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State of the Union press gallery “looks like a damn Apple ad,” observes political reporter

We’re used to seeing row upon row of Macbooks at tech press events, but the popularity of Apple’s laptop seems equally strong among mainstream journalists. The Huffington Post’s senior congressional reporter Michael McAuliff tweeted that the press gallery at last night’s State of the Union address “looks like a damn Apple ad.”

By far the majority of the laptops visible in the photo of the press gallery above the House floor have the familiar glowing Apple logo.

[tweet https://twitter.com/mmcauliff/status/557715212858839040]

The White House also embraced technology by posting the full text of the speech as a blog post on Medium before the President got up to speak. As last year, though, there were few references to technology in the address, the main one urging Congress “to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information.”

Microsoft also had to look out at a sea of glowing Apple logos when launching Windows 10 …

[tweet https://twitter.com/AustenAllred/status/558029756277743616/]

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Comments

  1. standardpull - 10 years ago

    It seems unlikely that Congrss will pass any laws to protect privacy. With cash cows such as Google working hard to lobby for massive corporate surveillance, along with a military-state mentality, members of congress will find it financially and politically advantageous to turn a blind eye towards this practice.

  2. figshta - 10 years ago

    I saw it too. My screen capture looks the same!

  3. weakguy - 10 years ago

    Ha, I didn’t even notice that.

  4. Tommy Woerner - 10 years ago

    what do you expect, it’s the only computers on the planet that work

    • poldev - 10 years ago

      Do you even know what you’re talking about?

      • towamp - 10 years ago

        I’m pretty sure he does and that’s coming for a guy who’s pretty much breaths IT and has been around computers since 1988.

  5. Leif Paul Ashley - 10 years ago

    Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do…

    • rettun1 - 10 years ago

      If only republicans in congress could get their hands on Macs and do that…. They certainly seem to be crazy enough

      • jimhillhouse - 10 years ago

        Karl Rove has been a Mac user before 2000. His favorite used to be the MacBook Pro 17″.

      • jrox16 - 10 years ago

        Well now I hate Karl Rove just a little bit less. :)

  6. shareef777 - 10 years ago

    Um, that’s cause Apple products have always been popular with writers (as you mentioned tech PRESS events). It’s really any press event and you’ll see plenty of Macs. Go into a corporate office though, and they become scarce. Though that’s definetly changing of the past couple years are any indicator. The BYOD movement is helping tremendously.

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      The corporate office won’t be run on Macs because they are too expensive to outfit in very large organizations. But the individual employees might have them and prefer them.

      • shareef777 - 10 years ago

        Enough of that ‘they’re too expensive’. The only reason a corporate office wouldn’t hand out a Mac is because of application/software requirements. With everything being moved to the cloud and readily accessible via any browser that reason is no longer valid. MacBook Airs are well within budget for most competent IT teams.

  7. TechPeeve (@TechPeeve) - 10 years ago

    Looks more like the 1984 ad

  8. b9bot - 10 years ago

    Maybe it looks like an Apple Ad because most people want things like that. Especially more help for the middle class.

  9. jrox16 - 10 years ago

    That’s the difference between Apple and its competition. Apple doesn’t need to hire spokespeople or cut deals for corporate sponsorship. Apple enjoys tons of free marketing organically, because people actually love their products.

    THIS is a case in point, so is the fact that the NFL was using iPads because they wanted to on their own before Microsoft made a deal to push the Surface into their hands, pro surfers who sponsor Samsung but use iPhones (as evidenced by their tweets), etc. Apple didn’t hand hundreds of free iPhones to the Olympians or Ellen at the Oscars… Apple pretty much does non of this type of marketing. When you see their products in real life, it’s usually natural.
    It’s also a myth that Macs are only for writers or publishers or artists. Engineers and scientists use them plenty. Sure, CERN is run on Linux and Windows, but that’s because massive organizations can’t afford to outfit all Apple stuff, but individual scientists/engineers do.

    NASA:
    https://macdailynews.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/120806_nasa_macs.jpg

    CERN:
    https://sugoru.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/cern2-2.png?w=651

    CERN:
    http://www.mac-tv.de/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3220&stc=1&d=1258794305

  10. bobbenedetti - 10 years ago

    Apple portable devices seem to be the most popular. I often check what is connected to the wi/fi network on the Montreal/Toronto Via train and over two thirds are always Apple devices

  11. Pierre Calixte - 10 years ago

    Apple products are status symbols.

    if you can afford a Benz why wouldn’t you buy a Benz and show off your money.

    • berdelyi - 10 years ago

      There are people that own MacBooks and cover them in stickers. Owning a MacBook is not about showing off your money… it’s about enjoying the experience (the same reason why people would likely want to drive a Benz as well).

    • jrox16 - 10 years ago

      The “Apple stuff is only to show off status” argument doesn’t hold water. For instance, most people shove their iPhones into cases which hide the logo and back completely. Most people buy Apple products because they love how they work and feel, and they don’t care about the “status symbol” aspect, especially since everyone around them is using an iPhone and Macbook anyway.

  12. ‘There were few references to technology in the address, the main one urging Congress “to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information.”’

    Sorry, I must have missed the memo about net neutrality having become chopped liver.

  13. Jim - 10 years ago

    Many people enjoy the build quality of the mac. The operating system is terrible when it comes to the needs of enterprise users. In my own company everyone who uses a mac also uses fusion to run windows on these same macs. My opinion is that it’s about the build quality of the hardware and not the OS.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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