Apple fan builds working palm-sized Mac

With the death anniversary of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs just around the corner, an Apple fan has created what could be one of the biggest little tributes to Appledom: a working 1/3 scale version of the original Macintosh computer.

 

Enthusiast John Leake said he fit the tiny Raspberry Pi computer into a tiny custom case held together by screws and velcro tabs.

 

"Early users like me loved that little box. So how could I not love the idea of a mini, functional Macintosh remake?," he said in a blog post.

 

The tiny Mac, which resembles the vintage 1984 Macintosh beige box that helped revolutionize personal computing, can support a Wifi dongle and a Bluetooth dongle.

 

In 1984, the Macintosh gained the distinction of being the first GUI computer for consumers.

 

Leake said he used the Raspberry Pi and a four-port powered USB hub, and a AC/DC adapter.

 

"To make everything fit I had to make a few modifications. On the Pi, I had to cut the SD card down almost flush with the edge of the Raspberry Pi board. I also had to cut away quite a bit of the USB cable on the top to get it to bend below the top of my case," Leake said.

 

A separate article on Mashable said Leake spent about 12 hours building the working computer.

 

"The results are still pretty stunning; unless you placed Mini Mac next to a full-sized Mac, you'd assume you were looking at the real thing," it said.

 

The Mac replica has an HDMI out port for connecting to a higher-resolution screen and USB and Ethernet ports.

 

It boots off an SD card and runs Mini vMac, an open-source Macintosh OS emulator.

 

But not to worry for those who think they could not type on the tiny keyboard - Mashable said Leake controls the tiny computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

 

"Total project costs? Roughly $100. A nice chunk of that went to buying Raspberry Pi, which costs $25, and an $18 LCD TFT screen," it added. — TJD, GMA News