Unfortunately, standing atop Mount Lisa, it was clear a resurrection wasn\u2019t in the cards. We received a light warning from a bulldozer operator (specifically: \u201cstay out of my way and stay out of the garbage because I don\u2019t want to see you die today\u201d). We chatted with him a little and asked where the Lisas might be. He pointed at the depths of the hill \u2014 1989, he said, was \u201cway down at the bottom.\u201d And even if we\u2019d found them, reports suggested that landfill workers had run over the computers with bulldozers before dropping them into the ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Where<\/em> the Lisas were, clearly, was far out of our reach. So instead, we focused on how <\/em>and why<\/em>. A few people with knowledge of the incident still lived around Logan, though finding them drove home just how much time has passed since 1989. The reporter who wrote the original article is now an acclaimed romance novelist. The photo editor, another eyewitness to the burial, is a retired dairy farmer and cheesemaker. We interviewed them both, which is how this story about finding vintage computers involved a tour of a cheese cave.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
But the main character in our story of the last Lisas is a former computer salesman named Bob Cook. In the mid-\u201980s, Bob was an Apple reseller who saw a novel sales opportunity: old computers. The first generations of personal computers were becoming obsolete, and Bob went into business selling them at a discount. He struck unique deals to take old, sometimes used inventory off Apple\u2019s hands on consignment: first about 3,500 Apple III computers in 1985 and then the last 7,000 Lisas a year later. In the process, he helped invent a whole new niche in the computer business.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Bob Cook at home with documents from the Lisa era.<\/em><\/figcaption>Photo by Becca Farsace \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u201cComputers were supposed to be leading edge, so nobody was thinking about selling the trailing edge of high technology,\u201d he told us with a chuckle. Bob filled in a new section of the Lisa\u2019s history. He hadn\u2019t just been trying to resell the computers \u2014\u00a0he\u2019d been trying to improve them. Bob took the leftover Lisas and applied all his experience with computers at the dawn of the industry. He estimates he spent $200,000 on R&D, upgrading both the hardware and operating system to be more competitive with newer Mac models like the Plus, at a fraction of the price. He did so much work that he felt a rechristening was in order.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt was something different. So we called it the \u2018Lisa Professional,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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But we embarked on Bob\u2019s journey knowing it didn\u2019t have a happy ending. What possessed Apple to change its mind about the deal and destroy the Lisas he was selling? We won\u2019t spoil the answer here. But the story involves sabotage, hired goons, and the outsize influence of one Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple. It\u2019s a remarkable tale that helps explain how Apple became the historically profitable tech leviathan that it is today. You can watch the full documentary today, embedded above or on our YouTube channel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Photo by Becca Farsace \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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