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My mini Apple Store museum

haplain

Well-known member
It's been a long time coming but I finally have my mini Apple store, tribute museum built. I hope you enjoy. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions. Yes, I do have issues, not enough space!

On Walls:

Original Apple PowerMac G4 Cube Banner hung at release of G4 Cube at Apple Store Palo Alto. Flawless.

First Apple Computer poster circa 1980. Some small defects but a very rare artifact.

Volume 1 edition 1-3 Apple Personal Computer magazine. Not many of these were printed and they are all nearly flawless.

Apple Moose Head shirt. The internal, unofficial name given to the 1989 Macintosh Portable M5120. Shirts were given members of the design team during a release party for the Macintosh Portable prior to it's public release.

Apple Earthquake Survival guide shirt and pamphlet. This internal Apple document and shirt was given to Apple employees after the 1989 quake in case an event were to happen like that again. There is pamphlet from the Red Cross and Apple discussing what to do during an earthquake, where to meet in the event of another one, and how to protect one's self from injury.

Prototype NeXT Cube board with unknown configuration on the board itself. Hand built and untested. NeXT P/N: 437.00AB

1998 Apple Thinking Different Campaign booklet. This book contains all of Apple's famous Think Different photographs as well as poems accompanying the previous page for each picture. Extremely rare, and much simpler than trying to find space for all Apple's Think Different full size posters.

1985 Apple Confidential Dealers price list. 15 Aug 1985. One of the earliest examples of a price guide and an artifact of the Jackling Estate.

NeXT original poster circa 1988. This, now-classic image by Paul Rand for NeXT computers was the most expensive branding logo in branding history, at the time. Steve Jobs paid more than $100,000 for Paul Rand to brand NeXT Computers back in when this emerged after Steve departed Apple. 

1993 Apple putter given to individuals who attended a special corporate even in Cupertino during the early 90's. A former employee sold it to me and said they were the only one out for 20 individuals at the tournament. Of those 20 employees she was the only one who did not use the putter but rather took it to their car for safe keeping.

Apple Mathematica poster circa 1998.

Apple original THINK poster most famous for being behind Steve Job's on the post of him sitting on his desk. Branded off the original IBM THINK campaign Apple added its colors as a play/to poke fun at IBM.

1 share Pixar stock with Steve Jobs lithograph signature.

Vintage Apple cooler/radio working.

Apple Pippin working in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple Newton charging pad sealed in box, serial numbers matching.

Apple Newton 100 in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple Developers/Prototype Newton 110 in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple 1st Generation iPod, 5GB, in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple 3rd Generation iPod, 30GB, in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple eMate, working in box, serial numbers matching.

Macintosh Portable external battery charger in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple QuickTake 150 in box, working, serial numbers matching.

Apple PowerCD in box, working, serial numbers matching.

On Desk:

Apple IIe. Owner personally by Steve Jobs. Working.

Apple Lisa 2 Prototype working. This Lisa is very special. The back cover plate is smooth, missing the Apple logo, and has the letters F and B where the display control knobs are. This is different from a production Lisa has a textured back, has icons for the display control knobs, and has an Apple logo. The back bridge board is missing any identifying port marks and has the words "Pull here to remove" hand written on the back CPU rack. The ROM chips are extremely early and the Lisa itself has no Apple serial number. The PSU on the back is an extremely early production model being 331 and has no Apple markings on it besides what the manufacturer provided. The Lisa display an E87 in the upper right corner of the machine which is something unseen previously. The hard drive has very unique ROM chips and the display has an "Ultra Tuned" yoke. The keyboard, and mouse all have unique matching Apple tester numbers and the Lisa has an Apple Asset ID tag on it. This Lisa also has a instructions for development testing and the original Lisa 2 manual.

NeXT Cube 68040 25Mhz with 64MB of RAM and a "Sample-A" developers chip on the board. The NeXT Cube and Display are both fully working and are in their original, factory shipping boxes with matching serials. The internal boxes and factory plastic/foam to protect the NeXT Cube and Display are present. All NeXT/Open Step OS MO disks and CD-ROM's are in tact and in their boxes with a working original Maxtor HD and working original MO drive, NeXT branded. The NeXT branded hex tool and NeXT branded power cables are also present.

MacintoshTV in box, working, serial numbers matching. All original literature and CD-caddy/install CD's are present. Correct black, matching, Apple keyboard and mouse with internal boxes and factory plastic/foam to protect the MacTV.

