The classic Macintosh gets a massive ePaper display
The classic Macintosh gets a massive ePaper display
Arduino Team — August 24, 2022
The original Apple Macintosh computer, launched in 1984, was fundamental to the introduction of GUIs (graphical user interfaces). It wasn't the first personal computer to feature a GUI operating system and the competing Apple II retained a more traditional command-line interface for years, but we owe the Macintosh a lot to thank for modern GUIs. It is therefore normal that Dave Luna chose to use an Apple Macintosh Classic II to equip it with a modern ePaper screen.
The Macintosh Classic II came to market in 1991 as a low-cost model, but it retained the design aesthetics of the original Macintosh. It was also the last Macintosh computer with a black and white screen. Luna replaced that CRT (cathode ray tube) with a 9.7-inch Waveshare ePaper display. He also removed all the original PCBs and replaced them with a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B single board computer. Interestingly, Luna added an adapter to feed the output of a Chromecast device to the camera input Raspberry Pi to display family photos stored in Google Photos.
But there were two components that Luna couldn't replace without ruining the looks of the system: the keyboard and the mouse. They used proprietary connection protocols and are not compatible with today's computers. To make them work with the Raspberry Pi, Luna turned to Arduino. He used an Arduino Micro to create an adapter for the keyboard and mouse. This runs TMK's Arduino ADB (Apple Data Bus) to USB Keyboard Converter library, which decrypts signals from the keyboard and mouse, then connects to a computer as a modern USB HID. Finally, Luna programmed a custom Python script to display a Macintosh-style GUI for the Raspberry Pi.
Arduino Team — August 24, 2022
The original Apple Macintosh computer, launched in 1984, was fundamental to the introduction of GUIs (graphical user interfaces). It wasn't the first personal computer to feature a GUI operating system and the competing Apple II retained a more traditional command-line interface for years, but we owe the Macintosh a lot to thank for modern GUIs. It is therefore normal that Dave Luna chose to use an Apple Macintosh Classic II to equip it with a modern ePaper screen.
The Macintosh Classic II came to market in 1991 as a low-cost model, but it retained the design aesthetics of the original Macintosh. It was also the last Macintosh computer with a black and white screen. Luna replaced that CRT (cathode ray tube) with a 9.7-inch Waveshare ePaper display. He also removed all the original PCBs and replaced them with a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B single board computer. Interestingly, Luna added an adapter to feed the output of a Chromecast device to the camera input Raspberry Pi to display family photos stored in Google Photos.
But there were two components that Luna couldn't replace without ruining the looks of the system: the keyboard and the mouse. They used proprietary connection protocols and are not compatible with today's computers. To make them work with the Raspberry Pi, Luna turned to Arduino. He used an Arduino Micro to create an adapter for the keyboard and mouse. This runs TMK's Arduino ADB (Apple Data Bus) to USB Keyboard Converter library, which decrypts signals from the keyboard and mouse, then connects to a computer as a modern USB HID. Finally, Luna programmed a custom Python script to display a Macintosh-style GUI for the Raspberry Pi.
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