should leave politics out of computer hardware reviews, if his real purpose is to review computer hardware. Otherwise, as we’ll all probably see below, the hardware review will be buried by the author’s unnecessary inclusion of some irrelevant “belief.”
Kahney continues, “The machine starts up super fast; it seems like 15 or 20 seconds. IPhoto is very fast and zippy. Photos are sucked up from the camera in a flash (gotta love USB2), and tens of thousands of pictures whip smoothly up and down the screen. My old G5 used to stutter.”
“However, I’m disappointed at the speed of Safari, which often takes forever to load a page. In fact, it’s a dog. It can be painfully slow. This may be my cable connection, but it’s probably not. My PowerBook, sharing the same connection via Wi-Fi, isn’t as slow. I haven’t yet had a chance to try Firefox or tweak my settings with a tool like Broadband Optimizer,” Kahney reports.
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Kahney jumps shark: praises Gates, crassly criticizes Steve Jobs over charitable donations – January 25, 2006
MSNBC: Apple Mac Pro is the ultimate desktop computer – August 28, 2006
Apple Retail Stores can build-to-order customized Mac Pros on site – August 26, 2006
Computerworld hands on: Apple’s new Mac Pro is ‘one screamer’ – August 18, 2006
Thurrott pits Apple Mac Pro vs. similarly configured Dell, figures out the Mac is less expensive – August 18, 2006
AnandTech: Mac Pro vs. PowerMac G5 – August 16, 2006
Apple Mac Pro Quad Xeon 3.0GHz benchmarks – August 16, 2006
Apple Mac Pro dissection photos – August 16, 2006
Ars Technica reviews Apple Mac Pro Quad Xeon 64-bit workstation – August 11, 2006
Apple Mac Pro Quad-core Xeon easily beats Power Mac G5 Quad – August 11, 2006
OWC offers Apple Mac Pro memory upgrades; rebate trade-in of Apple factory memory – August 11, 2006
Benchmark duel: Apple Mac Pro vs. Power Mac G5 – August 10, 2006
Apple unveils new ‘Mac Pro’ featuring quad 64-bit Intel Xeon processors – August 07, 2006
Hey, I gots me an idea – let’s just shoot Kahney and while we’re at it let’s just shoot all them Winders users and then, what the hell, let’s just shoot our own damn selves.
Bo Diddle,
You’re nuts. This site is GREAT whether you agree with them or not. I can’t look away!
Allow me to clarify my earlier post. I will agree that MDN does a good job of pointing out the political bootlicking Kahney is doing when he says he “abhors guns”. If MDN left the comment at that it would be easy to see their point and agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately that 3rd MDN Take paragraph is preceded by 2 paragraphs that sound like the nitpicking rantings of a lunatic. Axe the first two paragraphs, they’re not necessary to make your point in the third paragraph.
My overall point was why are we ripping this guy on a tiny issue like his gun analogy when he’s trying to be complimentary of the Mac Pro? Can’t we pick our battles a little here people? Forest. . . trees. Forest . . . trees. Let’s focus on the forest.
I abhor gun nuts.
To Bobby: the US didn’t win its freedoms “by citizens wielding their guns in the face of an unreasonable foreign government”. They won it by wielding their guns in the face of their OWN government: they were all born and raised as British subjects, and that’s what they considered themselves to be.
We don’t have the 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms because the Founding Fathers were worried about foreign governments. They wanted to make sure we could fight back if our OWN government turns tyrannical, as theirs had.
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force, and like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” — George Washington
And at a time when the federal government is larger and more intrusive than Washington could ever have imagined, and the President claims the right to spy on Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, and to imprison Americans and others for life without trial, well, I think Washington was right. Damn right.
Keep your powder dry.
Anus bingo thru!
I agree with MDN. Why do we need to find out Kahney’s position on gun control when we’re reading an article about an Apple computer? Talk about off-topic political tripe.
And what’s this about Safari being incredibly slow? Obviously he can’t imagine that this is normal. Plenty of other people have reported lightning-fast Safari usage on Intel Macs. This is something I hate about computer reviewers — when they have a one-off technical problem, they often act like its an inherent design flaw.
Just another indication Wired Magazine has a lousy editorial department.
“You know why there’s a Second Amendment? In case the government fails to follow the first one.”
– Rush Limbaugh
Here comes the Big Red One–I see the M1-A2’s in the lead–wife, bring me my musket so that I may protect our freedoms!!
“Sarah…Sarah doctor in the house? I need happy pills…”
– Rush Limbaugh*
*that might not be true
It’s quite clear that he abhors Mac violence.
There are guns that are genuinely dual-use and there are guns that can have no other purpose than to be used as weapons against people.
