Teen's Apple Computer Collection Is Mac-nificent

How about them Apples?

Alex Jason, 15, has more than 250 Apple computer products in his basement, and he hopes they will soon become a real museum exhibit.

Alex's so-called Apple Orchard currently takes up 1,000 square feet of his family's home in Winslow, Maine. 

"The thing that grabs me about Apple products is how different they are from the competition," he told The Huffington Post. "Their design and aspects set them apart from the rest, as well as their ease of use. They can be complex when need be, but the majority of the time they are easy. "

His collection features early portables, Powerbook prototypes, a bound copy of Steve Wozniak’s "Wozpak" coding guide for the Apple II, and a rare Apple 1 that he keeps in a separate, secure location.

"My most prized Apple possession would be my Apple Lisa 2/5 [named after Steve Jobs' daughter], which was given to me by a close friend as a gift," Alex said.

Alex's Apple Orchard is no quaint private cache. It's world-class, according to one expert who says there are about 50 serious large-scale collectors across the globe.

“He definitely has a massive collection and would probably be in the top 20,” Jonathan Zufi, author of the Apple photography book  Iconic, told the Cult of Mac.

Alex began his collection in unlikely fashion: He traded a minibike and snowblower for an iMac when he was 10 , according to centralmaine.com. 

"Then I thought, I can get these computers for cheap, and use them and enjoy them and find all the software and play around with it," he told the outlet. His Apple obsession took root.