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The $212,267 Apple 1
Italian business man Marco Boglione is the proud new owner of a $212,267 Apple 1 computer. You may be curious as to what would make this particular Apple computer’s price sky rocket to such an enormous amount. What sort of amazing features does this pricey Apple 1 offer? To be completely honest, the features are lacking and it is safe to assume that Boglione has no plans to use the Apple 1 as anything other than a very cool display. This computer does not connect to the internet. This computer does not even have the ability to plug into a wall socket. The Apple 1 is not a highly sought after collectors item for its cutting edge technology; it’s highly sought after for its special place in history.
The Apple 1 was one of the original 200 computers made by co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack. This computer was made in Steve Jobs’ parents’ garage in 1976. The price of the Apple 1 in 1976 was $666.66. The Apple 1 was auctioned at Christie’s in London on November 23, 2010. Boglione now the owner of a rare collector’s item. Sources say there are believed to only be 30 to 50 still in existence. The features of this particular computer fall more in line with memorabilia. This auction item includes the Apple 1 in its original shipping box and the return address on the packaging shows that the unit shipped from Jobs’ parents’ house. The Apple 1 cassette interface as well as a signed letter from Apple cofounder Steve Jobs were also included in this auction item.
Christie’s noted that before bidding began on the Apple 1 it was apparent how far Apple has come over the last 34 years as bidders studied Christie’s sale catalogue from the very popular iPad. Bidders were also using the Christie’s App to follow the action as well. Steve Wozniack was in attendance at the auction. I’m sure in Wozniack’s wildest dreams he never imagined that the original Apple 1 he helped create in Steve Jobs’ parents’ garage would ever sell for such an astronomical amount.
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Apple Love
I love Apple. I use multiple Apple products every day. I get excited to walk into Apple’s candy colored immaculate stores. I walk through the different sections enamored with each product. I could spend hours exploring each product’s nuances. Surprisingly enough though, my love of all things Apple wasn’t love at first sight; it was more like a seed planted that slowly grew.
My Mom purchased an iPod shuffle for me in December 2005 as a Christmas gift. I remember opening the gift and not getting particularly excited. I think my lack of excitement came more from not understanding exactly what I was looking at. It was a small white rectangle with my name engraved on the side of it. I didn’t even open the box for a few months. I clearly remember when I finally decided to open my new toy becoming all consumed with finding the coolest music to add on to the little guy. I would spend hour after hour listening to thirty second clips of songs trying to decide if a certain song was worthy of my super cool iPod. I am happy to say that I still use this very same first generation iPod shuffle today. The fact that I continue to use an iPod shuffle that was made nearly five years ago is impressive to say the least. This is a testament to the quality of Apple products.
The next Apple love of my life was my 3G iPhone. It was given to me as a gift since my other phone decided to die on me out of no where. Once again I wasn’t particularly excited about my new toy. I didn’t think I needed a phone with so many bells and whistles. My iPhone quickly became (and still is) my most prized possession. My iPhone is always by my side. My iPhone is the first thing I reach for when I wake up and the last thing I tinker with before I go to bed. To be honest, I actually sleep with it under my pillow. My iPhone has helped me pass times of extreme boredom and it keeps me in touch with those that I hold dear to my heart. If my house as burning down and I only had time to grab one possession, my iPhone would be spared. I never knew I could love a piece of technology so much.
My iPhone is clearly my favorite Apple product that I own, hands down. Coming in at a close second though is my Apple TV. I like to think of my Apple TV as my own personal television channel. I can access iTunes, movies, and pictures through my television. Of all the cutting edge features that the Apple TV has to offer my favorite feature is the screen saver. The screen saver runs a slide show of all of my photos. I can sit on my couch watching the screen saver shuffle through my photos for hours. I have even tailored the slide show for certain events. For example for my friend’s birthday I had a small party at my house. Along with creating the perfect party playlist through iTunes, I also ran a slide show on my Apple TV of the birthday girl. It added a special touch to the event.
