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Apple’s most famous villain now $500

By
Matt Vella
Matt Vella
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By
Matt Vella
Matt Vella
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 16, 2013, 10:41 AM ET

FORTUNE — Apple has had many foils over the years. There was the Orwellian overlord, toasted Hazmat technician, chip-toting snail, and of course the portly-but-lovable PC guy played by John Hodgman. But the most famous may be HAL 9000, the eerily sentient computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the late 1990s, Apple cast the sinister computer to remind consumers that Macs were immune to the Y2K bug—unlike WinTel PCs.

Now HAL can be yours courtesy of nerd emporium ThinkGeek.com. The online store, which sells everything from Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutters to Death Star-shaped tea infusers, is offering a life-size replica of the coolly murderous computer created from studio blueprints used to fabricate the device for the film. The price: $500.

More from Slashgear:

ThinkGeek says that the actual HAL 9000 used in the film used a lens that is rare and expensive called a Nikkor fish-eye lens. The replica uses a custom ground remake that even has a sticker with the writing from the NIKKOR lens used in the film so the product is accurate down to the close-up shots. Other than the incredible accuracy, the replica obviously has a red LED eye and it talks.

Obviously, only the most diehard of the diehard need apply. For a refresher and more on the replica, check out these two videos:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHJkAYdT7qo&w=420&h=315]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7BhREqhOc8&w=560&h=315]

About the Author
By Matt Vella
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