Broad market index is buoyed at year high with relatively light volume trading compared to previous week. Investors are holding stocks in the portfolio for future appreciation. Lack of selling pressure help to keep stocks on a rising trend. Hedge funds continue to attempt to push equity stock higher on buying interest from individual investors. However, individual investors become more cautious as the market advances further. Wealth creation effect encourages them to enter the equity stock market after staying on the sideline for extended time. However they are closely watching the new wealth from equity stocks and is ready to guard their wealth against market turbulence. On the other hand, hedge funds are manipulating the market with liquidity from capital market. There remains probability that hedge funds will start to sell down the market when it has climbed to certain level and unfavorable news come out of market. Institutional investors remain neutral with combination of cash and equity stocks in the portfolio. The gradual advance of market help to maintain a bullish outlook from diverse investors. It is uncertain whether the economic growth is strong enough to attract support from all market participants for a continuous climb of the market.
The 2008 financial crisis triggered the recession. It also created an opportunity of wealth transfer leading to the concentration of wealth in current society.
"BERNANKE: Inequality and Tax "Loopholes" Are a Big Problem For America" Inequality is the result of an economy that favors the financially savvy and the globalization trend that has decimated our manufacturing sector.
"David Stockman: Lack of Middle Class Jobs + Low Growth = "Alleged Recovery"" Stockman believes severe structural problems in the job market will continue to haunt the U.S. economy. Most of the job gains come from temporary or entry level jobs, he says. But, without rejuvenation in the "base of the economy...where the high paying jobs exist" the economy will continue to struggle with "very, very slow growth." "We've got a real income distribution problem in this economy," argues Stockman, "and it's getting worse, not better."
"Obama-GOP Agree to Tax Breaks But "We Need Major Tax INCREASES," David Stockman Says" "Nothing will happen on the deficit" unless and until there's "major upheaval" in the bond market. Treasuries rallied Monday following Ben Bernanke's appearance on 60 Minutes but the bond market is likely to suffer a "firestorm of selling" sooner rather than later, Stockman predicts.
Although equity stock market advances in the past two weeks, it does not jump on massive buying from investors. Institutional investors become less aggressive in buying as earlier in the year. Individual investors take the place to drive the stock market lately. Hedge funds switch portion of the portfolio from treasuries and bonds to equity stocks and create turbulence in the market. Short term outlook on market is volatile.
"Buy? Sell? Hold? Investing Moves to Make Now" As the year winds down, investors confront a number of confusing trends, making it harder to figure out if it's a time to buy or sell. One example of how bewildering it's become: The Federal Reserve has launched a historic program to buy bonds, a step termed "quantitative easing," aimed at pushing down bond yields and mortgage rates and other consumer interest rates. But long-term bond yields and mortgage rates have climbed, not fallen, since the program was unveiled just over a month ago, underscoring how mystifying the current investment environment is.
"What Happened to the Rally? Why Markets Are So Worried" The level of uncertainty is threatening a rally across markets, even at a time when many economists are raising their growth forecasts for 2011. "Momentum is clearly subsiding despite the rampant positive sentiment, and negative divergences are highly evident," David Rosenberg, economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff in Toronto wrote in his daily analysis. "Just as the economics community was doing radical surgery right at the July-August lows in the market, it is now raising its growth projections right at the highs. That is a contrary warning shot."
"Companies Cling to Cash" Corporate America's cash pile has hit its highest level in half a century. The cash buildup shows the deep caution many companies feel about investing in expansion while the economic recovery remains painfully slow and high unemployment and battered household finances continue to limit consumers' ability to spend. "The corporate sector is looking at the household sector and saying, this is not the environment where we should expand our business," said Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Slok.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Spanish Woman Claims Ownership of the Sun, Plans to Begin Charging for Use
The Daily Feed Newsletter
A 49-year-old Spanish woman named Angeles Duran has registered ownership of the sun in her name, with the help of a local notary.
