Hacker News with Generative AI: Macintosh

ITXPlus: A ITX Sized Macintosh Plus Logicboard Reproduction (68kmla.org)
ITXPlus is a Mini-ITX sized Macintosh Plus logicboard clone that can be be assembled to a working state with no original parts and is intended for new build systems in modern cases

Retro Computing, Hardware, DIY, Macintosh, Computers

123 points by zdw 2 days ago | 31 comments

The Lost Japanese ROM of the Macintosh Plus (journaldulapin.com)
If you look for information about the Macintosh Plus and its ROM, you’ll usually find that the ROM has a capacity of 128 KB and that it exists in three revisions. But that’s incorrect: there’s a fourth ROM, 256 KB in size, which includes fonts for kanji (Japanese characters). And I found (and preserved) this ROM.

Macintosh, History, Computers, Japan

152 points by ecliptik 6 days ago | 45 comments

Apple Turnover (hypercritical.co)
Mac users of a certain age may remember Ambrosia Software, maker of iconic shareware hits like Maelstrom and Escape Velocity. For over a decade, the Ambrosia website included this quotation on its homepage:

Software, Macintosh, History, Nostalgia

53 points by tobr 14 days ago | 8 comments

A brief history of Mac native file systems (eclecticlight.co)
The first file system for Macintosh computers wasn’t HFS+ or even its predecessor HFS, but Macintosh File System, MFS.

Macintosh, Operating Systems, History, File Systems

8 points by ingve 41 days ago | 1 comments

Get on the Bus: Data Busses Used in Macs, 1984 to 2000 – Low End Mac (lowendmac.com)
A lot has changed since the first Macintosh. Apple no longer uses a phone connector for its keyboard or DE-9 serial ports for its mouse, printer, and modem. As others have recently pointed out, the only connector still in use from 1984 through today is the analog headphone jack.

Apple, Hardware, History, Technology, Macintosh

12 points by TMWNN 47 days ago | 4 comments

Station: Travel Through the Four Seasons (1994) (gingerbeardman.com)
After reaching 1 million files in my Macintosh Magazine Media project, I thought it would be cool to post about something I found recently in those discs. I get a real buzz rediscovering something like this after more than 30 years have passed.

Retro Gaming, Nostalgia, Macintosh, Digital Media

20 points by msephton 54 days ago | 0 comments

AdaFruit FruitJam is a Mac 384K (youtube.com)

Macintosh, Retro Computing, Hardware, YouTube

4 points by todsacerdoti 69 days ago | 0 comments

Fixing a Mac SE/30 to run A/UX (2021) (axio.ms)
I’ve always wanted an Apple Macintosh SE/30. Released in 1989, they look quite a lot like the other members of the original “compact Mac” series, but pack in a ton of interesting features that the other compact Macs don’t have.

Retro Computing, Hardware, Apple, Macintosh

4 points by fanf2 72 days ago | 0 comments

Hyperspace (hypercritical.co)
My interest in file systems started when I discovered how type and creator codes1 and resource forks contributed to the fantastic user interface on my original Macintosh in 1984.

File Systems, Macintosh, History, User Interface, Operating Systems

849 points by tobr 87 days ago | 456 comments

Mac-minivnc – A VNC remote desktop server for vintage Macintosh computers (github.com/marciot)
MiniVNC is a remote desktop server that has been written from the ground up for best performance on 68k Macintosh computers.

Macintosh, Retro Computing, Software, Remote Desktop

11 points by ecliptik 115 days ago | 1 comments

An invalid 68030 instruction accidentally allowed the Mac Classic II to boot (downtowndougbrown.com)
This is the story of how Apple made a mistake in the ROM of the Macintosh Classic II that probably should have prevented it from booting, but instead, miraculously, its Motorola MC68030 CPU accidentally prevented a crash and saved the day by executing an undefined instruction.

Hardware, Apple, Macintosh, Retro Computing, Programming

304 points by todsacerdoti 118 days ago | 69 comments

Mac Mini G4 – The best « classic » Macintosh for retro-gaming? (xtof.info)
Although my first computer was an Apple II, I never was a Macintosh user, as my family switched afterwards to the PC. But reading the magazines made me familiar with this family of computers and I wanted to add a pre-OSX Macintosh to my collection for some time. The only things that refrained me were that most Macs use esoteric plugs and that I did not have the space.

Retro Gaming, Apple, Macintosh, Hardware

244 points by freediver 131 days ago | 115 comments

MacBASIC (fandom.com)
Macintosh BASIC, also called MacBASIC, is an implementation of BASIC developed at Apple Computer for the early Macintosh computers.

Programming Languages, Apple, Macintosh, History, Software

87 points by rbanffy 137 days ago | 75 comments

Oral history of Caroline Rose, writer of Inside Macintosh (2023) [video] (youtube.com)

Oral History, Apple, Macintosh, Technology, Video

57 points by msephton 140 days ago | 14 comments

Oral History of Caroline Rose, Writer of Inside Macintosh (ycombinator.com)
Caroline Rose was a technical writer at Apple from 1982, lead writer and editor of "Inside Macintosh".

Oral History, Apple, Technical Writing, Macintosh

14 points by msephton 140 days ago | 4 comments

The upside-down capacitor in mid-'90s Macs, proven and documented by hobbyists (arstechnica.com)
"Am I the first person to discover this?" is a tricky question when it comes to classic Macs, some of the most pored-over devices on the planet. But there's a lot to suggest that user paul.gaastra, on the 68kMLA vintage Mac forum, has been right for more than a decade: One of the capacitors on the Apple mid-'90s Mac LC III was installed backward due to faulty silkscreen printing on the board.

Hardware, Apple, Macintosh, Vintage Computing

4 points by Brajeshwar 174 days ago | 1 comments

The capacitor that Apple soldered incorrectly at the factory (downtowndougbrown.com)
There have been some past rumblings on the internet about a capacitor being installed backwards in Apple’s Macintosh LC III. The LC III was a “pizza box” Mac model produced from early 1993 to early 1994, mainly targeted at the education market. It also manifested as various consumer Performa models: the 450, 460, 466, and 467. Clearly, Apple never initiated a huge recall of the LC III, so I think there is some skepticism in the community about this whole issue.

Hardware, Apple, Macintosh, Retro Computing

536 points by zdw 178 days ago | 259 comments

Infinite Mac – classic Macintosh and NeXT system releases and software (infinitemac.org)
Infinite Mac is a project by Mihai Parparita to make classic Mac and NeXT emulation easily accessible.

Emulation, Macintosh, Software, History, Retro Computing

5 points by keepamovin 255 days ago | 7 comments

Emulating the Early Macintosh Floppy Drive (thomasw.dev)

Emulating, Macintosh, Hardware, Retro Computing

91 points by GloriousCow 271 days ago | 42 comments

Stapler: I remade a 32 year old classic Macintosh app (gingerbeardman.com)

Software, Retro Computing, Macintosh, Programming, UI Design

219 points by msephton 286 days ago | 70 comments

What purpose did the lower-right Enter key serve on original Mac 128k keyboard? (stackexchange.com)