It's great to hear a story about how, occasionally, the little guy benefits from the largesse of those more fortunate. It humanizes Steve Jobs. That being said it's a good thing this kid is going into editing because his writing could use some work.

Citizen Kang

DON'T BELIEVE THIS! He didn't send him Final Cut Studio, he sent him PANDORA'S BOX! WE'RE ALL DOOMED!

Kenzo287

"At this festive season of the year, Mr. Jobs," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices."

scarbrtj

@RyaninCalgary: he actually did pass up buying a car for his mac pro.

vinnyr

And the copy will be on eBay by tomorrow..

mpar

@elvisml2: 9 dvds + 5 or 6 books on how to use the software.

vinnyr

Why is the box so big?

elvisml2

@Number_41:

It's not like he wanted free video games. He was asking for something related to his future goals in life. Maybe he really needed the discount on software to afford it. He may be in high school but how do you know he might of passed on buying a car or drinking with friends in order to afford the equipment he sees as vital in persuing his goals in life. $5k isn't that much in real life. Definatly not enough for you to pass judgment on him with very vew facts.

Now if he's a trust fund baby, driving a Bently you might have a point.

RyaninCalgary

well if he is that good of a customer, he could have asked for a bj and got it!

vinnyr

@shamowfski: i agree. also what doesn't make sense is if he had enough money to purchase a pro, imac, and macbook how come he couldn't afford studio 2? for someone who uses studio 2 on a pro and macbook pro my suggestion to the kid is spend your money beefing up your pro and dump the macbook cause it won't run studio 2. my macbook pro struggles with studio 2 even after beefing it up.

chinkbastard

he has all that! and then he gets that free!!! man, I would have sent him an email that said, "Sell one of your 3 computers and buy it."

odnet

Even though this probably won't happen for everyone who wants Apple software or hardware, this was a pretty cool story of a kid who got something just by asking nicely for it.

The nice guy does finish first in this story...

mr. Hi-Definition

Dear steve Jobs,

i Love apples. i love puppies. is apple going to make a puppy some day? i sure Hope so. I wouldnt mind a Kitten to. Both are expensive and hard work. ill bet a apple kitten or iCat would be more easier to use and take care of. my mom says when im grown up i can be a centaur for halloween and get a lot of candy. apple should make candy to.

bye bye,
chris, Age 9

PS: OMG PONIES 2 !!!!111

Voyou_Charmant

Well played, Steve. Well played...

aaj111

Oh come on, Apple probably figured he already paid for it with the system.

Besides, FCS 3 will probably come out in January.

thebear91

@jestermeister: NO UR NOT

PISS OFF

vinnyr

Hey everybody, I'm the one who got the Final Cut sent to me. I thought that was seriously awesome that they did that for me. FYI, to all the jealous dudes commenting up there, my parents actually are hella rich but they said I can't have Final Cut until my suck-ass grades come up. So I've been flaunting the box around the house and telling them to go f themselves (in not so many words). Thanks Apple!!!

jestermeister

@vinzer:

Evil manifest itself in many ways and one way for it to win you over is to give you what you want until you are dependent on them to provide you with everything.

Drug dealers use that in their line of work. Not too much unlike Obama's plans.

thebear91

Sounds like a spoiled kid was spoiled even further.

ZombieRace

it's not cool till i get one also.

i'll keep being anti-mac, but, HEY JOBS, i have my price tag, and, a macbook would be nice.

laio

so hes got 3 apple laptops/desktops priced altogether at 5k or more and he asked for a descount?
WTF?

N41

Number_41

If he is an HIGH SCHOOL student with an 8-core, he could probably afford Final Cut Studio 2 anyway.

I work as a meth lab technician

those kids in greenwich really need hand-outs.

zakharm

So we are praising apple for donating final cut pro to somebody that obviously has the money to buy it himself (8 core mac is very expensive). PS if he can afford an 8 core mac pro, an imac and a mac book he can afford final cut pro.

Heck i dont see tons of praises to dell who donated a printer ,with extra draws,a hdd ,and fully loaded with ram to us here at a library (who has a significant poor population).

majortom1029

Awwwwwwwww.