Yes, the sun. As in, the actual sun.
The official document attests that she is the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers."
According to El Mundo, Duran "took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our solar system."
"I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law," she said -- although she has not yet figured out how to collect payment from the residents of planet Earth.
At least one citizen isn't ready to pony up for his daily dose of sunshine.
"Aries Dragon" of Texas, writes:
"I cannot pay and I do not foresee being able to pay in the near future. Please discontinue my service immediately. I will notify you when I am ready to resume."
A 49-year-old Spanish woman named Angeles Duran has registered ownership of the sun in her name, with the help of a local notary.
Yes, the sun. As in, the actual sun.
The official document attests that she is the "owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000 kilometers."
According to El Mundo, Duran "took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our solar system."
"I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law," she said -- although she has not yet figured out how to collect payment from the residents of planet Earth.
At least one citizen isn't ready to pony up for his daily dose of sunshine.
"Aries Dragon" of Texas, writes:
"I cannot pay and I do not foresee being able to pay in the near future. Please discontinue my service immediately. I will notify you when I am ready to resume."
Saturday, December 4, 2010
How to Build a $1000 Fusion Reactor in Your Basement
This article is a sample from DISCOVER's special Extreme Universe issue, available only on newsstands through March 22.
Most college freshmen fill their dorm rooms with clothes, books, and electronics. Thiago Olson also brought his fusion reactor. But Vanderbilt University drew the line: No do-it-yourself reactors in the dorm! Instead, his device was housed in a nearby laboratory.
Olson and a small cadre of other amateur nuclear engineers have found a simpler way. They are creating home-grown reactors, welding and wiring the devices in their backyards, garages, and basements (much to the alarm of neighbors). The hazards to the community are slim, the main ones being heavy use of electricity and short-range radiation that can be of risk to the “fusioneers” themselves. You can find out more about building a fusion reactor at www.fusor.net, an online community of fusioneers who help each other find parts, assemble, and problem solve. Also, check out a pair of books, Radiation Detection and Measurement by Glenn F. Knoll and Building Scientific Apparatus by John H. Moore.
If you decide to proceed, though, a few cautions: Beware of high-voltage electricity, which can skyrocket to more than 50,000 volts—enough that contact with a loose wire will kill you instantly. Pressurized flammable gas can also be fatal. And electrons hitting the stainless steel chamber produce X-rays, so do not look at the little window directly. Instead use a camera or leaded glass filter. Contact your state’s department of health for regulations. Your reactor will use a lot more energy than it produces. It is barely capable of achieving a detectable nuclear reaction, so fusion is one of the least hazardous parts of this project.
For those who would like to join in on the fusion fun, DISCOVER offers this guide to the essentials. With a lot of scrounging for cheap parts online or at scrapyards, plus a lot of elbow grease, it is possible to put together a fusion reactor for as little as $1,000. If you need fusion right now, though, you can pay retail and get what you need for about $20,000.
Olson’s project was motivated by the challenge of doing fusion—and by the same promise that has inspired thousands of physicists over the past half century. Nuclear fusion is the energy source that powers the sun; if channeled correctly, it could become a major source of clean energy here on Earth. Fusion occurs when the nuclei of two atoms are forced so close to each other that they bind together, releasing a great deal of energy in the process. Because positively charged nuclei forcefully repel each other, though, high temperatures are needed to bring about a union. Most fusion reactors are therefore enormous machines, like the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility that recently opened in California.
