Apple fanboy crafts Mac heaven in ultra-mod home

It's one thing to sacrifice your freedom to snatch 39 iPods from a retail shelf in an act of desperation fanboyism, but to devote a substantial chunk of square footage in one's ultra-modern home to Apple is an entirely different type of determination. Sure, we've seen various forms of collections before, but this edition features no fewer than 74 Mac computers, posters galore, and a dedicated bar to boot. In total, Jeremy Mehrle of St. Louis, Missouri has 30 classic Macs situated at the bar, 18 different CRT-based iMacs, various PowerMacs, a plethora of iPod paraphernalia, Mac OS boxes spanning years of development, Apple printers, Newtons, a PowerBook 165c, a Next Cube, four Apple IIs, and to top it off, a 20th Anniversary Mac as well -- and that's still leaving quite a few out. Although we can't fathom how much time, loot, and resources it took to essentially construct an Apple museum with a modernized style similar to Apple retail locations today, we can't help but give credit where its due, so here's your props Mr. Mehrle, now make sure your security system is in working order, okay? Click on through for a few more snapshots, and be sure to tag the read link for all the Mac mania you can handle.

[Via ChipChick]

[ken @ Jan 26th 2007 2:26PM]

first post

it looks good

ibasement!!?!!

[jjrr @ Jan 26th 2007 2:31PM]

weird.

[Todd Long @ Jan 26th 2007 2:44PM]

second that

[Wilco @ Jan 26th 2007 2:36PM]

meh

[Zach Beale @ Jan 26th 2007 2:39PM]

Dunno if you could call that modern art, but you could sure try....

[John @ Jan 26th 2007 4:22PM]

If you can call a neon light modern art, then this counts.

And by the way people, at least this collection makes more sense than some of the other weirder ones out there, like a toothpick collection.

[CharlieX @ Jan 26th 2007 2:40PM]

smacks of the 40 year old virgin, doesn't it?

[fashionista @ Jan 26th 2007 2:41PM]

totally. When was the last time this guy kissed a girl?

[GJP303 @ Jan 26th 2007 6:29PM]

or even talked to one, excluding his mom.

[lettcco @ Jan 26th 2007 2:41PM]

so now they can all play network pong?

[Reno Tyme @ Jan 26th 2007 2:50PM]

Ummm...looks kind of sterile. And depressing. Kind of like a cross between a hospital and a mental ward. Yay, Apple?

[Ryan @ Jan 26th 2007 2:50PM]

Fuckin' lucky bastard with a TAM (Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh). Greatest startup sound of any Mac ever made.

[Anthony @ Jan 26th 2007 2:53PM]

I blame the imminent extinction of polar bears, rain forests, pandas, whales & the Hummer H1 on this guy.

[01 @ Jan 26th 2007 3:01PM]

funny, I'd blame any date any of us ever got on this guy... :-)

[John Doe @ Jan 26th 2007 3:02PM]

Retarded. I mean really. What are you going to do with this shit. Its not like its a DVD collection. Or even a baseball card collection, that at the very least can sit in a small corner of a room. Or even a thimble collection that can be admired. Its a fracking computer collection. Its a box. Granted its a well crafted box but at the end of the day its still. Hell give me a coffee table book on Macs. That I would take. But this?

I think people that collect PC's, and yes Macs are PC's, have some sort of mental defect. Beyond that though. Its his house and his life. If he wants to waste that kinda space. More power to him. Hell I guess my biggest complaint would be power usage. Hopefully the dude doesn't run even a quarter these things 24/7. Its still retarded though.

[Luis @ Jan 26th 2007 3:15PM]

When Steve Jobs reads this he'll laugh all the way to the bank...

[js @ Jan 26th 2007 5:25PM]

Laugh all the way to the bank? He makes $1 a year.