:,)

GizWizKid

Well that is pretty cool, seems like a nice enough guy. Wonder how many of those types of letters he gets. Pretty awesome though, just goes to show there actually might be hope for corporate America.

dimsum4u

@vinzer: We learned that he (if he was even the one who read the e-mail in the first place) is lazy and just forwarded it to the marketing department for some "free" publicity, courtesy of the blogosphere.

BoinK

@vinzer: As an aside, I find it weird (or possibly a severe case of foot-licking) that it was an Apple computer that got him interested in filmmaking. Being a film graduate myself, and from other accounts from my peers, it's usually a breathtaking/interesting/inspiring film that got one interested in filmmaking, and not a computer.

Also, Mr. Diaz is right in noting that someone who has a new Mac Pro might not really need that discount as much as others who aren't even able to afford Macs. But that extra $1300 (or $700, which is what he wanted to pay) could get him some decent equipment, admittedly.

In any case, epic kudos to Jobs and company.

vinzer

@undefined: anybody else notice that the corporate shipping label still reads "apple computer inc." even thought they changed the name awhile back to just "apple inc."? somebody in the shipping department didn't get the memo :)

oldmanstan

@vinzer: No, it had nothing to do with Jobs, but we did learn someone at apple has a heart

gamecrazychris

I know video professionals that are more hard up than this kid. Sell one of your systems (who needs an Imac and a Mac Pro?) and pay for the software...

shamowfski

Good thing he is headed to film school. That writing style, crappy and lacking punctuation, and disregard for proper nouns will not get him into any college I would want my kids to attend.

Kudos to Apple for seizing an opportunity for some almost free and very positive publicity.

joshman — repeatedly clicking expand all

This is awesome. That's the kind of atmosphere Apple has at the headquarters.

vgart

Steve Jobs was in the box.

websyndicate

hmm. now i may write a letter to jobs as well.

cgsofly

Well, at least we could now debunk the theory that Jobs is evil... could we?

vinzer

man, i need final cut studio so badly.

mr jobs, if your read gizmodo, you can send the package to

Abimbola odunsi street City : Ifako Ijaiye State : Lagos Zipcode : 23401 Country : Nigeria

thank, have good day!

moviscop

@peteH: me too!

vinnyr

@Lite: But, that was seriously very cool of Apple to do. Considering the history w/ his holyness and Pixar, it doesn't seem out of place for him to support the film community. But how long until Apple ships a proprietary 3D rendering tool for use in making animated films?

Lite

Awesome. Strangely enough, this is precisely how I got my free Maserati.

peteH

That was very nice of them. Now if only they could develop a nonhaterade version of the apple koolaid for the anti-mac crowd here.

Where are you with this invention Mr. Jones, er Jobs when we need it most?

Lite

@joshman - repeatedly clicking expand all: I was thinking just that while reading this article. Good to see that high school students are taught proper spelling and grammar...

poedgirl

Are there really high school students in Greenwich that write like that?

I would have written the kid an e-mail telling him to go take an English class before he got into filmmaking.

If the kid can't take the time to re-read his e-mail ONCE before sending it off to the CEO of a major company, I say he doesn't even deserve a response.

Kids these days...(and I'm only a sophomore in college).

jawzzy

@yelraf: hahaha you magnificent bastard!

dambo29

@DystoposB: er. Townhill, I mean.

DystoposB

Why are we all patting Steve Jobs on the back. Doesn't it appear that Richard Thornhill is the one who directed this gift?

DystoposB

Hello Mr. Jobs,

I have been a devoted Windows user all my life. I am seriously considering pursuing my dream of switching over to your fine Apple products. I have come to appreciate them over the years every time I get a chance to borrow a friends iBook or MacBook Pro. As you know your products are offered to students and teachers with an educational discount. Sadly I am neither and in this current harsh financial climate I fear I will never be able to realize my dream and sip from the sweet delicious Apple kool-aid.

If you could see it in your cold, black heart to give me a new MacBook Pro I will devote hours and hours of my time each day flooding message boards and blogging about the virtues of being a proud owner of a Mac. I will staunchly defend the honor of you and your company while I educate the unwashed, heathen masses, still clinging to their Microsoft powered products how wonderous and enriched their lives would be if only they switched to Apple.

Thank you.

