back to article Apple strips clips of WWDC devs booing that $999 monitor stand from the web using copyright claims. Fear not, you can listen again here...

Apple's focus on privacy, if you're not in China that is, now extends to its events, at least the embarrassing moments. The techno-glam-gear and services giant has demanded the removal of YouTube-hosted video excerpts of its live-streamed developer conference keynote. The offending clips captured crowd discontent – some booing …

  1. A Non e-mouse Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Streisand Effect

    See title.

    1. steviebuk Silver badge

      Re: Streisand Effect

      So true. Has their PR department never heard of that?

      1. NoneSuch Silver badge
        Coffee/keyboard

        On The Up Side...

        Apple would have taken the vids down faster, but they couldn't find the right lead.

      2. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: Streisand Effect

        Has any PR department heard of that? While I'm certain PR at large has been able to quash many discussions, they keep doing mindbogglingly stupid things that backfire horribly. One would think this could be covered in the first PR class taken.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Streisand Effect

      Sorry I've got to ask, but what is this Streisand effect you're talking about?

      1. sal II

        Re: Streisand Effect

        Some time ago Barbara Streisand attempted to suppress some photos from being published, instead the ruckus only drew more attention to them.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

      2. Korev Silver badge

        Re: Streisand Effect

        Why the downvotes? Not knowing something and asking to find out is a good thing surely?

        1. Spacedinvader
          Stop

          Re: Streisand Effect

          Not selecting the text and searching the internet isn't...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Streisand Effect

            Sorry I've got to ask, but what is this Internet you're talking about?

            1. m0rt

              Re: Streisand Effect

              LMDDGTFY

              https://duckduckgo.com/?q=what+is+the+internet

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: what is this Internet you're talking about?

              It's where people used to look for browser-based infotainment before WGA took over.

              WGA? Walled Garden Apps. You can get it onscreen, but you can never share it.

              Yes it's a bit like Windows Genuine Advantage, except less useful.

            3. tomban
              Coat

              Re: what is this Internet you're talking about?

              It's like, a series of tubes.

            4. julian abbs

              Re: Streisand Effect

              The Internet

              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbyYGrswtg

            5. Bill Gray

              Re: Streisand Effect

              It's where codependent and emotionally stunted people e-mail things while they drive. (Irony of expressing this sentiment via the Internet duly noted.)

            6. STOP_FORTH

              Whooshing effect

              What is that noise?

              Also, well played - twice!

    3. katrinab Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Streisand Effect

      Also: Fair Use

      A short clip of a video in a review of a product / event is permitted under copyright law.

    4. baud

      Re: Streisand Effect

      Regarding the Streisand Effect, I've always wondered if it's always effective: what if there are time the effect doesn't work and no one hear anything about it (because the information was successfully suppressed)

      1. Myvekk

        Re: Streisand Effect

        It's rather like the question I read:

        "What if every country has ninjas, but we only know about the Japanese ones, because theirs are crap?"

        1. STOP_FORTH
          Pirate

          Re: Streisand Effect

          That's a great question.

          What if every country had ninjas but they were eliminated by the pirates?

          Except in Japan, because their pirates were crap?

  2. bob42

    Hello, Streisand?

    Move along, nothing to see here

    1. Schultz
      Facepalm

      Nothing to see...

      just some small supplies for 49.99, 59.99, and 9.99.

      I like how Apple prepares us for the time when the US currency will loose a few zeros (following the example of Venezuela et al.).

      Clearly, Apple sells product from the Future and if you account for a few decades of inflation, the price looks allright. Seriously.

      1. A K Stiles

        Re: Nothing to see...

        Had me confused too (listening to the audio only).

        I didn't really hear what was being offered for 49.99 or 59.99 and only when he got to the 'special' mount for "nine ninety nine!" did I realise he was talking in hundreds!

      2. Myvekk

        Re: Nothing to see...

        That would explain the secret mission of the Terminator!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxiJadct3Wo

  3. Richard Scratcher

    Palpable

    I didn't watch the live stream - but around that time I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out "What The Fsck!".

    I feared something terrible had happened.

    1. sorry, what?
      FAIL

      Re: Palpatine

      Absolutely no surprises here whatsoever - all Apple hardware is overpriced. As attested by their company valuation. Money doesn't grow on trees, but is collected via the Apple Tax.

      1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

        Re: Palpatine

        ”...all Apple hardware is overpriced“

        Sales records would appear to indicate they’ve accurately judged what people are prepared to pay. And given that a product is ‘worth’ exactly what people will pay for it, no more and no less, your statement is incorrect.

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: Palpatine

          No, Elpuss. You are talking about what the market will bear, not the value of the product. Two completely different things. For example, tulip bulbs were vastly overpriced in the mid 1630s, despite suckers being willing to pay a small fortune for a single bulb.

          1. BebopWeBop

            Re: Palpatine

            Yes, I think you are right - it is the difference between cost and value. Now I happen to believe that my shinies are good value - if expensive, but that is based on rather more than 'just' the hardware. Other peoples mileage does vary, the economists have an amusing explanation that involves the relation between perceived value and cost (as exhibited by luxury goods around the world)

          2. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

            Re: Palpatine

            @Jake

            What the market will bear *is* the value of the product; no more, no less. Basic economics 101. It’s a philosophy that’s made De Beers very rich indeed.

            1. juice

              Re: Palpatine

              > What the market will bear *is* the value of the product; no more, no less. Basic economics 101. It’s a philosophy that’s made De Beers very rich indeed

              De Beers became very rich from a combination of clever marketing, a distinctly dodgy and abusive production pipeline (blood diamonds, anyone?), price fixing and active disinformation campaigns against their rivals (e.g. artificial diamonds).

              So personally, I wouldn't use them as a shining example of basic economics, unless the example you're looking for is "corrupt capitalism 101".

              1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

                Re: Palpatine

                @juice

                ”De Beers became very rich from a combination of clever marketing, a distinctly dodgy and abusive production pipeline (blood diamonds, anyone?), price fixing and active disinformation campaigns against their rivals (e.g. artificial diamonds).“

                All true, but that’s talking about how they created their market. They may be a viciously unethical company, but how a market was created has nothing to do with the definition of economic ‘worth’ of a product or service.

            2. Alan Brown Silver badge

              Re: Palpatine

              "What the market will bear *is* the value of the product"

              The best example of this isn't De Beers. It's something much closer to our day to day lives: MONEY.

              The pieces of paper in our pocket have value _precisely_ because we all agree that they do, Even their metallic "equivalents" only have as much value as we are willing to give them.

              Right now gold is changing hands for around $42k/kg, whilst platinum and palladium are going for about $44-45k/kg - normally the latter two are worth twice what gold is and they haven't changed in value much, so at some point, something's going to "give way", just like that bitcoin bubble finally did.

              Things aren't helped by there being an estimated three times as much gold being traded at any given instant as actually exists. When things break there are going to be an awful lot of burned investors and from what I can see a lot of them speak Mandarin.

            3. jake Silver badge

              Re: Palpatine

              The difference is that DeBeers doesn't sell mass-produced electronics. Diamonds actually are rare. Apple products? Not so much.

              Apple drives the prices higher than the actual value of the product, and the adoring fanbois happily feed the shareholders' jones.

              1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

                Re: Palpatine

                ”The difference is that DeBeers doesn't sell mass-produced electronics. Diamonds actually are rare. Apple products? Not so much.

                Apple drives the prices higher than the actual value of the product, and the adoring fanbois happily feed the shareholders' jones.“

                Diamonds are a lot less rare than you think; De Beers, Rio Tinto and that Russian mob have stockpiled them for years in order to create scarcity and drive prices up. Come on Jake, I’d have thought you’d have known that.

              2. Kiwi

                Re: Palpatine

                Diamonds actually are rare.

