I’m writing this post on a MacBook Pro, a late 2013 model with a 13-inch retina screen, 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB flash hard drive, among other specs. The laptop I do my work on every day wouldn’t be possible with the Apple 1, the first computer from Apple. By today’s standards, it’s significantly less impressive, and incapable of performing even the most mundane of tasks that we do daily. An Apple 1 ad from 1976, for example, boasts a powerful machine that has a whopping 4 KB of RAM. While it may not be a viable everyday machine anymore, it’s an important piece of history, and now you can own one of your very own, as a working Apple 1 is going up for auction (via Mashable).
This is a rare opportunity for a couple reasons: There are supposedly only about 60-70 Apple 1 units left out in the world, and this one is in great shape, having been fully restored by Apple 1 expert Corey Cohen to a condition that he describes as “8.5/10.” Included in the auction is the original Apple 1 board, manuals, a keyboard, a monitor, and more.
Unless you’re sitting on a pretty penny, though, you probably won’t be able to win this auction. It’s expected to sell for somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000, and two years ago, one sold for $815,000. If you still want to see what it was like during the dawn of personal computers, though, this Apple 1 emulator is a much less expensive way to do that.
What’s the oldest computer you’ve ever used? Let us know down in the comments below!