PS. I can't wait to see what innovating and groundbreaking invention you come out with next!

Jrsy is back to being the dude, playing the dude disguised as another dude

Screw that kid. As some one who is paying up his nose to try and stay in film school and is actively seeking aid that guy can eat my balls. Considering I'm working with a pre intel mac and I can't even touch HD footage the least that kid could do is sell his iMac for some pocket change.

beardedkid

@I work as a meth lab technician: That's what I'm thinking too.

ShoyuRamen

@jestermeister

SImply comparing the wat the letter to Apple was written and your comment it is clear to see you are not the same person.

Still, I agree with most of the posters, If he, or his family. could afford that set-up, then can afford to buy FCP. Besides, if all he wanted was a discount, all he had to do was go to a University Store and pick it up. Most of them don't look for ID or do what underaged kids have been doing for years to get beer: pay a grownup (in this case a poor college kid) to buy it for him.

Still, lucky him.

rcorrino

Gosh, he couldn't find the time to capitalize apple? I would've docked him 3 Apple fanboi points for that...

anti-hello-kitty

^ ^ ^ I meant to say "I wouldn't attribute this to Jobs . . . " oops :)

efenili

@peteH:

hahaha

Twenty5

the kid is in high school, shouldn't he be all about w4r3z?

onewiththewurlitzer

Super cool, very nice Apple. I would attribute this to Jobs as history shows us his "heart" would not do such a thing...but kudos are deserved in part for what his company are at least 1 nice person there did.

efenili

@Lite: but it wasn't jobs who did it, it was Richard Townhill.

jbhitter24

@vinnyr: Yeah, no way is that him. Not enough errors in the typing.

yelraf

He goes to greenwich high school and he has a mac pro he cant be that smart or he would be going to private school?

bwilliams18

I'm a highschool student with a 8 Core Mac Pro with 18gb of ram

bwilliams18

Damn i should write a letter to steve jobs

"dear steve jobs im currently running osx86 on my msi wind, i would buy your macbook but i would have to take loan on my home to do so, can you please sell me one for %500.00 thanks"

Digitallysick

All you need to know is in the word "Greenwich".

thevoyeur

This article more than pays for the free software. That being said, very cool story. Apple is very smart in this way.

vista64guy

@chinkbastard: Well he can afford it. But he wants the discount. Which i understand. If i was in highschool i also would want the Edu discount everybody else in school gets.

Redwraithvienna

@moviscop: You don't need a free copy of Final Cut...I just mailed you that check yesterday. It should be there by Friday.

yelraf

@oldmanstan: Thus, I call shenanigans!!! No, not really. Just couldn't resist. Hopefully they included a copy of "Grammar and Punctuation for Dummies" with the shipment.

yelraf

@vinzer:
well i think what got him interested was the ease with which film can be made on an apple computer *slime bll mode off*.

What i want to say is that i understand both sides. He got to filmmaking by actually creating stuff and not just sitting there and saying "omg i want to be able to do this" in a way he is one step ahead of the others.

now kill me for that :)

Redwraithvienna

@joshman - repeatedly clicking expand all: i can't believe it took this many posts for someone to comment on how poorly written his letter was. seriously kid, they make you take writing and drama classes when you study films. good luck with that..

mjmahon

tsk, should've wrote to Adobe instead.

CaptainSquishy

@joshman - repeatedly clicking expand all: Tarantino has some of the most horrific, incomprehensible grammar I've ever seen. The correlation between flawless syntax and cinematic mastery is looser than some might expect.

nathangimpel

@chinkbastard: Maybe his parents bought the computers, but wouldnt pay so much for the software

paul

I actually have an issue with Apple's education discounts only applying to college students. My 17 year old step-son, a budding graphic artist, wants a MacBook instead of a Windows-based laptop. I find it ridiculous that a year from now he'd qualify for a discount, but not today. Forget about my 10 year old qualifying.
Back in the day, I was the certified Apple Education salesperson at a small chain here in New England, and their education discounts on hardware and software were for ALL students, K-12 and above.

jodyl127

Yea by all means give free software to a student with $7000 in Mac hardware, living in one of the wealthiest suburbs of NYC, attending one of the best-funded public high schools in the US.

