Charlie Rose sacrifices face for MacBook Air

If you caught the Charlie Rose show last night, this was the gruff ruffian you found presenting. The last thing you'd expect from the usually staid, easy going interviewer. Turns out Rose had a choice to make when he tripped on a 59th street pothole in New York City: protect his newly purchased MacBook Air, or his face -- he chose the former. According to his producers, "The Macbook Air is fine, he showed us the blood stains on it this morning." Wow, in an instant he took a measurable shot to his dignity and redefined the term, "air head." Not bad.

[Timothy Sottek @ Mar 18th 2008 2:54AM]

No shame I suppose... he shows no need to "save face" for such a ridiculous purchase.

[Darren @ Mar 18th 2008 3:51AM]

Actually, he needn't have protected his MacBook Air at all. The thing is rock solid and tough, and can easily withstand a few drops.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 18th 2008 8:13AM]

This sounds like a typical Apple publicity stunt.

If he really did buy a Macbook Air and he really did allow himself to get injured to protect it - THEN HE IS AN IDIOT.

[Ellianth @ Mar 18th 2008 10:06AM]

So you're telling me that all those kids who came to school with black eyes, and all those wives who came with black eyes and bruises, who i've been assuming were getting beaten by their dads/husbands, really did fall?

Who'd have thought they were telling the truth when they said they fell. I still think it's hard to fall on your eye :P.

The guy in this article is an idiot. I'm sure he makes more than enough money to buy a new one.

[wizzle @ Mar 18th 2008 11:17AM]

@Ellianth

Do you even know who Charlie Rose is? You're the fucking idiot.

[BananaBoat @ Mar 19th 2008 8:47AM]

Does ANYONE know who he is? I sure don't, and I watch plenty of TV.


On another note, I've smacked my knee a hundred times while trying to keep electronics from hitting the ground. Never my eye though...how is that even possible? Nose? Sure. Eye? Give me a break. To hit your eye, the only way I can imagine, is if both hands are above your head, holding the macbook air as you face plant with one side of your face pointed down, which then magically hits the corner of something, right in your eye. That scenario makes him a complete idiot, because that type of fall right on your face could mean thousands of dollars in reconstructive surgery later :p not to mention that you'd look like a complete moron during.


Wow...bravo sir...protecting a replaceable (insurance?) piece of electronical equipment, that you could probably say is a business purchase anyway....instead of your own face.

[idiot @ Mar 18th 2008 2:56AM]

ba dum pissh

[Zeus.:God @ Mar 18th 2008 3:01AM]

Meh... If I spent 2000 dollars on something I would probably choose to protect it as well...

[Jeff @ Mar 18th 2008 11:04AM]

that's exactly what i'm thinking.

My eye can heal itself.

[Tom @ Mar 18th 2008 1:04PM]

Word. I have been in a couple situations where it was either me or my camera. My camera is unscathed, and my skin has healed. Charlie Rose, I'm with you - protect your Air, you made a smart choice.

[Brendan Sheehan @ Mar 18th 2008 1:44PM]

I didn't buy an Air and I don't have a black eye. That's two positives.

[Kamokazi @ Mar 19th 2008 1:26AM]

I agree. As much as I would love to see an Apple product-especially the MBA-smashed to bits, I would have done the same things...flesh heals, electronics don't.

[waiownsyou @ Mar 18th 2008 3:06AM]

Is it just me or this article/blog post poorly written?

I don't understand a damn thing.

Sorry if this offends you, Thomas Ricker, but you've got bad puns and allusions out the wa-zoo. One would think this is crap like The Inquirer.

[Justin @ Mar 18th 2008 4:24AM]

don't really get it either

Basically... Guy trips, protects macbook air instead of his face. Macbook air not domage but has blood... live goes on

[John @ Mar 18th 2008 7:27AM]

I was personally offended by the sentence fragment and the double hyphen that wasn't converted to an em dash.

