The best joke about this auction is the fact that the description
itself may become invaluable. It's a one of a kind hoax
So for posterity's sake Fetch this:
1976 APPLE ONE (APPLE I) ANTIQUE COMPUTER
This beautiful 1976 Apple-I Computer is the very first computer that
started the Apple
Computer Company from its legendary beginning in Steve Jobs' family
garage.
This computer includes all original: motherboard, cassette interface
daughterboard, Operation
Manual (with schematic inside), BASIC User's Manual, and cassette
interface pamphlet, plus
as an added extra, the book, "Woz: The Prodigal Son of Silicon
Valley", by Doug Garr, Avon
Books, 1984, which describes in great detail the history of the
beginning of Apple Computer
Co. Though I used this computer for a number of years a long time
ago running its 4K BASIC
language interpreter, it is being sold for display purposes only,
not as a working unit. It is in
very good condition and would make an extremely impressive and
prestigous historic display
not to mention its terrific investment value.
EVIDENCE OF ITS RARITY
1. According to Steve Wozniak in a Byte Magazine interview in 1984,
only 200 of them were
actually made and of those only 175 were sold. Over the last 23
years many of them were
likely discarded as obsolete, so very few of them have survived to
today.
2. Very few people have *even heard* of the Apple-I -- exactly
because of the fact it is so
rare. Just ask a few friends -- or at work -- "What does an Apple-I
Computer look like?" If
you could ask 10,000 people that question, you'd likely get 9,999
blank looks and the response
"A what?" This indicates to a degree that the Apple-1 is rare
because it is so little known.
3. Another fact demonstrating its rarity is that even those few
people who are familiar with it,
usually incorrectly refer to it as the Apple-I using a Roman numeral
I rather than the Arabic
number 1. This is because of the non-rarity of the Apple-II and the
assumption that the first
Apple also had a Roman numeral designation. Thus the rarity of the
computer is also shown
by the general lack of knowledge of the correct name of the Apple-1,
even by those small
number of people who are aware of its existence.
4. Its rarity and historic importance is also demonstrated by the
fact that one is displayed in the
Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. The Smithsonian is probably
the most important
museum in the United States and likely the world, for exhibiting the
originals of the most
important inventions of our time.
A LITTLE HISTORY OF THE APPLE-1
Steve Wozniak designed this computer and Steve Jobs largely did the
sales and marketing for
it. Here is a portion of page 72 of Doug Garr's book "Woz: The
Prodigal Son of Silicon
Valley":
"First they [Jobs and Wozniak] needed investment capital. Jobs had
an old VW microbus and
Wozniak had a fancy H-P [Hewlett-Packard] calculator. They sold them
both and raised about
thirteen hundred dollars. Jobs would ride his bicycle around Silicon
Valley, and Woz would
have to borrow a calculator or do his arithmetic by hand. They
needed a space to work. Jobs
commandeered his family garage..."
On page 74:
"During 1975-76, the time Jobs and Wozniak built those first
computers (then called just the
"Apple" and now known as the Apple I), their business didn't exactly
flourish. Only about 175
computers (Apple I's) were sold."
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THE APPLE-1 IN 1999?
On my web page
http://members.cts.com/sd/d/dave314x I have provided
*actual images* of
the verifiable documentation of the value of this item in specific
years:
Here is a summary of that documentation on my web page:
1976 $ 666 (new) - Byte Magazine, Dec. 1984, page A69, column 1,
Interview with Steve
Wozniak.
1984 $ 12,500 - Book: "Woz, The Prodigal Son of Silicon Valley, ISBN
0-380-88484-4,
published 1984, states on page 106, middle-of-page:
"(The Apple I is considered a valuable antique, and today it can
fetch between ten and fifteen
thousand dollars.)"
1997 $40,000+ - Computer Resource Magazine, Oct. 31, 1997, Vol. 5,
No. 5, Article "The
Retro Computer Revolution" by Bob McPhail, page 24, col. 1,
middle-of-page:
"(The Apple I isn't really considered a realistic collectible since
the estimated price on one of
these if it was put on sale would be in the $40,000 range according
to some collectors)."
- Internet link to Computer Science Club, Univ. of California at
Davis
http://wwwcsif.cs.ucdavis.edu/~csclub/museum [last updated 7/4/98]
(A clickable link is on my
web page at:
http://members.cts.com/sd/d/dave314x). The Computer
Club states:
"The estimated current value of an Apple I exceeds $40,000!"
1999 $ 59,000+ - Estimated using compound annual growth rate of
21.5% which were the
actual increases in the period 1976-97.
2009 $ 414,000+ - Projected using the same compound annual growth
rate of 21.5% that
actually took place in the 21-year period 1976-97 and applying it to
the 10-year period 1999
to 2009.
MATH CALCULATIONS OF VALUES FOR 1999 AND
2009
The computer increased in value from 1976-1997: $666 to $40,000
which is a 60.06 times
increase (40,000/666). Theoretically, if you had deposited $666 in
XYZ Bank in 1976 and
without any further deposits at anytime, you saw in 1997 that you
had a balance of $40,000 --
how much would the interest rate have been in the preceding 21
years, if it had been
compounded annually? The answer is 21.5% because 1.215 times itself
for 21 years (1.215 to
the 21st power) is 59.72 which is very near to 60.06
In equation form: 666 x (1.215)^21 = 39,773 which is approx. 40,000
THE VALUE OF APPLE-1 IN 1999
To calculate the estimated value for 1999 using the 1997 value of
$40,000+ we merely add 2
years of compounding to the 1997 value. The 1997 value is 40,000+
and 2 years of
compounding is 1.215 multiplied by itself 2 times: (1.215)^2 =
1.4762
The 1997 value ($40,000+) x 1.4762 = $59,048+
[Note: I have carried the "+" sign through the equation because
these are MINIMUM values.]