I live about 3 miles from Greenwich High School - those kids are not want for ANYTHING. Mostly kids of hedge fund managers and other Wall St types. Their football field is nicer than some NFL teams. Average home price is like $1.2M.

brundlefly76

that kid doesnt deserve a free anything....he has 3 APPLE computers in high school? Maybe if he sold one he could afford the software. ugh, i hate rich kids.

shorty6049

First, hats off to Apple for helping the kid out.

Second, quit hating you fucks. Look, I don't know anything about this kid, but maybe he busted his ass, scrimped and saved, and that's how he paid for his Macs. Maybe not, but I'm not gonna hate on him. Hell, I give him credit for writing to Apple and for following his dream.

Peace out. Kid, if you ever read this, there'll always be more haters than supporters. Don't listen to the haters.

Now screw you guys, I'm going home.

BigPanda

@shamowfski: He wasn't asking for a freebie - he was just hoping for the College discount while still in High School. It's cool that Apple just gave it to him for free.

Quite a few Scrooge McDucks here at Gizmodo today.

EBone

Um, highschool students can get FCP2 at the student price too. Maybe his school sucks. Benefits of homeschool!

Either way, queue a mass amount of students writing into Steve jobs himself.

dharasick

I wrote to Microsoft for a free copy of MovieMaker, and I got a virus.

MyPetFly

Damn, I wish my parents would buy me a 8 core Mac Pro when I was in high school... plus a mac book and Imac... And I really don't remember having $700 for software when I was in HS... or even today for that matter, haha. But hey, good job kid, cant hate the player, just gotta hate the game that get a HS kid a Mac Pro and FC2, lol.

Cole.Mitguard

I wrote to Ballmer and asked for a working MS operating system.

All I got back in the mail were 5 qt jugs of Ballmer Monkey Sweat - Eeewwwwwwww!

Still, cleaned the scum off the pond nicely AND worked as a skunk repellant.

MINI Driver

Ok so Dear steve jobs,
I want an...
New Macbook Pro Maxed out
Mac Pro maxed out
and of course 2x24inch displays
I really need them for my 10th grade bio Film project:)

MatthewMace

PS-that box was shipped to Riverside/Old Greenwich...a whole level above the generic "Greenwich" breed

but to be fair Greenwich High is more of a normal school than one would expect. A high percentage of the students at the private school I work at (in NY) live in Greenwich.

discounteggroll

STEVE JOBS IS AN ASSHOLE FOR NOT REPLYING TO THE EMAIL HIMSELF AND FUCK THIS KID FOR BEING RICH AND GETTING SOMETHING FOR FREE

bagseed

@oldmanstan: Depending on where it's being shipped from, it may have originated at a place called "Apple Computer Inc.", aka ACI, Apple's in-house replacement parts supplier.

The blanket name of the entire Apple apparatus is "Apple, Inc.", but that's not the entirety.

postmodernism

The kid probably saved up for the mac pro but couldn't quite get enough extra out of his summer job for final cut. (or had the cash, but was shocked he couldn't get the .edu version) I'd say this is a better use of summer cash than saving for college, as a few thousand dollars lasts you a semester, barely. Might as well put that out on the good-ol-uncle-sam's college loan programs.

dieman

I can't believe this is authentic. I guess Apple receiving many e- or snail mails of the same kind. What? Do they just randomly select a lucky few? If I were Mr. Townhill, I would choose a person who can write properly.

tobedetermined

it sure feels good recently moving to Greenwich (CT), bringing the demographics DOWN DOWN DOWN

I'm sure Rye Brook wasn't disappointed that I'm gone

six figure salary? HA
Own a house? HAHA
Portfolio? you get the picture...

Greenwich Ave is a beautiful place to live though.

discounteggroll

I wrote a similar letter to ThePirateBay and, wouldn't you know it, a free copy of Final Cut Studio arrived on my hard drive in 2 hours!

DrProf.KenRockwell_phD_DDS

It was cool of Jobs (or whoever), but if you notice, the box says "Not for Resale." I got an NFR copy of Logic Pro from an Apple Rep about 6 months ago, and the caveat is that NFRs aren't eligible for upgrades. Not a bad way to get your hands on some awesome fully-functional software, though.

