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Fake / Prototype Macbook Air
- Thread starter brett33
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What wont happen!
Apple will not just take it from you. They would probably give you a new laptop.
Apple will not just take it from you. They would probably give you a new laptop.
iSight
am i the only one who noticed the difference around the isight camera?, the spacing around the camera is different, and the little hole on the hinge could be the mic? i also think a dual tone MBA would be awesome..
am i the only one who noticed the difference around the isight camera?, the spacing around the camera is different, and the little hole on the hinge could be the mic? i also think a dual tone MBA would be awesome..
am i the only one who noticed the difference around the isight camera?, the spacing around the camera is different, and the little hole on the hinge could be the mic? i also think a dual tone MBA would be awesome..
You're not the only one. It was noted and commented on way back when there were <20 posts about this.
Brett33 hopefully is going to get a new Air out of this (and a new user name.)
This mystery is too big for us to solve... I just got a raging clue, send in the Hardly Boys
Well, Apple had a case only in the US, even though the Laser clones survived for a looooooooong time (I still have some A+ magazines with several ads about them).
In most other countries, reverse engineering and cloning was perfectly legal due to industrial policies, and that's why we had at least 20 different brands of Apple clones in Brazil. My point on the Apple // architecture was that it was openly published for anyone to analyse it...the Mac was totally the opposite case in this regard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II
The funniest thing is that a Brazilian company called Unitron actually reverse engineered the original Mac back in the 80s, only to find INCREDIBLE political pressure from Apple even if they had no ACTUAL legal case under Brazilian law...
http://lowendmac.com/clones/unitron.html
Why on Earth?
Why on EARTH would people want the OP to take this to Apple to trade it in? That's the most pointless recommendation I keep running into here.
If there's this much interest in the prototype in general here on a discussion board, there's certainly going to be someone out in the wild who would love to have this in his/her personal Apple collection. Its worth would be determined by the collector(s). Put it out there as a collectable, as-is, with all the caveats (don't attempt to fix it, or use it, or anything else - wasted of time, energy and cash.)
Get some money for it - you'll get enough to buy an MBA (which, after all, was your primary goal in the first place!) and some extra cash to boot.
Sheesh, it's so simple!
Why on EARTH would people want the OP to take this to Apple to trade it in? That's the most pointless recommendation I keep running into here.
If there's this much interest in the prototype in general here on a discussion board, there's certainly going to be someone out in the wild who would love to have this in his/her personal Apple collection. Its worth would be determined by the collector(s). Put it out there as a collectable, as-is, with all the caveats (don't attempt to fix it, or use it, or anything else - wasted of time, energy and cash.)
Get some money for it - you'll get enough to buy an MBA (which, after all, was your primary goal in the first place!) and some extra cash to boot.
Sheesh, it's so simple!
I love the reaction on this thread! Classic!
I'm sure Apple could care less about the Laptop unless there was some future technology on the board that hasn't been released yet.
They have the guy who sold it to Brett33, and I think that was more important to them than anything.
I find it funny that there's rumors of a Black Carbon Fiber base being thrown around and this thing pops up with a Black Aluminum base. Give the rumor a little credibility that they were working with different visual schemes for the thing.
This also hit Wired and a few other news outlets.
I'm sure the Apple guys read and don't need to be e-mailed anything.
Brett33... I bet you never expected to generate this much interest! LOL
I'm sure Apple could care less about the Laptop unless there was some future technology on the board that hasn't been released yet.
They have the guy who sold it to Brett33, and I think that was more important to them than anything.
I find it funny that there's rumors of a Black Carbon Fiber base being thrown around and this thing pops up with a Black Aluminum base. Give the rumor a little credibility that they were working with different visual schemes for the thing.
This also hit Wired and a few other news outlets.
I'm sure the Apple guys read and don't need to be e-mailed anything.
Brett33... I bet you never expected to generate this much interest! LOL
Yes. Other than as a collector's item this machine is worthless.
This would only be interesting if it were an unreleased product.
Of course it's a collector's item because of all the unique items it has on it .. Apple might want it back just to get it off the market, but most likely they already have some like that still in their archives or soemthing.
Best bet would be to find a collector IMO....
I really wonder what the OP is doing about this?!?!
Funny thing is with the serial number being posted they probably have already tracked down the original person the computer was released too, and asked him why it was sold.
Just got off the phone with Brett33
Brett33 is a friend of mine and I just got off the phone with him.
Being the kind of guy that he is he went into his local Apple store to see what Apples position would be.
After explaining the situation to the manager (who knew of this thread and this proto-type) corporate people were called .
I am glad to report that Brett33 did make it out of the store alive and while I dont want to steal his thunder about what happed in the store, I am going to suggest that all should watch this thread later tonight for his update.
Cheers
The Bunny Man
Brett33 is a friend of mine and I just got off the phone with him.
