To coincide with Steve Jobs’ appearance in the National Portrait Gallery’s new “American Cool” exhibition, Cult of Mac had the opportunity to speak with Charles “Chuck” O’Rear — the photographer who took the 1981 portrait of Jobs currently on display.

O’Rear, 73, recalls Jobs being aloof and preoccupied but — despite being young (he was just 27) — carried a real aura that this was someone who couldn’t be ignored.

“We had barely heard of him at the time,” O’Rear says. “With the same project I ended up photographing names like David Packard and Bill Hewlett of Hewlett-Packard, and Bill Noyce of Intel — all of who were better known than Steve. But there was a sense that Steve was a renegade, and so we should make sure we get his picture.”

This story first appeared in Cult of Mac Magazine.

“Adapt or die” is the rallying call of business strategists and evolutionary biologists everywhere. But when it comes to a U.S. tech company expanding its reaches into a new country, things aren’t always that simple.

History is littered with examples of American businesses that have tried and failed to crack the Chinese market — either because they attempted to adapt too much to local markets (thereby losing what made them unique), or else not changing enough.

While Apple’s success in China and other Asian countries is only of direct concern to shareholders, there is a very real reason for your average Apple watcher to be interested.

It’s the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Macintosh, and we wondered at Cult of Mac what can we do to celebrate? Then we thought, let’s dissect an original Macintosh and see what made it tick! There’s nothing like destruction in the persuit of knowledge.

In full retro spirit, we asked our friends at iFixit if they would help perform a special anniversary teardown of the 128k Mac. How does our silicon hero compare to modern Macs in terms of components, assembly and ease of repair? Of course being true geeks themselves, they jumped at the chance.

There was only one problem: where to find an original 128k Mac.

Way back in early 2012, Cult of Mac reported on the way that genius artist rap singer Kanye West had raised the ire of Apple fans by claiming that he was “[picking] up where Steve Jobs left off.”

Since then he has repeated the statement on several occasions — telling the New York Times in 2013 that, “I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means,” and describing himself as, “undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump.”

Samsung wants all the beautiful people to use its phones (and, probably more importantly, to be photographed using them). So how does the South Korean company get its latest, greatest smartphones into the hands of celebrities hooked on iPhones?

One method for getting Samsung gear into the manicured hands of Hollywood’s biggest stars is the company’s White Glove program, which smooths the way for the rich and powerful to make the big switch away from Apple’s shiny gadgets.

Acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson is crowdsourcing editorial comments for his new book — which will focus on innovators of the digital age. The book will begin with 19th century computer pioneer Ada Lovelace, and continue to the present day.

So far Isaacson has released a draft section — entitled “The Culture That Gave Birth to the Personal Computer” — that “sets the scene” in Silicon Valley during the 1970s: the decade in which Steve Jobs and Wozniak first started Apple.

In addition to all the new products of 2013, the past year was a whir of activity in the vintage Apple space. Apple may be content to only move forward and deny existence of any products older than seven years – what do you mean my first generation MacBook Pro is vintage??? – but the public has not forgotten them.

The biggest retro news of the year was probably the ascendancy of the Apple 1 on the auction block. In May, an Apple 1 fetched a record price of $671,000 at an auction in Germany – until just recently the highest price ever paid for a personal computer. Other Apple 1s sold this year in the $300,000 range, so if you are lucky enough to have one of these oldies-but-goodies in your attic, dig it out now!

Sure, those old computational machines are making some collectors serious new money. But love of Apple doesn’t always translate into hard cash. Over the years, we’ve covered a lot of cool things you can do with your obsolete — but still near and dear! — Apple gear.

Here are some of our favorites.

Have you ever looked around your garage or spare bedroom and thought: “There’s enough Apple stuff here to start a museum?”

That’s pretty much what happened to Adam Rosen, who runs the Vintage Mac Museum, a private collection of all working machines, out of his Boston-area home. (Take a peek at his prized pieces in the gallery in this edition.)