UnaMunippus

It's not like he was asking for it for free. He was simply trying to get a student price because he is as student, just not in college yet. Nothing wrong with that. Better than him pirating it off some website.

Coleballs

Good thing he got that copy instead of some inner-city school.

That is how I first got exposed to Macs. Got we were poor.

archercc

Wow. Just... Wow.

judacris

It's true. Today's college students do have terrible grammar. I wouldn't have sent that dude anything.

nuggetz

I don't believe this. The kid can't even capitalize Apple. This story has got to be fake.

rb4dv

just write a letter to steve jobs for those who want copy/paste on their iphones lol

paul96734

@oldmanstan: No, no - he got that memo - multiple times in fact. It was a mistake - and it will never happen again. He'd already been told by 3 of his 8 bosses and will hear from the rest of them soon...

*My attempt at an Office Space joke*

dmanbluesfreak

@jestermeister: Nice try! prove it!

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

@thebear91: FC3 isn't too relevant, he still got a cool gift current version or not. He'll learn a ton from it anyway!

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

oops spelling.....and I'm WAY out of High School!!!!! LOLOLOL

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

The Mac could have ben gifts, maybe he bought one like the Mac Book, and was "awarded" with another for straight A's or something, who nows. Give the kid a break already, if you don't like it, write a letter and see how you do. Grinches!!!!

But he should Pay it Forward somehow too....that would be cool of him!

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

Dear Steve,
I have been out of high school for a very long time now, but have spent a shit load on your products, ever since my first Apple IIe! Would you please send me a free copy of Final Cut Studio 2 since all I really need is DVD StudioPro and don't feel like shelling out $1300 for the whole god damn suite!

rgspb

@joshman - repeatedly clicking expand all: Yeah, because most High School kids are literary geniuses. Right? Right?

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

@moviscop: better re-post and ask for the software and not the package, they mayjust send youthe box for Final Cut! J/K ;-) of course.

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

@shorty6049: second that, I had to flip burgers and "EARN" my first car in High School and it certainly taught me the value of a dollar, now I say he shold donate one of his macs to a poor kid for Christmas!!! Pay It Forward lil Dude!

Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass

@Lite: The kid is actually a shill doing Balmer's bidding. Jobs will now feel compelled to extend educational discounts to high-schoolers, thus cutting into Apple's sales. The shareholders will revolt sending Apple into a tailspin.

whootowl

Steve jobs didn't invent shit. lol.

Kakkoister

@joshman - repeatedly clicking expand all:

Seriously, thanks for calling that out. It is certainly a poor showing for Apple, a company allegedly invested in education, to support such ignorance.

Perhaps the student speaks English as a second language?

DaveExile

Bring on the 2 billion busters that try to email and get the same thing.

Mr_Hustleufagus

I graduated from Greenwich High School 4 years ago

Imadoctornotapoolman

Wow, that kid's grammar is flawed.

Con Seannery

Wow! I sent an e-mail to SJobs yesterday about allowing Canadians to join the Insomnia Film Festival! Damn, I should've just asked for Final Cut Studio which is what I really want. I'm basically in exactly the same boat as this kid here - minus the Mac Pro.

ipodrulz

I don't know, it's hard for me to get sucked into his Tinny Tim tale when he currently has $7000+ of relatively contemporary Apple hardware in his house.

aquaosx

@kidlucrative: hes also a programmer so he is against pirating software. (Good friend from school) you should have seen him when he got that email from RT, he almost collapsed he was so exited!

vinnyr

@bnsqueak: lol

vinnyr

Hey, I have a free copy of FCS2, too! Only Steve didn't give it to me...I took it.

bnsqueak

If this had been hardware, I would recognize a sacrifice on the part of apple. Certainly this software is very valuable, but it's also worth noting as odd that this particular kid, although he's "into" Macs and video editing, doesn't know anyone who can pirate a copy of Final Cut Pro 5(or is possibly ethically disinclined to do so). I make no moral claim here, if you feel piracy is wrong that's fine, but most every video editing kid in high school worth his salt should be able to get a copy of final cut for free ninety-nine.
What I'm saying is, it almost just seems like apple is recognizing the fact that this kid wants to actually *PAY* for software(a somewhat rare thing among highschool A/V nerds in my personal observation) that it's saying, "Go ahead, have a copy!" as childish but cool and A-Okay reward.

kidlucrative

@nathangimpel: Are you watching the same Quentin movies I am? The guy didn't even finish grade ten and went on to win an Oscar for his screenplay. He's a savant.

kylo4

@joshman - repeatedly clicking expand all:

+1

So again, to summarize, I also in high school write more nicely.

strattonboarder

Hey Steve? I love Apple, but just can't afford that fully loaded Mac Pro without a student discount. Do you want to uhh... give me a "discount"?

