Achim Baqué is, among other things, a collector of vintage computers and the curator of the Apple-1 Registry. He is a software developer and the owner and CEO of Baqué und Lauter GmbH in Germany.

From where is Achim Baqué?

Achim Baqué was born in Western Germany.

Private website of Achim Baqué

This private website was created to introduce myself to like-minded individuals and, hopefully, foster new and interesting connections. It is entirely ad-free, does not use cookies, does not track visitors, and is hosted within the European Union.

Apple-1 Registry

Visit the Apple-1 Registry.

My original Apple-1 computers

My website, The Apple-1, is dedicated to my original, fully functional Apple-1 computers. It features detailed information, pictures, and videos. The iconic Apple-1, introduced in 1976, was the very first computer offered by Apple in the year of its founding.

In 2018, I added three more original Apple-1 computers to my collection, followed by another in early 2019. And I couldn’t stop there. The latest addition joined my collection in 2023.
I now own several original Apple-1 computers. If you are interested in selling an Apple-1 or related items, feel free to contact me anytime. Simply send a message with pictures, and we can discuss it further. Rest assured, all messages and photos will be treated with complete confidentiality.

Visit my website about my Apple-1 computers. A list of exhibitions featuring my Apple-1 computers can be found here.

After years of research, I commissioned two forensic analyses in December 2021 to examine the handwritten serial numbers on original Apple-1 computers. The groundbreaking results came in January 2022: the serial numbers were personally written by Steve Jobs.

Unveiling who wrote the serial number on some of the first Apple-1 computers

On February 10, 2022, I had the honor of publishing the results of two forensic examinations of the handwritten serial numbers on several original Apple-1 computers from the first batch. The findings confirmed that the handwriting is indeed Steve Jobs'. Another lasting legacy of Steve Jobs. The story is here.

PSA provided a certificate of authenticity. It is even possible to validate the authentication online.

Classic Computer Museum

My collection includes hundreds of vintage computers, along with many other vintage items such as hard drives, software, manuals, and more. Some items are extremely rare. The main focus of my collection is on items from before 1984. It is dedicated to the preservation of historically significant computers and related artifacts.

Some are very rare. Like my Apple-1, some Apple II Rev. 0 (including two ventless), the one and only prototype Kenbak-1 (the first ever commercially available personal computer), some Apple Lisa 1, Commodore C65, some Datapoint 2200, three Q1 computers, a Micral S, a DEC Straight-8, many Altair and IMSAI, various PDPs and Mark-8, JOLT, Ontel OP-1, RGS-008, Intel Intellec 4 and 8 and Prompt 48, SwTPC 6800 and 6809, IBM 5100, IBM 5120, AIM-65, KIM-1, SYM-1 and VIM-1, Compukit UK-101, SIM8-01, NRI-832, Cogar System 4, Intel MCS-85, Cosmac ELF, RCA Super ELF, Programma 101 and 203, HP-9810/9825/9830/9835 etc., IASIS IA-7301, Olivetti P6060, Northstar Horizon, Polymorphic 8813, Micro-68, Science of Cambridge MK-14, NASCOM 1 and 2, SuperJOLT, Vector-1, Byt-8, DPS-1, OS Model 600, Signetics Instructor 50, IMSAI 8048, IMSAI PCS 80, Intel SDK-85, MMD-1, Compucolor II, DAI and so many more.

