[HN Gopher] MicroMac, a Macintosh for under PS5
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       MicroMac, a Macintosh for under PS5
        
       Author : als0
       Score  : 196 points
       Date   : 2024-06-16 20:02 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (axio.ms)
 (TXT) w3m dump (axio.ms)
        
       | riffic wrote:
       | one of these running system 7 would be a delight, seeing that's
       | probably where the classic Mac OS hit its peak.
        
         | rcarmo wrote:
         | You can do that comfortably on a "normal" Rasbperry Pi - I have
         | a bunch of resources for that here:
         | https://taoofmac.com/space/emulation
        
       | xixixao wrote:
       | I was hoping this was a super cheap hackintosh running modern
       | macOS. Is that even possible these days?
        
         | MenhirMike wrote:
         | > Is that even possible these days?
         | 
         | It still kinda is as long as macOS supports Intel, but the
         | writing is on the wall:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39728146
        
         | Moto7451 wrote:
         | Yes. The biggest limiting factor for "cheap" is building around
         | a CPU with a supported GPU. A second hand RX 4xx/5xx series
         | card is a good pick if you can't find a chip with supported
         | iGPU.
        
       | rcarmo wrote:
       | Holy cow. I took a stab at hacking vMac to run on an ESP32 and
       | gave up (it's been done on some models, but not on the one I had
       | handy), but this is several levels above and beyond.
       | 
       | I take off my metaphorical hat to you, sir.
        
       | MenhirMike wrote:
       | I was considering doing something like that for an Amiga, running
       | AmigaOS 3.2. It's a cute idea, especially once you 3D print a
       | shell that looks like the original (shrunken down).
       | 
       | I do think that the lack of an old school floppy drive means that
       | something is kinda missing from the experience, but I do like the
       | idea of having a machine dedicated to running this instead of
       | just firing up an emulator on my existing desktop PC. (Edit: And
       | I love how this MicroMac project isn't just "running Linux and an
       | existing emulator" but actually trying to go lower level,
       | essentially the RP2040 acting as a 68k)
        
         | hammyhavoc wrote:
         | Need CRT too for the authentic experience.
        
         | malux85 wrote:
         | I would buy this! Especially if you got the sizing right so
         | that an SD card could be inserted like a floppy, that would
         | rock!
        
         | travem wrote:
         | You could check out the A500 mini, more of an emulator though -
         | https://retrogames.biz/products/thea500-mini/
        
         | nanomonkey wrote:
         | Amiga emulator on teensy 4.1: https://www.pjrc.com/amiga-
         | emulator-on-teensy-4-1/
        
       | dannyobrien wrote:
       | I had a Saturday job at a computer shop when the Mac came out,
       | and we got one as a demo. I remember just staring at the genius
       | of those rounded corners in the corners of the screen, and
       | thinking how beautiful it was that they'd thought of that.
        
         | petemc_ wrote:
         | In case you haven't read it -
         | https://folklore.org/Round_Rects_Are_Everywhere.html
        
       | aerioux wrote:
       | mirror as it looks like the blog is getting overloaded:
       | https://archive.ph/NXWOm
        
         | stavros wrote:
         | Thanks, I thought the slowness was because of my phone and was
         | about to order a new one.
        
       | jimbobthrowawy wrote:
       | Very nice finding a random VGA cable on the road. Happened to me
       | once or twice, but never when I wanted one of them.
        
         | justinator wrote:
         | Thrift store?
        
         | opan wrote:
         | That was the highlight of the story for me.
        
       | kreelman wrote:
       | Very neat. I so wanted a Mac back in the day... It is amazing
       | what can be done now with modern micro controllers. Thanks for
       | writing it all up.
        
       | bmacho wrote:
       | > The day I started soldering it together I needed a VGA
       | connector. I had a DB15 but wanted it for another project, and
       | felt bad about cutting up a VGA cable. But when I took a walk at
       | lunchtime, no shitting you, I passed some street cables. I had a
       | VGA cable - the rust helps with the janky aesthetic.
       | 
       | Sometimes this happens.
        
       | icehawk wrote:
       | > Everyone loves MacPaint. Maybe you love MacPaint, and have
       | noticed I've deftly avoided mentioning it. Okay, FINE:
       | 
       | To be honest, I'd bet Bill Atkinson knew every trick in the book
       | and used many for making MacPaint work in the original
       | constraints provided.
       | 
       | I'm not sure that's a fair fight for the author.
        
       | novagameco wrote:
       | But it's not a Macintosh; it's a Raspberry Pi emulating a
       | Macintosh
        
       | firewolf34 wrote:
       | How are these people finding VGA cables in the street :S I needed
       | like 10 or so VGA cables recently for an art installation and
       | asked everyone I could and nobody had any lying around... I ended
       | up having to buy new ones which seems a shame considering how
       | many are thrown away!
        
       | dougg3 wrote:
       | This is a really impressive project! It was a fun read. Thanks
       | for sharing! I like this writing style.
       | 
       | > As an aside, I try to create a dual-target build for all my
       | embedded projects, with a native host build for rapid
       | prototyping/debugging
       | 
       | I find myself doing the same thing on my embedded projects,
       | including at my job. I actually find myself using the PC build
       | much more frequently than the hardware for my day-to-day work now
       | that the hardware layer is stable and tested. More people should
       | do this!
        
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       (page generated 2024-06-16 23:00 UTC)