Blowfish12: Get searching in your loft: The tech that could net you a bundle

Monday, June 18, 2012

Get searching in your loft: The tech that could net you a bundle

Back in 1976 Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs knocked together a computer and named it 'the Apple I', paving the way for a technological revolution which would turn the Californian tech giant into the world’s most valuable company.
Now, more than 35 years later, a rare working Apple I is being sold at auction and is expected to sell for more than £100,000. But the Apple I is not the only piece of tech that has seen its worth grow and grow over the years. Here are five that command an impressive price:
1) 1923 Leica camera

It looks like any other weather-worn camera but this 1923 Leica is extremely rare and sold for £1.75m at auction this month - making it the world’s most expensive camera. Incredibly the camera still works- though you’ll need to work the shutter, aperture control and a film-winding knob.
The model still retains the firm’s former name, Ernst Leitz GmbH, and is known for its role in photojournalism of the early 20th century. The camera shattered its pre-sale estimate of £243,000 and was sold to an anonymous collector.
2) Williams’ Blaster cockpit (arcade machine)
You’ll often still see an old arcade machine tucked away in a kebab shop or chippy - but you are unlikely to spot this extremely rare game. Although aesthetically it pales in comparison to Space Invaders and Pac-Man machines, the Blaster cockpit is worth a staggering £7,700 [$12,000] in mint condition, as only five were ever made in 1983.
The machine plays a rather unremarkable 3D shoot-em-up, but due to the scarce amount available its worth has soared.

3) Giroux Daguerreotype

Formerly the world’s most expensive camera, the Giroux Daguerreotype is more than 170 years old and is wildly sought after. It was the first-commercially produced camera and each model was signed by its creator, Alphonse Giroux, to prove its authenticity.
The price? At auction the last model scooped £593,000 but as there are so few still left on the private market that figure would be substantially higher.
4) KIM-1 computer
As rudimentary as personal computers can get, this is the Commodore KIM-1. Released prior to the Commodore64 computer, the KIM-1 didn’t even come with a proper keyboard. It is a symbolic piece of history however- as it is the world’s first commercial single board computer.
On its release in 1976 it was actually sold by MOS Technologies- later to become Commodore Business Machines. Understandably pristine models of the KIM-1 are at a premium - one which popped up on eBay in May managed to sell for £995 [$1,550].

5) Apple founding documents

Although not technically a piece of technology, this auction was for the sale of a piece of computing history - the founding documents of tech giant Apple. Signed on 1 April 1976, the documents formed a firm which is now worth more than £320bn [$500bn] - but back then documents put the company’s worth at just $8,000.
Co-founder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in the firm for $800 just 11 days after the papers were signed- shares which would now be worth more than $50bn. Despite making what is considered to be one of the worst business decisions of all time Mr Wayne has since said: 'I just couldn’t risk it.'

Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.