Are These worth any to you all [Archive]

Maestro64

Mar 15, 2005, 04:45 PM

Not that what I am going to describe here are for sale, it more of a curiosity, not like I can got to the antique road show to find out what this is all worth.

What I have is a number of Apple Prototypes in Clear Plastic Cases. Some of the very first prototypes Apple use to do would be done in clear plastics verses the platinum and tan colors of the final products. Here is what I have

Clear Plastic SE
Clear Plastic LC
Clear Plastic Duo and Duo Dock.

These all are fully functional units and you can see all the electronics inside. In the Duo Dock you can see the mechanism that pulls the Duo into the Dock.

Also, I have prototype of a product which never seen the light of day out of Apple, it was so preliminary in the design that rumors of it never got out before they killed the project.

This was a tablet based Mac, it was based on the Duo product line which used all the same plastic but permanently attached the touch screen display where the keyboard and track ball were. It had hand writing recognition software in it based on Newton.

So what do you think this might be worth to people who collect Apple stuff.

dsharits

Mar 15, 2005, 10:49 PM

Wow, that's an impressive collection. They're probably worth a ton. Where on earth did you get all of them, especially the unreleased product?

PlaceofDis

Mar 15, 2005, 10:57 PM

nice collection, have any pictures??

they are probably worth a lot to the right person

mkjj

Mar 16, 2005, 08:28 AM

Should get a nice holiday from this sale, or if you are lucky a new car!

Maestro64

Mar 16, 2005, 10:14 AM

I have them since these are one of several projects I worked on while at Apple. I presently do not have pictures of them, I'll have to dig them out of storage and take some pictures. I know the table i can get to pretty easily.

dsharits

Mar 16, 2005, 11:16 AM

Maestro64

Mar 20, 2005, 06:57 PM

Ok guys you wanted to see it, here is the tablet base Mac which never became a real product for Apple

http://homepage.mac.com/gpalermo/.Public/0.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/gpalermo/.Public/1.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/gpalermo/.Public/2.jpg

PlaceofDis

Mar 20, 2005, 07:05 PM

wow, im sure it would have been a hit too

wonder if apple will ever come out with a tablet mac, i know i would like one

mkrishnan

Mar 20, 2005, 07:05 PM

Wow...and I had just gotten over my heartbrokenness that there's no Apple tablet computer.... :(

Thanks for the picture!!! :) Any anecdotes about how it works, etc? It sounds really interesting.

Maestro64

Mar 20, 2005, 07:08 PM

Here is the Clear Duo 270, hope you enjoy.

http://homepage.mac.com/gpalermo/.Public/DSC00238.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/gpalermo/.Public/DSC00239.jpg

PlaceofDis

Mar 20, 2005, 07:09 PM

again very nice, its cool to see theses computers in clear cases, would be weird to work on one :D

Maestro64

Mar 20, 2005, 07:18 PM

Wow...and I had just gotten over my heartbrokenness that there's no Apple tablet computer.... :(

Thanks for the picture!!! :) Any anecdotes about how it works, etc? It sounds really interesting.

Well the handwriting recognition was based on the Newton, it was actually a little better since it did not have the memory limitations that existed on the Newton. If you remember how the Newton work, it would not recognized letter but words, it compared what was written to database of words, the newton database was about 80K words, the this was about 150K words. Plus it i believe it was an 040 so it was much faster then the Newton. The pen had battery in it, which was used to created an electronic field that the table would sense the position of the pen. You did not really have to press to have it recognize what you were writing.

It ran OS 7 and all the standard applications at the time. It had extra applications for note taking and drawings. It worked pretty well for the first prototype.

The product was originally targeted for companies with traveling sales or service. It was not going to be for the general public at the time.

Sly

Mar 24, 2005, 09:25 AM

Nice.... VERY nice.

If you want to find out what the current market value is for these, you could try sticking them on ebay with a stupidly high reserve, so you do not have to sell them and a low start. See how high the bidding goes, just for interests sake?

IDANNY

Mar 24, 2005, 09:35 AM

Please do. I would love to see these things.

edit Wow thats cool. :) :)

Howismydriving

Mar 26, 2005, 01:37 AM

The limited edition Mac powerbook 170 in white (50 total) go for 7-10 thousand dollars, so I am guessing in the low thousands for each. The tablet computer might pull five figures. I hope you have the software backed up, because you will never find it again if the HD crashes.

Demon Hunter

Mar 26, 2005, 02:33 AM

Simply amazing. I've never seen pictures of such a thing. You have an incredible treasure on your hands my friend! This is the kind of stuff the Smithsonian takes an interest in.

EDIT: I can't even imagine using a pen that big...

