Say, has anyone out there got a huge wad of cash lying around gathering dust? We ask only because MacInTouch notes that there's a prime piece of Apple history up for auction on eBay: a genuine Apple I computer. This is the real thing, folks-- the kit computer that started it all way back in those halcyon days of 1976. If you're the lucky winning bidder, you don't just get the Apple I's guts itself-- you also get a wealth of handy documentation, including a typed and pen-corrected fourteen-page technical manual (hey, that's more than you get with a brand new iMac), a schematic of the circuit boards, an instruction set summary for the computer's MCS6500 processor, and "a two-page article from Interface Age, May 1977, by Robert J. Bishop, entitled 'Apple Star-Trek.'"

But wait, there's more! Don't want to muss your manicure building an enclosure for the Apple I's admittedly skin-lacking design? Now you don't have to, because this model ships standard with a "blue and white metal case." "But AtAT," we hear you whine, "we'd still have to drill a bunch of holes in the front, and our drill's in the shop." Not to worry, friends... this case already comes with "a dozen hand-drilled holes in the front" and a fan. It's ready to rock at a blistering 1 MHz the moment you haul it out of the box!

As if that weren't enough, this Apple I also comes with three Apple BASIC cassettes "for you to play PONG and other games." (Of course, there's no mention that the unit ships with the optional cassette recorder that would actually let you use those tapes, but we're sure you could pick one of those up at any convenient CompUSA location.) So shelve those plans to get a PlayStation 2 and bid now, because you're just days away from firing up the finest computer gaming experience 1976 had to offer.

Surprisingly, so far there are no bids on this fabulous piece of work. That may be due in part to the fact that the seller has an eBay rating of 0, meaning he or she has probably never bought or sold anything on the service before, so there are some trust issues to overcome-- especially since he or she didn't bother to post a photo of this blue and white hand-drilled wonder. There's also the niggling little matter of price: the opening bid is set at $37,500, which might be a tad high, considering the circumstances. After all, the Apple I originally sold at the diabolically low price point of $666.66; sure, that was twenty-five years ago, and inflation's a drag, but still.