Modder Crams G4 Cube Mac Into Mac Plus
May 31st, 2008
Got an old Macintosh or Mac Plus lying around? There’s got to be something better to do with it than turn it into an aquarium, right? That’s what this enterprising modder did when he managed to cram the guts of a Mac G4 Cube into his trusty old Mac Plus, replacing the old B&W CRT with a modern color LCD monitor, as well as the ability to run Mac OS X.
Mac modder Charles Mangin really did an amazing job seamlessly integrating Macs from both the 20th and 21st centuries. At first glance, the machine looks like a stock Mac Plus, but look closer and you’ll see all the detail work that Charles did, like adding a hidden Superdrive (from an iMac G5), a pair of USB ports underneath, as well as a third one tucked away behind a sliding door inside the floppy drive slot.
Thanks to improvements in miniaturization, all of the newer technology fit neatly inside the old case, leaving plenty of room to spare.
He even went so far as to swap out the innards of an old Mac ADB mouse with a modern optical USB one.
The Frankenstein’s monster of a machine is nicknamed “Marvin” after the paranoid robot Marvin from The Hitchikers’ Guide to the Galaxy. If you want to see more of how Marvin came to be, check out photos of entire build over on Charles’ Flickr album. (The mouse mod is documented separately here).
Now all we need is to figure out a way to cram this whole thing inside a Commodore PET, and we’ll be all set.
[via MacMod]
Comments (19):
Post a Comment:
Categories: Computing Hacks + Mods Retro
Very nice idea, there is something quite aesthetically pleasing about this piece of dated technology.
Super cool idea! I love how the newer technology is so much smaller that it all handily fits inside.
a mac ‘classic’ indeed!
I adore it. I love mac.
Can I do this in my PC?
Wow, so cool. I just got a little misty thinking about my old mac plus, now long gone…
Where did you buy the 8″ color monitor? What brand was it and was it a new one of current standards or taken out of some older color macintosh? If so, what Mac? Know of any 9″ color monitors that would fit? Also, I was thinking of throwing a DVD Burner drive in it.. Which drives do you think this might be possible for? Now, you should try to install GarageBand 3 or 2 on this computer…. Then you can make your own songs!!!!!
That’s pretty cool modding up a mac plus to run Mac OSX but don’t you think maybe the sacrifices were a little extreme?
hey this is supper cool im thinking about doing this too can you send me like the instuctions on how to do this. about how much will this cost? but this is supper cool.
Dude That is Awesome
Dude
Im thinking of doing this myself
where did u get the nice little monitor from?
O I was also wondering
would it be possible to put a mac mini in there?
The update to the mouse is a very nice touch.
WOW THIS IS GREAT – LUV IT
how much would you do it for?
Niceee.
i love mac
Nah, better to put an Amiga inside the Commodore PET rather than a Mac.
It is a cool idea, but you can clearly tell that the image or Mac OS X is pasted ont the screen. Also, the ports on the g4 cube would not support that old display.
Also, on the inside of the computer, you cannot see the CRT, and the superdrive is the wrong way.