So the estimated value for 1999 is $59,000+ by using the 1997 value
of $40,000+ (which
came from two independent verifiable sources) and then adding 2
years of compounding
at the same compounding rate that actually existed in the 21-year
period '76-'97.
WHAT WILL THIS APPLE-1 LIKELY BE WORTH IN
2009?
-- WHEN YOU WANT TO RETIRE?
-- WHEN YOU MAY WANT TO BUY A NEW HOME?
-- WHEN YOU MAY WANT TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS THAT WILL
REQUIRE SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS JUST TO GET STARTED?
-- WHEN YOU NEED TO PAY FOR YOUR CHILDRENS' HIGHER EDUCATION AT
A HIGHER-QUALITY COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY?
The answer is: about $400,000 if the same rate of increases that
actually occurred in the last
20+ years continues for just 10 more years.
This is a projection of what the value of the Apple-1 would be if
the same rate of increase that
actually existed in the 21-year period '76 thru '97 continues for
the 10-year period 1999 thru
2009. This assumption is conservative because as time marches on,
and items get older and
older, their historic importance increases at an accelerated rate,
not a linear rate (a linear rate is
the same exact rate each and every year).
Consider valuable Van Gogh, Rembrandt or Renoir paintings auctioned
at Christie's or
Sotherby's. They sell items at increasingly higher and higher prices
at an accelerated rate not a
linear rate because the prices are not based on a painting's
original value (say a thousand
dollars equivalent) but are instead based on what the last (most
recent) price was. One asks
"What did it sell for last time?" not "How much did this painting
sell for when Van Gogh
originally sold it as new?"
It is a conservative approach to using a linear rate: a 21.5%
increase each and every year for
the 10-year period '99 -'09, rather than an accelerated rate where
21.5% increases, say to,
25%, then 28%, then 30%, etc.
The reason the $ 414,000 projected value in 2009 "seems" high is
because the historic growth
rate of 21.5% is itself so high. And that rate has already been
determined by the marketplace.
It is just a simple fact that this valuable Apple-1 has historically
had very high increases in
value since its inception. That's very good for the owner. You want
to be the next owner. You
want to own something that has a very high annual compound
appreciation rate.
Albert Einstein was once asked: "What is the most powerful force in
the Universe?" After a
moment of thought he responded: "Compound interest."
This Apple-1 is a terrific way to get more than 21% annual compound
interest on your money.
10-year U.S. Treasury bonds provide only about 6% interest and
that's simple interest NOT
compound interest. This Apple-1 antique is truly is a very special
investment opportunity.
If you have no interest in computers, history, or technology, but
are interested in a very
high-growth investment, then this Apple-1 is for you. If you are
also interested in computers,
history and prestige -- this deal is even juicier!
A FEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Why are you selling it?
A. For the MONEY! Right now, I have some very specific things I
would like to buy and do,
but to be able to do so, I am willing to sell my Apple-1 which I
have owned for almost 20
years.
Q. Why not wait until 2009 when you'll get a really super price?
A. I want to buy some things NOW, and do some things NOW. I prefer
not to wait 10 more
years. I've already waited almost 20 years.
Q. Shouldn't it be worth less since it is being sold as a
non-working model?
A. No. Antique electronics that are exhibited in a museum or
elsewhere are not expected to run
as new for several reasons: risk of damage from heat, fire, and
smoke due to aging
components which have changed values and normally get warm or hot,
like resistors,
transformers, power transistors, inductors, and IC's. Also,
replacing with new parts would
reduce its value as an antique because it is desirable to have all
original parts. There would be
substantial risks and costs associated with trying to keep a very
old device in working order
due to lack of documentation for maintenance and repair, not to
mention finding a *reliable*
source to buy replacement parts of obsolete components. Also
consider the specialized training
required of an employee to maintain and repair an antique device --
with no factory or store
support to answer technical questions for a product that has long
since had its technical support
terminated.
One would be hard pressed to recall visiting a museum that had any
antique electronic devices
actively working, like a 1955 transistor radio, a 1938 TV-kinescope,
or a 1921 vacuum-tube
radio. The purpose of such exhibits is simply to show what the
device looked like in real life
rather than having to resort to a photograph. A Model-T Ford that is
on exhibit in a museum is
no less valuable just because it doesn't travel down a road on its
own power using ancient fuel
for an ancient engine.
The fact that an antique device still works like new or not is just
not important in determining
its present value.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE
PAYMENT. Form of payments accepted are: cashier's check, money
orders, personal checks,
and bank wire. Once all payments clear my account, I will ship
within 24 hours. Payment must
be in U.S. dollars.
INSURANCE. Buyer agrees to buy and prepay shipping insurance in an
amount that at least
covers the dollar amount of the sale.
SHIPPING. F.O.B. Oceanside California. I will ship any method
requested by Buyer. Buyer
agrees to prepay all shippping and insurance costs and fees. Seller
will ship internationally.
Seller will immediately mail to Buyer, under separate cover, copies
of all shipping and
insurance documents once they have been created, as well as
immediately e-mail or fax to
Buyer notification of actual date and time of shipment with
appropriate information to enable
tracking of the shipment.
MORE INFO. More info and photos -- including verifiable
documentation for valuation
analysis is available at my web site:
http://members.cts.com/sd/d/dave314x It's definitely worth
the click.
HAVE SOME QUESTIONS? E-mail me at dave314x_at_cts.com
Sipke de Wal
Received on Fri Dec 17 1999 - 12:51:41 GMT