Programmer Sells Ads On Laptop CoverProgrammer Sells Ads On Laptop Cover

A few months ago, a 24-year-old Web developer in San Francisco found herself in need of a new laptop. Trouble was, she couldn't afford to buy one.

What to do?

Leah Culver, a recent grad of the University of Michigan and a Java programmer at Instructables.com, had an idea. Why couldn't her new dream computer be a digital billboard of sorts? There was an etching machine in her company's office, so Culver set out selling ad space on the lid of the computer she wanted to buy. Simple enough: Companies and people could buy space on the lid of her laptop and she would use the money to buy the machine.

"I was just getting really frustrated because I had a really old computer," said Culver. "People in the office were etching the tops of people's laptops. They were just doing it for fun. They were etching everything from people's names to logos for companies where they worked to pictures and designs. No one had really done it as a way to make money or get a laptop. I was getting pretty desperate to get a computer and I thought, 'Hey, I'll sell ads on my laptop and use laser etching instead of stickers."

Culver said she raised $4,000. It was enough to buy a 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3-GB RAM, and a 200-GB hard drive. She waited until the Apple machines came out with the dual core processor and then had the lid etched the first week she had it.

It’s a nice upgrade from her 6-year-old G3 iMac that simply had out lived its usefulness. Culver said the iMac was no longer powerful enough to handle her programming work. For that matter, it was too old and tired to even install the latest version of iTunes.

"Web sites make money by selling ad space," she said. "I thought it would be particularly funny to sell ad space laser etched."

Culver said she sold many of the ads at $200 for four square inches, or $50 per square inch. She began selling the ads at a greater price but when requests started rolling in, she lowered the price. Along with her parents (who secretly bought a full-priced ad through her PayPal account), Culver reeled in major players, such as Firefox and Ask.com. She said she has friends who work at some big companies or at least know people there, and that helped drum up backing for her endeavor. Other people saw information about it online and contacted her to buy an ad.

"It was pretty much a joke, and then it ended up getting a lot of publicity," she said. "Actually, a lot of people ask to see it. I carry it around to work and when I go out. I was at a coffee shop this Saturday with it, and some people commented on it."

Culver lists out the events she plans to attend with laptop in tow on her web site, aptly titled Help Me Buy a Laptop!