[HN Gopher] iMac G4 to M1 conversion process
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iMac G4 to M1 conversion process
Author : bitigchi
Score : 302 points
Date : 2022-03-06 09:49 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (forums.macrumors.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (forums.macrumors.com)
| HWR_14 wrote:
| Random aside, does anyone know if the M1 (well, M series chips)
| are likely to migrate to the iPhones? I'm upgrading soon, but if
| the 14 is going to have an M-series chip, I may hold off.
| marban wrote:
| The Lamp was great but nothing can beat the Cube. Still using
| mine with a Sonnet and SSD upgrade for plain text work.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| Extra credit:
|
| Use ML (and some servos and counterweights) to make it do this:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCrdla_BljQ
| jmkni wrote:
| I'd love to see an M1 put inside a 12" Macbook, I know it was
| controversial but I always loved that form factor.
| dwighttk wrote:
| Oh man I'm so much lazier, I would just set the G4 on top of the
| mini and try to figure out how to send video to the G4s screen,
| give up, and just use a new monitor.
| sgjohnson wrote:
| The 17" 1440x900 display would be an absolute dealbreaker for
| me personally, so I'd also have to figure a way how to fit a
| better display in.
|
| Which would probably be trickier than everything else in this
| project, because where can you get a 17" 1440p IPS panel these
| days?
| sixothree wrote:
| Honestly I have three of these things and they aren't great.
| Maybe for a side or "kitchen" computer. If Mac had a decent
| RDP protocol, that would be a great way to use them.
| [deleted]
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| The arm that holds up the monitor is designed for a specific
| weight. It would be difficult to swap out the display.
| tjoff wrote:
| New LED displays are much lighter, so you probably have
| lots of margin to just put in dead weight.
| GekkePrutser wrote:
| Most of these arms lack the strength to hold up the
| original screen anymore. Probably due to fatigue of the
| spring. I still have one and it's just enough to hold it up
| but every time I hit the table it flops down :'(
| classichasclass wrote:
| Mostly an issue for the 17" and up. The 15" screens seem
| to be okay with the arm spring.
| Jolter wrote:
| You might be able to find a metalworking shop that could
| manufacture a new spring for you. If you're willing to
| pay for it.
| ballenf wrote:
| And if you don't get it exactly right, the mouse ball pops
| out, expands to a massive size and tries to flatten you.
| jandrese wrote:
| Some of them came with 1680x1050 displays which are still
| respectable.
| titzer wrote:
| It's not so bad. Especially if you spend most of your time in
| a terminal, as I often do. It's somewhat nostalgic, even. Ah,
| my first display, a 80x25 text mode DOS 5.0 terminal on a
| CRT... _sigh_
| jrockway wrote:
| I might be misremembering, but I feel like when LCDs became
| mainstream, they were ostensibly worse in resolution than
| CRTs. CRTs were commonly at 1024x768 for a while, but I
| remember running specially-selected ones at 1600x1200 or
| even higher (1860xsomething?). LCDs replaced my nice high
| res CRTs with 1024x768, and then I waited a decade for
| 3840x2160, which was definitely a step up.
|
| I remember being ridiculously excited by my circa-2004 24"
| LCD. How could a screen be that big? 1920x1200 pixels? How
| can there be so many!? And now that is like a tiny garbage
| dumb LCD that you find in the storage closet and decide
| isn't worth the desk space.
|
| (My favorite thing is the HDTV craze. You can still buy
| laptops with a 720p display these days, because "HD" is
| supposed to be a positive marketing term! But it's really
| 1995-era resolutions at 2022 prices!)
| eddieroger wrote:
| That does sound delightfully nostalgic. Sometimes when I
| use my iPad for SSH'ing in to things, I get that same
| sense. I don't need a dedicated SSH box that badly, and I
| wouldn't gut an iMac for the privilege when it can run SSH
| natively, but that would be a fun box to have.
| opencl wrote:
| It's not hard to find 4K 17" panels as spare parts for
| laptops, but they're generally 16:9 rather than 16:10.
| rzzzt wrote:
| Add letterbox bars to the front glass then, job done.
| hultner wrote:
| Inch is diagonal so a 17" 16:9 would be to wide.
|
| Unless I'm thinking wrong we'd need something at
| (sqrt(17)*(16^2+9^2)/(16^2+10^2))^2, which should put us
| at 15.23", I know 15,4" exists so that might be doable
| depending on how much room there is to spare, 5mm is a
| bit but it could maybe work.
