A Macintosh replica to rise the bar.

Today is a new day. I have a new goal, something that will keep my mind busy, and this time I will try to use the help of artificial intelligence. Hopefully, I will be able to overcome some limitations and speed up the making of this project. But, what kind of project is this? You probably already saw a picture that suggests something. Have you seen a Macintosh old computer? Yes, you have! I have the ambitious goal to build my own Macintosh 128K replica.

I decided to build the first Macintosh because of several features that in some aspects can make my task easier, such as video emulation, since the graphic has only one bit per plane, it will require less memory and simpler hardware to generate the black and white video signal.

In the past I have dedicated myself to emulating 8-bit CPUs, so with this project, I will have the opportunity to work on a 16/32bit CPU, the Motorola 68000. If I have to keep my head busy the project must be a new adventure, after all, the beauty is not arriving but the journey.

I talked about building a replica, but what kind? Going back to the past, the replica of the Apple 1 that I made is very reminiscent of the legend handed down through stories and films about the birth of Apple.

The work was a lot of fun, and it was very demanding both physically and mentally, in fact, I made the wooden case of the computer and the monitor by hand without the use of CNC. To create the exterior I followed an old school approach and I must say that the result was fascinating. 

As regards the internal hardware I decided to follow a more flexible approach even if less faithful to the original. Instead of building a replica of the original PCB and using real chips, I decided to implement a software emulator that runs in an embedded system.

It might seem empty, but thanks to the flexibility of microcontrollers we have the possibility to embed almost all the hardware of a computer in only one chip. 

What about the Macintosh? I already have something in my mind. I will write an emulator for an STM32-powered embedded system for sure, but for the rest it will be a surprise and we will discover it together!