In 2021, a new favorite object came into my computer collection: Apple Disk Drive S/N 2. The case AND the Shugart disk drive both have serial number 2. Both were bought directly from the famous Wendell Sander. Thanks, Wendell!
2024 and 2025 were by far the best years in terms of collecting vintage computers. There were countless new acquisitions, including many items I never thought I would find—such as a DEC Straight-8, a Mark-8 (bought directly from the builder), a JOLT (finally—one of the hardest computers to find), an Ontel OP-1 (I don’t know of any other owner), an RGS-008A (I am aware of only two in the world—the not-so-nice one in the CHM and mine), many WANG 2200, WANG 600, WANG 700A, HP 9100A, Anita MK VIII, and much more.
Pascal was the first programming language I learned, and it remains my favorite to this day. Its inventor, Niklaus Wirth, together with his team, created the magnificent Lilith computer in the late 1970s, early 1980s. This remarkable machine featured a graphical user interface and a mouse, long before such things became commonplace. I am fortunate to have the very first edition of the Lilith in my collection. The design was heavily inspired by the Xerox Alto, just as the Apple Lisa, Macintosh, and Windows would later be.
In 2025, I got in touch with the son of the developer of the 1-Bit-Computer, Kai Ludwig, and we hit it off right away. He gave me one of these handmade and extremely rare computers. We are planning to realize some projects together.
Btw, I own some IBM mainframe front panels/consoles—for example, the IBM 360/30, IBM 360/40, IBM 360/50, and the mighty IBM 360/75. Hopefully, one day I can also find the even bigger IBM 360/90, IBM 360/91, IBM 360/95, IBM 360/195, IBM 360/155, and IBM 370/195.

There are also discussions about other very rare computers. Some computers have already been promised to me by their current owners—it will just take some time until the deals are finalized.

So far, I haven’t had time to bring a dedicated website about my vintage computer collection online.
But websites for the Apple-1s and the prototype Kenbak-1 are already available.
A few pictures of my vintage computers are here.

I am working on a new website to show some of my vintage computers.

Hard Disk Drives

In my collection are countless hard disks from 0.8 inch up to 48 inch (yes, 48").

For more than forty years I have been collecting hard drives. In the beginning I focused on contemporary models, but from the 2010s onward my interest shifted to the large, historic systems. At first, finding a 14-inch disk felt extraordinary. Then came a 24-inch IBM RAMAC platter. The ultimate prize, however, was always the gigantic 39-inch Bryant hard disk platter, which finally entered my collection in 2021.

In 2025 I traveled to Salt Lake City and Provo and spoke with four pioneers, each with remarkable stories to share. One afternoon we sat for hours in a garden, listening to fascinating tales from the dawn of computing. At some point I mentioned my hard disk collection. We went down to the basement, and there it was, a 48-inch hard disk platter that is now also part of my collection. The Librascope Disk File 48-inch hard disk is the largest ever made. For me, it is one of the crown jewels of my collection, truly the Mother of all Hard Disks.
The 48-inch platter measures 47.5 x 0.46 inches (120.65 x 1.16 cm) and weighs about 100 lbs (45 kg). Each Librascope L-1500 drive contained six platters, giving roughly 18.3 MB per platter and a total capacity of 110 MB.
Only four or five are known to survive worldwide. The other known 48 inch disk platters are owned by Stanford University, Computer History Museum and scientist Lester Earnest (as a coffee table).

I also own some CDC 31-inch hard disk platters. One of the greatest new additions was a complete, massive IBM 3380 AD/AE with two IBM 3380 E drives inside.

Apple Disk Drive S/N 2

The story of Apple Disk Drive S/N 2 is truly fascinating. In early 1978, Wendell Sander was heavily involved in the engineering of the early Apple II boards. As part of this work, he focused on testing the Disk II controller card. Since the state machine PROM could not be accessed by the processor, Sander became intimately familiar with the state machine’s operation in order to develop an effective test sequence.

During this process, he discovered that Steve Wozniak, also known as 'Woz,' had miscalculated one of the timing paths by a single count. Sander reviewed the issue with Wozniak, who agreed with the correction, and Sander created updated PROMs to fix the error.

Around the same time, Apple was ramping up Disk II production. Although many drives were ready for shipment, they encountered a significant problem: the drives failed to meet the industry-standard error rate of 1 in 10⁹, causing production delays. However, when Sander’s corrected PROMs were tested, the drives passed the error rate threshold, allowing Apple to begin shipping.

In recognition of his crucial contribution, Apple presented Sander with Disk Drive II S/N 2, which contained a Shugart floppy drive 390 S/N 2. Cliff Huston received Disk Drive II S/N 1, while Wozniak was given the Shugart 390 S/N 1.

I first saw this remarkable drive in 2018 during a visit with Wendell Sander. In December 2021, I had the privilege of acquiring this historic disk drive from him.

