Details about  RARE - vintage Apple Lisa computer system - complete & WORKING !

Text copyrighted © - This Lisa would make a great Thanksgiving gift for someone you love, or as a treat for the whole family.

This is a rare and complete vintage Apple Lisa computer system that includes all parts. Best of all, everything works! This Lisa is perfect for the Apple collector because it was a landmark in computing history, being one of the first personal computers with a mouse and GUI (Graphical User Interface).

AN AMAZING ADDITION TO YOUR VINTAGE COMPUTER MUSEUM OR COLLECTION!

I was working at Bechtel Corp. in San Francisco in 1983 when Apple brought in a couple of Lisas as test units for Bechtel to try out for a few months. We had plenty of mainframes, mini-computers and Apple computers in the offices, but nothing prepared me for the Lisa. I was truly amazed by the concept of a desktop and mouse interface.

The only thing close to Lisa 1 at the time was the Xerox Star computer which Bechtel owned a couple of. But the cost and performance were like night and day between the two. I spent many a lunch hour with my brown bagged lunch working and playing on the Lisa. This was actually affordable and I bought a Lisa 1 for myself to use at home, and it’s now available for you to add to your Apple collection.

The release of this machine and the Lisa Office System to the public pre-dates Microsoft Windows 1.0 by almost 3 years. The Apple Lisa was the programming platform for the Macintosh, as they both use a Motorola 68000 CPU. The Lisa had 1mb RAM and an external 5 MB hard disk drive vs. 128k of RAM in the Macintosh. The Macintosh OS 1.0 and most of the early Macintosh 128k programs were actually written with a Lisa. Apple offered Basic Plus, Pascal and Cobol as programming environments for the Lisa.

PLEASE NOTE

This is a buy-it-now listing, meaning there are no bidders or bidding process. Don't miss your chance to own a Lisa!

This Lisa turns on and passes all hardware tests. It has the latest version of the Office System 3.0 installed on the 5 MB external ProFile hard drive. The Lisa’s screen is bright and crisp with no burn-in. The original 2 floppy Twiggy drives, front panel and ROM chip were only out for a few months before they were upgraded by Apple free of charge with a single 3.5 inch Sony floppy drive because of so many floppy disk failures and read/write errors encountered by end users using the Apple Twiggy drives.

A LISA IS EXTEMELY RARE BECAUSE  

• It did not ship until July 1983 and was discontinued in January 1984 (6 months).
• Its original cost in 1983 was $10,000 US (approximately $23,000 US in 2013), making it hard to sell to businesses, let alone consumers.
• Apple offered all original Lisa owners a FREE upgrade in 1984. Almost everybody, myself included went for this upgrade.
• One of the photos has a page from its original setup manual showing that this unit was born as a Lisa-1 (2 floppy drives). The original faceplate shown in the picture IS INCLUDED in this auction.
  

You can view a video of a newer model Mac XL, which is a Lisa running the Macintosh operating system verses a Lisa just like this one running Lisa OS. Just copy and paste the URL below into another window.

http://youtu.be/UE5e8NGfElE

INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION

• Fully working Lisa computer
• Apple Lisa keyboard with original pull-out cards
• Apple Lisa mouse – cleaned and tested
• Apple dot-matrix printer
• 5 MB Apple Profile external hard drive, freshly erased with the Lisa OS 3.0 installed
• Programs installed include: LisaWrite, LisaDraw, LisaGraph, LisaList, LisaCalc, LisaTerminal and LisaProject
• All necessary power & data cables
• All the manuals for both the Lisa and each of the applications.
• A serial modem cable and LisaTerminal is installed on the hard disk to support remote computer connections
  
• An Apple A9M0301 300/1200 BPS external modem with manual, AC adapter, all in the original box
• A red desktop 2500 touch-tone phone that sits on top of the external modem
• The original front faceplate that supported the two 5 1/4 inch floppy drives (a.k.a. twiggy drives)
  

This machine is virtually flawless, a true museum piece. All plastic panels and internal parts are all original. There is very little yellowing of the plastics because they were either kept away from windows or in a dark closet for all of its life. I have the original front cover that the Lisa 1 had to support the two 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drives that it originally came with, just like the Lisa with Steve Jobs photo above. The old Eprom chip and 5 1/4 inch twiggy drives before the upgrade are long gone though.

You can view a video preview of the new movie "Jobs", coming out in the summer of 2013. Around the 1 min 10 second mark you can see a Lisa in the movie. Just copy and paste (don't click) the URL below into another window to watch it.

http://youtu.be/exOFfoxcXW8

SHIPPING SUMMARY

I am willing to demonstrate the Lisa in person if the winning bidder wishes to pick up the computer themselves. Due to age and extreme rarity, this computer is sold “as-is” with no warranty. I guarantee that this computer will be in 100% fully working condition when shipped.

For shipping this computer, everything will be carefully wrapped with extreme care so that it arrives safely to you. Several layers of bubble-wrap will be used on everything, as well as large soft foam lining the inside of the box. It takes 2 boxes to hold all the items and the estimated costs for USA or Canada is in the $275 range. I will refund you any significant shipping charges not used, as the shipping carrier and destination affects its final cost.

These items are HEAVY. International bidders are welcome. International air shipping is estimated to be in the $750 range. Please inquire about shipping for your specific country. The buyer is responsible for any duty or taxes due in their country.

Local pick-up is encouraged and welcome. Again, I am willing to demonstrate the Lisa to the winning bidder to show you it is in working order.

Payment must be received within 5 calendar days of the closing date of the auction. Unless prior arrangements have not been made, any item remaining unpaid for 7 calendar days will be reported as a non-paid item and will remain on your record for 1 year.