The certified Apple consultant and Cult of Mac contributor on all things vintage gave us the skinny on what to do with your burgeoning collection: what to toss, what to hunt for on eBay and what to beg your significant other to let you keep.

Cult of Mac: Since 2009 when the Apple 1s started resurfacing the prices have gone from under $20,000 between private collectors to over $300,000 at Christie’s – any thoughts on whether this is having any effects on the general market for Apple collectibles?

Adam Rosen: Apple 1 prices have been unreal, they’ve sold as high as $670k!  This has definitely had an effect on the size of the market for Apple collectibles, expanding it significantly.  The effect on value is more variable.

For rare items and prototypes, value has definitely gone up. If you have a prototype clear case Macintosh SE, yeah, that’s gonna interest people.  But there were a lot of Apple IIs and Macs manufactured.  With so many more people aware of the prices of rare Apple systems the market gets flooded with common models. A Mac Plus today is only worth about $100, even if it’s been in the attic for 20 years.

CoM: A few years back,  you said the size of a collection depends on what the person you live with will tolerate – does that still stand? Is there stuff you’ve decided to sell or give away that you were previously holding on to?

AR: That definitely still stands.  I’ve been contacted more than once by fellow collectors whose significant other has decided that it is Time for Things to Go, and they are willing to offer me a good deal!

I’m currently single – which lessens pressure from others to shed possessions – but it’s still necessary to purge occasionally in order to reclaim living space.

CoM: You have also said that the original 128K Macintosh is always desirable, does that still stand?

 AR: That is still true, and the value has increased.  A working 128k Mac is currently worth $750-1,000, one with an original box and packaging can command double that.  Vintage Mac prices spiked after Steve Jobs passed away, they’ve come down since but the first model will always be desirable.

CoM: If taking up space with old computers is a problem – what smaller collectibles are worth having?

AR: Funny you should ask that, as my collection has expanded I’ve become more interested in smaller promotional and marketing items.  They cost less and look nice next to other equipment.  Few are investment worthy yet, but collectively they have some value.

Original Apple marketing schwag is always desirable – posters, pins, buttons.  Store display banners are prized, though these can be large. “Think Different” posters are nice but still fairly common – buy a set and hold on to those.  Items signed by Steve Jobs are highly valuable; things by Woz not as much, since he has signed so much.  Apple clothing, manuals and stationary don’t really command much value.

CoM: What’s the most prized piece in your collection and why? How has that changed over the years?

AR: This has definitely changed over the years. I have a Mac Plus where the back and one side have been replaced with plexiglass to show off an internal hard drive upgrade.  This isn’t a translucent prototype, more like a working “cutaway drawing” of the Macintosh.  It’s a very unique piece.

I recently bought a 128k Mac with original packaging, I’ve wanted one of those for some time.  It’s a must-have for any serious Mac collector.

I’m also a big fan of the Picasso-style artwork.  Last year I bought one of those lighted Macintosh logo dealer signs which Apple supplied for the Mac’s introduction.  These are gorgeous, I love turning it on and looking at the light reflect inside the engraved glass.

CoM: Any thoughts or advice on finding or buying prototypes? That last Christie’s auction also had that clear cased SE, for example…

AR: eBay is probably the most likely place to find prototypes, it’s the biggest worldwide marketplace.  Craigslist can also be a good place to find old tech, especially in the larger cities.  Of course, knowing people who once worked at Apple never hurts!

Prototypes of products nobody cared about may not be worth anything.  For example, nobody is looking for a developmental Apple III system.  But if you can find an unshipped Apple tablet prototype from the 1980s or 90s, grab it.

By the time things show up at Christie’s you know you’re not going to be getting a bargain!  I don’t know how much that clear SE actually sold for, I think the last bid I saw was $5,000.  That’s still a lot more than a standard SE, which sells in the $100 range.