Rare Apple '80s MultiServer, '70s Apple II ROM prototypes appear on eBay
A handful of rare, never-before-seen Apple prototypes have appeared for sale on eBay, including an unreleased product from the 1980s called "MultiServer," and a prototype ROM board from the 1970s.
Four days remain on the listing for the Apple MultiServer model, a product that was allegedly being developed at Apple in the mid-1980s. Though the device was never released, the front of the casing looks nearly finished, complete with the product name and Apple logo.
The listing for the empty chassis notes that it is in excellent condition and includes a 3Com 3 Server metal chassis painted Apple white, with Apple-specified connectors on the back. The front design plate was made by Frog Design Inc.
The MultiServer's frame measures 17 inches by 16 inches and is 6 inches tall, and the seller noted it is "big and heavy." When packaged and shipped, the seller says it will weigh about 24 pounds.
"Now I don't know why anybody would want this other than to get a Christmas present for somebody who really does have everything," the listing reads. "(Of course I have kept it for approximately 25 years so who am I to talk.)"
A second listing on eBay is for a prototype ROM card developed by Apple Computer Inc. in 1978. The seller suggests the board could be from an early Apple II, but added they are "not sure."
The hardware includes the Apple logo and name with the words "ROM CARD," and a copyright date of 1978. It states it was made in the U.S.A.
Yet another rare product for sale on the auction website is a prototype power adapter for a Macintosh PowerBook Duo 270C. The notebook was one of the first portable computers sold by Apple, and that model was released in 1993 before being discontinued in May of 1994.
The seller notes that the PowerBook itself available for sale is not a prototype, but was used by an Apple manager. The notebook includes a rare prototype power adapter by ASTEC and not sold to the public.
The seller said they have been collecting Apple products for over 10 years, and the unit was found at a recycling surplus center. The PowerBook and prototype power adapter was found in a computer hard case with an Apple employee business card. The auction does not include the business card or case.
Four days remain on the listing for the Apple MultiServer model, a product that was allegedly being developed at Apple in the mid-1980s. Though the device was never released, the front of the casing looks nearly finished, complete with the product name and Apple logo.
The listing for the empty chassis notes that it is in excellent condition and includes a 3Com 3 Server metal chassis painted Apple white, with Apple-specified connectors on the back. The front design plate was made by Frog Design Inc.
The MultiServer's frame measures 17 inches by 16 inches and is 6 inches tall, and the seller noted it is "big and heavy." When packaged and shipped, the seller says it will weigh about 24 pounds.
"Now I don't know why anybody would want this other than to get a Christmas present for somebody who really does have everything," the listing reads. "(Of course I have kept it for approximately 25 years so who am I to talk.)"
A second listing on eBay is for a prototype ROM card developed by Apple Computer Inc. in 1978. The seller suggests the board could be from an early Apple II, but added they are "not sure."
The hardware includes the Apple logo and name with the words "ROM CARD," and a copyright date of 1978. It states it was made in the U.S.A.
Yet another rare product for sale on the auction website is a prototype power adapter for a Macintosh PowerBook Duo 270C. The notebook was one of the first portable computers sold by Apple, and that model was released in 1993 before being discontinued in May of 1994.
The seller notes that the PowerBook itself available for sale is not a prototype, but was used by an Apple manager. The notebook includes a rare prototype power adapter by ASTEC and not sold to the public.
The seller said they have been collecting Apple products for over 10 years, and the unit was found at a recycling surplus center. The PowerBook and prototype power adapter was found in a computer hard case with an Apple employee business card. The auction does not include the business card or case.
Comments
I think Seinfeld had a Duo in the background in his appartment on the show for a long time. The model of Mac there would change over time, but I do believe the Duo was there for quite some time.
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen...ROMcard-1L.jpg
The card in the auction looks like the switch was removed. I see leads soldered into the switch's pads on the board, maybe it was wired to a remote switch to make it easier to flip. There's a good chance that this is not a prototype but rather a board that was used by an Apple II developer to build custom firmware for the machine.
The ROMs look like they may be EPROMs (with the window covered to prevent accidental erasure). The board also looks modified. I wish I could have it in posession just for a couple hours so I could study it, and dump the ROMs to see if there's anything interesting on them.
Now the MultiServer, that's something to get excited about if you like rare Apple stuff. Even though it's an empty shell, it has the mysterious aura of an unshipped product.
~Philly
I wonder if Steve was around if he would buy this for himself?
Apple probably has lots of old stuff sitting around in their offices. Much more interesting and valuable stuff than this for him to take home.
I remember, at the time, I thought the Duo was pretty inventive. You plugged it into a proprietary dock, which gave you all the normal ports and turned it into a desktop computer. Nowadays, portable computing is almost as powerful as desktop computing and you can hook up an external keyboard, mouse, and display easily, creating the same effect.
