vintage tech - page 3

Apple Lisa 1 Sells for $15k on eBay

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Rare Vintage Apple items are popular these days. An Apple Lisa 1 put up for sale on eBay last week has sold for $15,000 after 11 bids! The unit, in working condition, belonged to a former member of the Lisa production team at Apple and was sold by his brother.  In an email received by Cult of Mac, the seller noted that the buyer intends to display the system in a museum in Italy.

Next Up For Auction: An Apple Lisa 1

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Another rare item from Cupertino, an Apple Lisa 1, hit the auction block this week.  The successor to the Apple II and the predecessor to the Macintosh, the Lisa originally shipped back in 1983.  Born of the pioneering work done at Xerox PARC and refined by Apple, it was the world’s first commercially available computer with a Graphical User Interface.

The first Lisa used two proprietary 5.25″ floppy disk drives known as “Twiggy” drives.  These were problematic and unreliable, and were replaced in 1984 with the Lisa 2 and a 400k 3.5″ floppy drive.  Most original Lisas were updated to the 3.5″ disk package, so very few Lisa 1 systems survive today.

As of this writing, current price on eBay is $15,000 after 4 bids, with 4 days left to go.  Check back late next Tuesday for the results. Following the recent Apple 1 sale, looks like another possible record in the making!

[via MacNN] [9to5mac]

Amiga Emulator for iPhone Demoed In Action

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iAmiga on iPhone 4
iAmiga for iOS (image: touchArcade)

There are few vintage computing clans who rival Cult of Mac members in zeal and tenacity, but fans of the Commodore Amiga come close.  The successor to the widely popular Commodore 64, the Amiga was a 16 bit multitasking computer that found great success in the gaming and video production markets.

Now the Computer-That-Never-Dies is coming to the OS of the future: iAmiga for iOS has been demoed and is (hopefully) coming soon to the App Store.

Apple 1 Sells For $213,600 in Christie’s Auction

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Apple I at Christys

Apple 1 system number 82 has found a new owner, for the bargain basement price of only $213,600 (£133,250).  Sold via Christie’s of London, and originally shipped from Steve Jobs’ garage, the pre-auction estimate had been up to $240,000 (£150,000).  The buyer remains unknown at the time of this posting.

The Apple 1 was considered the first personal computer, and approximately 200 systems were produced.  About a quarter of those survive today.  This kit includes the motherboard, cassette adapter, manuals, the original shipping box in good condition, and a signed letter from Steve Jobs to the first owner.

This particular Apple 1 has made the rounds.  Cult of Mac first reported on it in November 2009 when it was posted on eBay for $50,000. A year later and it has appreciated significantly in value.

What’s in your attic?

For Sale: Apple 1 Computer Shipped From Steve Jobs’ Garage

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Apple I at Christys

Christie’s of London just announced a special item for auction, an original Apple 1 computer shipped directly from Steve Jobs’ garage.  Labeled system number 82, this kit includes the motherboard, cassette adapter, manuals, the original shipping box in good condition, and a signed letter from Steve Jobs to the original owner!

The Apple 1 was the first pre-assembled personal computer, it did not require soldering skills to get running. “This is the forerunner of the iPod, iPad and iPhone” said Julian Wilson from Christie’s, “it worked straight out of the box.”

Approximately 200 Apple 1 systems were produced, and about a quarter of those survive today.  The Steves – ever the jokesters – originally priced the system at $666.66.  In 2009 an Apple 1 was listed on eBay for $50,000.  Christie’s estimates this one to sell for £150,000 ($240,000)!  Not a bad return on your investment.

[via Daily Mail]

Behold the Banana Junior 9000 – It Lives!

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Banana Jr front

Cult of Mac members and fans of Bloom County, a long lost friend has returned.  Straight from the labs of the RetroMacCast and brainchild of RMC co-host John, the Banana Junior 9000 Fully Portable Personal Computer has been reborn!  It Computes, Sorts, Prints, Draws, Figures, Doodles, Slices, Dices, Whistles, Whimpers, Dances, Prances… and most important of all… It Turns ON!

Mac Museum Sells for $10,000 on eBay

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Who says old computers are worthless?  The (former) Mac Museum of Franklin Park NJ, which we reported up for sale on eBay last week, has found a buyer. Closing price after 20 bids: $10,000!

The Museum’s models include the Lisa, Mac 128k, Plus, SE/30, Color Classic, Mac Portable, TAM, Newtons, etc., along with lots of posters, peripherals and paraphernalia.  It’s a very respectable price for a longtime labor of love, hopefully the buyer will be able to fulfill curator Gil Poulsen’s goal of making the collection more publicly available.

In related news, Vintage Mac collectors worldwide are now updating their own inventory valuations…

For Sale: One Large Mac Museum. Used. Bring a Big Truck

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Vintage Macs come and go, Vintage Mac Museums typically tend to Grow.  One particularly impressive Museum is Moving On. The Mac Museum of Franklin Park, NJ has been put up for sale on eBay:

Due to the owner’s pending relocation, The Mac Museum of New Jersey is closing its doors, and this wonderful collection of vintage Macs and rare Apple products is being sold.