Being the kind of guy that he is he went into his local Apple store to see what Apples position would be.
After explaining the situation to the manager (who knew of this thread and this proto-type) corporate people were called .
I am glad to report that Brett33 did make it out of the store alive and while I dont want to steal his thunder about what happed in the store, I am going to suggest that all should watch this thread later tonight for his update.
Cheers
The Bunny Man
wow, interesting find... good on the price too, although they probably left the machine running on for a few months -- battery could not be 100% optimum. anyway, considering the price...
me wants macbook air... I'm thinking of getting a 2nd hand model just to carry it on-the-go (my macbook is too heavy), but 2nd model prices are also not "ideal".
damn, all i can say is it's a nice find. i so wouldnt mind using a proto MBA.
oh, hehehe... if he sends this in for repairs the apple "geniuses" will be astounded... probably will say, it's not a "genuine apple product", and "we have to confiscate it"... (that's fine if they replace it with a brand new mba...) hahaha. i think too much.
me wants macbook air... I'm thinking of getting a 2nd hand model just to carry it on-the-go (my macbook is too heavy), but 2nd model prices are also not "ideal".
damn, all i can say is it's a nice find. i so wouldnt mind using a proto MBA.
oh, hehehe... if he sends this in for repairs the apple "geniuses" will be astounded... probably will say, it's not a "genuine apple product", and "we have to confiscate it"... (that's fine if they replace it with a brand new mba...) hahaha. i think too much.
Hopefully they rewarded him with a real MBA for his honesty. I predict his wife has a nice new computer..
Update:
I just returned from the Apple Store closest to me, which is not all that close.
I walked in and an Apple employee asked if he could help me, I said sure, but it's probably going to take more people than just you. I then asked if he frequented this site (sadly he said no), so I went over to a new MacBook and pulled up the site and showed him the story on the front page. He found the story interesting, and then I told him that I was the guy that had the laptop, and was interested as to what Apple's stance was on the machine.
He then went to get the manager on duty (the Assistant Store Manager). The manager was with someone at the time so I wandered around a bit and noticed that my initial contact was showing other people the story on MacRumors.
After a bit the Manager came over, and said he was already familiar with the story of the prototype MacBook Air. He told me that I should be alright either keeping it and using it or selling it. I told him that I was concerned about the possibility of it being stolen so he ran the serial number through their internal system and nothing came up.
After that he called Corporate, but had no success getting anyone that could help, but did leave messages. After that we exchanged information and he said he'd be in touch. True to his word he called back within the hour and said he had heard back form Corporate and they did not want the Air back, and I was free to do whatever I would like with it. He said that they would not support it and basically not acknowledge that it exists.
They would, however, not give me a written statement saying this.
I now feel that I have covered myself as far as the legality of selling it, and that is what I now plan on doing.
I plan on taking some more pictures of it and listing it on ebay tonight, and hopefully, I'll eventually be able to get a "normal" MacBook Air.
I just returned from the Apple Store closest to me, which is not all that close.
I walked in and an Apple employee asked if he could help me, I said sure, but it's probably going to take more people than just you. I then asked if he frequented this site (sadly he said no), so I went over to a new MacBook and pulled up the site and showed him the story on the front page. He found the story interesting, and then I told him that I was the guy that had the laptop, and was interested as to what Apple's stance was on the machine.
He then went to get the manager on duty (the Assistant Store Manager). The manager was with someone at the time so I wandered around a bit and noticed that my initial contact was showing other people the story on MacRumors.
After a bit the Manager came over, and said he was already familiar with the story of the prototype MacBook Air. He told me that I should be alright either keeping it and using it or selling it. I told him that I was concerned about the possibility of it being stolen so he ran the serial number through their internal system and nothing came up.
After that he called Corporate, but had no success getting anyone that could help, but did leave messages. After that we exchanged information and he said he'd be in touch. True to his word he called back within the hour and said he had heard back form Corporate and they did not want the Air back, and I was free to do whatever I would like with it. He said that they would not support it and basically not acknowledge that it exists.
They would, however, not give me a written statement saying this.
I now feel that I have covered myself as far as the legality of selling it, and that is what I now plan on doing.
I plan on taking some more pictures of it and listing it on ebay tonight, and hopefully, I'll eventually be able to get a "normal" MacBook Air.
Very interesting thread, can't wait to hear how it turned out.
Edit: Glad to hear that it turned out well. Hope you get a pretty sum selling it.
Edit: Glad to hear that it turned out well. Hope you get a pretty sum selling it.
Interesting... EDIT: just saw his post.
Make sure to post your auction for 10 days and try to get publicity (post here, etc.) to sell for top $.
You've already been offered $4k and a new one for it so hope it turns out well. Very surprised they didn't just swap it out with a real one - even a Rev.A would have been appropriate.