Anybody who thinks a Mac-9 has a mission as a precision firearm is deluded; this kind of weapon has a single use and we all know what that purpose is.
In 2004, there were over 11,000 gun-related homicides in the USA and that doesn’t include gun-related suicides or accidents to children. Other countries manage to train competitive and successful participants in pistol and rifle shooting and they don’t have anything like the rates of gun-related death and injury which the USA suffers.
Kahney is right: it is possible to abhor an object and yet be entranced by its aesthetics. As I said here a couple of days ago, I hate what the Rockwell B-1 Lancer was designed to do and yet I’m fascinated by the way it looks. This is a contrast to something like the A-10 Warthog, where you can understand the purpose (even though the munitions are an environmental and public health timebomb), yet want to gouge your own eyes out if you gaze on its startlingly ugly visage.
I got your WMDs right here, Kahney.
For what it’s worth, one of the most interesting things to come out of the Israeli/Lebanon action of the last few weeks were the Iranian missiles that blew the s**t out of several of the main Israeli (and US) battle tank-the M1-A2. It’s relative battlefield invicibility may be over.
What a waste! I come here to read about Macs, not to have MDN change the subject to guns.
My favorite handgun is the .44 Magnum. It really is a hand cannon — it redefines the experience. Kinda like the G5’s when they first came out.
DanielN,
MDN didn’t “change the subject to guns,” Kahney needlessly introduced the subject of guns.
That is MDN’s whole point.
Best two comments so far:
“Those who criticize the MDN “Take” as unnecessary need to realize that had Kahney not stupidly injected his article with the unnecessary line, the MDN “Take” would not exist.” – Logical Mind
“MDN didn’t “change the subject to guns,” Kahney needlessly introduced the subject of guns. That is MDN’s whole point.” – Fact
Waaahh!!! Waaahh! Boo hoo!!! If the libtards take my guns, my two-inch pecker will fall off! Waahh! Boo hoo!
Jeez. MacDailyNews seriously needs to focus on, well, Mac daily news. Leave the political commentary to the extremists over at DemocraticUnderground and FreeRepublic.
Well, I own guns, and prefer they not be used in violence except in defense [including defense against tyranny], but I read Kahney’s statement a little differently. Was the phrase unnecessary? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps he perceived the need to preemptively protect himself from the inevitable anti-gun-nut attacks if he did not clarify that he doesn’t like guns, but merely admires their craftsmanship. Whatever. It’s still a pro-Mac article, and if it’s written by a chicken-$hit, so be it. Let’s go down a different path: which pistol is the Mac Pro most like? H&K? Beretta? Hammerlich? Glock? SiG? Ruger? Kimber? S&W? Wilson? For me, it’s a toss-up between the Beretta and the H&K.
Kahney States:
I’ll use it mostly for e-mail and photos of my kids, and I’m wondering if I’ve overindulged my needs.
and then turns around and offers up a piece of flamebait:
I had to add another 2 GB of RAM just to make it useable.
I’d have to say the man knows nothing about computers if he has to buy a workhorse like the Mac Pro w/3 GB or RAM just for email and photos.
Kahney you’re such a dickwadd. Send the Mac Pro back to Apple. For all your computing prowess, you could get by with a 300 dollar dell.
anyone who’s even discussing the right or wrong or intent of this “aboring guns” statement is a freaking weenie. I mean really –who gives a flying fsck?!? everone check your heads and read the thread (even half of it). you sound like 14y/o boys pretending to have facial hair… which is fscked… cuz I know some of you do have facial hair…
“Those who criticize the MDN “Take” as unnecessary need to realize that had Kahney not stupidly injected his article with the unnecessary line, the MDN “Take” would not exist.” – Logical Mind
“MDN didn’t “change the subject to guns,” Kahney needlessly introduced the subject of guns. That is MDN’s whole point.” – Fact
The two best statements to some people, the two statements that illustrate MDN’s instability at times, not to mention the bootlickers who support the instability. The point of criticizing MDN’s Take is to point out that it wasn’t necessary for MDN to act like a nitpicking ass for no reason. MDN’s take on this article was just as ridiculous and unnecessary as the gun comment in the article. Overall he was being complimentary and all MDN could do was find some minute flaw. Jeez, shut the hell up and let the Mac Pro take a compliment. It’s asshole nitpicking like this that gives Mac users a bad name.
Let’s try to see the big picture here, huh?
“abhorring finely-crafted machines that are also used for hunting (controlling overpopulation, for you Libs)”
Yeah, shooting doves for example is REALLY needed. The darn dove population is just killing this country. Give me a break. Killing is killing. Hunting is a sick sport. Oh, that’s right, it’s not a sport because in sports BOTH sides know they are in a game!!!!
”’Rock on”’ MDN!