[apeguero @ Jan 26th 2007 3:23PM]

Can you imagine this guy moving? If he does then can you imagine what the look on his friends' faces would be as they moving old, 1980's computers and other useless shit up and down?
Did you see the other pictures? I doubt this dude "gets" it regularly and if he does then he's probably taking it rather than giving it if you know what I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that appartment does look very neat :)

One last thing, if you were so hard-up with Apple as this guy apparently is, wouldn't these pictures be up on .mac instead of flickr?

[Parallel @ Jan 27th 2007 12:53AM]

No doubt you drive a honda civic or other worldly car

[nicgavey @ Jan 28th 2007 4:00AM]

I'm sorry, but don't you have a neocon blog to post your homophobic comments on?

[topher-j5k @ Jan 26th 2007 3:30PM]

I have a MacSE running a cool (retro) screensaver, just for the look of it. I bought one of those Watt-meters, and realized it costs me $5/month just to keep it running. I can't imagine this guy's monthly electricity bill just to run all those computers!!

On the flip side, I can't imagine anyone ever doing something like this with their old Dells.. If they did, they'd need a full-time tech support just to keep 'em all running. =)

[Jon Graft @ Jan 26th 2007 3:33PM]

Wow...it's kind of stupid though to have all those old Macs when all they do is sit there and chew on the energy bill.

[Timerider @ Jan 26th 2007 3:34PM]

That place kicks ass!!!!!!!!!
That must be like Steve Jobs house.


I wish I still had my Mac Plus. :(

[humanclone1stgen @ Jan 26th 2007 3:35PM]

Look Ma! It's Steve Jobs' collab pet project with IKEA!

[jacob @ Jan 26th 2007 3:35PM]

of course, how could all this dated crap be worth. well, to the average apple user not much, but to a museum someday ... the fact that the collection is all together and documented makes it worth substantially more than the items would be if collected separately. true, they are pc's, but as it turns out they are a very specific type of 'custom' pc. each model's hardware specifically designed for the software that controls it. not too common in the pc world. so in a decade or so when someone does start a computer museum this collection of 'gear' should yeild at least what's invested in it. if this person was to make a coffee table book of his collection, that would just be icing on the cake. i'm sure it would sell many copies. and jobsy can't take that to the bank. it would be about the only thing with apple on it the he doesn't make money on. i would never do any of this tho. a little over the top.

///jacob

[Spencer @ Jan 26th 2007 3:41PM]

What happens when an Apple Store and Ikea explodes.

[cire @ Jan 26th 2007 3:43PM]

Looks like Apple meets Ikea.

[Brad C @ Jan 26th 2007 3:52PM]

What a loser. Good luck bringing a "girl" home.

[M_Mickey @ Jan 26th 2007 3:55PM]

Another funny thing is that this installation is pure Apple/Ikea.

Post modernism?

[Ian @ Jan 26th 2007 4:05PM]

Wow, I love all the posts about how this guy "obviously" doesn't get laid/is gay/generally sucks. Way to contribute something useful to the conversation. The person who put this together obviously has a passion for a specific type of computer, and the means to fulfill his wishes. Any persons object of desire when taken to an extreme may seem odd to someone outside looking in. How many of you out there used to collect comics/baseball cards/etc? Collecting is a personal joy, and to attack this person's sexual orientation and/or abilities says more about you than the collector himself. At least they put some time and effort into something, way more effort than posting a flame on engadget takes!

[Richard Lai @ Jan 26th 2007 4:21PM]

So what, do you poop into a gutted Mac monitor in the toilet?

[Anonymous c0ward @ Jan 26th 2007 4:21PM]

Weak Sauce. Sorry but this is tarded

[Charles @ Jan 26th 2007 4:21PM]

Ray @ Jan 26th 2007 2:35PM

That's past the point where something stops being impressive and becomes a life-sucking obsession; someone needs to get laid.
----
OUCH! Man, thats nice, i think so too, he's either a psychedelic loony whos trying to get famous by owning a ----load of Mac things by either entering GWR (Guinness World Records) or Engadets blog site, well he's succeeded in one

[The Emperor @ Jan 26th 2007 4:24PM]

Yessss, my commenters... feel the hate consume you... feel the power...

