Retro PowerBook Gets a Mac Mini Transplant

Around these parts, seeing a classic laptop or desktop computer get revived with the Raspberry Pi is fairly common. While we’re not ones to turn down a well-executed Pi infusion, we know they can be controversial at times. There’s an impression that such projects are low-effort, and that the combination …read more

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Recreating Lord Nikon’s Laptop From Hackers

The outlandish computers from 1995’s Hackers are easily one of the most memorable elements of the iconic cult classic. In the film, each machine is customized to reflect the individual hacker that operates it, and feature everything from spray painted camouflage paint schemes to themed boot animations based on the …read more

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Steve Wozniak Was My Computer Teacher in 1995

The Apple co-founder spent his own money, and more importantly, lots of his own time, showing us public school kids how to use the early internet. Continue reading Steve Wozniak Was My Computer Teacher in 1995

Steve Wozniak Was My Computer Teacher in 1995

The Apple co-founder spent his own money, and more importantly, lots of his own time, showing us public school kids how to use the early internet. Continue reading Steve Wozniak Was My Computer Teacher in 1995

Ask Hackaday: Calling All 68k Experts

This is a tale of old CPUs, intensive SMD rework, and things that should work but don’t.

Released in 1994, Apple’s Powerbook 500 series of laptop computers were the top of the line. They had built-in Ethernet, a trackpad instead of a trackball, stereo sound, and a full-size keyboard. This was one of the first laptops that looked like a modern laptop.

The CPU inside these laptops — save for the high-end Japan-only Powerbook 550c — was the 68LC040. The ‘LC‘ designation inside the part name says this CPU doesn’t have a floating point unit. A few months …read more

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