Twentieth Anniversary Mac (TAM) working, with 64GB SSD upgrade, Sonnet 500Mhz accelerator, 128MB RAM, Bose buzz permanent fix, CD-ROM upgrade with prototype keyboard, PCBA riser to Twisted-Sister ethernet card, and USB with FATBACK.

In Display:

Mac OS X Public Beta disc. This disc was given to a select few Apple developers as a preview of what would become the Mac OS X operating system. This OS was mostly based off Steve's work at NeXT during the 80's-90's and provided massive GUI and performance upgrades. The CD is nearly flawless and has been installed on a G4 Cube. It's a half breed of Mac OS 9.2.2 and Mac OS X. Most of the look of 9.2.2 with some OS X polishing touches but a very crude version of OS X.

MacWorld Magazine in perfect condition discussing Apple's new breakthrough computer the Twentieth Anniversary Mac. Vintage versions of MacWorld are fairly difficult to find but this specific edition discussing the TAM Mac is extremely rare. The TAM itself was a massive flop for Apple but the technology in the machine was well ahead of it's time. Unfortunately the TAM was discontinued after only a year and this relic is an artifact of how serious the TAM is.

Apple Bluetooth keyboard working, prototype. This keyboard is a fully working prototype with instructions for use on the bottom. The developers were supposed to check this unit in and out everyday on a sign out sheet. Somewhere along the way that did not happen and this keyboard made it out into the world. It's a fine example of an early development testing unit of the Apple Bluetooth keyboard sold at Apple stores from 2002-2007.

Vintage Apple colored pencil set with matching Apple logo wooden box. I picked these up because I'd never seen them before. The box is done in the traditional Apple wood of choice being maple. The wooden box also has a built in pencil sharpener should one need to resharpen a pencil. The set came in it's original plastic, which I have for safe keeping, but has never been used.

Vintage Apple floppy disk organizer circa 1985. This particular box is dark brown with a gold Apple logo in the center. These boxes are extremely rare, and this is a very early example of one of these organizers. Apple came out with a series of these back in the 80's for different computer releases. This one not having any distinguishing characteristics means it's one of the first models of this kind of organizer.

Macintosh M5126 Portable (backlit) working, prototype, with developers board, prototype modem card, 4MB of total RAM, PDS card with one of a kind SCSI port for CNC file dumping and extensions for communication with card. This Portable was not approved by the FCC and was not authorized for sale. The Portable has been confirmed to have one off custom soldered leads but engineers at Apple for development testing. A custom build spacer plate was built for a SCSI CF reader adapter so the Portable has 8GB of removable space. Includes call original accessories, case, extended numeric keypad, and manuals.

Apple PowerMac G4 Cube power supply working, prototype that came with prototype G4 Cube.

Apple PowerMac G4 Cube working, prototype. Only one known to exist. This Cube has the word Prototype across the back with no FCC approval and is not authorized for sale. The chip in the computer should be a 400MHz chip but it has been over clocked to 500Mhz. The Cube also has a massive CD-drive with an eject button on it for testing. The machine also has the only Cube with a built in speaker on the back, 0.75" cone on back. All board, chips, and hardware have EVT markings on them and each component is a piece that was unreleased for testing. The BIO and firmware are both one no one has ever seen or heard of. The only way the machine will run is on Mac OS 9.2.2.

Transparent Mac SE working, prototype. This Mac is probably one of the most, if not the most, iconic Mac's of all time. When I think of a Mac that little square with a 9" CRT is what pops into my head. For that reason this is the most coveted Mac possibly ever. I've heard different numbers thrown around on the number of these in the world. I can't definitely say I know exactly how many where made but there were less than 10 fully working models made. This transparent SE has an extremely early, hand soldered CPU board, with the correct Aladdin markings on the PSU/video board, and board internally. The transparent SE has a special set of images in the ROM files of the individuals responsible for the create of this clear monster. Supposedly these machines were produced clear for smoke testing and evaluation purposes so the developers could see inside the machine with it on. Few of these exist in the real world, most are still at Apple but this transparent beauty works flawlessly.

Macintosh M5120 Portable (backlit) working, with developers RAM, prototype modem card, 6MB of total RAM, and the extremely rare factory Apple backlit upgrade kit for the non-backlit model display. Includes call original accessories, case, and manuals.

Not on display:

2x 450Mhz PowerMac G4 Cube in box, working, serials matching, still in factory Apple protective foam/custom Apple protective wrap. Both have been tested but are new, other than being tested. All factory components including speakers, power supplies, and accessories are in their factory Apple foam packaging never opened. These Cube are flawless and I have never seen any like it in the past 3 years of upgrading Cubes.