                No, actually they're pretty common. What is rare are those who can sell them. And what is also rare is anyone who will get a decent resale value on any they have. Go to a jeweller, buy a $5,000 diamond. Go back the next day and see if you can even get a tenner for it. You'd be lucky if they were to exchange it for an equivalent chunk of broken glass.

                1. jake Silver badge

                  Re: Palpatine

                  "No, actually they're pretty common."

                  Aye, common as muck they are. I use 'em as ballast for me boat, and I paved my drive with them. So many around here we pay people to take 'em away.

                  1. Kiwi
                    Facepalm

                    Re: Palpatine

                    Aye, common as muck they are. I use 'em as ballast for me boat, and I paved my drive with them. So many around here we pay people to take 'em away.

                    A little research goes a very long way....

            4. EveryTime

              Re: Palpatine

              Yes, it's economics 101, where every concept is simplified to the point of inapplicability.

              Consumers will often buy, and sometimes pay vastly extra, based on a brand name. The market isn't valuing the product highly, they are paying extra for the brand value

              It's a logical decision: when a product is too complicated to evaluate, you don't have an informed marketplace. The efficient substitution is to rely on brand: the price premium is justified because the consumer is assured that the product is useful, well made, and the company will stand behind it.

              When you start abusing your customers by selling them $50 stands for $1K, you start enter a risky territory. Perhaps your customers perceive the brand as more desirable because it's more of a luxury good. But most likely they will come to realize that you are just overcharging, and the value of the brand will crash. They aren't going to buy the next $2K widget that comes out, even if it's worth $2K, because the brand no longer substitutes for extensive product research.

              1. Kiwi

                Re: Palpatine

                The market isn't valuing the product highly, they are paying extra for the brand value

                Hence why I will never buy apple - I don't see their products as 'well made' and I don't value the brand.

                Many years back (OS9 or early OSX days) a friend owned a Mac. He was insanely protective of it and did everything he knew how to protect it. No one else could so much as jiggle the mouse without his oversight.

                The GUI was locked up tighter than a virginal flea, but the underlying BSD-based OS was at the default level of wide open When I had his dialup IP (found via chatting with him on ICQ) I was able to walk straight in (ssh IIRC, but maybe telnet) with full root privs. I did tighten things up for him while there (and left a marker to prove what I was saying, in the form of a text file on his desktop). Any one else who was 'port scanning' would've had the same level of access, although port-scanning in them days would've been rather slow (but probably higher returns given the equally wonderful MS defaults...)

                That hurt the Apple brand in my eyes, and I've not been interested in them since.

                1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

                  Re: Palpatine

                  @kiwi

                  So your point is that 20 years ago you hacked a mate’s computer and that means you won’t touch that brand.

                  If that was your decision criteria then I can safely assume that you don’t own a computer from any brand.

                  1. Kiwi

                    Re: Palpatine

                    So your point is that 20 years ago you hacked a mate’s computer and that means you won’t touch that brand.

                    No I didn't "hack" anything. I heard about how "secure" crApple was - armed guards, autocannons, and a billion savage dogs guarding the front entrance. But several thousand back entrances and not so much as a "authorised personnel only" sign on them.

                    There's lots of other stuff as well, eg the glued-down ribbon sata cables that despite not possibly moving (thus no chance of metal fatigue) would commonly fail on their laptops, multitudes of other interesting engineering solutions to totally ridiculous problems that never should've occurred in the first place.. Cooling problems that'd put HP to shame for "screwup of the decade".

                    Some OK software but crap hardware that was vastly overpriced, and the sort of marketing that turns otherwise intelligent people into slavering imbeciles. (Or does using the crap mess people's brains up?)

                    TL;DR My point is I noticed how bad the product was 20 years ago with appalling security. I've yet to see anything since that would make me even rate the product as "average" let alone "worth 1/3 the price".

              2. This post has been deleted by its author

          3. BigSLitleP

            Re: Palpatine

            There's no point replying to Elpuss. If you look at other comments he's made on other threads, you're not going to make him admit that $999 is a stupid price for a stand. Honestly, it's like talking to an addict. He doesn't have a problem, he's got it under control. YOU'VE got the problem, not him.

            1. vtcodger Silver badge

              Re: Palpatine

              "$999 is a stupid price for a stand"

              Quite possibly. But people pay stupid prices for stuff all the time. In this case, some Apple fanbois will probably buy the thing because it has an Apple logo on it. And realistically, it probably is a high quality $250 monitor stand.

              But I think the major market is probably a small number of high end graphics workstation purchasers. And there you are dealing with folks who are trying to push through a purchase order for a computer costing maybe $30,000 or $40,000 and a monitor in the $5,000 range through the corporate bureaucracy. Who really cares whether the total package comes to $37,619 or $36,869 (per unit)? ... And all the hardware comes from the same vendor -- which cuts down on the work for Purchasing whose job is is to execute the P.O. not to question the need for the stuff.

              1. Naselus

                Re: Palpatine

                "But I think the major market is probably a small number of high end graphics workstation purchasers."

                I don't, the users in that market mostly use fully-repositionable monitor arms, which are not only about an eighth of the price of this stand, but are considerably more useful.

                This is aimed, mostly, at the "I Want A Shiny" exec crowd, who simply MUST use Outlook on a 6k screen and so must also have a $999 monitor stand to hold it on.

                1. This post has been deleted by its author

                  1. Zack Mollusc

                    Re: Palpatine

                    Quite right. That is why execs alway save the shareholders money by driving used cars, flying economy class etc.

                  2. jake Silver badge

                    Re: Palpatine

                    "All execs answer to somebody, even if it’s the shareholders - and there’s no way $999 would just slip through on expenses unless there’s a damn good reason for having it."

                    I take it you've never seen the inside of an upper-level manager's office in a Fortune 500, then? I've seen coffee makers that cost in excess of $6,000 ... and seriously expensive coffee to match. The other furnishings in such offices are similar. All on company expense.

                    And no, this is not a one-off. It's the norm.

              2. JohnFen

                Re: Palpatine

                "But people pay stupid prices for stuff all the time."

                That doesn't make it (or the people who are willing to pay it) any less stupid.

                1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

                  Re: Palpatine

                  ”That doesn't make it (or the people who are willing to pay it) any less stupid.“

                  Not stupid, just not... you.

            2. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

              Re: Palpatine

              To me, with my use case, $999 is not something I’d ever consider paying. Others might see the value. If enough people see the value and pay the money, it’s worth it. If they don’t, it won’t sell and clearly wasn’t worth it. Time will tell.

              It’s really not that difficult to understand.

              1. JohnFen

                Re: Palpatine

                I can't imagine any use case that would justify that price tag, no matter how well-funded you are. That's difficult to understand.

          4. Alan Brown Silver badge

            Re: Palpatine

            Another example being Remington Shavers.

            Victor "I bought the company" Kiam doubled the price of the things, correctly judging that they were undervalued and their low price was putting consumers off - at the new, higher price and with better marketing, sales ballooned and turned Remington around from a struggling maker that had been spun off from Remington Rand.

        2. TVU Silver badge

          Re: Palpatine

          "Sales records would appear to indicate they’ve accurately judged what people are prepared to pay"

          The last time I checked, smartphone and tablet sales were pretty much flatlining because of market saturation (certainly in developed countries and increasingly in developing countries). Not only that, all these insane prices will do is deter professional users from remaining with, or switching to, Apple products.

          Back in 1637, tulip mania ended very badly and it seems that the current Apple management are intent on following that really bad example. Oh, and just for the record, I want Apple to succeed and thrive in the 21st century not least to provide a rival to Microsoft but the current management and design team really do need a thorough clear out if that is to happen.

          1. Cynic_999

            Re: Palpatine

            Price is a factor of market forces, and value is in the eye of the beholder. What might be good value for one person is a pile of crap to another.

            So what if people are paying a premium just for the brand name when similar products are available at 10% of the price? The same could be said of a painting bearing the name "Picasso" that may be very similar to something produced by a schoolboy.

