Trash80toHP_Mini
NIGHT STALKER
I'm not a huge fan of the notion of creating a Mac to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Apple's incorporation/Apple 1.
Lots of folks love the TAM and many have talked about recreating said abomination in the eyes of someone who got out of college the year in question. I may not care much for its aesthetics, but I love any GREAT kluge for what it is. I've always suggested that creating something "new" rather than trying to clone the TAM would be the way to go. No nit-picking fest should ensue for an original design.
One wonderful ProtoMac build from the pages of AppleDesign (Pomona?) has been criticized for having an ATX box bustle hanging off the back. So let's stick to originality. Anything released/prototyped for 1994 is fair game as is anything that would have been in development for a 1995 or early 1996 release is fair game. Spec of any LCD Panel released in that time frame would be good to go.
Keyboard: Hate the TAM's, don't care for the aesthetics/materials choices. All know I'm not a fan of trackpads in general. In 1994/1995 the things were nigh on insufferable and the year they became usable peripherals on anything but laptop compactness/cubic recovery would be an interesting debate for the lounge.
Input Device: here's my notion for a tAM input device:
1400 was released in 1996 and Apple finally got that laptop KBD right.
I'd fitted a 1400 KBD I'd torn down back in the day, pulling a functional unit off the 1400 stack for my very long term PowerBook100c hack this morning is what inspired the tAM project. LOVE the color contrast and function keys. I snagged a Paladin KBD in the BigAssBoxLot back when and really like the thinness of its Duo style trackball, but the PB100 trackball was my first love. Love the sleek top deck as compared to the terraced full sized 'Books look.
Some folks love the full size 100 series trackball, but I never warmed to it. My parts 160 would make a good candidate for a blockier 1400 upgraded input device for the tAM. Lowering the KBD into the deck a bit and adding thick leather to the palm rest would give a more sleek to the profile by reducing the 100 series stepped top deck design. barely covering the battery joint and wrapping the leather over the front edge to disappear into a widened case joint slot would work nicely. Matching joints and scribing matching lines on the right would be better, but can't describe that in words unless someone is interested in that approach.
I've been looking into adapting the 1400 key matrix to another controller since day one of the 100c hack. A generic laptop matrix -> ADB controller makes sense in today's Pi and smaller embedded CPU ecology. I say ADB because the PowerBook Tracking Devices are ADB up through the Pismo and beyond? Dunno, that's not seen much in the way of development as compared to direct USB conversions of clicky-board switch matrices. ADB->USB could be an added feature for a flex circuit matrix controller hack. IIRC, there was some interest back in the day in re-purposing PB KBDs, not nearly the clamor for adapting the pre-LVDS PB LCDs, but a bit nonetheless.
Design Language: I'm thinking some meld of Snow White with a maybe a shot of Espresso along with the PowerBook motif. tAM should be a celebration of that phase change across Macintosh development, not a TAM cribbed from 90's Hi-Fi equipment.*****
5.5:8.5 ratio 10" diagonol panels (wide screen 640x400 PB format) were phasing out in tenth macintosh anniversary period. So I'm thinking a small 1080p panel would be the way to go for the display.
CPU: Sky's the limit, currently useful and upgrade friendly would be my choice.
Form Factor: Paladin sans the office center crap in terms of its KBD tuckage is one option. Anything cribbed from the frogdesign pages in AppleDesign is my aim, but I'm really looking forward to eseeing what the rest of you might choose for a 1994 appropriate Macintosh 128k commemorative.
Suggestions?
***** EudiG, where's that Hi-Fi piccie sample of the TAM design's datedness?
edit: would TMA make a better name for the project?
Lots of folks love the TAM and many have talked about recreating said abomination in the eyes of someone who got out of college the year in question. I may not care much for its aesthetics, but I love any GREAT kluge for what it is. I've always suggested that creating something "new" rather than trying to clone the TAM would be the way to go. No nit-picking fest should ensue for an original design.
One wonderful ProtoMac build from the pages of AppleDesign (Pomona?) has been criticized for having an ATX box bustle hanging off the back. So let's stick to originality. Anything released/prototyped for 1994 is fair game as is anything that would have been in development for a 1995 or early 1996 release is fair game. Spec of any LCD Panel released in that time frame would be good to go.
Keyboard: Hate the TAM's, don't care for the aesthetics/materials choices. All know I'm not a fan of trackpads in general. In 1994/1995 the things were nigh on insufferable and the year they became usable peripherals on anything but laptop compactness/cubic recovery would be an interesting debate for the lounge.
Input Device: here's my notion for a tAM input device:
1400 was released in 1996 and Apple finally got that laptop KBD right.
I'd fitted a 1400 KBD I'd torn down back in the day, pulling a functional unit off the 1400 stack for my very long term PowerBook100c hack this morning is what inspired the tAM project. LOVE the color contrast and function keys. I snagged a Paladin KBD in the BigAssBoxLot back when and really like the thinness of its Duo style trackball, but the PB100 trackball was my first love. Love the sleek top deck as compared to the terraced full sized 'Books look.
Some folks love the full size 100 series trackball, but I never warmed to it. My parts 160 would make a good candidate for a blockier 1400 upgraded input device for the tAM. Lowering the KBD into the deck a bit and adding thick leather to the palm rest would give a more sleek to the profile by reducing the 100 series stepped top deck design. barely covering the battery joint and wrapping the leather over the front edge to disappear into a widened case joint slot would work nicely. Matching joints and scribing matching lines on the right would be better, but can't describe that in words unless someone is interested in that approach.
I've been looking into adapting the 1400 key matrix to another controller since day one of the 100c hack. A generic laptop matrix -> ADB controller makes sense in today's Pi and smaller embedded CPU ecology. I say ADB because the PowerBook Tracking Devices are ADB up through the Pismo and beyond? Dunno, that's not seen much in the way of development as compared to direct USB conversions of clicky-board switch matrices. ADB->USB could be an added feature for a flex circuit matrix controller hack. IIRC, there was some interest back in the day in re-purposing PB KBDs, not nearly the clamor for adapting the pre-LVDS PB LCDs, but a bit nonetheless.
Design Language: I'm thinking some meld of Snow White with a maybe a shot of Espresso along with the PowerBook motif. tAM should be a celebration of that phase change across Macintosh development, not a TAM cribbed from 90's Hi-Fi equipment.*****
5.5:8.5 ratio 10" diagonol panels (wide screen 640x400 PB format) were phasing out in tenth macintosh anniversary period. So I'm thinking a small 1080p panel would be the way to go for the display.
CPU: Sky's the limit, currently useful and upgrade friendly would be my choice.
Form Factor: Paladin sans the office center crap in terms of its KBD tuckage is one option. Anything cribbed from the frogdesign pages in AppleDesign is my aim, but I'm really looking forward to eseeing what the rest of you might choose for a 1994 appropriate Macintosh 128k commemorative.
Suggestions?
***** EudiG, where's that Hi-Fi piccie sample of the TAM design's datedness?
edit: would TMA make a better name for the project?
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