Platform

Mar 26, 2005, 05:47 AM

WOW :eek: :eek: :eek:

Amazing collection you have.
I wonder how a new tablet Mac would look like :rolleyes:

applekid

Mar 26, 2005, 10:41 AM

Wow, those we would be so sweet to own, especially the tablet. But unfortunately, even though I would like to buy them off of you, I'm just a student with no cash. :(

revenuee

Mar 26, 2005, 10:52 AM

philipwing

Mar 30, 2005, 06:22 PM

How do you put a price things like these

don't you feel like you are loosing part of yourself when you part with something like that ... i mean this is part of your history, part of your life

i wouldn't sell them unless i had like 1 week to live and was about to live it up, and needed the extra cash

It's like the Beatles selling off the rights to their music <-- i never understood that.

The other reason would be if they are just taking up space in your house and either you or someone else, e.g., your spouse, wants them out. Mine is trying to shove various things of mine out of the house, possibly including my Apple shirt collection, including my Apple //GS Programmer's Workshop shirt.

Oh, FYI, the Beatles didn't sell the rights to their music to Michael Jackson - someone else owned them and sold them. They own the rights (through Apple Music Company) to their recordings, though.

One alternative would be to put them on loan to a museum or something if they're just taking up space. Somewhere on my To Do list is loaning my color cards (those cards fans in special sections at college football games hold up) from the 1982 Cal vs. Stanford Big Game, infamous for "The Play", to Joe Knapp's restaurant for display. I don't want to give them up, but they're just sitting on a shelf in my house.

HiRez

Mar 30, 2005, 09:19 PM

One alternative would be to put them on loan to a museum or something if they're just taking up space.That's not a bad idea. Try The Computer History Museum (http://www.computerhistory.org/), The San Diego Computer Museum (http://www.computer-museum.org/), The American Computer Museum (http://www.compustory.com/), or any number of others. Pick someplace you trust and get insurance because I think those will definitely be worth some money, but the great thing is the longer you take to sell them, the more they may be worth. One thing to bear in mind if you try to sell them is you may face legal challenges from Apple if you acquired these items while working there. Not sure what the policy would be for something that old. Anyway, those are very cool!

Baumi

Mar 31, 2005, 05:25 AM

Here's a page of someone who's got a clear plastic SE:

http://www.regnirps.com/SEF/seitem.htm

How do you make sure all the parts fit correctly in a new design? You test "shoot" the mold with clear plastic before the mold is textured.

At Apple, some of these test shots were built until finished and given to key team members as awards for a job well done.

After much research I have learned that no more than 10 of these clear Macs were ever built.

Baumi

revenuee

Mar 31, 2005, 11:44 AM

Oh, FYI, the Beatles didn't sell the rights to their music to Michael Jackson - someone else owned them and sold them. They own the rights (through Apple Music Company) to their recordings, though.

That makes a lot more sense acctually :cool:

cubist

Mar 31, 2005, 12:01 PM

Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos. I'd love to see these in person someday. They are definitely worth a lot of money.

jjlange

Mar 31, 2005, 08:28 PM

Does the tablet have a color screen?

Vedia

Apr 1, 2005, 06:58 AM

Could you post any picture with the tablet Mac in working?

Maestro64

Apr 1, 2005, 01:35 PM

Here's a page of someone who's got a clear plastic SE:

http://www.regnirps.com/SEF/seitem.htm

Baumi

Baumi,

I was just about to post that link, that looks like the SE I have, and as it said only a limited number of them were actually done. I have one of them it was personally give to me long with the Duo and Duo Dock.

Anyway, I am thinking about letting the LC go, with the Apple IIe card and joysticks and disk drives I have for the LC.

Maestro64

Apr 1, 2005, 01:59 PM

That's not a bad idea. Try The Computer History Museum (http://www.computerhistory.org/), The San Diego Computer Museum (http://www.computer-museum.org/), The American Computer Museum (http://www.compustory.com/), or any number of others. Pick someplace you trust and get insurance because I think those will definitely be worth some money, but the great thing is the longer you take to sell them, the more they may be worth. One thing to bear in mind if you try to sell them is you may face legal challenges from Apple if you acquired these items while working there. Not sure what the policy would be for something that old. Anyway, those are very cool!

Thanks guys, this is a great idea, I was going to have my own computer museum of sorts but just not have the space for it. Everything I have is sitting in storage boxes and have not seen the light of days in years.

I had not thought about the insurance thing, I should get these covered like my other fine art and collectables.

Maestro64

Apr 1, 2005, 02:05 PM

Does the tablet have a color screen?

Good questions it has been so long since I actually turned it on I do not remember, I'll have to dig out a power supply since the battery is completely dead.

I'll fire it up and take a few pictures, However, I do believe it was color since it was being develop at the same time the Duo 270 & 280 was coming out.

Maestro64

Apr 4, 2005, 10:08 AM

This thread must have caught some attention, I just looked at the number of viewings and it is over 6000 for a discussion group that usually only gets a few hundred.