This famous collection and its curator have been featured on CNN, MacAddict magazine and The RetroMacCast podcast. The auction of consists of more 20 rare and distinguished Apple products, several books, manuals, installer floppy disks and CDs, along with nine framed posters, speciality items and more. Note: This collection will only be sold in its entirety as a complete collection. [eBay]

Models include the Lisa, Mac 128k, Plus, SE/30, Color Classic, Mac Portable, TAM, Newtons, etc., along with lots of posters, peripherals and paraphernalia.  A trove of Mac lore indeed; if I had the room, and the money, I’d love to add this all to my own collection.  How much is all this Mac history worth?

We’ll know on October 7, when the auction ends. Some lucky collector will take the prize – then need to pick it all up in a big truck themselves!

[via RetroMacCast]

Recycling Old Technology: iPod nano, Dreamcast Edition

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The new iPod nano’s diminutive size keeps inspiring geeks worldwide to a variety of hacks.  News today from Japan of the iSpeck’s ability to fit nicely inside the display slot on an old Sega Dreamcast VMU.

The Sega buttons do not control the iPod (yet?) but it’s safe to say this case offers good drop protection, and the headphone cord coming out the side doesn’t look as dorky as with an iWatch.

More photos and videos of the making on the vendor’s original Japanese website.  [via TUAW]

Immolated Old Macintosh Classic II Becomes “Steampunk” Clock

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After scratching his head for awhile and wondering what to do with a Macintosh Classic II , Maker Matteo from Ithaca, New York repurposed his old faithful Mac into a shelf-top clock.

From appearances, it looks like the clock — which Matteo rather laughably calls “steampunk” in style — only came into being after its creator accidentally doused his Mac Classic in acid then shot with a bazooka, but the innards of the admittedly ugly timepiece work well enough: a 16MHz CPU, 4MB of RAM and a 20MB hard drive running MacOS 7 and a dozen different shareware and freeware clock programs, including one that counts down the seconds to Matteo’s death.

Yeah, it’s hideous, but we love it: this is just the kind of bizarro clock I can imagine discovering thirty years from now in the basement of an elderly and now quite eccentric Steve Wozniak. Great work, Matteo!

The Circle is Complete: A Newton Emulator for the iPhone

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Like a time travel scenario where you meet your own grandfather as a child, enthusiasts working with the Einstein Newton Emulator project have ported the Prodigal PDA to the iPhone.  The current implementation is only available as source code and runs a bit slow, but is an actual working version of NewtonOS complete with handwriting recognition and familiar input gestures.

Geek Trend: Old Macs Thwarting Death, Getting Recycled as iPad Stands

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iPad-Collage

Rising from the dead like a Newton running Mac OS 9, a new form of Mac Zombie is evolving in the wilds of Apple Geekdom: recycled old Macs being used as iPad stands.

One way for old computers to beat mortality is emulation: early Macs had Apple II emulators, PowerPC Macs running Mac OS X had Classic mode, even the venerable Lisa has an emulator.  Software emulation gives life to vintage machines long after the actual hardware ceases to function.

A new trend seems to be developing with the iPad: rather than running software within iOS, the iPad is making a home for itself inside the modified cases of old Macs!  We’ve covered these items before, but taken in aggregate a new form of Mac recycling seems to be evolving within the Cult of Apple.

Life After Print: The Macintosh Way released as a Free eBook

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Guy Kawasaki’s seminal book The Macintosh Way is a classic for technology marketers (“evangelists”) and Apple geeks alike.  It is fondly remembered from the Golden 68k Macintosh Era, and is used to this day as reference material for startup businesses and college courses.

The book went out of print several years ago, and Guy has been working since to get the rights back.  He has finally succeeded, and is making the digitized eBook available free to everyone for the asking.

The Macintosh Way has seen Apple and the Mac through many changes over its twenty year lifetime; to celebrate the re-release, Guy has also released this video detailing the book’s transformation from printed page to computer screen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnjyrcozHyA

To get your free eBook, follow Guy on Twitter and sign up at freemacway.com
You can also read the book in the OfficeDrop iPad app.

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Added bonus for this old Mac geek (and full disclosure): my own Vintage Mac Museum was used to film the opening of the video.  For a few enjoyable hours this spring the production team and I relived the Macintosh Way!  For more on filming the spot, see Vintage Macs Live Again.  Anyone up for Snood?

Buy The Apple II Swan Station Computer from “Lost”

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Harking back to a time when Lost‘s mysteries had not been explained away with the MacGuffin of a stupid magic light, the original Dharma Initiative Apple II Plus computer used in the Pearl Station to release electromagnetic radiation every 108 minutes way back in Season Two is soon to go on sale.