Continuous research into the history of computers and challenging commonly accepted but unchecked information is important to me. With regard to the Apple-1, I have been able to gather a lot of new information over the years and get to the bottom of things. For example, the origin of the handwritten serial numbers on the Apple-1, the complete history of the so-called Byte Shop cases for the Apple-1, etc.

It’s amazing how false information keeps spreading on the Internet, and how rarely people conduct real research. In May 2025, I met with experts on Q1 computers at the Danish Computer Museum DDF and then visited the Heinz Nixdorf Museum. Everywhere I read that Nixdorf took over the Q1 Corporation in 1974. The Heinz Nixdorf Museum searched their archives, which list every takeover and acquisition—there was no such takeover. However, other sources mention a transfer of know-how from Q1 to Nixdorf, for which Nixdorf allegedly paid 10 × US$40,000.

Well, it could have been a deal with the U.S. branch of Nixdorf, but because of the nature of the reported know-how transfer, this seems very unlikely.

One of my original Apple-1 computers is on loan to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, where it is displayed for the public. The handover took place on 14 November 2017, with the Zuse 4 in the background. This is exactly where Steve Jobs personally handed over a Macintosh to the museum in 1985. It is on permanent display in the Microelectronics Department for the public.

I gave another Apple-1 for free to an art exhibition at the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, from July 2018 to February 2019. Additionally, I loaned another Apple-1 to an art exhibition at the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, from July 2018 to February 2019.

In 2019, I traveled to the Bay Area in California with two of my original Apple-1 computers. Both were exhibited at the Computer History Museum in California, USA in Mountain View, California.

More information about exhibitions of my Apple-1 can be found here. It would be nice to share more, and I am open to inquiries.

Wanted: vintage computer from the 60s, 70s and early 80s

If you have a vintage computer for sale or donation, please contact me. All messages and pictures will be handled confidentially. My mission is to preserve vintage computers, including related documents. Occasionally, rare items are loaned to museums. I also purchase complete collections.
In addition, I am actively seeking items related to space exploration, such as components from rockets, spacecraft, and NASA probes. I have a wish list.
I have shipping addresses in the USA, UK, France, and Germany.

John Blankenbaker's former website kenbak-1.net

John Blankenbaker was 92 years old when he stopped maintaining his website, which eventually went offline. I had been in contact with him for years and had the privilege of visiting him twice. Finally, he gave me permission to take over the website and preserve his legacy. John wrote to me on March 4, 2022: "Yes, you may have the content. I used a .net designation. Perhaps you might want to convert to a .com or a .info designation."

John Blankenbaker's original kenbak-1.net website.

Note: His website is very old and static, making it unsuitable for mobile devices. Any changes were made with great care to preserve its original state as faithfully as possible. It now stands as a piece of history.

Kenbak-1 Registry

After taking care of John Blankenbaker’s former webpage to preserve his legacy and the history of the Kenbak-1, I decided to create a registry of the Kenbak-1. Someone should preserve it and follow the path of the few original Kenbak-1 units. I also maintain the Apple-1 Registry. It is more effort and work than you can imagine, but the result is worth it.

Visit the Kenbak-1 Registry.

The direct contact and many conversations make me feel very connected to John. It was a twist of fate that he was ahead of his time. He even planned a successor with a CPU. But since the computer was only advertised in American Scientific, the commercial success was low. Who knows, maybe otherwise we would have been working with a 'Kenbak-X'?
It's amazing anyway that it wasn't Xerox that became the world's number one in computers, despite the incredible developments at Xerox PARC.

Space and Astronomy

From the age of seven, I was fascinated by astronomy and space flight. As a teenager, I did an internship at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in the 'mm' laboratories. They actually wanted to send me to Chile, where a new ESA telescope was being built. But there were delays. Only through contact with computers did my focus shift. Nevertheless, I am still very interested in both topics.
I have many collection objects in my possession, including some artifacts from the terrific Apollo and Space Shuttle missions. A few years ago, I had the chance to buy the mighty Kholod Rocket. The owner contacted me, but where to put such a gigantic piece? It would have been very conspicuous on private property, and the neighbors certainly wouldn't have liked it. Now I'm hoping to find smaller rockets or jet engines that I like.

