I built a pint-sized Macintosh
6 hours ago
- #DIY Projects
- #Retro Computing
- #Raspberry Pi
- Built a tiny Macintosh using a Raspberry Pi Pico running Matt Evans' Pico Micro Mac firmware.
- Outputs to a 640x480 VGA display at 60 Hz and supports USB keyboard and mouse.
- Uses up to 208 KB of RAM, which is 63% more than the original '128K' Macintosh.
- Hardware setup includes a PicoMicroMac board, VGA monitor, and necessary cables.
- New 'V3' version of the Pico Micro Mac adapter simplifies the build with integrated microSD card support and no soldering required.
- Setup involves flashing a .uf2 file to the Pico and copying a umac0.img file to a microSD card.
- Boots up with a 'Welcome to Macintosh' splash screen and Mac OS desktop.
- Limited by the Pico's 208 KB of RAM, making it unsuitable for larger applications or games.
- Sound, AppleTalk, SCSI, and printer support are not functional.
- Primarily useful for learning and novelty, costing around $20 compared to the original's $2,495 price tag.