Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
The Best of 1986's "The Apple Collection"
Fashion, Booze, Toys, & Vehicles. Seriously.
July 21, 2023
post photo preview

In 1986, Apple Computer Incorporated unleashed "The Apple Collection" upon the world.

It wasn't a new computer.  Nor, for the most part, anything even vaguely computer-related.

It was clothes.  And vehicles.  And fashion accessories.  Even a few bottles of wine.  Apple, essentially, launched an order-by-mail, high-fashion department store.

Seriously.

This was a very real thing that happened the year after Steve Jobs was ousted from the company he co-founded.  Needless to say, this endeavor did not prove to be a success.

Below, I have painstakingly collected my favorite items from the very first (and very last) catalogue of "The Apple Collection", released for the "1986 - 1987" shopping season.  Including the actual descriptions given to each item by Apple.

Enjoy.

The Original Apple Watch

Take a dive.  The Apple watch is water-resistant to 100 feet.  Comes with quartz movement and a 90-day warranty.  Apple Watch, $35.

Seriously.  You could have had an Apple Watch for $35.  With quarts movement and everything.

The Apple T-Shirt

Apple cotton T-shirts feature the Apple name on the front, the Apple logo on the back.  Available in kids' sizes, too.  Adult T-shirts (S-XL), $7.50.  Kids' T-shirts (4T,S-L), $6.50.

That is one seriously 1980s logo!

The Apple Mouse Cover

This fuzzy gray creature is the only way to make your Macintosh even more user friendly.  He's a mousterpiece.  Mouse Cover.  $5.95.

Yep.  A mouse cover.  For your mouse.  Get it?

He's... a "mousterpiece".  I kinda liked when Apple was cracking Dad Jokes like that.

The Apple Sailboard

The Apple Sailboard.  $1,100.

I'm not sure if I despise this... or desperately want one.

The Apple Hat

Show whose team you're on with our corduroy baseball cap with adjustable band and embroidered logo.  Corduroy Baseball Cap.  $9.50.

Ok.  I'll admit it.  There was a time when I would have worn one of these.

The Apple Paperclip

Just the thing to keep those little phone message slips in one place.  Paper Clip.  $3.

Right about now, you're thinking this is a joke, right?  But it's not.  It's real.

That is a 3 dollar paperclip.  With an Apple on it.

To be clear: This is not a box of paperclips.  This is one paper clip.

The Apple Disk Box

An elegant place to store your 3.5" disks, and it holds 100 of them.  Walnut Disk Box, $24.

One of the few things in The Apple Collection that has to do with computers!  And, you know what?  I want one!  A walnut 3.5" floppy box?  Yes, please!

The Apple... Big Sweater

After a rough day windsurfing, the Apple sweatshirt is just the thing.  Letter Sweatshirt, $15.

I.  Um.  Yup.  That's a big sweater.

The Apple Calculator

This finely designed Braun calculator has an eight-digit display and four-key memory storage.  Battery operated, it coms with a protective travel case.  Braun Calculator.  $80

Go ahead.  Check the price on this incredibly simple calculator.  That's right.  80 bucks.

But, hey!  8 digit display!

The Apple Scooter

It's not a car.  It's not a motorcycle.  It's a totally new form of personal transportation.  Honda's Helix scooter has push-button starting and automatic transmission.  And from Apple, an Apple license plate frame.  Helix Scooter, $2,598.

Wait.  Apple sold a Honda scooter?

Yes.  Yes, they did.  Though there wasn't very much "Apple-y" about it.  Just a custom license plate frame.  Still.  They sold it.  Unfortunately they never provided a picture of the license plate frame.

The Apple Wooden Puzzle

Put all the colorful pieces of this hardwood puzzle togther and what do you get?  Perfect for children of all ages.  Nontoic finish.  Apple Puzzle.  $12.

You know.  Like for little kids.  This one actually I kinda like.

The Apple Toy Truck

The truck the future comes in.  It runs just as well on big kids' desks as on little kids' floors.  Truck.  $29.

Somehow Apple managed to resist making any "Mac Truck" jokes for this one.

Though... this isn't based on a "Mack Truck" design.  It's more like an early 1980s Freightliner (similar to what the original design of Optimus Prime used in the Transformers).

Just the same... cool toy.

The Apple Wine

Ridge Zinfandel Glen Ellen 1980 and Cabernet Sauvignon 1981 from Napa County, California, both com with an Apple gold seal.  Toast a very fine year in Apple-design crystal wine glasses.  Set of Ridge Zinfandel and Cabernet, $25.  Set of two Wine Glasses, $12.

Yep.  Apple wine and wine glasses.

The Apple Polo

These heavyweight 100% brushed cotton polo shirts are perfect for the courts or the club.  Polo Shirt, $32.

I love this picture.

So much.

The Apple Money Clip

Put a piece of Tiffany in his pockeet.  Our sterling silver Tiffany money clip is ngraved with the Apple logo.  Tiffany Money Clip.  $35.

We close out this journey into The Apple Collection with the Apple Money Clip.

Because... it just feels fitting, somehow.

Now, tell the truth.  Looking back over this list of items... you kinda want a few of these, don't you?

Especially the mouse cover.

That thing was a mousterpiece.

community logo
Join the Lunduke Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
15
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
January 24, 2026
Yes, Getting GNOMED is a Thing

gnomed - verb - When installing one piece of software results in the forced install of an entire Desktop Environment.