RADIATION DETECTION EQUIPMENT Prove that you really achieved fusion by using a bubble dosimeter, which provides instant visual verification and measurement of neutrons produced by fusion reactions. If you get bubbles, you did it! Price: $120
VACUUM CHAMBER Get a stainless steel chamber to seal your fusion particles in and to keep air out. Olson’s vacuum is made from an old mass spectrometer he found on eBay. You will probably need a lot of bolts to get the chamber closed tightly, and possibly a large flange for patching up a gaping hole, which can cost $500. If you are a student, try asking the manufacturer for a discount. Price: $300–$4,000
DEUTERIUM The atomic nuclei in the hydrogen plasma are what collide to create fusion inside the chamber. Deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, is found in seawater, but it is hard to separate from its far more common, lighter cousin. Its distribution is also tightly regulated due to its close ties to nuclear technology. Unless you have special connections, a business or university will need to request it on your behalf. Price: around $250 for 50 liters of gas in a lecture bottle
HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER You will need at least 20,000 volts* and a 10-milliamp current to create enough heat to crush those hydrogen nuclei together. Remember that because you are trying to attract positive deuterium ions, you want negative output, so you must ground the positive charge. Olson uses an X-ray transformer salvaged from an old mammogram machine. A commercial power supply by Spellman or Glassman is another option, or the intrepid electrician can make one from scratch. Price: $400–$10,000
VACUUM PUMP Suck all the unwanted particles out of the chamber. A two-stage roughing pump will get you to a near vacuum. Then use a turbo or oil diffusion pump to reach a high vacuum. Price: $350–$4,000
GAS REGULATOR Use this to inject tiny amounts of deuterium into the chamber and to regulate pressure inside your reactor. Needle valves can fine-tune the amount going in; capillary tubing (with an inner diameter as narrow as a pin) will really slow it down. If you can afford to, forget those and instead use a mass flow controller, which allows you to delegate the job to your computer. Price: $100–$200
* Correction, March 3: This originally read "50,000 volts."
Most college freshmen fill their dorm rooms with clothes, books, and electronics. Thiago Olson also brought his fusion reactor. But Vanderbilt University drew the line: No do-it-yourself reactors in the dorm! Instead, his device was housed in a nearby laboratory.
Olson and a small cadre of other amateur nuclear engineers have found a simpler way. They are creating home-grown reactors, welding and wiring the devices in their backyards, garages, and basements (much to the alarm of neighbors). The hazards to the community are slim, the main ones being heavy use of electricity and short-range radiation that can be of risk to the “fusioneers” themselves. You can find out more about building a fusion reactor at www.fusor.net, an online community of fusioneers who help each other find parts, assemble, and problem solve. Also, check out a pair of books, Radiation Detection and Measurement by Glenn F. Knoll and Building Scientific Apparatus by John H. Moore.
If you decide to proceed, though, a few cautions: Beware of high-voltage electricity, which can skyrocket to more than 50,000 volts—enough that contact with a loose wire will kill you instantly. Pressurized flammable gas can also be fatal. And electrons hitting the stainless steel chamber produce X-rays, so do not look at the little window directly. Instead use a camera or leaded glass filter. Contact your state’s department of health for regulations. Your reactor will use a lot more energy than it produces. It is barely capable of achieving a detectable nuclear reaction, so fusion is one of the least hazardous parts of this project.
For those who would like to join in on the fusion fun, DISCOVER offers this guide to the essentials. With a lot of scrounging for cheap parts online or at scrapyards, plus a lot of elbow grease, it is possible to put together a fusion reactor for as little as $1,000. If you need fusion right now, though, you can pay retail and get what you need for about $20,000.
Olson’s project was motivated by the challenge of doing fusion—and by the same promise that has inspired thousands of physicists over the past half century. Nuclear fusion is the energy source that powers the sun; if channeled correctly, it could become a major source of clean energy here on Earth. Fusion occurs when the nuclei of two atoms are forced so close to each other that they bind together, releasing a great deal of energy in the process. Because positively charged nuclei forcefully repel each other, though, high temperatures are needed to bring about a union. Most fusion reactors are therefore enormous machines, like the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility that recently opened in California.