Twentieth Anniversary Mac (TAM) in box, working, serial numbers matching with original receipt. The machine is still in the factory plastic all the seals on the inner boxes are in tact.

Apple Pismo laptop in new, box, working, serial numbers matching with dual extended capacity batteries, 512MB RAM, Mac OS X 10.4.11

Prototype TAM being restored currently.

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haplain

Well-known member
The acrylic case had the word Prototype but it was lightly scratched off but is still visible. The FCC text is not present and the device HAS NOT been approved for sale or by the FCC.

The metal housing itself is spot welded and has many more screw holes and is raw metal.

The logic board is marked as a prototype unit. Where the serial number on the machine says EVT. There is a 0.75 cone tweeter on the back of the mesh enclosure. It's connected to the motherboard but I have not gotten it to work. There is an active speaker volume adjustment on the OS side that's adjustable so they are recognized.

The VRM had the 4th transistor as some point but it was removed.

The CD rom is MASSIVE, easily 2 inches tall,and has physical eject button.

The chip inside's part number should make it a 400Mhz chip but once I got it to boot, it's a 500Mhz chip. There are weird markings and unusual serial numbers on the chip itself

Also, and this took awhile to figure out, the machine CANNOT run Mac OS X. I'd assume because of the Bootrom it has, and other strange things. I had to boot into the OS 9 side for it to work.

The AirPort card is a prototype and isn't approved

Even the power supply is a prototype

 

Cosmo

Well-known member
Absolutely the Cube just requires it's own thread with lots of good pictures and info :approve:

 

bibilit

Well-known member
Very nice, where did you get all those prototypes ?

The Apple radio / cooler is ... pretty cool :)

Is there any chance you can post bigger pictures ?

 

snuci

Well-known member
How did I miss this thread? Hap, nice set up. The provenance around them is the best part. Great descriptions around an awesome collection.

I'm surprised that of all the things there, people are talking about the Cube :)

 

mcdermd

Well-known member
He's even got an Apple golf bag! 8-o

haha, VERY nice setup, Hap. You need to find someone that wants to donate some retail space so you can charge a little admission!

 

Trash80toHP_Mini

NIGHT STALKER
@ snuci: The Cube has a cult following like the CC, it was the opposite of a Mac Mini: uber :cool: (to many) and pricey!!!!

I wanna see a pic of what's underneath that skirt! :lol:

p.s. glad to see you liked the suggestion, hap. ;)

 

CelGen

Well-known member
Prototype NeXT Cube board with unknown configuration on the board itself. Hand built and untested. NeXT P/N: 437.00AB
Once again:

"NeXTBus Development Kit with semi-populated PCB"

 

haplain

Well-known member
Absolutely the Cube just requires it's own thread with lots of good pictures and info :approve:
Oh the Cube is what got me started down this hole I now find myself in so I will gladly create a post. I didn't think many cared about PPC/G4 stuff here so I figured I wouldn't mention it. I love that Cube and considering it was one of the cheapest Cubes I ever bought that makes it the sweetest out of all of the machines.

Very nice, where did you get all those prototypes ?
Is there any chance you can post bigger pictures ?
I got most of them on eBay. A good amount of them people were not aware they were prototypes. I actually didn't realize the Cube was until it showed up. The Transparent SE I found on CL and knew if I didn't buy it I was dumb. I've found some incredible people with collections that honestly dwarf mine so as far as some of them are concerned I've done some trading.

I can post some large pictures. Anything in particular?

You need to find someone that wants to donate some retail space so you can charge a little admission!
But then how am I supposed to turn on all my computers on Sunday morning in my bath robe :D Once I get the last board back here soon, thanks uniserver, I'll post a photo of everything up and going. It's a serious sight to see them all up at the same time. I've got them all on massive Monster home theater surge protectors regulating the voltage and surges. Need to make sure they stay safe! I would be open to that, but considering that the SF bay area has such cheap land ;) I don't know. I'm accepting donations!

On that same thread, Charles (uniserver) I want to take the time to publicly explain to everyone that without you my collection would be a bunch of paperweights. Thank you so much for all your time, dedication, and help. I know you've put in some long hours but I hope you feel this collection is somewhat your's too. I mean the only computer you haven't recapped, repaired, or redone is the Lisa 2 prototype.

 

haplain

Well-known member
I'm not sure what that means so maybe? It's a glass display case. I got it from a local company for a really good price. I cut it down so the height off the floor would match the height of the floating shelves. I like to keep everything clean and matching whenever possible

 
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