Re: Apple 1 emulator and/or replica info

[labelas@hotmail.com (Labelas Enoreth)]

In article <19990726192428.13158.00002056@ng-bj1.aol.com>,
cturley2@aol.com (Cturley2) wrote:

> -> :))) I'd agree on "evidence enough to notice" eliminating the possibility
> of such a thing from happening   ]....[   but, anything's possible I guess,
> via eBay and the Internet today. I've seen some really astounding things I've
> got sitting in piles behind me now....selling for very healthy final bids on
> eBay.....seller and buyer both being real happy with the transaction.

Yeah...eBay seems to be well known for having lots of "L@@K! RARE!
SPECIAL! FOR ALL SERIOUS COLLECTORS! DISK ][ CONTROLLER CARD FOR APPLE
IIE!" <reserve not yet met> type auctions...and yes, serious collectors
would indeed investigate, but I'm certain there's enough people out there
with less...um...sense...but really, if someone built an Apple I out of
the parts available now from Apple I schematics, would it not be an Apple
I? Or am I missing something? I dunno...I personally think it would be
really cool to build an apple I, but in a sense it almost feels
like...making a replica of a famous art work...and one knows that often in
the past people have bought a work of art thinking what a good deal they
were getting 'because it was so cheap for what it's worth' and then they
discover they are the one who regrets it later because they were the one
who didn't know all of the information.

> Hey...somebody might even try and succeed with selling somebody an Apple 1
> emulator with a full collection of program images of Apple 1 tapes at a
> gigantic final bid.  Like I said above...anything's possible I guess".

Were there even that many Apple I-made programs out there...I guess other
than homebrew type stuff one made one your own computer...?
 
> Knowing what I've researched - about such large monatary value deals closed
> via an auction on eBay.com, it's very unlikely that any such transaction would
> be
<....>
> Still (IMHO), anybody with an once of logic and common sense, really willing
> to buy an original Apple 1 at current collector fair value, would take every
> known precaution in making a final purchase/commitment to the seller -
without > first getting personal and full assurance to their satisfaction
- of the
> authenticity  of the original Apple 1 offered.

No, but look at is this way...what if someone offered a 'new Apple I
system' at, say, 1/4 of 'current collector value' (which, last time I
checked still seemed hideously high)...that's still a lot for something
which it really isn't, right? or is it? I...don't know, maybe I'm just
using strange twisty logic again...
I can just remember times _I_ had been taken in for something which I
thought I was getting a good deal in, and then even if it was something
totally functional and useful, just...misrepresented for what it was, I
felt really...crappy afterwards.

 
> There were only around 175 or so original Apple 1's sold and most of those are
> in original private ownership, owned by collectors and mostly all are know
> about now as such and/or the others are on loan and display or permanently
> owned by museums and such for public display.
> 
> With the current fair collector value requested and very often paid -without
> trying for a price reduction of Apple 1 original computers being sold, I'd
> never do a final payment on such an offering for sale or trade or auctioned -
> without first being able to view it in person.

Well, my whole thought was on someone selling it in some semi-legitimate
way, but someone selling it like 'bunch of old computer crap, I think it's
an apple I or something' and people...well, they wouldn't want to
investigate too deeply because they would be afraid that they'd tip the
seller off somehow and miss out on this 'great opportunity' which really
wasn't...
And people do do that...my friend found someone who was getting rid of a
bunch of lisa stuff and wanted it (well, he knew I want one really badly
and was going to get it to me) and the person didn't really know much
about the lisa, so was just dealing with it as 'a bunch of old computer
junk to get rid of'...so he went to the point of not mentioning anything
to do with the value of the lisa or whatever....and then the person found
out somehow (I'm sure somewhere someone said "oh, a Lisa? them's valuable
computers, yeah.") and was sort of (justly) irritated about it, and just
totally stopped communicating with him, and ended up selling it for oodles
of money to someone online who offered him a 'fair price'. Which,
honestly, I guess was fair. (I mean, Jim did actually one time say
something like 'ha ha, yeah, I saw someone asking for $1000 for a Lisa,
geez what a goon, heh heh...' to see how what he'd say back...) It made
both of us feel guilty about it though, and a little bit...I guess, put
out. But that's just because I have this thing against people who
establish a 'collector's value' for old computer stuff...If it was
possible, I'd find a way to make it so that anyone could easily have that
computer for them to experience right there...which was what I hoped to do
with LisaWorks...but it sort of died due to lack of time, equipment, and
programmers...but even then, emulators still do not capture the entire
'feel'...but...anyway, i'm just ranting now so I'll shut up. But, I think
there is a point somewhere within it all...