Apple's biggest flops

Apple�s had so many hits in the last 15 years or so it almost seems like a cheap shot to run down their duds. But boy is it fun! Let�s look at the Top 5 Apple Flops. Ranking these is real subjective, so I went for the way you�re most interested in: What can I get for it on eBay? The #5 Apple flop is the The Newton OS Message Pads. Which will raise hackles, since descendants iPhone and iPad are now ? of Apple�s business. But Apple made like 6 models of this Motorola , Sharp, and others tried too and NOBODY got it right. I remember it being scorned when it was new. And didn� they have Newton stores too? What a mess. Priceiwse, this one fors for 30-50 on eBay.. #4 Mac G4 Cube. We�d never seen a computer like this and its short time in production kept it that way. This silent, fanless monolith with a toaster slot on top for CD�s. Thanks to the odd shape, you couldn�t really put any expansion cards in it back in a time when you actually cared about such things. And it was pricey, about $200 more than a conventional Mac with similar performance. Oh, and the cases often cracked, which is pretty annoying on a machine you buy largely for its looks. They made about 150,000 so not hard to find, about $100-$200 on eBay. #3 The Pippin. Remember this thing? It was produced with Bandai of Japan, and rolled out in 1996 as a game console with a lite version of System 7 as its OS. It was gutless, there was just about nothing to run on it in terms of games and the price was $600, about $850 in today�s dollars. . 42,000 made however, and eBay prices top out around $400 for an NOS unit. #2 TAM: The Twentieth Anniversary Mac. It was one of the first things Jobs killed when he came back to Apple in 1997 and I bet he didn�t inside a pentagram. This machine is SO not him. Like all �executive� it�s laden with form over function. For 7,500 -- over 10 grand today -- you did get an all in one design with an LCD display, but beyond that not a very interesting computer. The Joey pouch disc tray in front and and button arranged for looks instead of works all came off like Sharper Image had a one night stand with Bang & Olufsen. And the TAM was star-crossed from the beginning: It launched in 1997 -- Apple�s 21st year. You might get $700 for a complete one on eBay. Before we get to the #1 Apple flop let�s consider one so awful AND unimportant it doesn�t deserve a spot on the list: That damned round USB puck mouse from the original iMac. Totally round so you never knew which way to hold it, sized so only a raccoon can articulate it and just ugly, with that bad late 90�s semi-translucent plastic and Jolly Rancher color accent thing going on. Glech! Here�s a basket of 20 of them for $35 Overpriced. #1 Macintosh TV. This was the first black Mac, and it was basically an Mac Performa that had a Trinitron TV bolted to it and cable tuner inside. You could use it as a computer...or switch to watching TV. But you couldn�t watch TV in a window or anything cool. It made a mockery of the word �integration�. Some 10,000 were made so there�s a handful of �em stinking up eBay any given day at around $800. For the brighter side of life, don�t miss my other companion video to this, Top 5 Steve Jobs� Greatest Hits. That�s also available over at top5.cnet.com. I�m Brian cooley, thanks for watching.