RADIATION DETECTION EQUIPMENT Prove that you really achieved fusion by using a bubble dosimeter, which provides instant visual verification and measurement of neutrons produced by fusion reactions. If you get bubbles, you did it! Price: $120
VACUUM CHAMBER Get a stainless steel chamber to seal your fusion particles in and to keep air out. Olson’s vacuum is made from an old mass spectrometer he found on eBay. You will probably need a lot of bolts to get the chamber closed tightly, and possibly a large flange for patching up a gaping hole, which can cost $500. If you are a student, try asking the manufacturer for a discount. Price: $300–$4,000
DEUTERIUM The atomic nuclei in the hydrogen plasma are what collide to create fusion inside the chamber. Deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, is found in seawater, but it is hard to separate from its far more common, lighter cousin. Its distribution is also tightly regulated due to its close ties to nuclear technology. Unless you have special connections, a business or university will need to request it on your behalf. Price: around $250 for 50 liters of gas in a lecture bottle
HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER You will need at least 20,000 volts* and a 10-milliamp current to create enough heat to crush those hydrogen nuclei together. Remember that because you are trying to attract positive deuterium ions, you want negative output, so you must ground the positive charge. Olson uses an X-ray transformer salvaged from an old mammogram machine. A commercial power supply by Spellman or Glassman is another option, or the intrepid electrician can make one from scratch. Price: $400–$10,000
VACUUM PUMP Suck all the unwanted particles out of the chamber. A two-stage roughing pump will get you to a near vacuum. Then use a turbo or oil diffusion pump to reach a high vacuum. Price: $350–$4,000
GAS REGULATOR Use this to inject tiny amounts of deuterium into the chamber and to regulate pressure inside your reactor. Needle valves can fine-tune the amount going in; capillary tubing (with an inner diameter as narrow as a pin) will really slow it down. If you can afford to, forget those and instead use a mass flow controller, which allows you to delegate the job to your computer. Price: $100–$200
* Correction, March 3: This originally read "50,000 volts."
Friday, December 3, 2010
Market Approaches Year High In The Beginning Of December
Market moves violently in this week and approaches year high at the end of week on the last month of year. It can be seen that market participants become more active and create turbulence in the equity stock market. In the beginning two days of the week, hedge funds attempted to move down the market after the opening bell. Since selling pressure was very limited. market gained support from individual investors who started to enter the market in November. After two days of unsuccessful attempt and seeing the strong support from individual investors, hedge funds changed the strategy from selling to buying and ignited the following three-day rally. Individual investors and hedge funds together pushed the market higher with increased trading volume.
Market sentiment turns optimistic. Capital is probably flowing from treasuries and bond market to equity stock market. However hedge funds are opportunistic traders seeking short term profit from market fluctuation in up or down direction. Another potential impact on equity stock performance is the tax cut expiration. After the 2008 financial crisis, wealth is more concentrated on the rich people because they are buying diverse assets while the majority of people are frightened by the market decline and liquidating the investment portfolio to save in money market. Depending on tax planning of rich people, profit realisation on capital gain before tax cut expiration may generate selling pressure.
Long term outlook on market performance is optimistic as discussed many times in the past. However, short term market movement is more dependent on market participants, rather than economic condition. There is ample liquidity in the capital market and it appears that investors are becoming more interested in the equity stock market. However, household are still very
cautious on buying stocks. Movement of market is range bounded. With increased activities from market participants, range is widened with increased volatility.
Leveraging on trading portfolio is very risky under current market condition. For long term investment, holding power is very important to preserve portfolio value and appreciation. For short term trading, risk mitigation is critical to successful strategy.
Market sentiment turns optimistic. Capital is probably flowing from treasuries and bond market to equity stock market. However hedge funds are opportunistic traders seeking short term profit from market fluctuation in up or down direction. Another potential impact on equity stock performance is the tax cut expiration. After the 2008 financial crisis, wealth is more concentrated on the rich people because they are buying diverse assets while the majority of people are frightened by the market decline and liquidating the investment portfolio to save in money market. Depending on tax planning of rich people, profit realisation on capital gain before tax cut expiration may generate selling pressure.