            1. This post has been deleted by its author

            2. trindflo Bronze badge

              Re: Palpatine

              Two problems as I see it.

              Just because someone is willing to buy the product does not mean it is an appropriate price. Tulips have come up as an example. That is the economics 101 argument against ridiculous pricing.

              Second problem is more of a macroeconomics issue. People do things for a variety of reasons, mostly having to do with money and social interests. Abusing your customer base will eventually get you to a tipping point where your company becomes "uncool", the bulk of your fan base vanishes, and you will *never* get them back as they now feel betrayed. This is likely why Apple is so sensitive about this audience reaction; they know they are dancing on the precipice.

        3. vtcodger Silver badge

          Re: Palpatine

          Ah yes, the Efficient Market Theory. The problem being that there is abundant evidence that markets are rarely very efficient. Quite possibly that is because virtually no sane seller wants to operate in an efficient marketplace. They want the maketplace skewed in in their favor and are quite good at achieving that goal through advertising, patents, copyrights, lies, legal tricks, illegal tricks or even outright coercion.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            "patents, copyrights"

            Markets are far less efficient without - as many would withhold information to avoid to be copied - it would just favour those who steal better other people's work.

      2. Cynic_999

        Re: Palpatine

        "

        Money doesn't grow on trees

        "

        Apples don't grow on trees. Erm ... wait ...

        1. brainyguy9999

          Re: Palpatine

          "Money doesn't grow on trees"

          Interesting fact that no one asked about: American paper currency is made of a cotton (75%) and linen (25%) blend. There is actually no tree pulp or paper involved in the process. So indeed, (American) money does not grow on (or of) trees.

          I don't make any claim of knowledge about currency from other countries.

      3. slartybartfast

        Re: Palpatine

        Apple hardware might be very expensive but the only other realistic choice is to buy a PC with Windows 10. Windows 10 is simply awful to use and I’ve seen plenty of videos and comments from PC technicians and other professional users who back this up.

        1. slartybartfast

          Re: Palpatine

          Btw. I’m no fanboy. I’ve used both OS’s. Upgraded a laptop to Win 10 that was a seriously painful experience and it feels like MS are going backwards.

          1. James Hughes 1

            Re: Palpatine

            Just install a VM on WIn10 and run some flavour on Linux. Or just run native Linux.

            It just works, unlike Win10.

            It's not just Win10 or Mac any more.

            1. JJKing
              Facepalm

              Re: Palpatine

              Have they fixed the Hyper-V issue on Windows 10. I believe they borked it around update 1703 and as of 1809 it still wasn't working. Don't believe me.....look on the Microsoft Forums and view the angry posts. WARNING, foul language to be expected.

          2. 9Rune5

            Re: Palpatine

            Upgraded a laptop to Win 10 that was a seriously painful experience

            Don't press so hard on the CD eject button and it will be less painful.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Apple hardware might be very expensive but...

          Butterfly keyboards! And the fact the keyboards themselves are missing 15% of the keys, even on the ones that worked. Nuff said

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Genius move by Apple, every lower to mid level exec and up are going to demand these and start having pointless meetings in their orifices all the time.

  5. notamole
    Trollface

    Sneaky

    Cue Nancy Pelosi: "Apple doesn't really want anyone to buy their stuff. See?"

  6. Sgt_Oddball
    Trollface

    Come now...

    We both know Apple aren't going to respond El Reg.

    This has probably added another 5 years to your sentence for crimes against Apple.

    1. Dabooka
      Happy

      Re: Come now...

      5 years added to 3 consecutive life sentences doesn't really matter that much.

      Keep up the good work, great spectator sport.

  7. Mark 85

    One rule for the monied, one rule for everyone else.

    See title.

    1. Suricou Raven

      Re: One rule for the monied, one rule for everyone else.

      Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: One rule for the monied, one rule for everyone else.

      The very definition of privilege, literally meaning private law

  8. JLV
    FAIL

    This monitor stand idea should see some people fired at Apple. Whoever came up with the pricing and didn’t realize how much of a PR disaster it was going to be.

    It’s really a laughable money grab and gives much ammunition to critics who trash Apple’s cost-benefit. And there’s absolutely no way to disagree here.

    It’s pretty much Apple’s own I Am Rich, down to the price:

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Rich

    1. Wisteela

      Or like normal, they will make up stuff as to why it's worth the price.

      1. Jambo4170

        They already did, something about the engineering to make the monitor appear "weightless"

        And there was me thinking when you buy a stand for a monitor, it's sole purpose is to hold it for you...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          I've read people pointing out how Apple didn't need to build a complex mount mechanism because they developed that outstanding revolutionary technology called "magnetism"...

        2. Psmo

          make the monitor appear "weightless"

          The stand might be that heavy compared to the monitor.

          Sort of like if you're paying 5K for a screen, an extra K is "weightless".

    2. Phil Kingston

      I think it's even more laughable that they'll charge for a VESA adaptor.

      1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

        I think it's even more laughable that they'll charge for a VESA adaptor.“

        The VESA adaptor pricing is actually fair - if they’d done what most other manufacturers do and bundled the desk stand with the VESA mount as an optional extra.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          think of the price of a bundle, if an actual Apple desk were included! I wonder if they've patented the idea of a desk yet? Quick, before Google beat them to it! ;)

          1. Spacedinvader
            Happy

            Rectangle with rounded corners?

            Think they have it covered!

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          It's not a VESA mount, it's a vesa adaptor. Every other manufacturer tends to include the VESA adaptor in the form of some holes.

          Apple require you to pay $200 to add some holes. Even then $200!!! you can an actual VESA desk pivot stand for less than that.

      2. JohnFen

        If they provided the adaptor at a reasonable price, it would probably reduce the number of people who would pony up for the stand.

    3. macjules

      Yeah, whatever will Apple do next? Make a mobile handset out of glass and then laugh at the cannon fodder consumers who buy it and wonder why it breaks?Or perhaps sell broken keyboards with $2500 laptops?

      1. Marcus Fil
        Pint

        @macjules

        It had to be said

    4. illuminatus

      No one has to buy it

      And of course there's a nice opportunity for third parties to offer something more competitive. Besides, it's not like it's a mass market consumer product, is it?

      1. slartybartfast

        Re: No one has to buy it

        ‘it's not like it's a mass market consumer product, is it?’

        It is a silly price but you’re right about it not being a mass market consumer product. I expect the majority of people complaining across social media are either Apple haters looking for any excuse or consumers who simply aren’t the target market for the Mac Pro.

        1. georgezilla Silver badge

          Re: No one has to buy it

          " are either Apple haters looking for any excuse "

          No actually. I'm a hater of ignorance and stupidity. And with this "stand" I get to add the third thing I hate, arrogance.

          1. doublelayer Silver badge

            Re: No one has to buy it

            I'm not an Apple hater. Proof: I'm typing this on a Mac, running Mac OS. I don't feel hatred toward Apple for this. I do find it laughable, a bit sad, and pathetic. There's a major difference. I'm in that category that includes a lot of people who neither love nor hate everything Apple does. They're a company. We support them when they do something we like; we acknowledge facts like their equipment coming with a much larger profit margin than certain competitors, but we still buy it if it has value for us; when they're in a reality distortion field and we're not, we laugh and say they're making a mistake; when they make us angry by, for instance, causing me a lot more trouble trying to install a Mac OS update than it really should be, we say things like "I am much less likely to buy another Mac unless they fix this reliability problem". It's fun not to have to love or hate a company.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: No one has to buy it

            @georgezilla,

            You hate arrogance whilst showing arrogance in your post?

            So can I take it that I am guilty of ignorance and stupidity as well?

            Oh well, whatever.

