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Lego Apple II is gorgeous
Lego: nothing is quite as appealing to grown-up nerds. This love affair is magnified when the brick-based creation is a piece of Apple history. This awesome mix of bricks and computer memorabilia is showcased in this replica of an Apple II by Chiu-Kueng Tsang. When assembled, this Lego creation looks just like the Apple II shown above. It has a replica keyboard, two floppy drives and a greyscale monitor. Inside the computer portion are daughter cards and other internal bits. You also gotta love those little Apple logos on the monitor and the drives. You can check out some photos of the Lego Apple II in Chiu-Kueng's Flickr gallery. Image copyrighted and used with permission. [Via Make and Gizmodo]
Apple II Plus gets torn asunder and restored in this modern teardown (video)
Breathe in that vintage electronics musk, because it's not going to last -- at least for Todd Harrison, a computer hobbyist based in Mesa, Arizona. You see, for Todd, much of his appreciation for old equipment comes from tearing the units apart and restoring 'em to a like-new condition. Fortunately for us, he's taking everyone along for the ride in this teardown and cleanup of the Apple II Plus. Those with an appreciation for all things vintage will certainly want to put some time aside for his two video tours -- which rack up to nearly a full hour of computing marvel. In the process, Todd shares a few tips and product recommendations for those looking to strip 30 years worth of grime from the casing, and he also reveals himself to be a bit of a hardware nerd: you'll find a detailed look at the Apple logic board, an explanation of the memory banks and see how the Apple II Plus can be expanded to 64K of RAM with the use of a language card. Peeks at the 6502 CPU from MOS Technology and the Applesoft BASIC ROM from Microsoft are also on deck, in addition to a bit of a surprise that Todd found lurking within the Apple Monitor III. With that said, cancel your evening plans and hop the break for the complete tour.
Bell & Howell Apple II Plus appears on eBay, like a foundling carved out of onyx
You wouldn't know it by the never ending barrage of black PowerBook's throughout the '90s, or even the onyx MacBooks in the mid-00s, but dark-clad casings from Apple were pretty much non-existent until Cupertino got serious about laptops, excluding of course the ill-fated Macintosh TV. Exempt from the prevailing 'Snow White' design ethos however, were clones machines sold by other companies, like the Bell & Howell's variant of the Apple ][ Plus above. Per Wikipedia, the machine in question was only available through educational channels, notable for its A/V outputs (which you can espy after the break) especially for that purpose. Typical eBay caveats apply, with the buyer selling the machine "as is" -- read sans power supply -- but we can't imagine it'll be long before an Apple collector swoops in and steals the pooch. More pics and your chance to bid on a piece of history await at the source below.
Bell & Howell MICRO Computer Apple II Plus found on Ebay
Here is an auction, spotted by Steve Troughton-Smith, that you don't see very often. Seller christique1 is auctioning off an Apple II Plus that was built specifically for Bell & Howell and sold to educational markets. Internally, the unit resembles a standard, beige Apple II Plus, but it's clad in a black casing made specifically for that model. The auction includes only the computer. There is no power supply so the seller can't confirm the unit works. Even if it isn't operational, it's still a collector's dream. It's a rare model, less than 10,000 were supposedly made, and it's described as being in good condition with only a few dings and scratches. The keyboard is covered and in remarkable condition. Right now, the auction has one day left and has reached US$100. If you are into collectibles, here's you chance to own a rare piece of Apple history.
Toy Story director is a Mac addict
Lee Unkrich is one of the creative minds behind the Toy Story series, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo. Those are, of course, just a few of his accomplishments. He's obviously a fairly important part of the Pixar creative empire, and his movies have inspired millions of people. He's also a self-proclaimed Mac addict. In an interview with Cult of Mac, Unkrich fessed up to his undying love of Apple products. His first was the Apple II Plus, which is about as much Apple street cred as you can hope to get. Unkrich says he's owned nearly every Apple product since that first machine, even the much-maligned Newton. He's remained a devoted follower through the good times and the bad and is looking forward to even more Apple advances in the future. To me, the most interesting bit came pretty early in the interview with Unkrich. When asked what he loved so much about Macs, Unkrich replied that it was Apple's "unrelenting quest to make beautiful, functional devices. [Macs] practically drip with the care and attention that went into their creation." Isn't that really the thing that inspires us Mac users? That solid, remarkable design and careful consideration of every aspect of the Mac experience. It's good to see the appreciation for Mac poetry shared by such a creative director. Edit: Edit to make Unkrich's role a little more clear -- MG