Long term outlook on market performance is optimistic as discussed many times in the past. However, short term market movement is more dependent on market participants, rather than economic condition. There is ample liquidity in the capital market and it appears that investors are becoming more interested in the equity stock market. However, household are still very
cautious on buying stocks. Movement of market is range bounded. With increased activities from market participants, range is widened with increased volatility.
Leveraging on trading portfolio is very risky under current market condition. For long term investment, holding power is very important to preserve portfolio value and appreciation. For short term trading, risk mitigation is critical to successful strategy.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Enigma Being Auctioned By Christie’s On November 23rd, 2010
Reprinted from Christie's.
LOT 59 / SALE 7882
Price Realized £67,250 ($107,129)
Price includes buyer's premium
Sale Information
Sale 7882
Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts
23 November 2010
London, King Street
'ENIGMA' -- Cipher Machine. A three-rotor Enigma machine, number A-9457, with electric core, three aluminium rotors each stamped WaA618, raised 'QWERTZ' keyboard with crackle black painted metal case (some restoration), three division window flap over rotors and plugboard in the front with ten patch leads, with metal label 'C
hiffriermaschinen Gesellschaft Heimsoeth und Rinke, Berlin W.35 Ludendorffstraße 6' on the inside of the lid, circa 1939. Modern power supply. 260 x 320 x 140mm.
Lot Description
'ENIGMA' -- Cipher Machine. A three-rotor Enigma machine, number A-9457, with electric core, three aluminium rotors each stamped WaA618, raised 'QWERTZ' keyboard with crackle black painted metal case (some restoration), three division window flap over rotors and plugboard in the front with ten patch leads, with metal label 'Chiffriermaschinen Gesellschaft Heimsoeth und Rinke, Berlin W.35 Ludendorffstraße 6' on the inside of the lid, circa 1939. Modern power supply. 260 x 320 x 140mm.
A three-rotor ENIGMA, the standard German electronic ciphering machine widely used in World War II. It derives from a 1919 patent of a Dutch inventor, H.A. Koch; an early design marketed by Dr. Arthur Scherbius was bought out by the German military in 1929 and placed in service. ENIGMA in several variants was used by the German Navy, the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the state railroad system, the Abwehr (intelligence) and the SS.
It was designed with a complex, interchangeable series of three rotors bearing the 26-character alphabet, a 'reflector' and a plugboard with movable connecting cords that connected pairs of letters. As an added precaution, the base or starting settings for the rotors was changed every 24 hours, according to pre-printed setting registers furnished in advance or supplied daily by courier. It has been calculated that the 3-rotor ENIGMA, with plugboard in use, made possible a total of 15 billion billion possible readings for each character.
ENIGMA was widely regarded by the Germans as too complex to be broken, but in the 1930s a team of Polish analysts (Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rszycki and Henryk Zygalski), made remarkable progress in working out the machine's basic system, identified its vulnerabilities and succeeded in deciphering much of the encrypted German radio traffic. Their findings, including plans for very useful mechanical devices known as 'bombes', which aided in the decryption operation, were secretly passed on in 1939 to French and British investigators. An elite team of cryptanalysts, mathematicians and engineers including Alan Turing (see lot 60) were established in a top-secret facility at Bletchley Park. For the rest of the war that legendary team's heroic and unstinting efforts gradually accomplished the seemingly insurmountable task of deciphering an enormous volume of encrypted communications. The critical intelligence deriving from their decipherment was dubbed ULTRA and was employed cautiously but to great effect during the war; some commentators credit ULTRA with shortening the war by some two years.