            Chers... Ishy

        2. JLV
          FAIL

          Re: No one has to buy it

          Somehow I suspect I’d be more miffed if I was actually getting ready to buy that monitor. Which apparently is worth its price for some professions. Then I really would have skin in the game and would be facing paying $1k for a monitor stand. As it is it’s just funny and somewhat embarrassing to Apple customers.

          Not an Apple hater, I own a number of their products and I will buy more in the future if/when I decide it worthwhile. An Apple cynic? Guilty as charged.

          Nice try reframing this ripoff as somehow justified. See icon.

    5. NightFox

      "This monitor stand idea should see some people fired at Apple. Whoever came up with the pricing and didn’t realize how much of a PR disaster it was going to be."

      But obviously the keynote wasn't the very first time Tim Apple heard about this, so irrespective of who came up with the pricing, TC was not only OK with it but was happy for it to be singled out in the keynote. Not really sure exactly what kind of reaction he was expecting.

    6. slartybartfast

      I generally find the Apple OS runs much more smoothly than Win 10. Less maintenance is needed to keep it free of crap. No need for half as many third party software to do simple tasks. The main problem Apple have is their many hardware issues they’ve had over the post-Steve Jobs years and their reluctance to fix (seeings as it’s their fault) without charging silly money. Also their products have been getting increasingly more expensive. I owned a MacBook Pro back in the day that cost me £1400. The equivalent model today starts at £2000. £1400 buys you a pretty average performing Mac laptop now.

      1. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

        ”Also their products have been getting increasingly more expensive. I owned a MacBook Pro back in the day that cost me £1400. The equivalent model today starts at £2000. £1400 buys you a pretty average performing Mac laptop now.“

        It’s because the rest of the market is catching up. When the category average was $1000 they could get away with charging $1500, now the category average has crept up to $1500 (as mfrs started to see that people would pay it) Apple have crept up to $2000.

    7. Jambo4170

      They did though...

      I think they definitely did know it was going to get that reaction though, I watched that bit on YouTube before the takedowns and he move so swiftly past that it didn't give the audience much chance to react. When they know it's going to be positive, they leave a gap for applause and drooling from the press, this was the exact opposite! It was so funny to watch honestly

  9. SkippyBing

    Does the monitor come with a stand at all, or do you basically have to pony up for it or the over priced vesa adapter? Or are people going to be unboxing it and then leaning it against the wall? Jesus even the cheapest monitor on Amazon comes with a sodding stand!

    1. Snowy Silver badge
      Pint

      That puzzled me too, have an upvote and pint. I would assume all monitors come with a stand, it is not a complete monitor without one!

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      You get nothing extra, you have to choose whether you're going to add $/€/£200 to the price or $/€/£1000 or prop it against the wall.

      The mount and stand use some special magnetic gubbins to attach to the back of the monitor which is probably patented so you won't be getting a third party one, or if you do Apple's PR will make sure you know that the guarantee for the screen is voided if was attached to a Lucky Rainbow Dragon stand when it fell off.

      1. ArrZarr Silver badge
        WTF?

        I'm informed that it's not a Vesa mount.

        It's a Vesa adaptor.

        Your $5k or $6k monitor needs $200 spending before you can attach it to a Vesa mount.

        Which is sold seperately, and not by Apple on their page.

        So you are right that third party Vesa mounts won't be available straight off, and would you really want to trust your new, expensive and very heavy monitor to a third party adapter?

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Does the monitor come with a stand at all, or do you basically have to pony up for it or the over priced vesa adapter?

      Let me quote from that obscure source, https://www.apple.com/pro-display-xdr/specs/:

      Price: $4999

      Pro Stand and VESA Mount Adapter sold separately

      So yes, you would need to lean it against your two morning's capuccino lattes if you forget to buy the stand.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Devil

        Or ask one of your serfs to hold it....

        1. jmch Silver badge
          Devil

          "Or ask one of your serfs to hold it...."

          probably works out cheaper

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Joke

            I'm sure an enterprising solution involving Gaffa Tape will be found.

            1. Korev Silver badge
              Gimp

              Gaffer taping a monitor to your serf is a bit cruel isn't it?

              1. macjules
                Coat

                Not if they are bonded to you.

              2. Bernard M. Orwell
                Windows

                My solution? Don't buy Apple. I want a computer. If I wanted a fashion accessory, I'd go elsewhere.

              3. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Gaffer taping a monitor to your serf is a bit cruel isn't it?

                I am sure the monitor would not mind.

                1. jake Silver badge

                  The gaffer tape might.

    4. slartybartfast

      It’s a pony up optional extra.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wait till everyone finds out there is a chip in the stand and you have to use an apple approved one. It's called the lightening stand and it makes the monitor weight less overall.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It has the T chip in it, for safety and privacy purposes.

  11. Borg.King

    10% may have bought the stand

    Anyone buying these overpriced monitors is almost certainly going to have some production desk setup, with high quality arms already installed supporting the VESA mount.

    I would estimate that only a few would want Apple's stand anyway, and that few has now diminished significantly. Apple may make a few thousand of them. The $199 VESA adaptor is a rip off too.

    Third party opportunity if ever there was one.

    1. sanmigueelbeer
      Pint

      Re: 10% may have bought the stand

      Third party opportunity if ever there was one.

      I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy ... says that he knows a someone (from east asia) who can make these at a tenth of the cost.

      And they're looking for distributors in the west.

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: 10% may have bought the stand

      I know what you're thinking. "Does the stand use six magnets or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, while reading the description on Alibaba, I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a Pro Display XDR, the most expensive display in the world, and would blow your budget if it fell off, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?

    3. 9Rune5

      Re: 10% may have bought the stand

      It is the VESA mount that puzzles me.

      I did not particularly mind the price of the stand. My first reaction was simply "ok, so people will buy a third-party wall mount or whatever", but then it turns out that the thing isn't VESA-compatible. WTF...

      Luckily I am not in the target group for this monitor anyway. I'm thinking I might want two 40" UHD monitors, but I have to do some measurements first to see how they'll fit on my desk. My ageing Cinema 30" feels small (and kids today don't do dual link DVI anymore).

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: 10% may have bought the stand

        Do you really think Apple have created this beautiful object of desire to allow it to be sullied with something so base as a VESA mount and screws in the back? Of course not, you need the magnetic adaptor (dongle).

        If Apple's still going in 100 years, we'll have monitors held in place by antigravity, just because.

        1. STOP_FORTH

          Re: 10% may have bought the stand

          Wouldn't sky-hooks be cheaper?

          1. Dan 55 Silver badge

            Re: 10% may have bought the stand

            Of course, that's why they'd use antigravity.

            1. STOP_FORTH

              Re: 10% may have bought the stand

              Well, here's the thing .............. Apple's objects of desire may have a price tag that bears no relation to their actual BOM cost.

              I know, I was shocked when I first realised this.

  12. bussdriver

    Censorship not the stand is the problem

    They can sell a gold plated model (and for 999 they should) and it does not matter; some insecure man with $ will buy it.

    They didn't test the presentation like they should have; then they'd realize they should have mentioned the VESA and made that sanely priced while saying YOU pros can choose the stand that suits your needs (show photo of selection at Apple Store.) THEN offer a high end expensive stand option.

    I seriously wouldn't ever consider or want an OEM bundled stand on a pro monitor; just stop including the things already and make everything VESA. A VESA stand should be like "batteries not included." Including plastic trash stands for serious users is not responsible.

    1. 9Rune5

      Re: Censorship not the stand is the problem

      VESA should have been included as standard.

      Otherwise I agree.

    2. ibmalone

      Re: Censorship not the stand is the problem

      I seriously wouldn't ever consider or want an OEM bundled stand on a pro monitor; just stop including the things already and make everything VESA. A VESA stand should be like "batteries not included." Including plastic trash stands for serious users is not responsible.

      We've got some radiology standard monitors (made by people that make these things, not the people that make your TV), that came with their own very sturdy adjustable VESA bases, the only reason you'd want to change them is to use an arm mount. Expensive, but actually closer to Apple's stand than its monitor in price.