| ycui1986 wrote:
| Lenovo is releasing 16:10 screen for their next generation
| laptops lines. So it is a matter of time till replacement
| screens for those to come up on ebay. I guess?
| betamaxthetape wrote:
| Am I the only one sad to see the original machine gutted out? I
| get that these machines aren't particularly useful (I have one
| myself) but it really does seem a shame for it to be modified in
| this way.
| rvense wrote:
| These aren't exactly rare. I can accept this sort of stuff when
| it's done well. They should pass that MB on as a working spare,
| though.
| dkonofalski wrote:
| You might be... I loved the old machines but making the shell
| usable again is even cooler to me. I'd love to see them update
| the display to something more modern and then it would be
| perfect.
| classichasclass wrote:
| No, you're not the only one. If it were busted, I could see it
| as a way of giving an old design new life, but this one
| appeared to be mostly operational. I have a 15" 1.25GHz iMac
| with a working arm in beautiful condition and it's going to
| stay stock. It suffices for viewing the security cameras,
| playing CDs and DVDs, the occasional Classic app and basic
| browsing tasks.
| titzer wrote:
| As long as there are enough of them preserved as-is, it doesn't
| bother me. Maybe the author has 2 (or more). In which case,
| right on.
| stevedekorte wrote:
| Cool project. Would love to see this done for NeXTcube or
| NeXTstation with their original keyboard and mouse.
| user22 wrote:
| You would have to add in the "clunk" the optical drive made.
| muro wrote:
| This is so cool! I wanted to do something similar with the G4
| cube, but the Mac mini is slightly too big. Hope the next version
| is smaller.
| gnicholas wrote:
| I was surprised Apple didn't sell a 20th Anniversary Cube. It
| would have closed the loop on what the Cube started. Maybe
| they'll do it on the 25th anniversary, in a couple years?
| MBCook wrote:
| The guts of the M1 mini are significantly smaller than the
| case. There was a video where someone made a smaller case
| recently that shows just how much you can shrink it.
|
| https://youtu.be/pQWGFKhBQwU
| muro wrote:
| Thank you! Will give it a try then!
| wiredfool wrote:
| I mean, it's basically a phone minus some of the cell chips
| and the display.
| steveylang wrote:
| Maybe they can do a handheld Mac Micro or Mac Nano.
| imwillofficial wrote:
| I wish I could pay people to do this insane work for me. I'd
| never have the patience to do all this, but I'd love to have a
| build like this.
| kipchak wrote:
| I'm not sure if they're still active, but there's been a couple
| group doing something similar for thinkpads (lcdfans/cnmod,
| xueyao) retrofitting new Motherboards and other components into
| older chassis. You could maybe try a group like that as a one
| off.
|
| https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/jrj949/x2100_from...
| samwillis wrote:
| I love this! The G4 Mac is by far my favourite Apple design ever,
| its such a shame it was such as short lived design aesthetic.
|
| My wish is that as Apple seems to be moving its iMac (and soon
| MacBook I believe) range back towards a more "fun" look
| reminiscent of the original iMac period they could resurrect this
| design.
|
| I would love a touch screen iMac or Apple Monitor that used this
| design, its perfect for folding forward into a position for touch
| interaction and sketching.
| giobox wrote:
| This era of design where there was still some "whimsy" is some
| of my favorite Apple work too. The austere modern era where
| _everything_ is a slab of glass fronted metal has lost so much
| of the joy that was found in their earlier computers.
|
| If you want a touch screen computer that used this design
| optimized for sketching, Microsoft took it to the logical
| conclusion with the Surface Studio:
|
| https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/surface-studio-2/8sbjxm0m5...
|
| This is much better for sketching, as can reach a much flatter
| angle than the G4 iMac ever could. It also holds its angle
| quite a bit more securely (I've used both). While I'm not a
| massive Windows user, the physical aspects of the Surface
| Studio are pretty nice and much more interesting to me than the
| latest iMacs.
| cbm-vic-20 wrote:
| That Surface Studio almost mimics an old-school drafting
| table.
| samwillis wrote:
| > The austere modern era where everything is a slab of glass
| fronted metal has lost so much of the joy that was found in
| their earlier computers.
|
| In many ways I think it's a pity that Apple decided to bring
| its "Pro" aesthetic to the standard/consumer range, there has
| been so little to diffiraciate the two ranges. Having the two
| distinct ranges was more fun.
