Calling all tech geeks. Now you can buy the Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop computer that was used by Bill Clinton to send the first presidential email.
The laptop is being sold through RR Auctions and started with a $10,000 bid at the end of March — but as of Wednesday morning, it was sitting at $45,960.
From the auction site:
While orbiting Earth aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on November 6, 1998, Glenn sent President Clinton an email that read, in part: This is certainly a first for me, writing to a President from space, and it may be a first for you in receiving an E mail direct from and [sic] orbiting spacecraft. In any event, I want to personally thank you and Mrs. Clinton for coming to the Cape to d/see [sic] the launch. I hope you enjoyed it just half as much as we did on board. It is truly an awesome experience from a personal standpoint, and of even greater importance for all of the great research projects we have on Discovery. The whole crew was impressed that you would be the first President to personally see a shuttle launch and asked me to include their best regards to you Hillary. She has discussed her interest in the space program with Annie on several occasions, and I know she would like to be on a flight just like this one. We have gone almost a third of the way around the world in the time it has taken me to write this letter, and the rest of the crew is waiting. On the morning of November 7th, Clinton responded, in full: Thanks for your message. Hillary and I had a great time at the launch. We are very proud of you and the entire crew, and a little jealous. We can’t wait for you to get home so we can have a first hand report. Meanwhile back on earth, we’re having a lot of fun with your adventure. At a camp rally in Queens, I asked an 83 year old lady what she thought of your trip. She replied that it seemed like a perfectly fine thing for a young man like you to do! I hope your last few hours go well. Give my best to the rest of the crew.
As you’d expect, the laptop looks like it weighs 20 pounds and comes with a floppy disk drive. As an added bonus, it comes with extensive documentation, along with the original emails saved both on the hard and floppy drives, which can be accessed via some vintage AOL software on the laptop.
The emails are indeed rare because in 2000, Clinton said didn’t use email, except in a few instances, because he had security concerns (but not like Jimmy Carter).
h/t Buzzfeed
