Apple and Al

March 19, 2003 3:02 PM

Oh, but to imagine what could have been. "I have been particularly impressed with the new Mac OS X operating system and the company's commitment to the open source movement."
posted by The Jesse Helms (28 comments total)

Wow Helms, you beat me to the punch by 2 seconds. Nice.

I am an avid supporter of Apple, but this is one of their more bone-headed moves.

Apple needs good corporate governors with solid business saavy and influence - NOT politicos.

Maybe Apple is hoping that Gore's title of "Inventor of the Internet" will help it out a bit. Sheesh.
posted by tgrundke at 3:05 PM on March 19, 2003

bill gates demands a re-count.
posted by bhayes82 at 3:18 PM on March 19, 2003

Rather, I'm expecting Gore to announce he invented the apple.
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:31 PM on March 19, 2003

How bizzare.

It would make sense if we were talking about MS, who needs government support to maintain it's position, but apple hasn't really been ragged on by the gub'mint.

Oh well.
posted by delmoi at 3:33 PM on March 19, 2003

What happens when the inventor of the internet and the inventor of the GUI pair up? Do they invent pink elephants?
posted by shepd at 3:38 PM on March 19, 2003

Actually, as I see it, Gore went to Apple to get Steve Jobs on his side. Next thing you know, the Jobs "Reality Distortion Field" will have us all convinced that we did, in fact, elect Gore to the Presidency...

No. Really.

;-)
posted by tgrundke at 3:42 PM on March 19, 2003

Snopes: Gore never said he invented the internet.

Isn't George W. Bush also a Mac user?
posted by MiG at 3:46 PM on March 19, 2003

Hey tgundke, is that "Reality Distortion Field" what's making shepd think Jobs invented the GUI? ;-)
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:48 PM on March 19, 2003

I wonder what Rush Limbaugh will have to say about this. Maybe this is a plan by Steve Jobs to drive him away from the Mac.
posted by gyc at 3:49 PM on March 19, 2003

Gore's Congressional work on the internet makes him a useful pick-up. The irony being that Bush was (and may still be) an Mac user.
posted by riviera at 3:53 PM on March 19, 2003

I've always thought Gore was at his most palatable when he was being a nerd, actually. I remember being impressed with his interview in Red Herring from October, 2000.
posted by tingley at 3:56 PM on March 19, 2003

Gorefilter
posted by blue_beetle at 4:02 PM on March 19, 2003

Here's Vint Cerf's statement supporting Al Gore's statements with regard to supporting legislation to bring the Internet to the public:

http://www1.ietf.org/mail-archive/ietf/Current/msg04225.html
posted by Space Coyote at 4:04 PM on March 19, 2003

Actually, Rush Limbaugh got more votes from board members than Gore got, but Steve Jobs decreed that three Limbaugh voters had cast their ballots by raising their left hands instead of their right hands, and two more raised their hands only halfway, so Jobs declared Gore the winner.
posted by Holden at 4:14 PM on March 19, 2003

Snopes: Gore never said he invented the internet.

Gore: "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
posted by Dennis Murphy at 4:22 PM on March 19, 2003

So much for Apple's image as an exciting company :-)
posted by clevershark at 4:32 PM on March 19, 2003

As a member of the U.S. Congress 25 years ago, he popularized the term “Information Superhighway,” and was instrumental in fighting for federal funds to assist in building what later became the Internet.

Okay, not the most objective of sources...
posted by Guy Smiley at 4:33 PM on March 19, 2003

Does Bush actually know how to use a computer? Hard to believe. Maybe we could get him to switch to a peecee. My iMac feels contaminated now.
posted by gordian knot at 4:36 PM on March 19, 2003

I hope to see videos edited by Al Gore on the Quicktime site soon. I hope his work is artsy.
posted by tomharpel at 4:36 PM on March 19, 2003

I'm sick of that endlessly-repeated and thoroughly sniggered-to-death joke about Gore claiming to have invented the Internet. It's obvious from the context that he is talking solely about "the Internet" as a social phenomenon and global communications utility, and not making any claims about having participated in the development of the technology. He wasn't talking to techies. He was talking to the general public, who barely knew computers even existed before 1990, and he certainly did take the initiative in creating "the Internet" as they know it.
posted by Mars Saxman at 5:46 PM on March 19, 2003

I would assume that if Bush is actually a Mac user, that he is simply attracted by the pretty colors.
posted by padraigin at 5:51 PM on March 19, 2003

No, he just eats a lot of fruit and loves Apples
posted by matteo at 6:08 PM on March 19, 2003

'm sick of that endlessly-repeated and thoroughly sniggered-to-death joke about Gore claiming to have invented the Internet. It's obvious from the context that he is talking solely about "the Internet" as a social phenomenon and global communications utility, and not making any claims about having participated in the development of the technology. He wasn't talking to techies. He was talking to the general public, who barely knew computers even existed before 1990, and he certainly did take the initiative in creating "the Internet" as they know it.

I don't really buy that argument. I think a simple explanation is that politicians tend to self-aggrandize and take credit for all sorts of things. It's no different than any of us puffing up our resumes.
posted by gyc at 6:16 PM on March 19, 2003

Al Gore worked to pass initiatives that made the internet available to non-military entities. So that means he kinda did have a hand in inventing the internet. Surprisingly (?), there is a far more intelligent discussion about this on slashdot right now...
posted by ejoey at 6:31 PM on March 19, 2003

Oh man, the punchline potential here is HUGE.

My first thought was an Al Gore "Switch" ad:

[white background, happy banjo plinking background music]

[Full bearded, glassy eyed Al Gore stands in foreground wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and a green t-shirt]

[Gore speaks in slow, measured, robotic monotone]

I was campaigning for the presidency of the United States of America. Votes were being tabulated and I was ready to accept my victory when there was a problem with Florida.

[Gore makes beeping, judicial process noises]

Long story short... I lost the election. It was a really good election.

I'm Al Gore and I'm an Apple user.

[apple.com/switch tagline]
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:52 PM on March 19, 2003

"Invented", "took the intiative in creating the internet".. difference? technically.

I want one of these new new lock boxes.
posted by tomplus2 at 8:53 PM on March 19, 2003

On the inventing the internet derail: when did internet protocol (IP) become the predominant method of transferring data via the net? I seem to recall reading that Gore had plenty to do with the dollars and infrastructure that led that to happening (thus, perhaps, creating the "internet"), but I can't seem to find the link right now. Feel free to slap me down; I'm really asking.
posted by Gilbert at 9:38 PM on March 19, 2003

New Power Mac start up chime!(swf, 20 KB)
posted by Scoo at 9:15 AM on March 20, 2003