[Ellianth @ Jan 26th 2007 7:33PM]

lol

[Moose @ Jan 26th 2007 5:12PM]

To the people bemoaning the electrical bill and power consumption: I believe he states in a number of the comments on Flickr that he doesn't leave them all on.

I like it. Sure its obssessive, but people with passions for their hobbies frequently are... And I also think the minimalist furnishings really make the computers the center of attention, which is obviously the goal. For those of us that have owned many many Macs over the years and regretted selling them years later, this is a very understandable project.

[SOCOMRAIDER @ Jan 26th 2007 6:06PM]

Yup, he just takes the rest of his fortune by taking stock of Apple. You kind of get a sense that he knows his company and knew his stock was going to rise. So if he wanted to sell everything he owns, he could probably make a few billion. Oh yeah, there is that big share of Disney he also owns. The $1 was so he would get the medical plan by Apple.

Oh yeah, one more thing, there was that multi-million dollar jet that Apple gave to him a while back.

[Jazz @ Jan 26th 2007 6:24PM]

Thats the most beautiful thing ive ever seen. Ever.

[James @ Jan 26th 2007 6:35PM]

I only wish I had so much space to store my extensive collection of Macintosh & Apple computers and assorted Apple stuff. I currently own over 120 computers with about 80 crammed into one single office! It is a disease:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mactarkus/

[Aaron @ Jan 26th 2007 8:03PM]

If that guy made a Beowulf cluster out of all those computers that would actually make a respectable supercomputer.

[vernonleow @ Jan 26th 2007 8:12PM]

This is actually Bill Gates' secret basement. That red couch is where he w**ks then starts crying.

[Paul @ Jan 26th 2007 8:30PM]

I think everyone is missing the boat on this guy - if he has enough money to 1. buy all of this stuff and 2. have a room in his house for it, he's probably loaded and getting laid more than all of us ;)

[Javaflash @ Jan 26th 2007 8:51PM]

James, that is a very impressive collection.

[aural @ Jan 26th 2007 10:10PM]

I like macs, but that is fucking retatded.

[clicclic @ Jan 26th 2007 11:26PM]

I bet this took a lot of work, unlike the put-downs from our fellow heathens. Let us know when you get a commercial or modeling shoot out of this effort. Good work!

[Ray @ Jan 27th 2007 12:43AM]

That's past the point where something stops being impressive and becomes a life-sucking obsession; someone needs to get laid.

[apeguero @ Jan 28th 2007 9:43AM]

I'm sorry but I don't really get your point. I drive an 07 Nissan Quest and an 07 VW Jetta. They both are plenty worldly if that's what you were getting at.

[TekBoi @ Jan 27th 2007 1:41AM]

Too much TIME and MONEY.

[Sebastian @ Jan 27th 2007 3:28AM]

He has a NeXTcube?

Lucky Bastard -_-
Quality over Quantity though

When I have the time and Money I wish to track down only 5 Classic Computers:
1) NeXTcube
2) Apple II
3) iMac G4
4) G4 Cube
5) Macintosh

The best of the best, the ones that actually mean something.

Sebastian

[turander @ Jan 27th 2007 6:19AM]

This does not bring money to Steve Jobs or Apple - these machines are all outdated. This rather stunning composition exhibits merely a lack of separating "feeling" from "function": Apple computers have this aura of imposing a feel of design, a flair of "living", onto the user which is never really backed up by technology. It is Apple's legacy to have created machines that emphasize some sort of user proximity - in various ways. Even though in the end, what they sell are computers with typical problems that computers happen to have, the Apple experience is a design (and not so much a functional) experience. And this exhibit reflects just that. To anyone who is using computers for their function, function equates to beauty (rather than beauty equating to beauty) so to those people, technical crappiness of the machines conflict with their colorful, well shaped and interesting appearance. If you use computers for what they do, this is the last thing you'd ever want. Obviously, this set up is not in the slightest way reflecting functional or computational aspects of old Apple computer models - but it is a feast of their appearance. And as that - and only as that - it's really stunning.