A Million-Dollar Laptop Created 404
aluminumangel writes "For those of you who don't know what to do with all your money, why not a one million-dollar laptop from the U.K-based company Luvaglio? With 128GB of solid state disk space, Blu-ray, and a detachable rare diamond that acts like a power button and a security key."
Rare diamond? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Creating it is only half the battle (Score:5, Insightful)
If there's one thing that shows what's... (Score:4, Insightful)
But it will it run Vista? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:If there's one thing that shows what's... (Score:5, Insightful)
How else would you separate very rich and foolish people from their money, aside from forcibly taking it?
The best thing about this is that rich people create incentives for creativity and growth, and spending on luxury items just fuels that.
Think about the laptop maker, web designer, advertising agency -- all of the people who make a living off of the sale of just one of these.
Plus, the $1,000,000 is obviously far better off in the hands of somebody willing to use it for a laptop selling business than someone who would spend it on a diamond laptop.
Besides, someone who is dirt poor in Africa would say the same thing about you. Why do you need to spend an amount of money that would supply a lifetime of food on a computer in the first place?
In a perfect world, there would be no market for $1,000,000 laptops because everyone would be busy creating more wealth by curing diseases and solving energy crises. Since that's never going to happen, this is the next best thing.
Re:WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY (Score:1, Insightful)
You can't waste money (Score:4, Insightful)
It all contributes to the economy, which helps generate more money. In this case, I am sure a lot of the million dollars for the laptop goes into the cost of goods - supporting everyone in the supply chain from the diamond miners to the jewelers and artisans who created the art/wasteful object of your loathing. Then there is the "profit". Either way the money is somewhere. For all you know the money might end up for some use for which you do approve.
There is no difference, in principle, on people "wasting" money on luxury items than there is spending money any other way. When it comes right down to it, nobody "needs" anything more than food and shelter, assuming the world even "needs" people at all.
There is a continuum from needs-wants-excess/your definition of waste.
Personally I would not buy a million dollar laptop, either, however I think it is awesome that it is possible for someone to be able to do that if they so choose.
If you think there is something wrong with this world now, you'll rue the day that it is ruled by people who think they know best how to run it for everyone else.
Re:If there's one thing that shows what's... (Score:5, Insightful)
Incorrect. This is one of the most useful items in society, a way to transfer economic power from the idiots that buy gold plated laptops to the genius that is selling one...
Let's face it, we need to remove as much money as possible from anyone that would buy one of these!
Re:If there's one thing that shows what's... (Score:3, Insightful)
Truly rich people reinvest their money to make more money and fuel the economy. They don't buy gimmicky million dollar laptops. The truly rich leave that kind of frivolous spending for the far less wealthy who need to appear to be rich.
Early April Fools? (Score:5, Insightful)
This sounds like viral cow pies publicity grab or April Fools to me. There's a $350,000+ laptop noted here: http://most-expensive.net/laptop-world [most-expensive.net] - and its covered in gems. There's no way you can justify technology alone making this worth anywhere near $100,000 much less $1,000,000. I call BU-double-hockey-sticks on this story.
Re:You can't waste money (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:one.. million... dollars (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Rare diamond? (Score:2, Insightful)
*ducks*
Re:Rare diamond? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Creating it is only half the battle (Score:3, Insightful)
Have *you* done anything to directly help undernourished, undereducated children in Africa? I'm not talking about voting for hypersensitive politicians with overactive tearducts, I'm talking about actually sending your own money to where it can be directly used to nourish and educate. Have you "adopted" a needy African child? Have you given to a charity that sends food and books? Have you ever dropped a quarter into a World Vision collection box?
Give, don't bitch.
Spare sectors (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:If there's one thing that shows what's... (Score:2, Insightful)
Most of these arguments revolve around "this is inefficient" or "that is wasteful." This is all dependent on your point of view. Most of the things you (yes you, the reader) currently own are luxuries in many parts of the world and are not strictly necessary to your life. You don't see them that way but someone else does. The fact that you view this laptop that way simply is an extension of your perception based on your (relatively) meager wealth combined with your predictably human hypocrisy when viewing someone else's perceived excess.
The second class of argument which comes out of these is when something is not considered contributing to 'productivity.' Television, sports cars, etc are oft raised examples of this useless excess. However, the simple fact is that we work to enjoy ourselves, and what each of us enjoys differs. We don't work to be the most productive person we can be, so that between the time we are born and the time we die not a minute goes wasted that couldn't have been spent on more productive ventures. Heck, that you are reading this now is almost certainly an example of lost productivity, and another hyporcisy. We spend money on nice things because nice things make our lives enjoyable in some small way. It's human.
As soon as you go around starting to draw lines around what YOU think is excessive and what is not with regards to what people do with their legitimately acquired wealth, you presume too much.
Re:Creating it is only half the battle (Score:2, Insightful)
Don't act like your taxes are some sort of carbon offset that absolves you from helping others. Don't act like voting for the politically correct candidate is a substitute for charity.