pico-mac-nano is a glorious teeny-tiny replica of the original Macintosh
Here’s a fun one for Mac nostalgia fans: a new project by hobbyist Nick Gillard has taken the idea of mini retro builds to a whole micro level.
Called the pico-mac-nano, this is a working replica of the original Macintosh that stands just 62 millimeters tall. And what’s more, you can actually run MacPaint and MacWrite on it.
How awesome is that?
The projectbuilds on an earlier open-source emulator by Matt Evans, who had already managed to get a Raspberry Pi Pico running System 1. Gillard took that idea and ran with it, packing it into a shockingly faithful 3D-printed case, complete with a tiny rainbow Apple logo and even a scale replica of the original Picasso-style shipping box.
“I just couldn’t resist creating a matching, tiny version of the iconic ‘Picasso’ box that the original 128K Macintosh shipped in. After finally finding a manufacturerand having the first batch back, I’m super-happy with the result; a white, full colour printed, corrugated cardboard box.”
The guts of the machine are made of a Pi Pico microcontroller, a 2-inch 480×640 TFT screen configured to match the original Mac’s 512×342 resolution, and a speaker capable of those signature startup chimes. Everything runs off a custom firmware that emulates a 68000 CPU, all open-sourced and shared on GitHub.
The result is a perfect desktop curiosity you can gift yourself on a special occasion or, if you’re one of these DIY creatures, build on your own. Gillard says he’ll be selling a few pre-assembled kits soon, but if you’re the DIY type, you can also grab the STL files, firmware, and a full parts list for your next weekend project over at 1BitRainbow.com.
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#picomacnano #glorious #teenytiny #replica #original
pico-mac-nano is a glorious teeny-tiny replica of the original Macintosh
Here’s a fun one for Mac nostalgia fans: a new project by hobbyist Nick Gillard has taken the idea of mini retro builds to a whole micro level.
Called the pico-mac-nano, this is a working replica of the original Macintosh that stands just 62 millimeters tall. And what’s more, you can actually run MacPaint and MacWrite on it.
How awesome is that?
The projectbuilds on an earlier open-source emulator by Matt Evans, who had already managed to get a Raspberry Pi Pico running System 1. Gillard took that idea and ran with it, packing it into a shockingly faithful 3D-printed case, complete with a tiny rainbow Apple logo and even a scale replica of the original Picasso-style shipping box.
“I just couldn’t resist creating a matching, tiny version of the iconic ‘Picasso’ box that the original 128K Macintosh shipped in. After finally finding a manufacturerand having the first batch back, I’m super-happy with the result; a white, full colour printed, corrugated cardboard box.”
The guts of the machine are made of a Pi Pico microcontroller, a 2-inch 480×640 TFT screen configured to match the original Mac’s 512×342 resolution, and a speaker capable of those signature startup chimes. Everything runs off a custom firmware that emulates a 68000 CPU, all open-sourced and shared on GitHub.
The result is a perfect desktop curiosity you can gift yourself on a special occasion or, if you’re one of these DIY creatures, build on your own. Gillard says he’ll be selling a few pre-assembled kits soon, but if you’re the DIY type, you can also grab the STL files, firmware, and a full parts list for your next weekend project over at 1BitRainbow.com.
Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel
#picomacnano #glorious #teenytiny #replica #original