  13. Wisteela
    WTF?

    Yeah right

    Copyright reasons? Bullshit.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yeah right

      As copyright law does have fair use exceptions for news reporting and the like, Apple take down approval is quite egregious. But Google knows it can have to take down bad news about itself one day...

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Yeah right

        YouTube copyright claims are broken anyway. It works something like this:

        1. Bigcorp dings a video with a copyright claim.

        2. Channel owner appeals and says no because four seconds of song is fair use or an audience booing doesn't fall copyright or whatever.

        3. Bigcorp handles the appeal and has the final say.

        Hence the likes of Nintendo (or Apple) just rampaging round YouTube taking down stuff.

    2. caffeine addict

      Re: Yeah right

      Would have been nice if Youtube deleted ALL footage of the event under copyright grounds. After all, it can't just be the bit they dislike. See how fanboys and other media sites howl when all 3rd party footage of the event goes...

      1. MrReynolds2U
        Trollface

        Re: Yeah right

        Or YT could have said, "sure we'll take those videos down, but we're taking down yours too."

        "Why?"

        "We saw the price of the monitor stand... we think it's offensive, so... Community Guidelines y'know"

  14. theOtherJT Silver badge

    Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

    See, here's the speech:

    "Our new Pro Display is aimed at professionals - and as professionals we all have that drawer full of power leads - you have that, right? Every time you buy something it comes with a lead, and you throw it in that drawer? Well, here at Apple, we're trying to do our part for the environment and for your office by not including things you don't need. We know that most of you have professional VESA mount points already, so by default we are shipping the new Pro Display with a VESA mount as standard - You don't need a stand, so why should you pay for one?"

    Cue applause.

    "But home users, don't worry, we haven't forgotten you. We know that the layout of your working environment is important to you, and we've created a bespoke stand for the Pro Display that we think stands up amongst the best in the industry. If you don't already have a preferred monitor stand solution at your desk, we're selling the Apple Pro Stand as an optional extra. If you don't need a stand we're making sure you can do the right thing for the environment and aren't being forced to order one, but if you need one we have you covered - with the quality you've come to expect from Apple prodcucts."

    Cue more applause.

    All they needed to do was ship the VESA option by default, give THAT speech which makes it sound like they're doing you a favour by not charging you for something you don't need, and simply NOT MENTION the price of the damn stand. Sure, a thousand bucks is still utterly INSANE money for a monitor stand, but see how much better that sounds already? Of course it's still horse shit when you have to pay a thousand dollars for a stand, but damnit Apple used to be good at this sort of marketing guff. They should stop dropping that ball. It's one of the few they have left to work with.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      iStand

      corrected.

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: iStand

        iStand

        corrected.

        El Reg need to revive Comment of the Week just for this.

    2. Lord Elpuss Silver badge

      Re: Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

      Or even just charge $5999 for the monitor. Stand included. If you’re in the market for a pro display the $5999 won’t bother you, but separating out the stand price was PR madness.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

        Yeah, $5999 announcement, and a $4999 "OEM" solution without the stand.

        I understand (ahem) that this is probably a short/small run custom aluminum 5d CNC cut hand painted by trained orphaned Blue whales or something, so costs could be prohibitive. But not offering a similar non-pro (but "consumer pro") stand for like $199/$299 and still make a killing on profit is strange.

        Yes, dropping a $5k monitor is a bad thing. But we've had $10k tvs for decades now, and they often have mounting options that scale to the size/shape/solutions and people.

        1. phuzz Silver badge

          Re: Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

          "offering a similar non-pro (but "consumer pro") stand for like $199/$299"

          Well, the VESA adaptor is $199 and you can get a really nice, fully adjustable hydraulic monitor arm for £50, so $299 is about right.

          Hence, if Apple actualy did this the price would be $599.

      2. Simon Harris

        Re: Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

        "If you’re in the market for a pro display the $5999 won’t bother you, but separating out the stand price was PR madness."

        The same as comparing storage options on your next computer and realising how much you're being overcharged for a larger SSD or their surcharge for plugging in an extra memory module for you.

        1. Bernard M. Orwell
          Windows

          Re: Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

          Wow....the Windows PC rig I could build for you for HALF that price....I guarantee it'd batter the performance of any apple nonsense you care to present.

      3. Sgt_Oddball

        Re: Not just a pricing fail, but a PR fail.

        And they'd get an extra $1 too.

  15. SVV

    Apple can't stand criticism

    From where I'm standing, their standpoint is looking embarassing. I'd stand a grand on the fact that were anybody summond to the stand in a case for copyright imfringement, the case would have no legal standing, stand no chance of success, and nobody would fight to the last stand.

    Bet a price drop is announced very soon though.

    1. commonsense
      Coat

      Re: Apple can't stand criticism

      I'm sure a legal challenge could be mounted...

      Mine's the one with burnt pockets.

      1. Bernard M. Orwell
        Joke

        Re: Apple can't stand criticism

        "I'm sure a legal challenge could be mounted..."

        Where? On the wall? A VESA stand?

  16. Snowy Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Missing out the hundreds and thousands!

    When he gives the prices of all the items he never says hundreds or thousands for example the stand he says nine ninety nine, which to me is 9.99. If the price is 999 you would say nine hundred and ninety nine. Says it like they do to make it seem cheaper but everyone knows Apple is expensive!

    1. Dave K

      Re: Missing out the hundreds and thousands!

      Probably where the price of their accessories comes from.

      Engineer: We've finished that simple cable you requested, we recommend a price of $1.99

      Marketing: Sounds good, $199 it is!

    2. Wilseus

      Re: Missing out the hundreds and thousands!

      That nine-ninetey nine thing drives me nuts.

      It's almost as bad as TV advertisements for movies at the cinema where the voice over says something like "In cinemas, June twenty one." What, so the film's not coming out for another two years?

  17. Sanctimonious Prick
    WTF?

    Copyright?

    What about freedom of press?

    This really stinks!

    INAL; any chance the video upoloaders/content creators are "journalists," and can prove no copyright violation, then SUE Apple or Alphabet for loss of income due to the videos being demonitised?

    Not happy, Jan!

    1. jake Silver badge

      Re: Copyright?

      Freedom of the press only exists if you own the press.

  18. rjed
    Childcatcher

    Upcoming: Apple monitor setting buttons

    Done with the stand.

    Marketer: Now lets sell monitor settings buttons for $299 only.

    Tim: Ohyeah, Bring it ohhn

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Meh

    I’ve never watched/attended/been interested in these cult events. First timer here. I DO own (and use) some Apple products (SE and airpad2) . They are my fashion and design thingies.

    But this is exactly like these staged Trump rallies. That are the same as those murrican TV shows. Signs with “applause” and whatnot held up outside of camera view (or just a stage-performance with the same effects).

    Watch the dark stage with dark-clothed people walking about in dark shoes with WHITE soles, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, good show, good marketing, good brainwashing, wow, just wow. And psychology works, almost like mass-hypnotism. What a bunch of weasles. Have to re-assess my fashion and design choices I guess.............

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Idiot tax wanker here

    Disclaimer: I use Macs for my business which is now full time (and quite successful, thank you God). And will continue to do so. I do not have an iPhone, never have and never will. I still use my original banana phone and will continue to do so whilst I can get replacement batterries for it. Oh, and I have an iPod Classic.

    But this new Macpro and monitor? There is no way I can justify buying one of these. And almost a 1000 quid for a stand? Why? What is so special about it? Mr Cook, a thousand quid may be loose change to you but it sure as hell is not loose change to me. Having said that,

    (please see title) I will, of course, be buying said items.

    Cheers... Ishy

  21. John Savard

    Bad Timing

    The optics of this happen to be worse than normal, because it's happening in the wake of the 30th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square massacre. So peoplle who try to cover up history are particularly not well-liked at the moment.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bad Timing

      Or perhaps the police raids on journalists in Australia for doing their job of reporting news.

