Psychologist David Levine is a dedicated collector of Apple-branded goods. He’s also the kind of Mac devotee who buys extra computers just to support Apple. Levine has spent a couple of thousand dollars in the last few years on Apple-branded key chains, luggage tags, pins, watches and posters.
“I’m a Mac nut,” said Levine, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Illinois medical school in Rockford. “It’s more emotional than an investment.”
Levine’s proudest possession is a suede Apple jacket adorned with some of the original Macintosh icons. He paid $400 but hasn’t yet worn it outside his house. He’s looking forward to the day he can wear it to Macworld Expo, which he never gets to attend because of work.
It doesn’t matter: The Levine household is a mini-Macworld of its own. Along with his wife and two daughters, the Levines have 10 Macs at home: three iMacs, two older Macs, a brand new dual-processor G4, three PowerBook portables and an older Macintosh clone.
Levine recently went out and bought the dual-processor G4, which cost about $4,000, and a large flat-panel Cinema display, which cost $2,000, just to support Apple.
“I don’t need it,” he said. “I did it to support the Mac.”
For the same reason, Levine also buys quite a lot of shareware. “I don’t always need it,” he said. “I just want to support the author. It’s just worth supporting.”
Like all Apple collectors, Levine identifies strongly with Mac culture; the T-shirts and luggage tags broadcast his association.
“It’s more than just a computer, it’s a community,” he said. “For many Mac people, I think it has a religious feeling to it. For a lot of people who are not comfortable with religion, it provides a community and a common heritage. I think Mac users have a certain common way of thinking, a way of doing things, a certain mindset.
“People say they are a Buddhist or a Catholic,” he added. “We say we’re Mac users, and that means we have similar values.”
Collecting isn’t always rational, and Apple collecting is no different. A few years ago, Mike Swope was given the opportunity to buy hundreds of Apple-branded items: watches, T-shirts, pens, posters and some beach towels.
He maxed out his credit card and bought the lot. Four years later, he’s still trying to sell it, just so he can pay off his credit card.
“I bought as much as I could,” he said. “I’ve still got boxes of the stuff.”
Swope doesn’t even know what he’s got. He hasn’t opened some of the poster tubes.
“I think I have a set (of) No. 2,” he said, referring to the second series of Think Different promotional posters. “I could have a rare Bob Dylan poster, but I don’t know because I’ve never opened it.
“I’m going to have to eventually open the tubes,” he added without relish.
Wired – July 6, 2002