Photo / Video

After the first 10 years, about 100k pictures and footage were sold, and my collection grew to several thousand time-lapse videos and millions of pictures totaling 100+ TB.
In the early years of stock photography, so-called macrostock was a big market. Later, it changed, and now only a tiny fraction of my portfolio is listed at some microstock agencies.
Many of my time-lapse videos are shown on TV, in motion pictures, video productions, commercials, and on websites.
Pictures are used for many purposes like websites, books, magazines, advertisements, etc.

Some examples of my work

Footage: pond5 shutterstock
Stock photography: shutterstock adobe stock / fotolia

Time-lapse

Time-lapse is fascinating. Endless creativity and possibilities for the photographer.

It started as a hobby. Many years ago, there were not many tools to produce time-lapse videos. Today, many cameras support time-lapse photography and endless tools are available. Nowadays, it is easy to find all information on the Internet, and many mobile phones have a time-lapse function.

When I started time-lapse photography, I had to research everything myself. Experimenting was necessary.

Traveling - the spirit of life

To travel is the best way to broaden your horizon, to see and understand different lifestyles, how to look at life, etc.
It changes your life. You meet people who grew up in different societies and under different circumstances. It teaches you tolerance, greatly increasing your knowledge and understanding of people, countries, and the world.
My girlfriend and I want to see as much of the world as possible, but not at any price. Many countries are not a destination for us because of wars, unrest, or security problems.

The restless traveler gains countless impressions and experiences. Even negative experiences enrich what you have seen and experienced as a human being. Nobody can take these impressions away from you.
Many people in affluent countries do not appreciate the standards they enjoy—not only in terms of money, but also in terms of freedom, security, education, food, etc. Those of us who grow up in prosperous countries and enjoy the freedom to travel will learn to appreciate these privileges through intensive travel.
The dissatisfaction and negative attitudes of some people could vanish quickly if they traveled a few days to the many corners of the world that are less fortunate. It would broaden their horizon and could be very educational. The confrontation with friendly, warm, intelligent people who are denied these opportunities is humbling.

Through fortunate circumstances, I was able to travel to many countries, including many less common destinations.

When I think back to various journeys, my head is flooded with impressions—so many indescribably beautiful places, cultures, and people I was lucky enough to encounter in person and see with my own eyes.

Many times, I have been asked how many countries or places I have visited.
More important to me is what I have seen—the impressions and experiences. Many countries I have visited multiple times. The goal is traveling, not counting countries. But sure, I do count. The total number depends on your standards or what you call a country or a "place." For example, the USA: Is a visit to the mainland, Hawaii, Alaska, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico counted as one country or maybe two to six countries? Or what about France, Réunion, and New Caledonia? One, two, or three on a traveler’s list?
Antarctica is not listed in the UN list of countries. For example, the former GDR (East Germany) is no longer listed.
I don't aspire to visit every country in the world just to have been there—for sure. But I would like to see as many places as possible. And I have seen some pretty remote and rarely visited places like Pitcairn Island, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Niue, etc. Despite all the dramatic events and craziness on this planet, fortunately, there are still many places to visit.
In 2024, by counting UN-listed countries, I have been to 130 of 193, plus 6 non-members and 29 dependencies. My own counting considers areas not listed or separated from the mainland, which results in 185 destinations—for example, Antarctica, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Svalbard, Réunion, Cook Islands, Canadian Arctic, etc.

The Covid-19 pandemic started when my girlfriend and I were on our way to Micronesia. Micronesia was the first country to close its border. Even with permission from the office of the President of Micronesia, we were denied entry. The world has changed dramatically since 2019. We finally made it to all the states of Micronesia in 2024, and by chance, we met the President on a flight.

It is not my goal to travel to every country in the world just to say I have been everywhere. Too many countries are problematic for political or security reasons. And just to have been there? All other corners of the world are worth exploring. Over time, however, I have come to realize that I have visited some regions several times or even very often. The most frequently visited regions are the South Pacific, Antarctica, Chile & Argentina, England, Spain, and the USA.