Uma888

Apr 5, 2005, 06:12 PM

Mechcozmo

Apr 5, 2005, 06:43 PM

Insure the tablet. Back up its hard drive. Keep it safe.

That think is so damn cool. I don't think you realize just how neat it is. You had to have had one of the best jobs at Apple-- working on stuff and then, if it got canceled, got to take home the prototype.

Damn.... If I could buy those, I would.... but I can't. :( Still, that table is the coolest thing I have seen in YEARS.

mkjj

Apr 6, 2005, 04:15 AM

i think you shouldnt sell them (they are like RARE diamonds :eek: :eek: ).
i think you should ask apple/get legal advise before you sell them, cause technically they still belong to apple because they have never been released

but i might be worng :confused:

You could be spot on here, copyright is such a grey area and you know how Apple respond to people who infinge their designs.
I would keep them for your old age, think of it as your pension!

LimeiBook86

Apr 7, 2005, 01:06 AM

oh...
my...
god...

:eek:

HOLD ON TO THOSE!!! lol

dobbin

Apr 7, 2005, 04:02 AM

Wow, thats some seriously cool stuff.

And I was wondering whether I should keep my Performa 6200 because I think its a nice bit of history!!!!!!! :D (It has got the TV card and Apple remote control so its pretty cool - lol!

Vedia

Apr 7, 2005, 06:02 AM

This thread must have caught some attention, I just looked at the number of viewings and it is over 6000 for a discussion group that usually only gets a few hundred.

This topic has travel beyond borders, cause I have read it in a Spanish forum. Even in french forums are talking about this amazing stuff you have. :rolleyes:

Why don't you try to put them in an auction, and find out how much people are intended to pay?

840quadra

Apr 7, 2005, 07:36 AM

This topic has travel beyond borders, cause I have read it in a Spanish forum. Even in french forums are talking about this amazing stuff you have. :rolleyes:

Why don't you try to put them in an auction, and find out how much people are intended to pay?

wouldn't that be a form of fraud?

if anything, you are creating false hopes, not a nice thing to do :(

Maestro64

Apr 8, 2005, 12:09 PM

Well the Duo is a release product so there is no issue there, and there is no law about something that was heading to a land fill being saved for the future.

Not sure how I am creating false hope, false hope apple might create a tablet computer or that I might sale it.

Well I am not sure what they are worth, from others who have rare apple things like this they say no one is willing to pay anything for them. Everyone likes the idea of having something like these in a collections but not worth paying for.

I think people who own Apples pay so much for their computer they do not have extra money to buy anything else :D

Well I am glad people are enjoying looking at these, and I hope to dig out the other pieces and show them to everyone soon.

ReanimationLP

Apr 10, 2005, 01:11 AM

Droolworthy to say the least. I'd say you may well break 10,000 for the tablet alone. More pics would be fun ;)

Spock

Apr 13, 2005, 10:59 AM

Not sure how much i beleive the tablet is real, I have seen photoshops that look just as good and hacks on Applefritter.The only way I beleive it is if i seen it.

James Philp

Apr 13, 2005, 11:20 AM

About the legality of the "ownership", I would look more deepy into this, as things you have taken home from work are still officially owned by the company. Did they give it to you or summit? Also, when a product is decided to be pulled, often all material realting to that product line is recalled by the company.
I think the two things you have shown are great (the tablet the better of the two), and it would be good to see them working.
You may want to try to cantact an author called "Gordon Laing". He has written books on old computers and computing history ("Digital Retro"), and would probably be interested to hear from you.

James Philp

Apr 13, 2005, 11:22 AM

Not sure how much i beleive the tablet is real, I have seen photoshops that look just as good and hacks on Applefritter.The only way I beleive it is if i seen it.
And yet you're a Star Trek fan!?

Spock

Apr 14, 2005, 08:57 PM

And yet you're a Star Trek fan!?

Ok, i missed that one.

Vedia

Apr 22, 2005, 04:46 PM

Not sure how much i beleive the tablet is real, I have seen photoshops that look just as good and hacks on Applefritter.The only way I beleive it is if i seen it.

The only way is watching it in working, pictures with the power on.

I haven't found anything about this prototype on the internet.

aethier

May 11, 2005, 08:09 AM

Ok guys you wanted to see it, here is the tablet base Mac which never became a real product for Apple

that is cool

Spock

May 11, 2005, 09:50 AM

Still waiting for some pics of the thing running and a video would be sweet. Im sure it works as good as my Prototype Newton 2 with Mac OS X

fitinferno

May 12, 2005, 12:12 AM

Here's a page of someone who's got a clear plastic SE:

http://www.regnirps.com/SEF/seitem.htm

I love the more oddities that can be found from the person who has this. He has some very cool stuff!

And the tablet is weird...a tablet mac would be cool...it would reduce the criticisms I get for typing all my university notes because I'd be able to write them again :)