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Comments: 162 +- Apple: Gene Roddenberry's Mac Plus Is Coming Up For Auction on Thursday September 17, @10:28PM
Posted
by
kdawson
on Thursday September 17, @10:28PM
from the perfect-storm-of-gadget-lust dept.
from the perfect-storm-of-gadget-lust dept.
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Harry writes "In 1986, Apple unveiled one of the most popular Macintoshes ever, the Mac Plus. The company gave the first one (serial number #F4200NUM0001) to Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry. And now this very Mac Plus will go up for auction at a Hollywood collectibles event on October 8th and 9th, complete with a letter of authenticity from Roddenberry's son. The estimated value is only $800-$1200, which seems reasonable enough, given its double historical significance." Any bets on how high the bidding will go?
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Good Piece of History (Score:2)
Re:Good Piece of History (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Good Piece of History (Score:5, Informative)
It does indeed. Did you know that the 128k Macintosh was the very first Macintosh model ever produced? The very first, I tell you!
Plugging the serial number into the Early Macintosh Serial decoder [macfaq.org] yields:
Your Macintosh 128 (M0001), with serial number F4200NUM0001, was the 776th manufactured during the 20th week of 1984 in Fremont, CA.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Might have been the first one ISSUED by Apple. I'm sure they ran a few hundred through the manufacturing process in testing of the line and systems, not to mention internal units distributed for various reasons and software testing.
Also, they likey made a few hundred, and had them all packed to ship out to retailers, and on a day a few days before they gave away the first one, but it was not necessarily the first one off the line...
Then again, we have a family friend with the very first car from Dodge of s
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Mac fans show their people skills once again.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Good Piece of History (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Bets on how high? (Score:5, Funny)
400 quatloos!!
Re:Bets on how high? (Score:4, Funny)
Damned Canadians and their odd money!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
half a gram of Anjoran bio-mimetic gel
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I hear they only deal in gold pressed latinum. Damned Ferengis.
I'll bid on it... (Score:3, Funny)
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Re:I'll bid on it... (Score:5, Insightful)
Doesn't everyone technically live at home, with home being defined as "where you live"?
Parent
It depends (Score:5, Funny)
At a Hollywood collectibles event, it will probably go for $200k.
If they had listed it on eBay, and slashdotted the listing, they would probably get bids in amounts over $10 million+.
But I guess after eBay fees, they're better off selling it at the Hollywood collectibles event :)
Re:It depends (Score:5, Funny)
In fact, they seem to be even greedier than the Ferengi.
Parent
Re:It depends (Score:4, Funny)
eBay must be run by the Ferengi.
In fact, they seem to be even greedier than the Ferengi.
Nah, don't be silly. eBay is nothing like the Ferengi.
The Ferengi follow a very strict code which governs how they may profit from commerce...
Parent
Imagine (Score:4, Funny)
...what you'd find on the main hard disc with a sector editor. THEN bid.
Re:Imagine (Score:5, Informative)
What are you guys talking about? Mac Pluses don't have hard disks.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah maybe so but some of his stories like the The God Thing [well.com] and other stories he couldn't finish or sell would be found. You will find that many authors get writer's block and if they have less than 50,000 words written on a book, they usually scrap it and start on a new different book. Writer's block is quite common, which I guess is why Roddenberry couldn't finish the God Thing story, but I guess he had enough of it written to keep it and try to pass it on to other writers to finish for him. So any delet
Re:Imagine (Score:5, Informative)
Nope. The Mac Plus had no internal hard drive.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
The data might still be there
Nope. The Mac Plus had no internal hard drive.
Oh, really? Then explain to me where they stored the formula for the transparent aluminum. On the invisible drive? Yeah, right, I'm not stupid.
Wait a minute! You're forgetting something! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
This the the Mac Plus with the formula for Transparent Aluminum on it!
I wonder if you can give it instructions by talking into the mouse?