About me

Achim Baqué My name is Achim Harald Baqué.
I was born in 1968 in former Western Germany, where I live and work most of the time.

Openness

Why do I share so many private things here when most people try to remain anonymous on the Internet? I often connect with like-minded people and those who have a similar background. Especially when it comes to collecting computers, it’s helpful not to be anonymous. Who would contact a 'user123' to negotiate the sale of a rare computer? If you would like to contact me and find out who you are dealing with, here is some information about myself:

Early years

Astronomy and particle physics were passions of mine during my youth, and I was 100% sure this would be my career as an adult. My focus was on elementary particle physics. I bought my first book about astronomy at the age of 7. Later, I spent a lot of time with a soldering iron. Electronics was fascinating. At school, my favorite subjects were physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Later in high school, computer science.

After that, chemistry was a serious hobby. I had a huge collection of laboratory equipment and chemicals that one could only dream of. Rockets and explosives were a big thing for a boy, and today, you couldn’t do this without getting into real trouble. In school, my chemistry teacher allowed me to work in the laboratory during every school hour. I didn't need to attend classes, but I had to make a chemical presentation during the last 5 minutes of class with something 'entertaining' (colorful, burning, or exploding). Today, it would be impossible for a private person to have the chemicals I had.

Many members of my family worked at the House of Parliament. During my childhood, I spent some time at the parliament building in Bonn (the former German capital; today, it's Berlin).
For two years, I was in the nursery of the German Parliament. That was the time of terrorism in Germany (RAF). Security forces and federal police armed with machine guns stood in front of the primary school and the parliament. Nearly all children in my school had parents in the government. The terrorists had threatened to kidnap children. We were driven in an armored Mercedes 600 and even, for half a year, in an armoured personnel carrier (Fuchs) between school and the parliament's nursery. It was great fun for us because we didn't see the threat.
After school, I would usually sit at Ossi's Bar in the parliament. Every day, I saw members of parliament, including some famous ministers and the chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl. I sat next to both chancellors while having lunch. One time, a convoy came to a halt with Ronald Reagan on the road B9 in Bonn, next to the car my mother and I were in. It was a convertible, and we played loud music. Reagan laughed and waved. Usually, the convoy never stops, and getting so close was very unusual.
My paternal grandmother, together with a scientist, founded the company ORBIT and Helatronik after her time in parliament. They sold rocket technology, telemetry, and other equipment, especially to ESA and NASA. It was even used in the Space Shuttle. I wish I'd been older at that time. At least I was able to see the latest satellites, rockets, and helicopters at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm in Ottobrunn near Munich. They showed me the final assembly of a three-axis stabilized satellite. I think it was EXOSAT. Because my grandmother played an important role in parliament's history, she gave many interviews to German magazines like 'Stern' and 'Spiegel', and many times she was a guest on the famous TV political magazine 'Monitor'. She used to do business with Israel and Saudi Arabia (and both knew about it at the time). She was invited to the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin as a guest of honor.
My maternal grandmother did something remarkable. She was hiding a Jew during the Nazi rule in her basement, and he survived! One life saved. Over the next decades, my mother and I visited him many times. I thought all the time he was my uncle, until my family told me the truth when I was an adult.
As a teenager, I was lucky to work at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (mm laboratories).

But my main focus shifted to programming when I was 17. I used to work with hex-display computers, Apple II+, Apple IIe, Basis 108, and later the IBM PCs, starting with the IBM 5150. The IBM world in the late '80s was incredible, and I never used the Apple computers after that. It was only after 2015 that I came back into contact with vintage Apple computers from the '60s, '70s, and '80s. My very first own computer was an IBM 5160 in 1986, with a gigantic 20 MB hard drive. Today, a single image from my SLR would not fit onto this hard disk. But in the early days, I thought this hard disk would be big enough for the next 20 years. I had and have zero interest in computer games and only used computers for programming.

