A few months ago, we provided details of an auction that featured a Mac that had been given to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry by Apple. If you missed your chance to pick up that prime item, now you have an opportunity to own an Apple that is even more rare: an Apple-1 (also known as the Apple I) that's currently on auction on eBay.

The starting bid for the Apple-1 is US$50,000. What do you get with your winning bid? A non-working Apple 1 motherboard, the original shipping box (with the return address being the home of Steve Jobs' parents), and the original manual, complete with schematics on how to take the motherboard and build a workable computer out of it.

There's also a tape interface card, used to load or save software from cassette tapes. The card comes with a manual and a cassette with a typed label that says "BASIC" on it.

If you're a fan of Steve Jobs, you'll want two of the items that are included. The first is a letter signed by Steve Jobs that explains how to connect a keyboard and monitor to the computer, and telling the buyer (someone who wanted to be a dealer) when dealer applications would be available. The second is a hand-typed invoice for the computer, showing "Steven" as the salesman for the machine.

The original full-page advertisement for Apple was included with each Apple-1. This features the original Apple "Isaac Newton" logo that was designed by the third founder of Apple, Ronald Wayne. Wayne also wrote the Apple-1 manual. Finally, you'll get a photograph of every other owner of this computer. The existing owner has a picture of himself, the computer, and Steve Wozniak that he's including.

If you're the successful bidder, you are asked to travel to Roseville, California to pick it up due to the irreplaceable nature of the Apple-1. A gallery of the photos included in the auction can be viewed below. And remember, this could be the perfect holiday gift for that special someone...

Taking a break from pure silliness to borderline-news-related silliness, yesterday was elimination night on Dancing with the Stars, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak danced off the stage. After avoiding the bottom two last week, Woz, along with Hugh Hefner's ex #1 girlfriend, Holly Madison, were eliminated in a double-elimination episode.

Woz's time on DWTS was filled with injuries, vote rigging allegations (and retractions), and of course some pretty awesome (as in "awesomely bad") dancing. The Woz may no longer be on DWTS, but he will remain in our hearts.

So, will you still watch Dancing with the Stars now that Woz is gone? Let us know in the poll and in your comments!

You think a pulled hamstring, judges' scorn, and general lack of grace or terpsichorial skill are drawbacks? Fuggedabout it. You cannot stop the Woz, you can only hope to contain him: the second-week results from Dancing With The Stars were a surprise for Steve Wozniak and his partner Karina Smirnoff, as they avoided the bottom two slots and another dance-off.

For a while there it looked like Woz' injury might knock him out of the competition, but he stuck it out and delivered a performance that the panel hated but the Internet and phone voters cherished.

If the power of Apple fandom can keep Woz twirling and dipping long enough to, you know, actually learn to dance without hurting himself or others, perhaps we will see the King of All Geeks on the winner's podium by season's end. Perhaps.

[via CNN]

We heard the rumors, but now it has been officially confirmed: Steve Wozniak will be appearing on the upcoming season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars.

We're as shocked/horrified as you, but apparently, ABC has deemed Woz Dance worthy. We're still awaiting word of his partner and we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC on Monday, March 9 at 8/7 c.

Apple co-founder, Segway polo player, date to the stars and über-nerd Steve Wozniak has accepted a position at Fusion-io. Specifically, he'll be the company's Chief Scientist.

Fusion-io uses densely-packed clusters of flash memory chips in servers to enable them to find data very quickly. Woz has been serving on the board at Fusion-io, and recently asked for a larger role. "In this case, I like the people and the product, and said I would like some greater involvement," he told The New York Times. This will be Steve's first full-time job since he shut down Wheels of Zeus in 2006.

Good luck, Steve! We're looking forward to seeing what's next.

[Via Ars]

In a conversation with NBC about Steve Jobs' leave from Apple, co-founder Steve Wozniak said this break could be exactly what Steve -- and Apple -- needs. Woz had some great things to say, and my favorite was his answer to the question, "If Steve [Jobs] were not at Apple, would the company be as able to produce the kind of products we've seen?" Woz's answer:

"Way too hypothetical. I would never venture a guess ... obviously, Steve's very important but Apple has some incredible people, followers of the Apple mentality, followers of Steve himself."

In other words (if I may paraphrase you, Woz), Steve isn't Apple and Apple isn't Steve. No matter what happens, the company will be fine. Good call.

A bit of the audio from the Woz interview was played on last night's talkcast, along with your voicemail wishes for Steve Jobs' improved health. Mike assures me he'll have the show up and online tonight.

[Via AppleInsider]

This year at Macworld 2009, two documentary films about the Mac held screenings. While we didn't have anyone on-site at MacHEADS, a few of us were fortunate enough to attend Thursday night's screening of Welcome to Macintosh.

Welcome to Macintosh, a documentary by Josh Rizzo and Rob Baca, chronicles the history of Apple and the Mac, using interviews with the people and the users that were there. Tony Walla contributed a great piece about the film last April, which fills in more background.

While the film is amazing (the DVD is available now and it is chock-full of awesome), the discussion after the screening was truly magical. Five of the participants from the film, along with Very Special Guest, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, appeared on-stage and answered questions from the crowd. (See the Woz answer our own Mike Rose's question here)

Read on for more historic geekiness...

