The Apple Macintosh Plus was first released in 1986 which means that getting your hands on a brand new one today is either impossible or going to be very, very expensive. But what if you really want one and don't want to spend the kinds of sums a new, boxed original would likely cost? Well, you make yourself one.
That's what Kevin Noki did when he bought a Macintosh Plus from eBay. The problem? It had a broken power supply and floppy drive which just wouldn't do, so he set about creating the Brewintosh. It's like a Macintosh Plus, but with more 3D printing.
As you'll see if you watch the in-depth 48-minute video embedded below, Noki set about creating a 3D-printed shell that took months to build and looks for all intents and purposes just like the original thing, but better. It even has the same textured finish and works with original Apple keyboards and mice. And yes, it makes a startup sound. And as one rather famous former Apple employee might say, it's insanely great.
DIY Mac
The project was first brought to our attention by Ars Technica and you really do need to take a look at what went into making this thing happen. Because quite apart from creating the outer shell and calling it a day, Noki had to set about taking apart a $13 thin client computer, fiddle with its circuitry, and then design a build a modified Mini vMAC emulator, running on Linux, to make all the software work. There are even custom-designed Brewintosh stickers.
Even if you don't have time to watch the whole thing, be sure to at least skim through the video to get a feel for the love and attention that went into this thing. It's impossible not to appreciate it. And at a time when Hackintoshes might not be long for this world, it's cool to see people creating things like this at all.
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