During my first year of contact with computers, computer magazines published some of my software and some articles. The "Markt und Technik Verlag" offered me a contract for the distribution of one of my programs, which competed with Norton Utilities (according to the publisher of the computer magazine, it was not only much better but unbelievably faster). At the age of 17, too young and inexperienced to recognize this opportunity, I had little interest in it. I just wanted to keep working on it only for myself. Years later, I realized that it was a multi-million dollar offer.

A friend and I founded a software company when I was 18, for which I left my university studies.

Since the '80s, I have developed software for court bailiffs / the foreclosure/judicial office in Germany. This software became the market leader and, since the 2010s, its market share has been over 50%.

During the early 1990s, software for food delivery came into focus. I developed a software called foodserv that was able to show menu lists with pictures (we're talking about the DOS era) and it was even possible to add a BBS for online orders, and companies could place aggregated orders. That time wasn't right, however. That software was sold to just about 100 restaurants. This type of software, with a smaller scope of features, just became a pretty big business in the 2010s with smartphones.

Jumping to the 2020s: I grew up in the '70s and '80s. Germany was divided, and the Iron Curtain separated the West from Eastern Europe and Russia. Then everything changed in the '90s, and I visited the whole of Eastern Europe and Russia. Everything seemed to be getting better and better. But too many people are not interested in history, and so it repeats itself. Too many are easily influenced and manipulated. Nationalism has been flourishing almost worldwide for years. Many countries are moving backward, and quite a few countries are worse than they were 40 years ago. Above all, a lack of education is the breeding ground for this development. Added to this is easy access to manipulative sources of information. It is disturbing to see how easily so many people can be manipulated. This is very regrettable, and we can only hope that this trend will be reversed.

Fields of interest

Traveling, photography, time-lapse videography, diving, drones, vintage computers, programming, electronics, space, stock market, fast cars, and convertibles. In my early years: chemistry, physics, elementary particle physics, mathematics, astronomy, space.
I'm absolutely not nostalgic, just someone who loves history. Growing up in the present time or in the future would be fantastic. I would not want to live in the past. The possibilities today are unimaginably greater than in the last century—in all aspects: technology, food, travel, access to information, etc.

My vintage computer collection started with some computer parts and large hard disks in the late 80’s. In the 2000s, collecting vintage computers became a serious hobby. It is now a large collection that I preserve for the future. Since 2018, I am the curator of the Apple-1 Registry and stay in contact with many Apple-1 owners.

During the late 80s and early 90s, I operated one of the largest BBS in the FidoNet, the nibbelbox (spelling of nibble is different in German). A BBS with 25 lines and 20+ GB data, during a time when even 40 MB hard disks were big. Even the full file list was bigger than an average hard disk. The system used Novell, and I programmed my own FOSSIL driver and the BBS software with an enhanced file browser and a graphical interface. If users requested files to download, my software would automatically switch servers and provide the files. The interface of this BBS was capable of showing graphical characters on DOS PCs thanks to its own terminal program. File list browsing allowed going backwards, which was very unusual at this time. The BBS had thousands of registered users—long before the Internet was popular.

In 2006, I started to produce time-lapse videos with self-developed circuits and SLR cameras. After the first ten years, I had a collection of several thousand time-lapse videos and millions of pictures on 100+ TB. Including all backup hard disks in a bank vault, more than 100 high-capacity hard disks are used.
Some time-lapse videos and pictures are for sale on microstock companies (for example footage at Pond5, Shutterstock, Fotolia). Several thousand time-lapse videos and pictures were sold in the first years and were used on numerous websites, for press, television, and movies—mostly in the USA.

The stock market is another hobby of mine since the early 2000s.

With the rise of drones, aerial photography became a new hobby. I have used different ready-to-fly drones with modifications, a self-built hexacopter, and had some very unique opportunities to fly over very special places. For example, while sailing to South Georgia Island and Antarctica, I received the first-ever permission from the Commissioner of South Georgia and an Admiral of the British Navy to fly several drones I carried with me. The result is very unique footage, including some from over 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) high (at that time it was legal). On this expedition, we even helped the administration to spot and count rare seals.

A few pictures

Some pictures of vintage computung.
Some travel / private pictures.

Contact

E-Mail