      "We may not like the facts they report but we should defend to the death their right to report facts."

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bad Timing

      I might be wrong but I honestly don't think in 30 years time people will be talking about the time apple got booed for $999 monitor stand.

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: Bad Timing

        I dunno ... we're still talking about Guy Kawasaki getting all excited in an early Macintosh marketing meeting and exclaiming "Lets get it into schools and get the kids hooked on it! It'll be better than heroin!" ...

      2. John Savard

        Re: Bad Timing

        Oh, no. I'm not trying to say what Apple has done is in any way comparable in seriousness to the Tienanmen Square massacre. But however invidious the comparison, people will make it, even unconsciously, because it's a cover-up at a time when another cover-up is in the news.

    3. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Bad Timing

      Tiananmen Square? Really?

      It's bad enough when people start complaining becuase someone's had some fun in vague temporal proximity to a tragic event. Or even a sad one. Remember all those radio stations refusing to play happy music after Diana died? But even worse when we have to watch out for historical events.

      Isn't it in appalling taste, all those people going on beach holidays in June and disrespecting the sacrifice our brave boys at Normandy? Boo!*

      And what about the memory of poor emporer Julian and his army, slaughtered by the Persians in 363 AD? Going to church in this month is definitely hard on the poor sausage, who was the last pagan emporer, trying to reverse the Christianisation of his empire...

      Let's just call Apple arses, for the fact that they're being arses.

      *On which note, when I heard the headline this morning that Merkel, May, Macron and Trump where there - I had this vision of the perfect rememberance ceremony, where they all get off a landing craft on the beach, and Merkel is waiting for them in a foxhole, optionally equipped with ceremonial commemorative machine gun, to welcome them to the beach. It's possible I have a diseased mind...

      1. Kiwi
        Pint

        Re: Bad Timing

        It's possible I have a diseased mind...

        It's possible you are also so very, very far from being alone!

        (Ok well I didn't have the same vision as you, but I sure can envision it from your account!)

  22. jake Silver badge

    Might explain the burning ...

    ... bus out on 280. And here I though some nutter was targeting SLAC and missed ...

  23. Big_Boomer Silver badge

    Bend over FanBoiz.....

    It's time for your annual reaming! <LOL>

    It's always amazed me that people can be daft enough to buy stuff that is so obviously over-priced. But then it amazed me how many people voted for Brexit,.... and Trump,.... and how many people fall for other totally obvious scams. we do seem to be breeding for gullibility :-(

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bend over FanBoiz.....

      What amazes me is how many people fail to realise buying Apple is not compulsory. There are those who point out that their {insert manufacturer here} phone running Android is so much better than any iPhone so how dare Apple want to charge more. Then those who complain about Apple's control of apps and restrictions, at the same time saying their Android phone is far better. I can only assume these people actually crave Apple products but aren't prepared to admit it, nor pay what Apple ask.

      I use both iOS and Android devices - depending on need. But then, I don't complain that my Dacia doesn't accelerate as well as a Porsche.

      1. John Savard

        Re: Bend over FanBoiz.....

        Basically, Apple chose to put the new Mac Pro at a very high price point because it doesn't want people undercutting it by expanding their lower-end Macintosh computers. So Apple prices its computers the way Qualcomm prices their modem chips. This behavior is annoying even to people who can manage with Windows and Android just fine, because maybe Windows and Android would be better if they had real competition. You know, like AMD is giving to Intel.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Repurpose an old iMac 24'' or 27'' 2009/2010/2011 stand for new 6K Display?

    I'm sure someone will make a bracket to repurpose an old iMac 24'' or 27'' 2009 iMac stand, there's a lot of Aluminium in these and they would still make a great stand with some slight mods (adding a new top bracket).

    I'm surprised Apple don't think like this, because repurposing the old removeable iMac stand from an older model, cuts the number of old iMacs being resold into the market via ebay, which is Apple's biggest competition, a good second-hand iMac.

    They really didn't improve in terms of design after the 27'' 2009-2011 iMac, magnetically held glass and a mini display port that allows an iMac to switch between an iMac and being repurposed as a secondary display, even as a display for a regular PC with a display port card, for video output.

    The later thunderbolt models (Apple removed the DP) reduced their usefulness in this regard, compatibility was always a pain, the right cables / Thunderbot 1/2/3 etc.

    Still, great machines for their age.

    1. Sgt_Oddball

      Re: Repurpose an old iMac 24'' or 27'' 2009/2010/2011 stand for new 6K Display?

      With a thundbolt cable to a macbook you can still turn the screen into a monitor with the added benefit of network connection sharing and using the iMac as a time machine store.

      I know because I salvaged an abandoned one at work for just such a purpose (the joys of work issued equipment)

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Anyone in local government...

    ... found buying one of these should be had up for misuse of public funds.

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple-Downfall

    variants, PLEASE!

    It's always fun to watch pompous pricks exposing themselves in public. The more the merrier.

    1. msknight

      Re: Apple-Downfall

      I'm working on it..

      KREBS The event will take place in the usual location.

      Tickets are rare and Apple are controlling them tightly.

      We did manage to get a seat for Steiner, who will approach from the West…

      ...and hopefully they won't notice the butter pretzen in his pocket.

      HITLER We'll get the news with no delays

      KREBS My Führer... Steiner...

      JODL Steiner has reported that the monitor stand will cost

      A thousand dollars, bar one.

      HITLER You say the monitor stand. Just the stand.

      That must be a mistake.

      Steiner's news is wrong!

      That's obscene money for a stand. Obscene.

      A thousand dollars, bar one?

      Then what is the cost of the screen?

      A hundred thousand?

      What do they think we're made of? Gold leaf?

      BURGDORF My Führer, I believe that we can get a loan from…

      HITLER From Who? Deutche bank loaned their reserves to Trump.

      1. msknight

        Re: Apple-Downfall

        BURGDORF My Führer, what you say against Apple is monstrous!

        HITLER This is proof that they are the SCUM of the technical people!

        Apple have no honor this time!

        They call themselves great because they have spent YEARS at the design academy of Steve Jobs and Co.

        But the coat tails of the genis are no more.

        They have put every conceivable OBSTACLE in my way!

        Do they think I would sell my house... to have all the shiny things like STALIN!

        I work hard for what I earn.

        And yet, they want all that and more.

        And for what...

        FROM THE VERY BEGINNING I HAVE PAID AND PAID AND PAID!

        To find their cloud services are run by Google!

        But all of us, this time we will not pay.

        ANYONE WHO BUYS ONE OF THESE...

        PROVES THAT HE IS PAID TOO MUCH!

        1. msknight

          Re: Apple-Downfall

          TRAUDL Don't worry, Hackintosh isn't that bad.

          HITLER The commands I type are lost in the null dev.

          It is impossible to create under these circumstances.

          It is over.

          The war... is lost.

          But if you, gentlemen, believe that I pay these prices, you are very much mistaken! I would rather put a bullet through my head.

          Do what you want...

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    you never know when history may be hidden from view

    apparently, censorship, when applied by a superior power, does erase those uncomfortable moments from history (re. Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989)

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I applaud you

    for numerous references and links to the Stand-gate. Hopefully, this article stays up long enough for other vultures to pick it up, and then the post-vultures from the mainstream media, beeb and such. And wouldn't it be grand for, say, Ms Streisand to link to it in one of her tweets? We might, for a moment, forget about Trumpobrexit and such.

  29. bpfh
    WTF?

    Did I hear that right?

    He did say 49.99 for the standard screen and 59.99 for the nano touch screen? I've heard of psychological pricing, but this is taking it to new levels...

    Also, 199 for a VESA stand.... I can buy a Philips 4K monitor for that on Amazon. And by the looks of things, that also includes the stand.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Did I hear that right?