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak seems to be a lot more visible lately.

First, he's been making bad web ads for SCOTTEVEST. Next, we received pictures of Woz whizzing from the deck of his Segway. He was fined US$700 for driving his Prius at 104 miles per hour (167 kilometers per hour) on I-5. At last, we've received news that he's actually using that geek cred of his for the good of mankind.

Yes, Stephen Gary Wozniak has just joined the Board of Advisors of Axiotron, makers of the Modbook (that's the mod that turns a stock MacBook into a Tablet Mac).

Andreas Haas, CEO of Axiotron, was quoted late last week as saying "We're thrilled to bring Steve onto our Board of Advisors. His deep knowledge and experience are an invaluable resource for Axiotron. Steve's forward-thinking and non-conformist approach, his incredibly creative engineering designs and his emphasis on the human aspects of technology have always been an inspiration to me."

We'll be visiting Axiotron and reporting on the newly updated Modbook at Macworld Expo 2009, as well as interviewing some well-known artists and designers who use the Modbook as a creative tool. Stay tuned January 5th through 9th for TUAW's extensive coverage of the Expo.

Apple co-founder Steve "The Woz" Wozniak must have a lot of time on his hands. He's acting in online ads for SCOTTEVEST, the company that makes those great geek clothes with all sorts of pockets, cable runs, etc...

Two Woz-i-sodes are already posted on the SCOTTEVEST site; one titled "Return of the Woz", featuring Woz as Lord Dirth Wozniak (see picture above), while the other "A Fish Story" has Woz using a 1G iPod nano as a handy fishing accessory. And of course, those geeky clothes products from SCOTTEVEST are featured heavily throughout the videos.

Additional Woz-i-sodes will be posted weekly, giving you an excuse to work on your Christmas list and have some fun in the process. Click here to view these cinematic blunders wonders.

Thanks to Kevin for the tip!

Steve "Woz" Wozniak is often considered the "God" of Apple. He was the designer of the first ever Apple computers (Apple / & Apple //). At a recent developer forum at Intel, Woz gave a bit of advice to the engineers. He told them that, "the right way of going through life" is pursuing a vision without compromise.

"If you have technical ideas, if you know what you're good at, and you know what you're doing is right ... you have to shut them out," Woz said, in reference to others telling you how to do something.

According to InformationWeek, Woz went on to discuss other topics. He talked about being a successful inventor. While on this topic, he admitted that not having money helps the creativity.

InformationWeek has the full details on the interview.

PodBrix produces nifty lego figures that commemorate moments in Apple history, like the 1984 ad and a Steve Jobs keynote (I've got this one), as well as other things.

Two days from now, their next creation will go on sale: The young Jobs and Woz playset. While the Woz works on a circuit board, Jobs has another idea (yes, the thought bubble is a part of the set).

PodBrix has only produced 300 of these, and they typically sell out in minutes. Set your watches for 9:00 PM EST on 8/29/07. Good luck, and let us know if you get one!

Who says hybrids are slow?

Woz was recently ticketed for pushing his Prius to 104 m.p.h. on California Interstate 5. His excuse was that international traveling had him thinking in kilometers per hour, not miles. The judge thought this over, then handed Steve a $700US fine.

Why was Woz in such a hurry? Perhaps he had a date with Kathy.

Thanks, Phil!

Steve Wozniak showed up at Maker Faire this week - there he is zipping around on his Segway at right - and was classically "Woz."

He said very little of Apple, according to Infinite Loop, but instead spoke about his love of mathematics, his old dial-a-joke line and told the young electronics geeks in the audience how they can "...feel good about doing what you are good at." In other words, he displayed the brilliance and charm that make him such an interesting person.

The Woz, how can you not love the guy? He's like your favorite uncle, who just never quite grew up. Well back in January he appeared on Charlie Rose, presumably as part of publicity for his book, iWoz. They discuss a variety of interesting topics, including Apple and the other Steve. According to Woz, what makes Jobs special is that he "understand[s] what the human wants" so that "the human doesn't have to tangle" with the technology. Woz contrasts himself to Jobs, saying of the latter that "he wanted to change the world; he wanted to bring computing to the masses" whereas "all [Woz] wanted to do was design the hottest computer so that every engineer in the world would look at [him] and say, 'wow!'" They go on to talk about his philanthropy and other things as well.

Definitely fun stuff for the Apple fan, and pure vintage Woz. Check it out on Google Video.

iWoz - From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It has made its way into the audiobook section of the iTunes Music Store (iTs link). All 9 hours and 14 minutes of it. Patrick Lawlor does a fine job of narrating it, but he sounds nothing like Woz. And he's no Joey Slotnick, either. That always bothers me when I listen to autobiographies and memoirs. I keep expecting to hear the words straight from the horse's mouth. It's distracting to have it be someone who sounds completely different than what you know the author sounds like. Am I alone in that thinking?

I wonder if iWoz' presence in iTunes is Steve-o's way of making up for that $3,150 he cheated Woz out of?

Anyway, for $15.95, it can be yours - and as the iTunes store blurb reminds us, it also makes a great gift!

Thanks, Steve!