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
http://science.howstuffworks.com/transparent-aluminum-armor.htm [howstuffworks.com]
Not as originally advertised (Score:5, Informative)
determined to be not as advertised
We've gotten several inquires about this by the fantastically loyal and knowledgeable Mac community. After further investigating the item, here's the information:
Firstly, this Macintosh was, indeed, presented to Gene Roddenberry by Apple. There is no doubt about this.
The conflict between the photo and the serial number is as follows. This computer, given by Apple to Mr. Roddenberry, is an early production Macintosh 128 (#776), which was then upgraded by Apple for Gene to a Macintosh Plus-thus the model number / serial number / panel that "belongs to" a Macintosh Plus. The 0001 led us to mistakenly believe that it was the first one off the line.
Again, the provenance of the item is perfect and it did belong to Mr. Roddenberry. I apologize for any confusion.
Re:Not as originally advertised (Score:5, Insightful)
The upgrade from 128K to Mac Plus spec is actually pretty significant, since the 128K was only supported until MacOS 4 while the Plus was supported until 7.5.5 (which was a pretty decent OS). I suspect this is going to go more to someone who wants it because of the provenance, though, and rarely if ever get used. I hope whoever buys it sets it up to play a slideshow of Trek photos or something.
Parent
Added bonus (Score:4, Funny)
Language Packs (Score:2, Funny)
Double what? (Score:2)
But when you boink twin-sisters on the same day, in the same bed, with the same erection....now you're talking.
McGiver In Federation Space? (Score:2, Funny)
Floppies? (Score:2)
Will it come with a collection of the floppy disks Gene Roddenberry used with it?
I can just see it, though: "Those? Our research showed they were only $.39 each new, so the value would only start at just under $400 for the thousand we threw away..."
3 bars of gold pressed latinum (Score:3, Informative)
3 bars of gold pressed latinum.
Seriously, I don't see it as much other than a museum piece. Odds are if it still works, it won't for very much longer, leaving it a glorified vase, with toxic metals in it.
This is nothing. (Score:3, Funny)
Apple may have given Roddenberry a Mac, but in a decade or so they'll be celebrating Asimov's 100th birthday with their new media-streaming, music playing domestic assistant, the iRobot.
But... (Score:3, Funny)
StarTrek 4 (Score:3, Informative)
I wonder if this is the same Mac that was used in the famous transparent aluminum scene in Star Trek 4 that Scotty was speaking with. I'm pretty sure that was a Mac Plus as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Apple Care (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re:By Neruos (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:By Neruos (Score:5, Informative)
The serial number and the pictures are of an original mac, not a plus. However, see what the auction house said:
We've gotten several inquires about this by the fantastically loyal and knowledgeable Mac community. After further investigating the item, here's the information:
Firstly, this Macintosh was, indeed, presented to Gene Roddenberry by Apple. There is no doubt about this.
The conflict between the photo and the serial number is as follows. This computer, given by Apple to Mr. Roddenberry, is an early production Macintosh 128 (#776), which was then upgraded by Apple for Gene to a Macintosh Plus-thus the model number / serial number / panel that "belongs to" a Macintosh Plus. The 0001 led us to mistakenly believe that it was the first one off the line.
Again, the provenance of the item is perfect and it did belong to Mr. Roddenberry. I apologize for any confusion.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
"Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to"
I'd go for 2 bars of gold-pressed latinum at most
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And that's just the gold. Imagine what it would be worth with the latinum intact!
Re: (Score:2)
10 whats?
Is that slips, strips, bars, or bricks?
Re:$1701 (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:apple needs to restart Star Trek proposal and h (Score:4, Insightful)
apple needs to restart Star Trek proposal and have mac os x for all x86 hardware back then dell the others did not want it (part of the M$ lock in that the killed beos, os/2 and others) now dell and others want it vista is a big bust and linux is ganging ground.
Wow, and here I thought F. Scott Fitzgerald was dead...
Parent
Re:apple needs to restart Star Trek proposal and h (Score:3, Insightful)
I thought people only posted while drunk on Fark.
Re:Yellow (Score:5, Informative)
There's a few ways to restore or prevent the yellowing. I can't find the original page I saw before, but this [hackaday.com] has more information.
Parent