[tanooki2003 @ Mar 18th 2008 10:42AM]

Thomas Ricker is a moron and really does not know how to write. Common sence and good writing skills seem to be lost on him.

[BorisBorf @ Mar 18th 2008 3:09AM]

They must not pay him too well. He is a news anchor and gets paid for his face to be on TV, but he chooses his MBA over that face.

If I were him, I say screw the notebook - just buy another one on his way to work.

[Jeff @ Mar 18th 2008 11:08AM]

people who can "afford to just buy another one" are the last people who WILL just throw money away like that.

that's probably why they have money: because they're not going to just willfully throw it away.

besides, would a brand new computer have all his data on it? your "if i were him" has no base in reality at all.

[tekdemon @ Mar 18th 2008 3:14AM]

Who cares? I'm sure he tried to avoid hurting his laptop and his face and it didn't quite work out. For all you know he might have broken his wrists if he had just dumped his macbook and reached for the ground with his hands.

And seriously, it's not like he was horribly maimed, he has a bruised eye that'll heal up in no time.

[tyler @ Mar 18th 2008 3:16AM]

MacBook Air this.. MacBook Air that..

Enough with it already

[Kizorblade @ Mar 18th 2008 3:35AM]

Err... they haven't mentioned the MBA in quite some time compared to the actual amount of news they report.

Away troll! Back under to the bridge that you came from!

[nh @ Mar 18th 2008 8:06AM]

Ah, so that's why they report every solid alliance device that spews from the factory... to dilute the Apple news!

Kidding, kidding, things seem to have got a lot better in the last couple of weeks, a much more balanced selection.

[Hax Or @ Mar 18th 2008 9:46AM]

I for one miss our MBA overlords.

[Cybergypsy @ Mar 19th 2008 10:48AM]

Not on your life........

[LordJohnWhorfin @ Mar 18th 2008 3:26AM]

Apple couldn't buy this type of publicity... Or, wait a minute, did they just do that?

[Do I look indie yet @ Mar 18th 2008 6:19AM]

OH GOD IT'S ALL A CONSPIRACY TO GET APPLE PUBLICITY WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?!!!?!?

[Argot @ Mar 18th 2008 8:45AM]

Yeah, they bought it... "MBA users are total idiots. It just works..."

[Citrico @ Mar 18th 2008 1:34PM]

I love the idea of Steve Jobs going around beating up news anchors

[stunta @ Mar 18th 2008 3:30AM]

This post is incredible in its absolute lack of any useful information regarding anything gadget related. Is Charlie Rose being called an "air head"? The post's language is not clear. The blogger must have been half asleep when he wrote this.

There must be a better way to portray Apple products in good light for no reason. Engadget is simply hunting for far-fetched excuses.

[Lemmiwinks (SSBBFC: 0903-2436-0891) @ Mar 18th 2008 2:26PM]

"There must be a better way to portray Apple products in good light for no reason. Engadget is simply hunting for far-fetched excuses."

A - How does this portray Apple products in a good light?

B - This is an unusual story involving a famous gadget and a famous person... sounds blog-worthy to me. You are reading a gadget blog, not CNN.com's tech page.

C - Something tells me that if this story was about how Natalie Portman lost an iPhone in her vagina, not as many people would be complaining here.

[kyle allen @ Mar 18th 2008 3:30AM]

he should put that on ebay, i mean you could go get a mac book air, or, for a few extra benjaminz you could get a mac book air covered in charlie roses blood!! you could like... clone him or something, and we could have twice the interviews with people we've never herd of!

[Alijah @ Mar 18th 2008 3:33AM]

Wow two bad decisions this man has madeinvolving a Macbook air.
The first one being getting one at all.

[Dave95 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:03AM]

Really? Who are you to tell him what his NEEDS and REQUIREMENTS are for a Laptop?

