A little while back I picked up a copy of the book that Apple published to celebrate their tenth anniversary. I bought it pretty much sight-unseen from an overseas online seller, with only a photo of the dust jacket. The seller wasn't asking much for it, and even with international shipping from the UK to Australia I figured it was worth a chance given copies don't come up all that often.
When it did finally arrive I opened it to find that there was a signature inside that read "Bill Fernandez #4". My heart stopped.
After recovering my composure I showed it to my wife, who was understandably baffled until I explained to her who Bill Fernandez was. And his place in Apple's history.
If you've got this far (so far!) and don't know who Bill is, and haven't googled him then here's the low-down. Bill was an early school friend of Steve Wozniak, and introduced him to Steve Jobs as they were all into electronics. Bill became the first official employee of the newly founded Apple Computer Inc. He ended up with badge #4.
Anyway, I reached out to Bill privately and he confirmed it was indeed his signature - I was pretty certain because it was very close to the one inside the case of the early Mac's. He also surmised that the copy I have is probably from one of the writers behind the book. He said he hadn't done any mass book signings, and probably only signed one or two at the most.
Anyway, that's one of my best "finds"..
FYI there's a great interview with Bill (and others) from a few years back here.
When it did finally arrive I opened it to find that there was a signature inside that read "Bill Fernandez #4". My heart stopped.
After recovering my composure I showed it to my wife, who was understandably baffled until I explained to her who Bill Fernandez was. And his place in Apple's history.
If you've got this far (so far!) and don't know who Bill is, and haven't googled him then here's the low-down. Bill was an early school friend of Steve Wozniak, and introduced him to Steve Jobs as they were all into electronics. Bill became the first official employee of the newly founded Apple Computer Inc. He ended up with badge #4.
Anyway, I reached out to Bill privately and he confirmed it was indeed his signature - I was pretty certain because it was very close to the one inside the case of the early Mac's. He also surmised that the copy I have is probably from one of the writers behind the book. He said he hadn't done any mass book signings, and probably only signed one or two at the most.
Anyway, that's one of my best "finds"..
FYI there's a great interview with Bill (and others) from a few years back here.