I recently saw a story on the local news that warmed my heart. The story touched on how the iPad was a hit with those slightly technology challenged. The story was about how an elderly woman was reading again for the first time in years because of the iPad’s ability to enlarge text. The woman raved about how easy the iPad’s touch screen was to use and how it was giving her back the gift of reading. The story made me think of a very special 80 year old bingo loving lady named Lee. I used to run bingo at an assisted living community and Lee was my partner in crime. Lee had a computer in her room and next to her computer were several large bold faced instructions on how to use the computer. Lee often complained about how complicated and confusing using the computer was. It made me wish Lee was still here today. She would have loved an iPad and having an iPad would have also freed up quite a bit of wall space in her room. An iPad is next on my wish list for sure!
My love of all things Apple will continue to grow. I know this because the company is always reinventing its products in a way that makes the coolest thing you own even cooler! I look forward to seeing what Apple comes up with next and how my love will grow!
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Seven Months. Nine Trips.
If you’d like to make plans with me it will have to wait till September. My jet-setting began in February and will continue all the way through August. I have planned nine trips over seven months! My travels include the following cities in this order: San Francisco, Napa, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.
Why so many trips? Well, I traveled to San Francisco to visit my best friend from college.
My trip to Napa was a family vacation that brought lots of wine and yummy food. My adventures in Las Vegas and Palm Springs were both tied to the wedding of a dear friend.
Lake Tahoe was a special birthday party for my darling niece who turned one year old.
In the next four months I head to Sacramento to host a bridal shower for my best friend from high school. Following that trip, I will be traveling to my home town, San Jose, to host a wild 30th Birthday party for my big brother. In July, I will be heading to Santa Barbara for a bachelorette party followed by a wedding in August in Santa Cruz.
Traveling can be slightly overwhelming at times and I must admit that a weekend at home seems like a luxury these days.
I joke that my dent in Tyrone (yes, I named my couch Tyrone) is losing its shape. Though all this traveling may be starting to wear on me a bit it is worth it. I love spending time with my friends and family more than anything else in this world. Being around those you love is such a treat.
A constant on all of my trips is a discussion about my exciting new job here at Gap.
I have found that explaining what we do here at Gap seems to only invite more questions.
Everyone is happy for me despite not quite understanding what exactly I do all day as a Sys Ops team member.
Here at Gap I am the data gate keeper for digital cameras. As a sort of newbie this is an on going learning process of course.
I am slowly but surely becoming an expert when it comes to cameras and I couldn’t be more excited about this. It’s rather fitting that in my inner circle I am known as the paparazzi. I bring my Canon PowerShot everywhere I go. Friends of mine joke that they can leave their camera at home if I am coming to an event because they know I will have the picture taking duties covered.
Lately I have found that I notice cameras everywhere I go. I was at a wedding recently and I couldn’t help but take second looks at the cameras that were snapping away as the happy couple said their “I Do’s”. I found myself noting model numbers to myself. As pictures began to circulate after the wedding it was quite apparent that certain cameras took a better picture than others, but I won’t disclose which!
So, if you need any travel advice, I’m your gal. For instance, large round earrings look like ninja stars to security x-ray technicians so it’s better to pack those on top of your bag (not packed away deep in your suitcase). I learned the hard way to avoid sitting near small children on flights. Children aren’t much fun on planes.
Also, if you own an iPhone, the Southwest Airlines travel App is a must. Not only does this app alert me when cheap tickets are available but it allows me to check into my flight on my iPhone! Oh technology!
I hope all of your future travels go smoothly.
If you need any recommendations on where you should travel next I have a large list of suggestions. Traveling is a privilege and I am so blessed to have so many reasons to grab a suitcase and go. No matter where my travels take me though I always feel lucky to come home to San Diego. Happy traveling everyone!
Welcome Aboard Erin!
My name is Erin Michelle Vogelsanger and I am the newbie at gap intelligence. Though only employed at gap for a just over a week, I have already managed to decorate the cubicle and found an excuse to wear my pajamas to work. I’ve made myself right at home.
Here are five things that make me unique:
I am obsessed with blow pops and would even be so bold to say that blow pops are the greatest candy on earth. My obsession started as a child and has continued right on into adulthood and if I could only have one type of candy for the rest of my life it would be blow pops. Strawberry is the best, by the way.