[mark burban @ Mar 18th 2008 3:53AM]

On Xmas eve I slipped while holding my canon 30D & was faced with the quick decision, smash the camera, or smash myself against the pavement. I chose the latter, & ended up with fractured ribs..

It hurt alot, my camera was unharmed, so I guess it was worth it, even if it took me 2 months to recover..

[Justin @ Mar 18th 2008 4:26AM]

wow how'd you end up doing that?

I'd probably would have done the same thing. Those things are expensive

[mark burban @ Mar 18th 2008 7:04AM]

xmas eve... I was drunk & acting like an idiot. Got some great shots though... :)

[wilcoholic @ Mar 18th 2008 4:07AM]

These kind of posts are highly suggestive. If the damage isnt permanent then I'd take a hit to my face over a broken $2000 laptop anyday. Any sane guy with an average job in the world would do the same.

Its much easier to recover from a bruise then to earn 2 grand.

[Homeboy @ Mar 18th 2008 8:35AM]

I wouldn't because I have something called home insurance which also cover any accidental damaged to my gadgets.

[Chebwa @ Mar 18th 2008 9:07AM]

"Any sane guy with an average job in the world would do the same."

Charlie Rose isn't exactly working down at the docks 9-5.

[Jeff @ Mar 18th 2008 11:16AM]

Even people with well-paying jobs would probably choose a black eye over losing $2,000.

I don't care how much money you make, i think the vast majority of people would answer the same to the question: "would you rather have me smash your $2k laptop with all your data on it, or punch you in the eye?"

doesn't seem like a tough question to me. (...you know, if it's not someone known to kill people with a single punch.)

[ariez84 @ Mar 18th 2008 4:21AM]

Is this the new "I walked into a doorknob"?

[Eliot @ Mar 18th 2008 4:24AM]

This is certainly funny, but I really wish the injury had been Wii related.

[sk8rpro @ Mar 18th 2008 4:36AM]

are you kidding? That old news!

[Asher Madan @ Mar 18th 2008 4:42AM]

He's lying. He didn't protect his MacBook Air, he got beaten up. Maybe his wife hit him with something.

[Sirius @ Mar 18th 2008 5:55AM]

Well the picture with engad's article makes it look like he got hit BY a macbook air... and that's what I thought the article was about, the slightly ambiguous title not helping much...

[paul34 @ Mar 18th 2008 4:59AM]

Hmm, with a SSD drive, and assuming it was in a somewhat padded bag/sleeve, it might not have been laptop death (how tall is Mr. Rose?). But then again, the laptop screen is still very vulnerable. I've seen plenty of laptops take a fall, have the hard drive still function okay... but the screen will usually be pretty much done for.

But since his laptop was obviously closed... maybe not. Who knows. I suspect no one is really willing to do this expensive of a test, however...

[aka_gus @ Mar 18th 2008 5:04AM]

Again with the hating!!
Ricker's just telling us about this (actually pretty funny event) where someone who has to look very respectable for his job chose to sacrifice his _face_ for a gadget. Forget that said gadget was a macbook air and remember that this is en_GADGET_ we're all reading!

[fred @ Mar 18th 2008 8:04AM]

"Ricker's just telling us about this (actually pretty funny event) where someone who has to look very respectable for his job chose to sacrifice his _face_ for a gadget. Forget that said gadget was a macbook air and remember that this is en_GADGET_ we're all reading!"

Ask yourself a simple question.

If this was a Dell or an HP or a Lenovo or any other laptop or product other than one from Apple, would Thomas Ricker even have bothered posting this?

[RandomCake @ Mar 18th 2008 11:55AM]

If an anchor man had ended up with a black eye? Would be even more news because we'd all think he's insane (more than we do now...)!

[Dave95 @ Mar 18th 2008 11:22AM]

@ Fred

Give it a break, if a prominent personality on TV like a Charlie Rose got bruised-up trying to save a gadget, Engadget would cover it.