      But it wouldn't be Apple would it, so it wouldn't be as nice and have as many magic Apple pixels.

      So who cares.

      By the way i was going for Sarcasm and Irony, but i'm not very good at it, and lacked confidence to post it in my name.

    2. TrumpSlurp the Troll
      Trollface

      Re: Did I hear that right? 4k for 199?

      Link or it didn't happen.

  30. Slx

    Considering Dyson manages to sell €450 magic hairdryers, I'm sure there's probably a market for this.

    The majority of these machines are bought by businesses anyway so the cost is written off as a business expense but even so, that pricing is ludicrous.

    The only thing I could possibly say is that the device is probably made in low volume.

    Any idea where it's being made? I'm just curious if this is the US manufacturing arm?

    1. bpfh

      At that price

      It's probably made at the same factory as Dyson, in China Narnia, and assembled in unobtanium by fairies with tools powered by unicorn farts.

    2. Stork Silver badge

      In our business, expenses have to be justifiable to ourselves as we are owners. A MacBook, fine, they have tended to be productive for five years or more and I know I can run from the backup.

      This one only if it could convince guests to pay more, and I somehow doubt that.

      1. JohnFen

        "A MacBook, fine, they have tended to be productive for five years or more"

        I should hope! If any computer I bought only lasted five years, I'd consider it faulty.

  31. Suricou Raven

    Youtube has a balancing act.

    They are already facing criticism in the US over widespread claims that they are 'silencing conservative voices.' Not just from the angry mob, either - politicians are getting in on the game, and starting to agitate for regulation to 'protect free speech.' If they take down Crowder's videos, even if they have perfectly valid reasons to do so, it'll just feed into the growing conspiracy theory. Political types will claim this proves that the lefties in charge at Google are trying to force all right-wing views off the internet, and Google gets to deal with the backlash.

    They are trying to remain politically neutral, which just means that high-profile channels all get a free pass.

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Now I don't know much about Crowder.

    Actually all I know about him is the articles about him and Youtube. But I will, as the saying goes, fight for right to say it. As Apple is mis-using the copyright claim to hide an embarrassing moment, youtube uses "hate speech" to shut down various groups it doesn't like, while leaving up anti-white and anti-Semitic groups.

    As someone who grew up in the Civil Rights era, I can think of any number of black leaders who would have been shut down. May I suggest Malcom X to start with.

    1. Suricou Raven

      Re: Now I don't know much about Crowder.

      Pretty much your standard political comedian: He just points across the political divide, makes a lot of very vulgar comments about how stupid the people there are, and then tries to pass it off as insightful commentary. His arguments mostly consist of misrepresenting his opponents, explaining how this misrepresentation is evil and wants to take over the world, throw you in prison, and so on. Tends to say a lot of horrible things, then when called out on it claims he was only joking.

      1. DCFusor

        Re: Now I don't know much about Crowder.

        Crowder is an idiot - but getting busted for calling a guy gay who makes a big deal every day about being gay, well, I wouldn't call that monstrous harassment - the guy is proud of it and brags on the internet/youtube in every post.

        As for the shirt - "Socialism is for figs" - If your mind substitutes the wrong last word, it's a statement about YOUR mind...I guess showing people their own issues is verboten now.

        I'm sure it'll all work out fine when all criticism of the flaws of the powerful is banned...we need to just let them get on with ruining things for us, right?

        Even many left-leaning reporters are calling BS on this move.

  33. Steve Todd

    Wrong target audience

    These monitors are targeted at the pro video crowd, where a reference monitor can set them back $40K. To that market $999 is nothing. To the devs at WWDC its a ludicrous amount (though, from what I can gather, there is quite a lot of engineering in what is going to be a low volume product).

  34. andy 103
    Stop

    All relative

    Let's face it if you're buying a display that costs 5 grand then 1 grand for a stand isn't as much as it seems.

    Do the math(s). An average earner might spend, what, 500 quid if in the market for a high quality monitor. So relatively speaking that's 100 quid for a high quality stand.... or 20 quid for the VESA mount.

    If you multiplied your bank balance by the appropriate factor would you give a shit about this? It's not for people who use payday loans ffs.

    The people booing it want it but can't afford it. If Ferrari say their next car is 200 grand and I boo it doesn't mean they've made an overpriced/shit car.

    1. JohnFen

      Re: All relative

      "Let's face it if you're buying a display that costs 5 grand then 1 grand for a stand isn't as much as it seems."

      The cost of the display in no way makes the stand seem anything close to reasonably priced. Not even high priced. It still seems ludicrously priced.

      "The people booing it want it but can't afford it."

      This is almost certainly false. The audience there is a demographic that does very, very well financially. I wasn't even there, and I could afford the stand without a problem. I wouldn't have booed, but I certainly would have laughed my ass off.

    2. jake Silver badge

      Re: All relative

      So if I make 10X more than you, I should be expected to pay 10X what you pay for a hammer? Have you thought this through?

      My bank balance can afford the latest Apple bling. Unfortunately for Apple, I refuse to pay a premium for a logo that doesn't actually increase performance.

      Ferraris are not the cars you think they are. Drive a couple. But beware ... you might lose your somewhat obvious faith in Marketing.

  35. EuKiwi

    Wait... what... huh?

    So you can't even use your existing VESA mount monitor arm on it without buying a 200 fscking dollar adapter??? I honestly had assumed at least if you didn't want the stand, you could just what you already have.

    But of course, silly me - it's Apple.

    God damn, you can tell Apple's iPhone and iPad golden era is over and sales are flatlining - first the double-the-cost-of-the-components base spec Mac Pro, and now this...

  36. vgrig_us

    common, fanbois!

    I want to know how you would justify apple taking down the video with false (yes, very false) copyright claim.

    Common! Tell me how they were right to abuse dmca.

    1. John Savard

      Re: common, fanbois!

      No, the copyright claim is very true. Apple can validly say it was within its rights: it graciously permits fans to post footage from WWDC containing copyrighted Apple material, but it withdraws this permission in cases of use by competitors in their ads, or destructive criticism. So the issue isn't a false copyright claim, only the use of the copyright law in a manner which won't help Apple's image.

      1. vgrig_us

        Re: common, fanbois!

        Yep, that's what I thought fanbois would argue, but - it's news and as such an obvious "fair use": no way apple didn't know that, yet still sent the notice...

  37. Waseem Alkurdi

    Something strikes me as being odd about this

    If it's really Apple trying to "censor" the "boo"ing in the video, then they would've removed it from the official version too. And the version with the "artificial" laugh

    From how I see it, the only premise to the argument that Apple is censoring the audible booing is that they filed DMCA takedown requests for a couple of vids.

    Even if we were to suppose for the sake of argument that they purposely kept the "boo" in the official stream and didn't take down the others as not to be accused of censoring stuff. But what's the proof for that?

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Something strikes me as being odd about this

      Very few people are going to go to the official stream, and find out what timestamp the booing happened at, then fast forward to that and listen.

      But a quick ten second Youtube vid called "booing the $1,000 Apple stand", is another matter entirely.

      It's also possibly been done by an over-zealous underling in marketing / online reputation management, without thinking things through.

      1. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: Something strikes me as being odd about this

        In addition to nobody being likely to go into the middle of the stream to find it, the sentence "Apple edits out developers' discontent about prices" is too obviously asking for a Streisand effect. Even those people who tried to take down these youtube videos realizes that editing a live stream looks shifty and doesn't end well for them.

  38. anthonyhegedus Silver badge

    I love apple products... the ones I can afford... like a 7-year-old MacBook Pro. BUT: do they really want to be known as the Waitrose of tech? Selling only luxury goods that you'd better be rich to be able to afford. £3000 laptops, £1000 monitor stands and the like, digital watches that cost over £1000. It's one thing to be reassuringly expensive, but to be outrageously expensive just prices you out of markets that you can ill afford to lose. Apple, please stop being ridiculous.