:P

Anyway, that kid was probably surprised, just a little. Good for him.

spyker3292

This is very childish of him/them to do ("him/them" not being Steve Jobs). When I was an undergrad I wrote a similar letter and got a suite of software from a company (not to be mentioned). It really helped me. I'm eternally grateful for their generosity.

If you do write such a letter, don't post it on the internets for all to see. That's just poor taste.

Ayeco

This was very nice of Richard Thornhill to do, and while sending it to Gizmodo to show Apple's nice support seems morally good, now Apple will be flooded by thousands of bullshitters to get the same reward.

kylo4

@Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass: Yeah, because you need to be a literary genius to write in proper English. Right? Right?

USB_Humping_Dog

@whootowl:
I don't see how educational discounts for high school will do anything but help apple's top line sales. Sure, it probably cuts out 10-20% of profits from teeny-boppers who are buying $100-$400 iPods, but it will vastly increase sales for high ticket $1000+ items like MBs, iMacs, final cut, etc. which would never have been deemed feasible on a high schooler's allowance.

net_addict

@BoinK:

You're right. Every CEO should actually take care of things like this themselves. Jobs should have gone to the store, gotten a copy of the software, grabbed an envelope, typed up the letter and walked it to the mail.

That lazy bastard!

dXXXXX

Dear Mr Jobs,

I am a middle aged over worked uner paid consumer. As much as I like i-everything I just cant seem to see the need to jump from my cost saving pc to a mac. For the price is a wacpro I mean the new shiny white thin screened apple logoed machine I can buy a reputable gaming laptop with twice the specs and upgradable. What do you know I can actually do video editing,photo editing and pull myself daily just as good if not better than I could with a mac. I laugh at mac addicts who urge for the apple logo just as they are addicted to fitting in and being part of the "cool" crowd. I giggle under my breathe when I think about how overpriced and hyped the new macs are. The original apple should be where the pc market is. Oh well Steve at least you still have the ipod.

Richard(Dick) Long

Mosher

hey im a high school student! (writes email for new macbook)

otis123

@vgart: No, the atmosphere has a lot of yelling and walking on egg shells.

WiZZLa

The kid could work on his grammar first before doing any video editing.
HOW WAS BABBY FORMED? THEN WHO WAS PHONE?

WiZZLa

@shamowfski: The kid is probably talking about his own laptop, plus the desktops in his parents' household. Unless he's really spoiled.

aratuk

@Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass:

Actually this could be very relevant. I remember that before Logic Studio came out, Apple had stopped selling the upgrade of Logic Pro 7. So I called up Apple asking if there would be any way to still buy it. They told me not to worry about it and sent me the full version for free. Same thing when the power adapter for my Powerbook (Pismo) broke out of warranty several years ago. I called up looking to buy a replacement and instead they just sent me a new one for free. Apple can actually be very nice if you talk to the right person, and horrendous if you get the wrong person (a story for another day).

darthsaber10

@Lite: Yes, it is really cool.

Also, it strikes me that they couldn't have given him the discount because they would then have to give it to all high school students. It's not always quite as easy for high school students, who are usually minors, to prove enrollment to achieve the discounts.

The best business bet for Apple would be to offer all of its pro applications for free with computers it sells to secondary schools. It would be serious value-added for the schools to buy Macs, and it would get the kids hooked on Apple's pro apps--just a little something extra when their parents are already shelling out for college.

aratuk

a high school student running a 8 core mac Pro.. how come i finished my MA and am still stucked with a PPC 1.8 G5???

anyway, i still love that baby

bookmark

i like hearing stories like this. makes me realize that not every major elite company out there is a dick.

arcanedark

@aratuk: An Apple IIe in every classroom!

whootowl

little bastard's got a mac pro

PHermas

@cgsofly: Dear Mr Bank, erm.. i mean Jobs.

