“U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson termed the launch of Apple Computers [sic] in Lahore today ‘a landmark of American investors’ confidence’ in Pakistan.,” DAWN reports.
“‘Information technology, especially in the personal computer sector, has grown phenomenally in Pakistan,’ she said at a function. ‘The combination of internationally competitive costs and high-speed connectivity make Pakistan an attractive destination for IT investment.'”
Source The DAWN Blog.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Samir” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s list of retail stores does not currently show a location in Pakistan which leads us to guess that this is a third-party store. As we publish this, Apple has not yet responded to our inquiry about this new store.
[UPDATE: 2:50pm EDT: Italian language Website setteB.IT is reporting that the store is a Raffles Computers store, a Premium Reseller, not an Apple Store. It is located near the India border. And, the US Ambassador and the Managing Director of Apple South Asia were there to open the store. More via Google Italian to English translation, with a photo of the ribbon cutting in the store, here.]
The first Taliban store ???
Why do I see something sad about this? I fear that either the store will be bombed as a symbol of American imperialism, or some very evil people will use an iPhone to set off a bomb.
It’s sad that my first reaction to this story would be the above.
I find it interesting how software titles there have to be culturally appropriate — TurbanTax, for example.
lol i wonder what they store looks like
you are a bunch of pessimists – coming from the only country that has used a nuclear bomb – hiroshima anyone!
Oh good. Now bin Laden can get one.
Yeah, but maybe bin laden won’t be as frustrated anymore with a system that won’t blue-screen on him in the middle of a transsfusion
@get over it
get over it
@get over it,
You’d rather be speaking and writing in German or Japanese?
You wouldn’t be able to freely communicate today. Get over it x 100
So let’s see if I have this right: A US company sells Chinese made computers containing Israeli-designed CPUs in an Islamic country many of whose citizens want to destroy the US.
Isn’t this a good thing? We’re trusting these people with Macs (the best computers ever) so surely it’s looking on the up side! Or maybe not…
sweet! Now Osama will get a Mac and all his bitterness towards the west, that grew from decades of using Microsoft products, will dry up and disappear! He’ll be hunting Mexicans with Cheney in no time!
@Raymond
I think you summed it up nicely. Not too many people would have picked up on the IDC connection either.
As a Canadian, I’m very disturbed by some of these comments.
No, no, no. Like everywhere else, they only sell to people who aren’t evil. They ask everyone as they enter the store.
Hey, maybe but only for the iPhones going to Pakistan, they can put in some code in the iPhone that only Apple can control to remotely and surepticiously activates the camera. But then again, that would mean we might make some headway in capturing more of the terrorists… hmmm.
You have it right, Raymond.
And on top of that I can imagine working the GB and some sheepherder comes in with a busted iPod and the damage is not covered under warranty.
Next thing you know he’s screaming something about “God is great!” before blowing himself up, taking the entire store with him.
Glad not to be working (Apple) retail anymore!
You know who doesn’t deserve Macs? The French. And the Quebecois.
The French and the Quebecois do not deserve Macs.
The first atomic bombs were used to save lives, killing far fewer people than would have died during an invasion. The next use of atomic bombs will be horror on a scale that will dwarf the two first AND a WWII invasion of Japan.
Well if he gets a Mac, maybe his videos will be a little better quality. Better detail on the background for example.
We all deserve macs.
@ @get over it
This is subject to debate, as most historic events.
Still, the argument hold some weight, though Japan was “lucky” in that “Fat Man” (a plutonium-based design much more powerful than Hiroshima’s “Little Boy”) more or less missed it’s main target and didn’t detonate in the center of the city.
It would have eradicated the whole city and pushed the death-toll over a “critical mass”, so to speak that might have started a debate “at home”, even back then.
Also, I don’t think that anybody is going to detonate a nuclear weapon in “enemy’s territory” nowadays – not even the US.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” /> So, like “Mr. North-Corea”, Kim-Jong-Il, they just keep the soup cooking but never let it overboil, so to speak.
For typical terrorists, the logistics, physics and engineering is too much, for terrorist-supporting states, the risk of retaliation (equaling extinction) doesn’t outweigh the costs.
Dictators *love* to reign, they are no martyrs
And: dirty bombs are just that: some dirt, but not much harm. It’s mostly terror.
You should worry more about other things (depletion of natural resources, extinction of species, waste, pollution etc.pp.)
@You know… — I like the French, as well as the Quebecois. Speak for yourself!
All this talk of Pakistan gets me in the mood for Pakistani/Indian food!
I’ve visited Lahore several times and spent a month there last year. It is a city of over ten million people and most of them are just like us…they want things to work. I’m glad they have access to macs…..because the alternative are windows machines loaded with pirated software that is often laden with malware.
Evil people why are you against Canadian people???
Just look at the negative comments made by you people, don’t you think you are the biggest “Evil” in the world. Just go through the history and you will see the truth.
Who killed thousands of innocent people in Japan? Who killed thousands of innocent people in Bosnia? Who killed thousands of innocent people in Vietnam? ………. Etc.
And now who is killing innocent people in Iraq?
All of your problems are created by your own people. You people create the situation, so you can attack on a country.
All of you are brainwashed by the media and you ignorant people do Not want to know the truth.
I checked this particular subject out only to see how soon it deteriorated into a discussion of politics.
To those of you who wake up every day and let your lives be guided by who is president, yada, yada, yada: (wow, I never thought I would purposely use a pop culture phrase, but here it goes:) GET A LIFE!!!!!!!
Run your own life! You really think someone has the time, or cares, enough to spy on your phone calls and all that other crap that you of the political species obsess over? They do care about terrorists making phone calls from the US to their wacko buddies in the sandbox. They should!
Oh well, since I am here: read about the treatment of civilians in Shanghai, the Philipines, thousands of other places by the Japanese and tell me about innocent people.
My father was on a ship waiting for the invasion of Japan in order to put an end to all that. The bomb saved millions of lives. Does that mean that we should, or need to use it now? No. But that will not prevent the Iranians from doing it as soon as they are capable.
Hey, I drive a Japanese car, no problem with them now, they behave themselves and build good stuff because we gave them their country back from the wackos who controlled it.
The odds are that my father, one of the most gentle decent people on the face of the earth, who enlisted before Pearl Harbor because he understood the flow of history, may not have survived the invasion of Japan, so I would not be here now.
Some of you may applaud that. Ask me if I care what you think.
Canada? I worked security at a National Guard base last summer. We had an exercise where about 5,000 soldiers from 10 countries took part in counter-terrorism training. I saw some great people from several countries in that training and got to know their attitudes and formed some fairly definite ideas about the degree to which I would trust each one to “watch my back,”
Or even marry my daughter! My son-in law came back from Afghanistan a few months ago. Helping build schools,etc in his non-duty time, etc.
I will give you my opinion on that based upon that experience. This does not apply to Canadian WWII vets and others who know who they are. That opinion is: We have to protect you because most of you are physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and motivationally not capable of protecting yourselves.
The same is true of many Americans, but you Canadians just happen to be the subject here.
The thing is, we will still defend you even though many of you hold us in contempt. That is what duty is all about.
Have a nice day.