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    They're only booing because $999 is insultingly cheap for the 'stand of Godhead'.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    China had Tiananmen Square

    Apple got a monitor stand for a grand. Everyone has a breaking point

  41. Milton

    Third parties?

    I'm sure many must have already asked (but I haven't time to read all posts, sorry): surely the same manufacturers who design, build and sell everything from TV stands through tablet stands to phone cases—and who seem to get their product to market within days—will find it absurdly easy to sell $99 stands that are 95% as good as the Apple ones?

    And if legal issues could somehow get in the way (though I don't see how Apple could enforce any kind of exclusivity on a simple stand), if you have a friend who works in a CNC shop, or even access to a 3D printer, it surely wouldn't be difficult to knock up some home brew stands?

    Heck, if you're feeling really tight-fisted, you could probably knock up something serviceable (and uniquely stylish) from the plumbers' supply section of your local hardware store?

    It's hard to imagine anyone spending $1k on a monitor stand ... isn't it?

    Anyway, to the nearest hour, how long till the plans for 3D-printable Apple monitor stand components are available on the net?

    1. doublelayer Silver badge

      Re: Third parties?

      I'm very confident that a substitute stand will hit aliexpress about two days after the screen is released. However, I don't think you'd want to test your luck putting something heavy like this off the front of something that comes out of a home 3D printer. I haven't seen a 3D printer capable of producing something with enough integrity for this purpose. It works fine for lighter things, or if the monitor was simply placed on top, but I don't envy those who attach the monitors to their ABS or PLA stands to hear a disconcerting creaking sound.

  42. mjflory
    Facepalm

    It's back...

    I just watched it in its 35-second entirety, as apparently did 16 other people, as YouTube reports 895,744 views now (about 18:00 UTC 2019-06-06). The volume's awfully low, but I don't think that will stop anyone from hearing the groans.

  43. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Perspective

    When you live in Silicon Valley, home prices(avg 3mill) are 6x the median home price of a home in California, or 15x a home in Illinois.

    So basically, a $1000 Silicon Valley Inspired Apple Monitor Stand should cost about $66 dollars in Illinois.

    But Apple monitor stands are not for the wee low value plebeians.

    If you listen real carefully during the boo'ing portion of the video, I think you can hear the Apple announcer mutter something like "let them eat cake".

  44. JohnFen

    What are you doing, Apple?

    Being that thin-skinned is a terrible look.

  45. Kiwi

    Will Google "demonitize" all of YT?

    "...demonetized due to continued egregious actions that have harmed the broader community"

    Google is becoming more and more anti-"free speech". For many of us here, our fathers and grandfathers fought to block the sort of behaviour much of society now seems to champion.

    Google, Facebook etc are blocking free speech as fast as they can manage. Those who hold certain views aren't allowed to speak, whether it's to say abusive things to some passer by or to challenge something they view as being wrong in this world.

    This is letting the terrorists win (especially when it is in response to alleged "terror incidents", many of which should never be classed as "terrorism") and letting fascism come in by default. The wrong values are being promoted, and good things are being hidden away.

    For those who forget/don't know, I grew up 'different' in a small rural community in the 70s and 80s. I know full well what it is like to be on the receiving end of "hate speech". I've been abused, threatened, and physically attacked - often by groups and sometimes with adults (even teachers) joining in because I deserved it since I was 'a worthless little fag'. I know full well what "hate speech" can feel like, but I will not for one moment support any laws preventing the freedom of speech. I may draw the line at promoting violence (although that is usually handled in a hypocritical way eg "That man promotes violence towards gays, he should be executed!"), but 'freedom of speech' should be, nay, must be sacrosanct. At most, only the direct and willing promotion of harm should be checked.

    1. STOP_FORTH
      Megaphone

      Re: Will Google "demonitize" all of YT?

      As I understand it (disclaimer, not a Yank) the freedom of speech provisions in the US prevent the government from smashing up printing presses and prosecuting journos, editors and publishers under certain conditions.

      They do not, and never have, compelled a particular publisher to publish a particular document/book/pamphlet/video/whatever.

      The fact that Youtube, and others, pretend to be light oversight platforms but actually are starting to censor stuff due to commercial (and, now, political) pressure is a different issue.

      If you are an American you should already know this.

      If you are a Kiwi I'm not sure you have these provisions in your system. (Cool PM, though.)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Will Google "demonitize" all of YT?

      @Kiwi.

      Fuck the downvoter. I agree with you 100 percent.

      Cheers... Ishy

  46. Jan Sobieski

    "The Register asked Apple for an explanation, but the company's communications team has not been communicative."

    Not communicative? You mean ex-communicative!

    You are not of the Body.

  47. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple haters

    I do not understand this Apple hate thing.

    Should I hate Sony because my mate has spent north of 10.000 quid on a Sony telly? I don't have a telly.

    Should I hate B.M.W. because another mate has spent over 40.000 quid on a car? I don't have a car.

    So why the hate for people who spend x number of quid for an Apple product. They don't have an Apple product.

    Just don't buy what you don't like. I am sensing the politics of envy here.

    Just saying.

    Cheers... Ishy

    1. John Savard

      Re: Apple haters

      Oh, it's not just envy. Basically, Apple is fairly obviously pricing its product the way Qualcomm priced its modem chips. For products not to be priced as commodity items, by aggressive competitors, seems positively immoral. And given that Apple is the underdog and not the dominant force in the computer market, stupid too.

  48. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

    Apple will probably increase the price of the monitor by $500, and sell the stand at $499.

    Anyhooo, the monitor seems like good value compared to its competition.

  49. Swampie

    Anyone know what parody is? Just add the laugh track from a slock TV show; and et voila!

  50. STOP_FORTH

    Emperor's new clothes

    I don't have much personal experience of using Apple products. I can remember using a IIE and have seen other people's iPads, iPods, iPhones in use.

    The booing of the faithful is akin to the little boy in the crowd piping up with "He's got no clothes on."

    When the crowd turn it is going to be very ugly.

  51. gujiguju

    Murmuring...

    ...is not “some booing and mostly gasping and groaning.” I’m sorry, but given the quite unique tech reporting at El Reg that I’ve been enjoying for ~25 years, it’s so lame that you sometimes stoop to this childishness.

    Yes, I know you’ve been blackballed after you f*cked with a touchy SPJ with your “jag-wire” teasing, and that’s the way sh** happens sometimes. It would be interesting to ask if you could go back to August 2002 and expunge that one line of “jag-wire” so you can be involved with the orgies at Apple Park every quarters, would you...?

    Yes, $1000 stands that are optional is hilarious, but then again, bluetooth beacons forwarded from strangers to locate your lost or stolen Apple devices that is OFFLINE is pretty f**cking cool, isn't it...?

    I guess you have nothing to lose now by writing this kind of clickbait, but it’s still unnecessary. Just take the high road...or maybe not. ;)

    Frankly, I think I.F. Stone had it right: one's reporting is more accurate if you don't get too close to the powerful. Keep up the insightful reporting that still makes me laugh out loud sometimes.

  52. Greencat

    Stand pricing

    While the stand pricing is stupid money, it possibly reflects the fact that they don't expect to sell very many given the target audience for a monitor like this (many of whom will bring their own stand setups).

  53. Andi McDonald

    I genuinely thought it was clever trolling, and that not even Apple would charge $999 for a glorified monitor stand

    It's shocking to find it's not actually fake news

  54. Wilseus

    Booing?

    I've listened to the clip several times and I still don't hear any booing.

    I can hear people talking amongst themselves, disparagingly perhaps, but not booing.

  55. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    Somebody needs to...

    Somebody needs to lash-up a video mix combination of this "$999" announcement and their very own famous '1984' advertisement.

    i.e. the '1984' athletic young lady throwing something towards the "$999" host.

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