I do not own a dog but my favorite beach is Coronado’s Dog Beach. I love dogs so much that I will go to the beach to watch other people’s dogs play in the water. I also think that dog people are nicer. Some day I will take my bull mastiff to dog beach.
I have an inner Martha Stewart and enjoy hosting parties and entertaining. I create tablescapes and agonize over the perfect menu choices. Mini-me Martha seems to come out around any holiday, birthday, or special event so watch for holiday cookies in the office.
I have the memory of an elephant when it comes to song lyrics. For some reason this especially applies to 90′s hip hop music and don’t be surprised if you catch me with my ipod dancing the Roger Rabbit down the halls.
I did Jazzercise in the womb. My mom has taught Jazzercise my entire life including when she was pregnant with me. There is no doubt that my fondness of very loud music and my hip dance moves were developed at a very, very, early age.
I am extremely excited to join the gap intelligence team and I look forward to becoming an excel wizard, which will accompany my cooking and dancing skills.
The Real Joys of July
As July comes to a close I took a look back and reflected on what a great month it has been. Nationally we are in the process of adding a Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court, GM has emerged from Bankruptcy, and the swine flu seems to have subsided for now. Not too bad for one month in my opinion. However, when most people think about July the first thing that often comes to mind is Independence Day. While the fourth is one of my personal favorites because of its historical importance and lets be honest great BBQ’s. I feel that many people overlook some of the less recognized, but equally important holidays that July has to offer. I am aware that they all don’t end with a fireworks extravaganza, but is that any reason to disregard International Joke Day (July 1), National Ice Cream Day (July 19), or the ever important Father-in-Law Day (July 30)?
For too long the B and C list holidays of July have gone overlooked or ignored by most Americans. If you are one of the many that did not celebrate Hammock Day (July 22) with a nap in your neighbor’s hammock until they asked who you were and told you to get out their yard like me. You are in luck because I am going to recap some these lesser known holidays with some suggestions and personal stories that may inspire you to celebrate next year.
What better place to start than the first of the month with Canada Day (July 1), I have always thought of our neighbors to the north as the quiet guy on the block with the well kept yard. But don’t be fooled, those Canadians know how to have a good time so grab a case (or a two – four in Canada) of Molson Ice, a couple of hockey sticks, stop pronouncing your O’s, and let the good times roll. If you wake up in Toronto with a Maple Leafs jersey on, you know you got every last drop of maple syrup out of Canada Day.
There are so many things to celebrate in July that some days are shared holidays. Did you know that Cheer up the Lonely Day, and World Population Day both fall on July 11? I was able to figure out how to celebrate Cheer up the Lonely Day with out much research, but I had to resort to Wikipedia to figure out World Population Day. This holiday was created to raise awareness of global population issues. I found a great way to combine these holidays into one celebration. It’s really very simple I find someone is who is lonely and I attempt to cheer them up by saying, “Hey lonely there are 6,774,026,709 on the planet get out there and find some one to hang out with.” I’m not sure if this really cheers the lonely up, but at least now they know the world population and understand that their not alone.
Who could forget a pioneer of American aviation, best selling author, world record holder, and hero to women everywhere? Not me, that’s why on Amelia Earhart Day (July 24), I get dressed like a pilot from the 1930’s, and head down to the San Diego Airport. While at the airport I perform a captivating retelling of Amelia’s transatlantic flight from her perspective. However since I am a man telling a story from a women’s point of view I often get strange and sometimes inviting looks, but when I ask these onlookers if they have a better way to celebrate Amelia Earhart Day their often left speechless.
I’m going to end this holiday overview just like the month does on July 31, Mutts Day. The mutt, like this holiday, is often ignored in the dog world. While there is no Best Mutt category at the Westminster Dog show we should not disregard these half breeds. This Mutt Day, brush up on your slang and learn the various terms for mutt’s world wide. Hawaiians call them poi dogs, in South Africa they are known as the pavement special, and the classic Brazilian and Dominican name for mixed-breed dogs is vira-lata which translates to trash-can tipper. So head to the pound and try out some of these names on mutts, who knows, you could end up brining one home.
Next July remember there is a lot more to celebrate in this month than our country’s independence. Feel free to consult http://www.holidayinsights.com/ for a list of all the holidays that often go overlooked and under appreciated.