If you’re interested in picking up this bit of Apple-centric television history, it’ll be auctioned off on August 21st. If you win, don’t worry about typing in the numbers: like everything in Lost, failure to follow the rules set down by the show’s creators will ultimately have no consequence whatsoever.

To Bill Atkinson, With Love and MacPaint

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MacPaint by Bill Atkinson [Image: anoved via flickr]
MacPaint by Bill Atkinson (Image: anoved via flickr)

Where would the Macintosh (and Computing) World be without Bill Atkinson?  MacPaint, QuickDraw, HyperCard – Atkinson stands with the Giants.  In homage of his recent donation of the MacPaint source code to the Computer History Museum, flickr artist anoved offers this portrait of Bill Atkinson created entirely in MacPaint.  With tools like these, who needs Photoshop?  Well done!

MacPaint Version .jpg

Thanks Bill, for Everything!

Last-Minute Gift Idea For Handy Geek Dads

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Still haven’t gotten that geeky dad of yours anything for Father’s Day? Here’s a late last-minute suggestion: Run out to your local bookshop and grab a copy of 62 Projects To Make With A Dead Computer. It’s a sort of $15 Maker Faire for dummies that’ll keep him busy for months, get rid of some of that junk lying around and maybe save him a little moolah in the process.

Luxo iMac Finds New Life as iPad Stand

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The iLuxo Stand ©Rusty Sha
The iLuxo Stand ©Rusty Sha

This Luxo iMac is living out its retirement as an elegant iPad stand.

Flickr user Rusty took his dear, departed 700MHz Flat Panel iMac and then spent a little of that trial and error time all DIYers know to mold the acrylic holder to the arm. (The first few tries, he notes, shattered or “bent weird.”) Then he added a pair of speakers into the base and a bluetooth keyboard.

Back view, iLuxo Stand. ©Rusty Sha

This stand could pair very nicely with the Luxo lamp, or the iPad Mac Classic stand for an office space filled with retro repurposing.

Video of the Day: Apple History Tour at BoxTone WWDC 2010 Party

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The Cult of Mac team had a rollicking good time at BoxTone’s iNSpired party, checking out the machines and chatting to devs.

There were about 20 Apple machines on show, from the Apple I to the iMac. The best part, they were working machines — something the organizers probably regretted with a room full of people intent on playing with them while downing beer and inhaling scrumptious mini-sandwiches.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBQJ7eLx1Jo

We start with Wendell Sander, Apple employee no. 16, who fires up his Apple I for a memory dump using an iPod.

iBook Turned Into Working iPad Keyboard Dock

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This antique iBook has been hollowed out and transformed into a working iPad keyboard dock, with a new Apple aluminum keyboard replacing the iBook’s and the iPad itself nuzzled into the iBook’s LCD display hollow, connected together through the umbilical of the official iPad Camera Connection Kit.

This user hack is a bit of a kludge, but we don’t care: we love it anyway. Sure, it can’t close without scratching the iPad’s display, and it would be even cooler if the iPad charged when the iBook was plugged into the wall socket. It reminds us of Lenovo’s now-cancelled Ideapad U1 hybrid tablet/notebook, and makes us wistful for the day Cupertino itself will try to merge the iPad with the MacBook into a single iBook-like device. We can dream!

See You at Apple History Party at WWDC

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Inspired party: some of the devices that will be show.

As invites roll in for extracurricular activities for WWDC next week, only one so far offers something besides drinks and the same folks you’ve seen all day: a museum-style look at working Apple technology dating back to 1976 — including an original Apple I.

The aptly-named iNSpired tour is sponsored by BoxTone, Mobile Service Management software provider and you’ll get to ogle 25 years of Apple’s insanely great tech as you hobnob with community members over drinks and food. (They promise a “hands-on” experience but keep your potato-chip grease off the keyboards, thanks.)

Apple employee #16, Wendell Sander, aka father of the Apple III, is coming to the party, he’s bringing the Apple I.

Entrance is free for WWDC attendees, spaces are limited, tell them you’re with us (promo code: CultofMacFan) when you register and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win an iPad and a VIP pass.

See you there?

Imagine Apple’s Website Circa 1983

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Image: newtonpoetry via RetroMacCast

RetroMacCast listener newtonpoetry imagines what Apple’s website might have been circa 1983 and circa 1993.  Love that beige menubar and those blazing system speeds!

RetroMacCast is a (mostly) weekly podcast about Apple’s Olde Beige Stuffe (and newer shiny items), always some topics of interest for classic Mac geeks.

The Fat Mac Saves the Day [Recollections]

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In part 12 of Macworld founder David Bunnell’s story of the early Mac, Bill Gates is the only developer to actually deliver on his promises of software for the Mac. Microsoft’s Excel literally saves the Mac just when sales drop to nil, but at the same time Gates’ engineers are reverse engineering the GUI for the first version of Windows.