I worked at a university computer store in the early 90s, and the Duos were pretty sweet. The Duo Dock had a floppy drive and could be outfitted with a math coprocessor. I think it also had VRAM to support large monitors, and space for an internal hard drive. The insert/eject was motorized, most likely to prevent damage to the dock connector-- you'd push it most of the way in, then the mechanism would take over and gently complete the connection. There was an Eject button on one side, I think it would sleep the machine (or shut it down) and then gently disengage the laptop and push it out a couple inches. There was even a keyed locking mechanism built in to prevent theft.
I think Seinfeld had a Duo in the background in his appartment on the show for a long time. The model of Mac there would change over time, but I do believe the Duo was there for quite some time.
I think during Seinfeld's run there were only three Macs: In the early years it was a Mac Classic, in the middle years it was indeed the PowerBook Duo and DuoDock, and in the final years it was a Twentieth Anniversary Mac.
~Philly
The ROM board looks like a standard Apple II ROM card, which was used to provide Applesoft BASIC to Integer Apple IIs, and Integer BASIC to Applesoft Apple IIs. There was a switch on the back that you could use to flip between using the card's ROMs or the ROMs in the Apple II. The card went into slot zero.
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen...ROMcard-1L.jpg
The card in the auction looks like the switch was removed. I see leads soldered into the switch's pads on the board, maybe it was wired to a remote switch to make it easier to flip. There's a good chance that this is not a prototype but rather a board that was used by an Apple II developer to build custom firmware for the machine.
The ROMs look like they may be EPROMs (with the window covered to prevent accidental erasure). The board also looks modified. I wish I could have it in posession just for a couple hours so I could study it, and dump the ROMs to see if there's anything interesting on them.
Yes, looks like a standard board hand modified. There may be something special on those roms, or there may not be. I does not look that special.
The Multiserver looks special.
I really love the Mini and all but that box is not a server by any means. At the rate Apple is going their desktop market will slip to zero and the idea of building any sort of credible box that can be tasked as a server will go out the window.
Too funny for words. Really!
The MultiServer case looks a bit like a IIfx. I think the age is more like
"Late 80's" than "Mid 80's" for that reason. . .
The MultiServer case looks a bit like a IIfx. I think the age is more like "Late 80's" than "Mid 80's" for that reason. . .
I wonder what kind of storage it had. Probably something like 10-30 Megabytes? 40 tops. That was a lot back in the upper Paleolithic period of personal computing.
There were also available a whole variety of, both, Apple and 3rd party "mini-docks" that you could just pop onto the back connecter that would enable you to connect everything from a single particular peripheral to "multi-mini-dock" for a full keyboard, floppy/hard disk, monitor, ethernet, etc.
I still get that "First Mac excitement feel" when I think back on it. Oooh! dialing up to AOL on 14.4k modem. Sweet!
I remember, at the time, I thought the Duo was pretty inventive. You plugged it into a proprietary dock, which gave you all the normal ports and turned it into a desktop computer. Nowadays, portable computing is almost as powerful as desktop computing and you can hook up an external keyboard, mouse, and display easily, creating the same effect.
The DuoDock was a great concept. But, where I worked, no matter how much I tried to prevent it, some users insisted on having their docks on a shelf above their desk. Not usually an issue, until they would try to put a sleeping Duo in the dock! The dock would spit the sleeping duo out, and about 75% of the time it would crash to the desk or floor!
I had a PowerBook Duo, and physically, that's the same AC adapter it came with. The only difference is the label. So it says "ASTEC" instead of having the normal Apple label, BFD. I wouldn't call something advanced to that degree a prototype, it's more like a preproduction unit from the OEM. If anyone pays the price he's looking for for such a mundane item (even factoring in the laptop that comes with it), they're crazy IMHO.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. It's been a long time since I saw any of those, but even the "ASTEC" label didn't really throw me at all. Who knows what could have made it through the supply chain all those years ago!
I hope someone ultimately makes a museum of Apple products and the prototypes that led up to those products.
Ever seen the documentary "Welcome to Macintosh"? They interviewed someone who has a horde of old Apple and Mac hardware in pretty good (i.e. working) condition, and from nearly every era. He could sell them if he wanted to.
They found out too late if they market as a smallest, lightest Laptop first and said you can dock it you like they would have sold loads more.
I wish it was a bigger success. I still have a working Duo 230 and 270C along with Duo Dock2, I used that dame thing until 2000 when I could no longer stand surfing the web and turtle speeds.
The DuoDock was a great concept. But, where I worked, no matter how much I tried to prevent it, some users insisted on having their docks on a shelf above their desk. Not usually an issue, until they would try to put a sleeping Duo in the dock! The dock would spit the sleeping duo out, and about 75% of the time it would crash to the desk or floor!
If I remember correctly, you could dock a sleeping Duo, that was one of the great selling features since HP make docks for their laptops but you have to be powered off at the time to dock. I had a Due and would never shut it down, just put it to sleep and dock it and undock. Not it kicking it out completely was rear as well. It has motor inside that slowly pull it in and release it so it would not come flying out.