I am writing to you to tell you my sad story. To get to the point, i spent all my money on Apple products and now i can not afford my dream car (Ferrari), and i was wondering whether you could send me a discount vouchers.

Enclosed i have also included my email address, paypal account number (to let you forward any money), and my address.

I hope you write back soon.

Signed by your biggest Apple Mac fan.

Harmonica waits for sundown and cornflakes

@jbhitter24:

but the kid sent the mail to Steve and he was kind enough to forward it to the right person.

krom

@gamecrazychris: I'm certain that this doesn't have anything to do with heart. Just good PR.

Tsiroch

Huge box for a piece of software.

aperson

@BoinK: Yeah, I guess you're all right about this being more of a publicity thing than actual giving. :D

vinzer

@zakharm: lol, exactly what I was thinking, poor kid probably drives just a regular 3 series BMW to school. For shame.

CooperDToo

@USB_Humping_Dog:

It's a horribly-written letter, but writing style aside, for such an "important" letter (to the kid), you think he could have at least proof-read it and run a spell-check on it. He clearly didn't.

I would have ignored it on this basis alone, because it speaks so poorly of the author that I would not have considered this kind of encouragement.

p.s. Quentin Tarantino movies are juvenile and pointless. He's completely overrated IMHO. He goes into my "automatically ignore" file, together with Clive Barker movies and Mel Gibson movies.

darex

he got a dick in a box

Rambone

sorry to be a pain, but "an discount"...

JBu92

Hello Mr Jobs,

could you please send me an 8 core mac pro? I really like what you're doing! Thanks.

Th3Chos3n0n3

For those of you who don't know, Greenwich, CT is one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S. The median home price is about $1.5 million. This kid does NOT need a discount.

BWThorp

@shamowfski: Holy crap, at first this sounded like a pretty cool story, but handing out a free copy of Final Cut to someone that already has that much in hardware is ridiculous. Doesn't seem like he's at a terrible disadvantage because *nobody* that buys a dual quad-core Mac is hard up for cash.

Absent Blue

@vinnyr: wow, I had no idea.

elvisml2

Greenwich Connecticut? He can afford a $2000+ Mac Pro but can't afford FCS2?

I know not everyone who lives in a rich town is rich but come on, this is ridiculous.

LVP

@Ayeco: It does kind of feel like showing it off, but then, that's usually how spoiled, rich kids are.

shufflemoomin

@Mr_Hustleufagus: I'm almost certain that ship has already sailed.

shufflemoomin

@discounteggroll: And per chance do you live on this Avenue in the box this kids Final Cut arrived in? :)

shufflemoomin

@jodyl127: You haven't worked out the answer by now? See: Article. Get emailing and get it for nothing. Aparantly. Wouldn't be fair to give it to a likely snotty rich kid and not your kid.

shufflemoomin

@BigPanda: Unless he was a rent boy, how the f**k is a high school kid gonna earn that kind of money?

shufflemoomin

@Jrsy is back to being the dude, playing the dude disguised ...: I see no flaw in that plan. Print and mail it for added 'poorness' effect and let us know how you like your new super-duper Apple.

shufflemoomin

@dXXXXX: "Hello XXX I got your e-mail and don't worry, I'll take care of you. I've forwarded your message to my marketing director, he'll contact you soon to sort out the details. Thanks for supporting Apple. Best regards, Steve."
Zero effort and would've boosted the publicity even further.
(I never write professional letters so don't even start on that one ;) ).

BoinK

@bwilliams18: He doesn't have to be smart, his parents will buy him everything he needs. Except Final Cut apparantly...

shufflemoomin

@odnet: Amen to that!

shufflemoomin

Should have written that he saved up to buy Final Cut and couldn't afford a machine to use it on. Please forward me one top-of-the-range, dogs-bollocks Apple for f**k all. And make it snappy, Jobs.

shufflemoomin

@shorty6049: 3 Apple machines AND the f**king cheek to ask for a discount on software.

shufflemoomin

@LVP:

Agreed.

RobLikesbrunch

The "high school" student can barely write. He should be taking an English class, not studying film.

