Stefan Mileschin

Sotheby's New York has started auctioning holy relics from Apple god Steve Jobs.

Up for grades is a letter penned by Steve Jobs when he worked for Atari and could not be bothered washing.

The letter is a 1974 report that Jobs wrote for his boss suggesting ways to improve arcade game World Cup.

Jobs' was not happy working at Atari. He thought everyone else there was a "dumb ****" and he was made to work night shifts because he refused to wash and was too smelly to be around mortals.

The letter lays out his ideas for improving player experience on the world cup game. The typed four-page document includes three circuit designs in pencil and additional designs for the paddles and alignment ofﾠplayers defending a soccer goal.

According to the catalogue entry, the report was written by Jobs for his supervisor, Stephen Bristow.

It was stamped "All-One Farm Design," a name Jobs nicked from a commune he hung out at. The address was his mum's place in Los Altos.

At the bottom was the Buddhist mantra, "gate gate paragate parasangate bodhi svahdl" which means something like "Homage to the Awakened Mind which has crossed over to the other shore - which has gone altogether beyond freed from suffering." It is somewhat appropriate now that Jobs is no longer with us, but knowing him, the awakened mind is probably a prayer to himself.

Sotheby's estimates that the memo will go for $10,000 to $15,000 which is about the same price as an iPhone only less shiny and less interactive and more flavoured with Eau de Jobs

Also on sale is a working Apple I motherboard complete with a cassette. There were only 50 existing Apple Is which did not catch fire and only six that are known to work.

It is expected to go for between $120,00 to $180,000 which means that it has held its value all these years.

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