AppleCrate II Doubles The Cluster Computing Fun

May 4, 2011 by Mike Nathan 32 Comments

apple_crate_II

Back in 2004, Apple hobbyist/guru [Michael Mahon] built a cluster of Apple IIe main boards dubbed the “AppleCrate” as an experiment in parallel computing. Now that a few years have passed, he is back with a new iteration of the device, aptly named AppleCrate II.

AppleCrate II was built to address some of the design limits of his first cluster project as well as to expand his parallel computing capabilities. His gripes with the first model were primarily structural in nature. The new system is organized in horizontal layers, using metal standoffs between each main board, rather than relying on a shaky wooden superstructure to keep things together. He also found his previous 8-processor configuration a bit limiting, so the AppleCrate II has 17 nodes – 16 slaves and one main board dedicated to running the operation. The cluster even uses his own homebrew networking stack known as NadaNet to enable communications between the boards.

The project is pretty impressive, so be sure to swing by his site if you want to learn more. He has a ton of technical details there, as well as copies of all of the software he used to get the cluster up and running.

[via BoingBoing]

Apple Studio Display Connector Ports

November 4, 2010 by Mike Szczys 10 Comments

[Warrior_Rocker] pulled off his own Apple Studio Display hack by removing the cable and adding ports. As we saw in Wednesday’s post, these displays use a cable with a proprietary connector that combines DVI, USB and Power. Instead of altering the cable, [Warrior_Rocker] removed it completely. By wiring up a standard barrel jack for power, a USB type-B socket, and a DVI port, he can now use standard video, power, and USB cables to connect to the monitor.

This project was actually submitted to us on May 25th and we missed it. It’s sad that sometimes tips fall through the cracks, and we’re sorry that we missed this particularly well-executed hack. [Warrior_Rocker] wrote in asking why his project didn’t qualify after seeing the similar post on Wednesday. So please don’t take it personally if your project doesn’t get posted. If you think it fits right in here at Hackaday and haven’t heard anything after two weeks or so, consider sending to us again.

Mac SE Reborn As A Server And Mac Emulator

November 4, 2010 by Mike Szczys 27 Comments

[Sprite_TM] cooked up an amazing hack by resurrecting a Mac SE using a Dockstar and ARM processor. The retro hardware had a bad mainboard thanks to the corrosive properties of a failed backup-battery. He had been wanting to do something with the Seagate Dockstar and decided it would find a nice home in the Mac. But what fun is a dead machine housing a headless server? To add to the fun he included an ARM processor running a Mac emulator, along with all the bits to make the screen, keyboard, and peripherals work. When the Mac is off the Dockstar still runs as a server.

But one of the best parts is the floppy drive. It still takes floppies, but there’s no magnetic media inside of them anymore. Instead, he’s added an SD card slot and some protoboard in the space for the read head. The drive itself has had the read head transplanted for some pogo pins (hey, we saw those earlier today). When you insert the floppy, the pogo-pins raise up and contact the protoboard, connecting the SD card to a Teensy microcontroller.

There’s so much going on with this project we just can’t cover it all here. Things like a chemical cleaning to return the original color of the classic case, and building a converter so that the peripherals are USB compatible are just some of the pleasures awaiting you in [Sprite_TM’s] post. He’s also filmed a demo video that we’ve embedded after the break.

Continue reading “Mac SE Reborn As A Server And Mac Emulator” →

Normal Connectors For Apple Studio Display

November 3, 2010 by Mike Szczys 25 Comments

[Sherry Wu] sent in a link to her Apple Studio Display hack. She got her hands on the 17″ display which has a proprietary Apple Display Connector that rolls signals for DVI, USB, and 25V power into one plug. Convenient right? Not if you want to use it on a machine that has standard video connections. No problem, she got out her meter and figured out which wires belong to each signal. After some soldering she now has a DVI connector for the video, and a 24V bench supply is standing in for power until a dedicated unit arrives. No luck so far at getting the USB and hotplug detection to work but she plans to keep going until that’s accomplished.

Looks like you can pick these displays up refurbished for as low as $75. Might not be a bad addition to your home setup if you’re willing to do some soldering.

Building The Banana Jr. 6000

October 30, 2010 by Mike Szczys 15 Comments

[John’s] latest build strikes a chord of nostalgia by realizing the Banana Jr. 6000. The whimsical hardware is the product of the Bloom County comic strip. It first appeared in 1984, the same year as the Macintosh. [John] used a Mac Plus as the case but completely revamped the insides. An 8″ touchscreen takes the place of the original cathode ray tube. There’s also a Mac Mini and a couple of speakers salvaged from other Macs. To get things looking just right he altered the case’s logo, painted it yellow, and even altered the Leopard operating system. Now when you boot up you’ll see a Banana and not a partly consumed pomaceous fruit.

[Thanks Captain DaFt]

Ignore UOP On The OSX Dvd Player

October 30, 2010 by Mike Szczys 13 Comments

If you’ve been frustrated by the inability to skip past parts of DVDs on OSX the here is one solution. It’s a patch script that uses some binary hacking to remove the User Operation Prohibition locks from DVD playback software. Using UOP flags is a way to force users to watch trailers or warnings as part of the DVD experience. This script can patch Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard systems. It also has the ability to generate diagnostic information for other installations that will lead to expanded support in the future.

Mac Tablet Keeps The Look Of The Donor-Macbook

October 1, 2010 by Mike Szczys 15 Comments

[Enigma-penguin] built a tablet computer out of a Core2Duo Macbook circa 2007. The battery exploded, damaging the case and a few components inside. But there was hope for a new life as a tablet computer. He removed the screen and tested to make sure the computer would still function without it by using the video out port.

Putting the whole thing back together as a tablet proved to have some headaches. He worked through problems caused by the addition of a touchscreen between the LCD and the bezel and made the connections work with the screen flipped. The finished product looks so good because the bezel has not been turned around like on other tablet builds. Instead, a viewing window was cut in what would have been the case behind the screen.

There’s a little more to be done yet. The black USB cable seen above is the connector for the touchscreen which he plans to internalize. The magnetic sleep sensor has been relocated to the headphone jack. Inserting a plug (no cord necessary) puts it to sleep for transport. There’s also an on screen keyboard and the ability to change the screen orientation from landscape to portrait. After the break we’ve embedded one of [Enigma-penguin’s] demonstrations. Continue reading “Mac Tablet Keeps The Look Of The Donor-Macbook” →