|
| With what they have done with the M1 iMacs and the rumours of
| a rebooted MacBook (Air?) using the aesthetic of that
| iteration (colourful aluminium enclosures and white bezels)
| they seem to have decided to do just that and separate the
| ranges visually - just as they have done with the iPhone
| ranges now. For the first time in years last years Mac
| product announcements have actually interested me, looking
| forward to see what they are showing tomorrow.
|
| > This is much better for sketching, as can reach a much
| flatter angle than the G4 iMac ever could.
|
| Quite right, the ergonomics of the exact G4 aren't quite
| right for what I'm describing, however they could serve as
| the design inspiration for something amazing.
|
| (I'm also now on eBay looking for G4s...)
| agumonkey wrote:
| It seems the computing field had exhausted the usual
| marketing venues so resorted into maxing out the
| pro/scientific angle (you almost get a free biology/optics
| class on an iphone keynote chapter about lenses).
|
| Maybe the chill aspect is due for a comeback now.
| alsetmusic wrote:
| > In many ways I think it's a pity that Apple decided to
| bring its "Pro" aesthetic to the standard/consumer range,
| there has been so little to diffiraciate the two ranges.
|
| I think the idea behind this to make their computers as
| recyclable as possible. It was mentioned at least once in a
| product intro when discussing the machining process.
|
| I also miss fun designs, but I think the choice to reduce
| plastic use is the "right" one.
| irae wrote:
| I would not blame design for the "slab of glass" state of
| computers/phones.
|
| There two factors I see we endup with the current designs
| that are not related to desing at all: * Miniaturization and
| portability: Today, probably two thirds of the components
| needed for a computer fit into the M1 die. * Ergonomics:
| Because we are still humans, we need screens and input
| devices (touch or keyboard/mouse) that are bigger than the
| computer itself
|
| Designers work around humans and technology to make the
| products joyful and compeling. I believe they did a good job,
| in general, given what computers became engineering-wise.
| nicoburns wrote:
| It really is remarkable how small the logic board on those new M1
| minis is. It'll be interesting to see what the rumoured new
| smaller mac mini looks like.
| jarrenae wrote:
| I'd love to see this brought into a cafe. I wonder how long an M1
| Mac Mini runs on a 10000mah battery?
| lostgame wrote:
| Amaaaazing. The iMac G4 is the single most aesthetically
| beautiful computer, ever.
|
| I've still got a functional maxed-out one in the corner of my
| living room/studio. If the internals ever break, I'm doing this
| kind of mod in half a second.
| yboris wrote:
| I'd say the new iMac is better: https://www.apple.com/imac/
|
| Doesn't have a CD drive, but at least for me, I've not used one
| in a decade.
| lostgame wrote:
| You mean...that the new iMac is more aesthetically
| interesting / pleasing than the G4?
|
| Jesus, I guess tastes vary _hugely_. The new iMac is the same
| bloody design it 's been since the iMac G5, basically...not
| sure how it's 'impressive'? It's got colours? Other than
| that... o.o
|
| The iMac G4 is a feat of design engineering and still an
| astonishingly beautiful sight that somehow manages to look
| insanely futuristic nearly 20 years after its initial
| release.
| tomc1985 wrote:
| Feat of engineering, sure. But the look is "mid oughties
| white plastic" which is about as dated and vintage as the
| off-white 80s plastic enclosure of the Apple IIe was at
| that time
|
| And oh god were the laptops ugly. They looked like a seat
| cushion!
| lostgame wrote:
| You're talking about the G3 iBooks, not the G4 ones, just
| FYI.
| muro wrote:
| +1, and it wasn't just for show, the arm was more ergonomic
| than all iMacs since.
| Teknoman117 wrote:
| My personal favorite Mac (aesthetically) is the Quicksilver G4
| PowerMac. The Blue G3 PowerMac is a close second because I'm a
| sucker for anything in blue.
| dddddaviddddd wrote:
| I really enjoyed having the blue G3, but it's such a large
| machine compared to what I would keep on my desk today.
| drewzero1 wrote:
| Action Retro on YT made a video about a Pi case that was
| based on the blue&white G3 tower:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLh7c6KQAT4
| fredoralive wrote:
| I have to go Blue G3 (I even have one), the fact for the G4
| they went grey and got rid of the huge lettering underneath
| the side plastic was a real disappointment. I guess it was
| too fun for a "professional" system...