LOT 59 / SALE 7882
Price Realized £67,250 ($107,129)
Price includes buyer's premium
Sale Information
Sale 7882
Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts
23 November 2010
London, King Street
'ENIGMA' -- Cipher Machine. A three-rotor Enigma machine, number A-9457, with electric core, three aluminium rotors each stamped WaA618, raised 'QWERTZ' keyboard with crackle black painted metal case (some restoration), three division window flap over rotors and plugboard in the front with ten patch leads, with metal label 'C
hiffriermaschinen Gesellschaft Heimsoeth und Rinke, Berlin W.35 Ludendorffstraße 6' on the inside of the lid, circa 1939. Modern power supply. 260 x 320 x 140mm.
Lot Description
'ENIGMA' -- Cipher Machine. A three-rotor Enigma machine, number A-9457, with electric core, three aluminium rotors each stamped WaA618, raised 'QWERTZ' keyboard with crackle black painted metal case (some restoration), three division window flap over rotors and plugboard in the front with ten patch leads, with metal label 'Chiffriermaschinen Gesellschaft Heimsoeth und Rinke, Berlin W.35 Ludendorffstraße 6' on the inside of the lid, circa 1939. Modern power supply. 260 x 320 x 140mm.
A three-rotor ENIGMA, the standard German electronic ciphering machine widely used in World War II. It derives from a 1919 patent of a Dutch inventor, H.A. Koch; an early design marketed by Dr. Arthur Scherbius was bought out by the German military in 1929 and placed in service. ENIGMA in several variants was used by the German Navy, the Wehrmacht, the Luftwaffe, the state railroad system, the Abwehr (intelligence) and the SS.
It was designed with a complex, interchangeable series of three rotors bearing the 26-character alphabet, a 'reflector' and a plugboard with movable connecting cords that connected pairs of letters. As an added precaution, the base or starting settings for the rotors was changed every 24 hours, according to pre-printed setting registers furnished in advance or supplied daily by courier. It has been calculated that the 3-rotor ENIGMA, with plugboard in use, made possible a total of 15 billion billion possible readings for each character.
ENIGMA was widely regarded by the Germans as too complex to be broken, but in the 1930s a team of Polish analysts (Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rszycki and Henryk Zygalski), made remarkable progress in working out the machine's basic system, identified its vulnerabilities and succeeded in deciphering much of the encrypted German radio traffic. Their findings, including plans for very useful mechanical devices known as 'bombes', which aided in the decryption operation, were secretly passed on in 1939 to French and British investigators. An elite team of cryptanalysts, mathematicians and engineers including Alan Turing (see lot 60) were established in a top-secret facility at Bletchley Park. For the rest of the war that legendary team's heroic and unstinting efforts gradually accomplished the seemingly insurmountable task of deciphering an enormous volume of encrypted communications. The critical intelligence deriving from their decipherment was dubbed ULTRA and was employed cautiously but to great effect during the war; some commentators credit ULTRA with shortening the war by some two years.
Update 2: Apple 1 And Paperwork Being Auctioned By Christie’s On November 23rd, 2010
Additional information on auction details. Reprinted from San Jose Mercury News.
Cassidy: Apple 1 sells at Christie's auction for $212,267
By Mike Cassidy
Mercury News Columnist
Come on. $212,000?
I mean the Apple-1 is a fine machine and all. It's portable. No monitor to get all smudged the way that iPad screen does. (No keyboard either, which is sort of like the iPad.) But the thing is 34 years old and it's been god-knows where. It's a glorified piece of plastic, for goodness sake. It looks like something you'd find in a Dumpster behind some high-tech startup, rather than one of the world's first personal computers.
No matter. Italian magnate Marco Boglione stepped up at an auction Tuesday and paid nearly a quarter of a million at Christie's of London for one of the PCs that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs built in Jobs' garage. (It must kill Jobs that he doesn't get a cut.) Yes, it's the Apple-1, which arguably launched the personal computer revolution and certainly launched Apple, a technology company that is slowly seeping into every aspect of our lives.
"It's a very nice representative example," says Sellam Ismail, of Livermore, who founded the Vintage Computer Festival. "It's probably one of the most complete, and in good condition, that I've ever come across."
