If you're an avid Apple fan with a bankroll akin to that of the late Steve Jobs, we've found an item on eBay that you might want to add to your watch list. A merchant in British Columbia is selling what they claim to be a rare prototype of the original Macintosh 128K computer based around a proprietary floppy disk drive Apple developed but later scrapped. The opening bid on the system, which comes with the original keyboard, mouse and cords but doesn't boot, is US$99,995.00.
The prototype includes the so-called "Twiggy" floppy disk drive that Apple developed, but it turned out to be too buggy and the company ended up shelving it in favor of a Sony-made disk drive instead.
The listing includes two dozen photos of the system inside and out, and a whole lot more background information on the prototype. There's no real information on the seller though, except for a note that his username "Wozniac" is simply an homage to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, not an indication that he's the real Woz.
That, and the lack of documentation, make it tough to tell whether or not this is real or a fake, especially with $100,000 at stake. It's also impossible to tell if the lone bid on the item - for the minimum amount - is legit or a shill.
Mashable reports that they were able to get a hold of the seller, who gave his name as Adam but wouldn't reveal his last name. He claims to have acquired it from someone on the site AppleFritter.com and is hoping that a museum or collector with big bucks might be interested.
The same seller is also offering an awful lot of old Apple "Lisa" items, including a completely restored and functioning Lisa 1 system - that one will set you back $24,995.00.
The Lisa was another early and arguably more powerful workstation from Apple, but did not meet with nearly as much commercial success as the Macintosh eventually would.