| kilroy123 wrote:
| I want one. So much more fun than the mini in the box form
| factor.
| sircastor wrote:
| I love this. I put an Intel Atom mini-ITX board in an old G4 cube
| about 13 years ago. For a time it gave my wife a modern-ish
| machine (though a Hackintosh) with a style that was relatively
| unique.
|
| It sadly lives in our garage right now as we don't really need
| it. Occasionally I think about dusting it off and replacing the
| internals with a Mac Mini, just for fun.
| iszomer wrote:
| Mini-ITX modding culture came a long way. Last I saw was
| someone revamping a Hot Wheels PC from the 90's with modern
| parts [2].
|
| [1] https://www.mini-itx.com/news/archive.asp
|
| [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLGfeiMdi1Q
| [deleted]
| dhosek wrote:
| I remember how damned amazing the display on the iLamp was. At
| the time, if you weren't directly in front of an LCD display,
| everything got dim and you could practically read the G4 display
| from the side. Kids today don't have any idea how bad those early
| generation LCD displays.
| acdha wrote:
| The lamp iMac design was really so nice compared to any iMac made
| before or after since it made adjusting the screen so easy. This
| really highlights a problem with the iMacs, however: they use
| gorgeous screens but the displays have a useful life 5-10 years
| longer than the CPU. I really wish there was something like an
| e-waste law to encourage manufacturers to either make them
| upgradeable or recyclable.
| asciimov wrote:
| Reminds me that Apple once had fresh designs.
|
| I wish Apple would get brave and push out a radical new design.
| longtimelistnr wrote:
| From a design perspective, modern hardware leaves little room
| for imagination without excess/useless material. reducing
| components to a fraction of their size is the radical design
| which is leveraged to make a product as frictionless as
| possible on the consumer side
| rvense wrote:
| You say frictionless, I say dull as all fork.
| gurkendoktor wrote:
| Little room for imagination? The iMacs that came after the G4
| are not even height adjustable.
|
| They also didn't just cut down on useless material. Power
| supplies are still large, but Apple has moved them _out_ of
| the iMac in 2020.
|
| The recent iMac redesign also makes it extremely awkward to
| connect external speakers using a cable, but the built-in
| speakers have received mixed reviews. Even that seems like a
| step back from the iMac G4.
| nebula8804 wrote:
| Regarding the power supply I suspect that right now we are
| in transition just like when Apple was late on updating
| updating the design of the late intel notebooks. It seems
| like they know M1 was on the way and focused their efforts
| on that knowing that Intel was going away. If Intel was not
| going away my guess is that they would have resolved the
| later thermal/design issues of the laptops sooner.
|
| Same goes for this power supply. We are probably moving
| towards even lower power consumer chips and while the
| current power supply is pretty small, just imagine a more
| power efficient base line M2/M3 chip + GaN based power
| supply. Maybe they could power the machine with a tiny cube
| shaped PSU or just have a usb-c connector coming out of the
| back.
| caycep wrote:
| This reminds me of the Cube Hackintosh conversions....I just wish
| that design worked out better in the court of public (consumer)
| opinion....
| linguae wrote:
| I feel the same way about the 2013 Mac Pro, which I purchased
| refurbished in early 2017 and used as my daily driver until
| January when I switched to a Ryzen 3900X build. The 2013 Mac
| Pro has a wonderful design, but it's a shame Apple never
| upgraded it, though it would be sweet if Apple brought back
| this form factor since Apple's ARM chips solved the thermal
| challenges that made it difficult for Apple to upgrade the
| cylindrical Mac Pro.
| jmmv wrote:
| Hah. I thought I was the only silly person in 2017 purchasing
| an overpriced and not-so-powerful-at-the-time machine :) I
| got mine from eBay and it is still my daily driver!
|
| Mind you, just wrote this about a week ago on how I keep it
| current: https://jmmv.dev/2022/03/windows-10-mac-
| pro-2013.html
| mattkevan wrote:
| Wonder if it was the Pro or lessons learned from it that
| instigated building their own Mac chips.
|
| "Intel can't or won't make the chips we need to make the
| designs we want, so we're going to have to do it ourselves."
| srvmshr wrote:
| A bit off topic but the PowerMac translucent towers were
| beautiful. I wish apple brought those back albeit in a smaller
| form factor. It wouldn't hurt to see the Mac Pro in such a
| casing.
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