And that's what I'd go with if I were Marco Boglione and it came time to share the glorious news with my significant other. I certainly wouldn't go with Ismail's first reaction: "I guess they found the one stupid guy with a lot of money," although Ismail later backed off that harsh assessment.
But $212,000?
"No," says Ismail, who's brokered the sales of a half-dozen Apple-1s, none for more than $30,000.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
No matter that for the price of Boglione's Apple-1, you could buy 425 über-cool iPads. No matter that you could run down to the Apple Store and score the sleek new MacBook Air for 1/212th the cost. No matter that Boglione's Apple-1 comes with 8 kilobytes of memory and a cassette interface for storage, instead of, say, 500 gigabytes in today's low-end iMac.
It is a piece of history. Wozniak himself attended the auction.
The Apple-1, after all, was Apple's first PC. It came with a pre-assembled motherboard, a major convenience in the day of hobbyist computer kits. Wozniak and Jobs started shipping the 200 or so Apple-1s in 1976, charging $666.66 for the machine. (No, they weren't closet devil worshipers. The Steves wanted a 33 percent markup from their $500 wholesale price and Woz liked repeating numbers. So, $666.66.) About 50 survive today.
I couldn't reach Boglione, 54, on Tuesday. An e-mail sent to his sportswear conglomerate in Turin, Italy, after hours there went unanswered. But here's what we know about him: He's got a lot of money.
He also studied engineering at Turin Polytechnic, went into the advertising business and in 1983 founded BasicNet, according to the company website.
Had I reached Boglione, he might have explained that he got more than just an old computer for his $212,000. The sale included a personal letter from Jobs typed on lined paper and the original shipping box, addressed to Frank Anderson at Electric City Radio Supply in Great Falls, Mont.
And lest you doubt the historical significance of the great machine, you should know that it's still recalled in Great Falls today.
"I remember seeing it when he first got it," says Scott Stafford, 52, who shopped in Anderson's store when he was in high school. "He was the first person that I ever knew to have a personal computer."
Stafford always admired Anderson, who passed away years ago.
He named his audio-video installation business Electric City Sight & Sound in part as a tribute.
So what does he think about his old mentor's computer going for more than $200,000 at auction?
On the other end of the phone, Stafford starts laughing loud and long. To be honest, I'm not sure he has stopped yet.
Cassidy: Apple 1 sells at Christie's auction for $212,267
By Mike Cassidy
Mercury News Columnist
Come on. $212,000?
I mean the Apple-1 is a fine machine and all. It's portable. No monitor to get all smudged the way that iPad screen does. (No keyboard either, which is sort of like the iPad.) But the thing is 34 years old and it's been god-knows where. It's a glorified piece of plastic, for goodness sake. It looks like something you'd find in a Dumpster behind some high-tech startup, rather than one of the world's first personal computers.
No matter. Italian magnate Marco Boglione stepped up at an auction Tuesday and paid nearly a quarter of a million at Christie's of London for one of the PCs that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs built in Jobs' garage. (It must kill Jobs that he doesn't get a cut.) Yes, it's the Apple-1, which arguably launched the personal computer revolution and certainly launched Apple, a technology company that is slowly seeping into every aspect of our lives.
"It's a very nice representative example," says Sellam Ismail, of Livermore, who founded the Vintage Computer Festival. "It's probably one of the most complete, and in good condition, that I've ever come across."
And that's what I'd go with if I were Marco Boglione and it came time to share the glorious news with my significant other. I certainly wouldn't go with Ismail's first reaction: "I guess they found the one stupid guy with a lot of money," although Ismail later backed off that harsh assessment.
But $212,000?
"No," says Ismail, who's brokered the sales of a half-dozen Apple-1s, none for more than $30,000.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
No matter that for the price of Boglione's Apple-1, you could buy 425 über-cool iPads. No matter that you could run down to the Apple Store and score the sleek new MacBook Air for 1/212th the cost. No matter that Boglione's Apple-1 comes with 8 kilobytes of memory and a cassette interface for storage, instead of, say, 500 gigabytes in today's low-end iMac.
