Apple Alien Prototype Hardware DVT (Device Verification Testing)

[DieHard]

Ok a well known (or maybe not so well known fact)

The progression of Apple's product development goes through several distinct phases. Following the development phases, products go into EVT (Engineering Verification Testing) and then DVT (Device Verification Testing) stages before they reach the production stage.

You can see a Processor from a G4 Prototype (Dual 1.25 Ghz. MDD)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-PowerMac-G4-Dual-1-25GHz-Mirror-Door-CPU-MPU-DVT-2-Prototype-Card-/321593624672?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ae0794860

I used to be very into apple Prototype hardware and collected many pieces back in the day, including different colored Motherboards and other weird hardware (all of which was never supposed to leave the Apple labs alive).

I sold my "weird" apple hardware collection off on eBay several years ago (now I am a little sad about it for some reason), but I will be digging up some pics and posting them if you guys are curious.

[Protools5LEGuy]

Anything different compared with MDD cpu module?

[Protools5LEGuy]

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/10/26-prototypes-from-the-unofficial-museum-of-apple.html
Some more prototypes
https://www.flickr.com/photos/abeles/

[DieHard]

Notice the "DVT" in the label

[DieHard]

Apple Mac Extremely Rare Pismo 400 Prototype PowerBook
Never Supposed to Leave Apple Lab ! 400Mhz/DVD/Firewire

As promised, I wanted to share some cool pics of a Pismo Prototype that I eBayed a while back, I had it for a long time and probably should have kept it, but I had to thin the collection a little in 2006.







This Unit was NEVER to be released to the public...
But this one got out ! A Rare find ! Collectors Read On
 
The Secret World of Apple PowerBook Prototypes:
This unit was obviously a late-in-development prototype of a Pismo 400 Mhz unit; you can tell since it's in full Pismo plastics. The labels on bottom (See Pics) indicate P8 PVT (this may be one of the first Pismo units ever fully completed). The indication of "P8" is the numerical codename for Pismo...all Apple machines have both a internal "name" as well as an external numerical name during developement. For example, the iBook was P1, the iMac was C1, etc.

It's interesting to note the "PVT" in the label instead of DVT; DVT is the official name given to Apple prototypes for "Design Validation Test" (it's a prototype that's designed to test the unit as a whole, the internal electronics, the external form factor, basically the whole package). I was told, but cannot verify, that PVT stands for "Performance Validation Test"...perhaps, due to all the enhancements from the Lombard to Pismo, like airport readiness and Firewire, they were measuring some performance aspects. Early prototype units have the code EVT for "Engineering Validation Test" which is just to test the circuits, board designs, etc. before any work is done on the case design.

At any rate, as seen on the "This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease..." it has not been approved by the FCC or has achieved compliance with the requirements of European Directives 72/73/ECC. As the story goes, this unit went out the door with a maintenance worker and never made its way back to the lab... then DieHard snatched it up

Jobs unveiled the machine (the Pismo) halfway around the world, at MacWorld Tokyo, Japan in Feb. 2000; it would change laptops forever...

[DieHard]

Really cool prototype of a Macbook pro here on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275378929136

However, it's sad that the guy must have smoked about 2oz of top quality southern CA ganja if he thinks it's worth $2000

[DieHard]

Here is a "Vintage Apple PVT iBook G3 Clamshell Indigo Prototype" for $900

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185736603944?hash=item2b3ec3a928:g:TOoAAOSwjSZjwHzE&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoCQ861KBALKsltsP8btd%2F3NA843bzaRTtGI%2BUDoLgnYYVdBTR%2FjpOf21xtL9JWYVXOdXrCWrIoKU9T6xp5SRBHKfoVQhNewovVB4dDeEp4%2BookRkGfadwYebGDBeGqrsgZUX0uPl%2FLhSaFK2%2B4Faw9cUflnyACfksvGHCmP9DLzNesfkeLik%2FkZu4GqvUuyKQgByI9LPg5X6CYuO1db8HWI%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-iFyoLLYQ

Looks more like a complete unit with a PVT logic board, does not make sense that it would have all European requirements as the bottom text states

[DieHard]

Lastly, one of the coolest things I ever saw actually on ebay... a Powerbook 3400 Prototype:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185444351715?hash=item2b2d583ee3:g:PxwAAOSw5dRikmUf&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoKEH3GNJxuSd01Nbf4grM2vLNXUbqVunp5KS9dRfijLWK5ArF0y4ftxKs8p6HIDpohHiqbiEjcdQq7FaGX5rpmyuThisXx16Ci0DFKYSoLpUvOXz1eLLrTQeo8tKBadT8ickEVozVVlXf4LmQcSEmDBUKHl4A2EDg0gVT%2Fl5V08fXTCEt0YEwH8C8Hzlha9PiakeqHq3fQ3ATy4gS6ujjxo%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-iFyoLLYQ

A whopping $2K

This unit is so cool, no model, hand made bar codes and a DVT serial number, but could be easily staged since the labels are from a standard printer, I am not convinced by the blank model and blank "macintosh" plastic plates at the bottom of the screen... 

I am thinking the bottom should look like this pic I found on the web which looks different than the ebay item (plastic bottom is not textured and labels are real from apple) with the code name "Hooper"; the internal code name used for the PowerBook 3400c during development was "Hooper", named so after one of the product design engineer's dog

Could the ebay item be a fake prototype ?