[HN Gopher] I built a pint-sized Macintosh
___________________________________________________________________
I built a pint-sized Macintosh
Author : ingve
Score : 94 points
Date : 2026-03-03 07:06 UTC (15 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.jeffgeerling.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.jeffgeerling.com)
| ido wrote:
| At the end he write the setup cost him $20, but the display alone
| sells for $50 (from the amazon link he provided). I'm assuming he
| had a bunch of the components already, but that's not really a
| fair cost comparison.
| voidUpdate wrote:
| I'm guessing that's a mistake in the article, in the video he
| says the setup costs $100
| geerlingguy wrote:
| I wrote the blog post a couple months back, and was
| considering the parts for the "computer" (Pi and adapter
| board alone) in that $20 estimate--the V3 version of the Pico
| Micro Mac is an additional $6.
|
| But I'm assuming in that setup you have a VGA-capable monitor
| on a shelf somewhere; not everyone does, of course.
|
| In the video I mention the all-in cost, accounting for the
| monitor, keyboard, mouse, power adapters, etc.
|
| This isn't a practical setup by any means, but at least you
| wind up with a neat couple bits of hardware that could be
| repurposed once you get bored of it!
| ZeroGravitas wrote:
| I saw someone did the same but with a cool bit of bent plastic
| for the casing that evoked the original casing in a minimal way.
|
| Edit, this isn't the one I read but looks like the idea is older
| than I thought as someone was doing it in 2015:
|
| https://www.randomorbit.co.uk/?p=904
| nirav72 wrote:
| Nowadays its possible to just 3d print the case. They even sell
| PLA filament to match color.
|
| https://arstechnica.com/apple/2025/06/new-filament-lets-you-...
| wang_li wrote:
| Sprites mods did one a few years ago. A Mac Plus in a tiny
| chassis with a 1.5" monitor.
|
| https://spritesmods.com/?art=minimacplus&page=7
| yuppiepuppie wrote:
| IMHO, a Macintosh/Apple product is equally about the hardware
| that delivers the software.
|
| I dont want to belittle the authors work, but I would call this
| "building custom hardware for a pico-Mac project."
| tokyobreakfast wrote:
| I'd love to see this shoved into a Mac SE or Classic chassis with
| a replacement 9" LCD to match. Jeff, if you're reading this, make
| it happen lol.
|
| The old Macs really were the perfect form factor for a compact
| desktop computer--you saw them in every bedroom in every 1990s
| sitcom.
|
| Are there any good options these days that are smaller than a 24"
| all-in-one?
| itomato wrote:
| You can build an SE or Se/30 on a new PCB with a replacement
| transparent case and analog board.
|
| I think he is 3d printing a 1/2 size classic Mac chassis for
| the oi2040 rig
| geerlingguy wrote:
| The transparent case from MacEffects is amazing, but almost
| always out of stock :(
| pedrocr wrote:
| There seem to be some 15 inch all-in-ones but these days if
| what you want is a small form factor the answer is surely a
| laptop. Even if you're just going to keep it on the same desk
| forever that's what you'd get if you want 15 inch or smaller.
| mbreese wrote:
| I could see a "portable" all in one being successful.
| Something closer to the first Mac where it had a handle in
| the back with a built in screen. In the 10-14" screen range.
| Back in the day, my mom had an internet appliance (light
| browsing and email only) which was close to what we're taking
| about. She loved it.
|
| You're of course looking at all laptop parts, but the form
| factor would be part of the appeal. Then again, an iPad dock
| would also probably cover this form factor for about the same
| cost.
| numpad0 wrote:
| If this can generate VGA signal, it can also generate driving
| signals to control the original CRT too. Monochrome CRTs
| especially don't have fixed pixel counts, you can feed 4K240
| signals if you want. It takes an analog circuit designer to
| pull off though.
| keyringlight wrote:
| Something I wonder about is whether the next few years will see
| a (small) fashion trend towards 'dumb PCs' similar to how
| there's a small group of people that prefer simple/feature/dumb
| phones. There's a number of factors within the PC space now
| that could see a PC with limited capabilities or primarily
| offline find its niche. Along with that, having a distinct form
| to set it apart from regular computing devices would be
| interesting, and Apple has a lot of them especially from the
| G3/G4 era.
| deltarholamda wrote:
| >The old Macs really were the perfect form factor for a compact
| desktop computer
|
| For certain types of work, they are excellent. I used an SE/30
| as a dedicated writing and light programming machine for
| several years. It presents a friendly face, and the intimacy of
| the small screen is nice.
|
| The small screen discourages distraction, though the small
| resolution was a bit of a chore while programming (lots of
| scrolling).
|
| I'd like to see a toaster Mac-style box, perhaps with a
| slightly bigger screen, say 12", and with a decent resolution.
| aa-jv wrote:
| This is nice, but I yearn for the day I can run it on my watch.
| ;)
| vardump wrote:
| I wonder why he didn't use a RP2350, it costs practically same as
| the older RP2040. That way it could have 450 kB or so system RAM,
| enough to play around with some old productivity software.
| geerlingguy wrote:
| There's experimental support for it, getting just over 400KB of
| RAM, and someone was able to run 7.5.5 on it:
| https://github.com/evansm7/pico-mac/issues/7#issuecomment-23...
| HardwareLust wrote:
| Very cool! This just needs a _little_ more horsepower so I can
| emulate my first Mac (IIvx).
| TomMasz wrote:
| There's a really small form-factor Mac clone based on the pico-
| mac on a Pi RP2040. Only available in kit form after Apple
| complained.
|
| https://blog.1bitrainbow.com/pico-mac-nano/
| jacquesm wrote:
| > Only available in kit form after Apple complained.
|
| That's several levels of disgusting. But then again, Apple long
| ago lost touch with the people that put them on the map in the
| first place.
| mmmlinux wrote:
| If you don't protect your trademarks you lose them. Could be
| worse, if this was Nintendo there'd be a hit squad out.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2026-03-03 23:01 UTC)