apple-1

Three centuries of geek-milestone devices in one epic auction

Attention early adopters: That first-edition Google Glass hardware is likely to be gathering dust a few years from now as the technology gets seriously revved (or falls victim to paranoid lawmakers and pub owners), but don't toss it out!

If an auction later this month of computing and other technological blasts from the past is any indication, it could pay off to hold on to those obsolete gadgets that were once on the cutting edge, even just briefly.

The highlight of the sale, planned for May 25 by German auction house Breker, is an original, working Apple-1, one of only 200 that were produced and 50 that are believed to still exist. Last year, Sotheby's auctioned off just an original Apple-1 motherboard for $374,500.… Read more

Original Apple 1 a steal at $127,000

Another original Apple 1 computer is up for sale, and this time it's expected to fetch no more than $127,000, a steal compared with the last unit sold.

Christie's is putting the rare computer -- each model was designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak with input from the late Steve Jobs -- on sale in October, the auction house announced today.

The Apple co-founders produced about 200 of these units and fewer than 50 still exist, according to Christie's. Originally sold for $666.66 from July 1976 to October 1977, the computer that started it all is now selling for tens of thousands of dollars. … Read more

Original Apple 1 computer motherboard sells for $374,500

An original Apple 1 computer motherboard sold this morning at Sotheby's for $374,500. The auction house originally estimated the item would sell for $120,000 to $180,000.

Filed under "Fine Books and Manuscripts," the motherboard is operational and is marked "Apple Computer 1" and dated 1976.

"It is thought that fewer than 50 Apple 1 Computers survive, with only [six] known to be in working condition," Sotheby's reports in catalog notes.

The iconic piece of technology history features a MOS Technologies 6502 microprocessor and 8 kilobytes of RAM. The original Apple 1 computers retailed for $666.66 in 1979 and did not include a monitor, keyboard, case or power supply. Only about 200 Apple 1 computers were produced. … Read more

Original Apple-1 computer going, going for $150K-ish

You may, like so many, have lost 40 percent of your wealth recently, but I'm sure you've saved something for this.

Tomorrow, the nice people at Sothebys are auctioning an Apple-1 motherboard, the very motherlode of modern, beautiful computing.

What's morally uplifting about your potential investment is that this particular machine allegedly works. It is, so Sothebys says, one of only six in earthly existence that can do whatever it is Apple-1 computers were supposed to do. Add, subtract and look amazing at parties, I suppose. … Read more

Rare, transparent Mac SE not worth $25,000

Sometimes, the comparison just isn't apples to apples.

A rare Apple-1 recently sold for $215,000. However, a rare, transparent Mac SE couldn't even get $25,000 slipped into its garter.

Which inevitably leads one to an examination of the word "rare."

There were, allegedly, around 200 Apple-1s created. There were, equally allegedly, only 10 transparent Mac SEs.

And yet, in bidding that closed on Saturday, a transparent Mac SE failed to attract one bid of the $25,000 minimum on eBay.

The seller, who says he worked in Apple R&D in the 1980s, … Read more

Rare Apple computer sells for $210,700

Talk about a smart tech buy. An Apple computer purchased more than 30 years ago has sold for 425 times its original selling price.

An Apple-1, one of only about 200 such machines built in Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' parents' garage, sold at Christie's auction house in London today for 133,250 pounds (about $210,700). The Apple-1, which didn't include a casing, power supply, keyboard, or monitor, originally retailed for $666.66 in 1976. Apple discontinued the model in 1977.

Christie's called the computer a "historic relic" and said the auction included all the … Read more