RobLikesbrunch

Dear Kid-Who-Got-Free-Expensive-Software...,

I really love Apple too. I'd love to do more cool things with Garageband & other music software, but my poor four year old Mini just can't keep up.

I know rich people can afford new computers, but I'm just not rich. Do you think you could give me your iMac so I can continue working on my mad beats? I would really appreciate it. Many thanks.

doggo

P.S. I can wait to see your innovative and groundbreaking filmmaking.

doggo

Oh come on guys, it's probably his mom's mac pro. Maybe I'm wrong but you know how when you live at home, everything that your folks own is yours... "my" house, "my" room, "my" computer...

that's pretty cool, FCP is one of my favorite pieces of software

med

@RobLikesbrunch: yeah because we all know how much money you'll make by taking English class. Dickwad.

imTheKing

@BWThorp: yeah that must mean that every single person in that area is rich. You ignorant fool.

imTheKing

I can't believe the large percentage of viewers that are complete douche bags. Half of the idiots posting about how he could afford a Mac Pro are most likely a bunch of cheap idiots. The kid simply asks for a discount on a product and you all act like he had no intentions to pay. Then there are the classic comments about "I'd have to take a mortgage on my home to buy a Mac because I can't budget correctly".

imTheKing

@BoinK: Steve's public email address is probably maintained and read by the marketing department.

nomayo

@imTheKing:

He's in HIGH SCHOOL. You need a good foundation in English FOR ALMOST ANY JOB. Jesus Christ, how stupid can you get?

RobLikesbrunch

@beardedkid: I agree. What a little punk. Gettin stuff for free... doesn't deserve it...grumble rumble grr.

jestermeister

@rcorrino: Wow, I love how everyone on this board is an english forensics expert! Maybe I wrote the letter with the express intent of sounding a smidge pathetic? Is that really so hard?

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA...you guys are so flippin jealous! Crackle-cackle-guffaw!!!

jestermeister

@RobLikesbrunch: Funny you say that. All of the "smart kids" that had a "good foundation" in high school, seem to have dead end jobs or "hobby jobs". In Film, if your work is good, you are in. No ones waiting there with a pen and pad to ask you English questions. Some of the most established people in the world are horrible at writing.

imTheKing

"Dear Mr. Jobs, I really love apple and I use it at work everyday. I don't have one at home though, and am inspired to be successful like you one day. Can I get a 8 core mac pro?"

derekyap

@darex: I know, guess the kid wasn't too concerned with being understood (but then, what's the point?)

USB_Humping_Dog

@yelraf: LOL!

chhyeeaa

@strattonboarder: P.S. I can't wait to see how awesomely awesome you are when you change the world awesomely with your awesome inventions.

chhyeeaa

@Voyou_Charmant: i lol'd.

chhyeeaa

@Some_F-in-ShiT_Ass: Also, writing penpal letters to Steve Jobs is definitely work better left to literary geniuses. Right? Right?

chhyeeaa

@nathangimpel: Tarantino isn't the end-all-be-all you're implying.

chhyeeaa

@paul: Maybe he'll get a fre@Absent Blue: srsly.

chhyeeaa

@vinnyr: spare me. i don't buy it.

chhyeeaa

@nuggetz: He's in High School.

Read: Article.

ViperBorg

@moviscop:
If you think that's funny, I have a cousin who was going to send money to Nigeria for a job at "British Petroleum IT" - his mother stopped him. Sometimes the other side of the family really is that stupid...

Geraldo

@I work as a meth lab technician: Welcome to Greenwich. I just checked wiki, and apparently, as of 2000, the MEDIAN income for a household is $99,086. lol. That explains his 8 core pro, imac, and macbook, doesn't it now?

jdickson87

@jestermeister: Yeah...if you are can you give me the e-mail of the guy? I'm seirously thinking about writing my own letter. thanks!

Hackintosh

@websyndicate: Ever since Macworld 2007, he tried to get as thin as the MacBook Air he introduced.

Hackintosh

@vgart: I don't know, my friend had verrrryyy crappy experience with his lemon-ipod. He finally threw it away, since Apple wouldn't do anything :(

I guess it's case by case basis... Or your luck...

Meltdown