Example: "I installed a text editor, then my whole system got GNOMED!"

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:10:13
January 23, 2026
Xorg's Political Moves Pushes Systems to XLibre

GhostBSD Lead says, "We will release the next release of GhostBSD with XLibre due to the upcoming Xorg rebase."

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:16:05
January 22, 2026
KDE Drops Code for FreeBSD Support

The KDE project has removed code to support FreeBSD in their login manager saying, "We rely on systemd/logind, so FreeBSD is not supported."

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:10:54
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044
12 hours ago

I’m a Tool Builder

I’m a tool builder. I have always been a tool builder. The last 15 years or so of my career have been away from coding as my main task. GenAI has reawakened not just the coder in me, but the tool builder.

Any time I have to solve a problem for the second or third time, I’m already working on how to build a tool, system, procedure to reduce the amount of time it takes. Back in the day I was very fond of code generators. I used them, and I built my own. I built report generators as well.

I’ve been working with “Ralph Loops” - a technique in GenAI to have a complete list of tasks to accomplish and have the ai code, test, fix, test again (until all tests pass) and keep on going down the list. “Write shippable code while you sleep” is the goal. The reality isn’t quite there. The direction is clear - it’s powerful, it’s super productive. But we are less than two months from the first blog post where Geoffrey Huntley introduced the concept he named the Ralph ...

January 24, 2026

Linux Self Host Up and Running with Cloudflare

Making terrific progress moving off of my hosted vps to a linux box in my home. A looming $350 payment for the next three years was the catalyst for “do I need to pay this, is it time to bring this in house”? I already had the Beelink mini pc, and it’s far faster with more ram than my VPS and the electricity costs are minimal and less than the very reasonable $10/mo of that SSDNODES.COM was charging.

I use docker to partition the vps, and now the Linux Mint machine into “many servers”. When I want to share my work outside my home, that’s where Cloudflare tunnels come in. Exposing ports whether on the vps or on my home router and linux machine is asking for trouble. Cloudflare handles that and more:
Here is the compact definition of what Cloudflare Tunnels provides for your partitioned setup:

  • Inversion of Ingress: Eliminates the need for dangerous port forwarding by establishing a secure outbound connection from your server to the...
post photo preview
January 24, 2026

Very interesting developments...

The Rise of Chinese Memory - YouTube

$89 Lifetime Lunduke Subs ends this week!

Quick heads up, that the $89 Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal discount ends… at the end of this week!

Discounting Lifetime Subscriptions by over 70% was an absolute blast. So many of you took advantage of the offer that we’re now up to four Lifetime Subscriber walls at the end of every video. Crazy!

But something that awesome can’t last forever. Which means that, in just a few days, Lifetime Subscriptions will return to their regular price of $300.

With no plans to do another wild discount like that any time soon.

So.

  1. If you haven’t already, snag an $89 (via Bitcoin) or $99 (via Substack or Locals) Lifetime Subscription.

  2. Then let me know if you’d like to be added to the Lifetime Wall of Shame Awesomeness.

My guess is, a the current rate, that 4th Lifetime Wall will be full by Friday.

Bonkers.

And, once again, thank you to each and every subscriber. The Lunduke Journal would not be possible without you.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
January 16, 2026
Lunduke Journal Week In Review - Jan 16th, 2025

Whew! It’s been another wild week for Tech News!

Here’s a crazy stat for ya:

We are currently 16 days into 2026, and The Lunduke Journal has already recorded 19 shows (17 of which have been published on every platform, and 2 others to be published this weekend everywhere… but are already available via the MP4 download page). And that’s with taking New Year’s Day off (and getting the flu this week).

It’s a heck of a lot of Tech News, to be sure.

Lunduke’s Top Stories for the Week

If you only have time to watch a few of shows, I recommend these 3 as being the most interesting (or important… or just… strange) from the last week:

In other words: A pretty gosh-darned crazy week for Linux.

(Those links are to Lunduke.Substack.com, but you can watch all of those shows on any other platform. As always.)

Other Tidbits of Awesomeness

A few other notes on this, most excellent, Friday!

And, with that, I leave you with a screenshot of the MP4 listing of the shows so far in 2026. Bonkers.

 

-Lunduke

Read full Article
January 14, 2026
Lunduke's Lifetime Subscriber Wall 3 is almost full!

Holy moly.

This afternoon I sat down to update the 3rd Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber wall — adding in all of you who sent in requests over the last week or so.

And, boy howdy, were there a lot of you! So many, in fact, that the 3rd Lifetime Wall only has room for around 6 or 7 more names (depending on the name lengths)! That’s crazy!

If you want to make it onto “The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber” Wall number 3… send me an email (bryan at lunduke.com) with the way you would like your name to be displayed.

Or, if you’re not already a Lifetime Subscriber, remedy that for $89. (Which, you know, is a pretty gosh darned good value.) … Then send me that email requesting to be added to the wall.

Once Wall 3 is full, we’ll start in on Wall number 4 (that’s nuts). At the current rate, I expect Wall 4 to debut this week.

And, as always, thank you for your support. Whatever kind of subscription you have, it is deeply appreciated. Monthly, Yearly, or Lifetime. All are amazing. You make The Lunduke Journal possible.

You rule.

-Lunduke

 
Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals