You might remember earlier in the week when a 3G-equipped MacBook Pro cropped up on eBay. The person selling this unique laptop said that he had bought the computer from a someone on Craigslist who was selling it for parts. Once he got his hands on it and realized it wasn't a run of the mill 2007 MacBook Pro, he repaired it and put it up on eBay. By Monday, the bidding had reached $70,000. However, it wasn't long before the listing was pulled. Apparently, Apple blocked the sale. Posting to the MacRumors forums, the seller, going by the name of 'evilroot,' said that he received the following message from eBay regarding his posting:
Your listing has been removed. Your item was removed because of a request we received from Apple, Inc., a member of our Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO), asking us to remove the item for: - Item(s) infringes copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights.
"As of now I know nothing further. I suppose I'll wait to hear from Apple and see what the explanation is and how to proceed," he wrote. "I'm really bummed out, obviously," he continued. "I put a lot of time and effort in and was under the distinct impression everything was legitimate. I also e-mailed Steve Jobs asking for clarification . . . . who knows, maybe he'll reply!"
In the absence of a buyer for the laptop, evilroot posted more pictures of the machine on the MacRumors forums, including additional photos of that ever so interesting antenna on the side of the display assembly. It turns out its actually a 'MagSafe' style setup that utilizes two magnets and comes right off. One assumes that this was to ensure the antenna didn't snap off should the user forget to retract it before throwing it in a bag or briefcase, or catch it on something while it was extended.