It is a piece of history. Wozniak himself attended the auction.
The Apple-1, after all, was Apple's first PC. It came with a pre-assembled motherboard, a major convenience in the day of hobbyist computer kits. Wozniak and Jobs started shipping the 200 or so Apple-1s in 1976, charging $666.66 for the machine. (No, they weren't closet devil worshipers. The Steves wanted a 33 percent markup from their $500 wholesale price and Woz liked repeating numbers. So, $666.66.) About 50 survive today.
I couldn't reach Boglione, 54, on Tuesday. An e-mail sent to his sportswear conglomerate in Turin, Italy, after hours there went unanswered. But here's what we know about him: He's got a lot of money.
He also studied engineering at Turin Polytechnic, went into the advertising business and in 1983 founded BasicNet, according to the company website.
Had I reached Boglione, he might have explained that he got more than just an old computer for his $212,000. The sale included a personal letter from Jobs typed on lined paper and the original shipping box, addressed to Frank Anderson at Electric City Radio Supply in Great Falls, Mont.
And lest you doubt the historical significance of the great machine, you should know that it's still recalled in Great Falls today.
"I remember seeing it when he first got it," says Scott Stafford, 52, who shopped in Anderson's store when he was in high school. "He was the first person that I ever knew to have a personal computer."
Stafford always admired Anderson, who passed away years ago.
He named his audio-video installation business Electric City Sight & Sound in part as a tribute.
So what does he think about his old mentor's computer going for more than $200,000 at auction?
On the other end of the phone, Stafford starts laughing loud and long. To be honest, I'm not sure he has stopped yet.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Update: Apple 1 And Paperwork Being Auctioned By Christie’s On November 23rd, 2010
The Christie's auction "Lot 65 / Sale 7882 APPLE-1 -- Personal Computer" final price realized is £133,250 (Price includes buyer's premium).
An upcoming auction for vintage computer in Christie's is "Lot 392 / Sale 2361 [COMPUTING]. -- IBM. "Computertechnologie." Stuttgart, 1986." held on 3rd December 2010. The estimate is $3000 to $5000.
Lot Description
[COMPUTING]. -- IBM. "Computertechnologie." Stuttgart, 1986.
Carrying case lettered "Computertechnologie IBM" containing two plastic trays: the first displaying computer components (circuit boards, chips, wafers, quartz, silicon, etc), the second containing four instructional manuals, one VHS tape and a 30x microscope. Overall size 500 x 530 mm.
A FINELY PRESERVED INSTRUCTIONAL KIT, designed by IBM for the instruction of developing computer technology. The manuals include Computertechnologie Textbuch and Computertechnologie Folien. The included magnifying glass would allow viewers to see details of the chips and wafers included in the first display tray.
Pre-Lot Text
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
Department Information
Books & Manuscripts
An upcoming auction for vintage computer in Christie's is "Lot 392 / Sale 2361 [COMPUTING]. -- IBM. "Computertechnologie." Stuttgart, 1986." held on 3rd December 2010. The estimate is $3000 to $5000.
Lot Description
[COMPUTING]. -- IBM. "Computertechnologie." Stuttgart, 1986.
Carrying case lettered "Computertechnologie IBM" containing two plastic trays: the first displaying computer components (circuit boards, chips, wafers, quartz, silicon, etc), the second containing four instructional manuals, one VHS tape and a 30x microscope. Overall size 500 x 530 mm.
A FINELY PRESERVED INSTRUCTIONAL KIT, designed by IBM for the instruction of developing computer technology. The manuals include Computertechnologie Textbuch and Computertechnologie Folien. The included magnifying glass would allow viewers to see details of the chips and wafers included in the first display tray.
Pre-Lot Text
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
Department Information
Books & Manuscripts
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