The creator of SystemSix, according to Cultofmac, describes it as “a love tribute to my first Macintosh.”
An eInk display, an acrylic stand, a Raspberry Pi 3, and Python code are used to make this homemade item.
SystemSix is more of a work of art than a computer program
John Calhoun, who talks about the construction process on his website Engineers Need Art, created SystemSix. He went into great detail about how he made the apparatus. The source code is even available on GitHub.
Those who desire to make their own should keep in mind, however, that this device is not a Macintosh. “It appears like a computer screen, but it’s quite static – just presenting your calendar events and the weather forecast in a classic desktop-style design,” Calhoun warned.
To be clear, the screen does not have a touch screen. It is, nonetheless, still useful. It’s referred to as a desk calendar by Calhoun. And one that appears to be a 1988 Mac OS System 6.
It can pull forthcoming events from the public calendar and show them as files in a folder thanks to the code he wrote. Configure SystemSix’s settings to include latitude and longitude, and it will display a local weather forecast in “Scrapbook.” It displays the current moon phase at night.
The monitor is mounted on a stand that has the same basic form as the 1984 Macintosh, but is flat rather than boxy. It appears to be the outcome of someone visualizing a computer developed in 2022 in the mid-1980s.
Despite its limited utility, anyone who remembers a Macintosh from the 1980s will undoubtedly be enticed to keep a SystemSix in their office.
There used to be Macintosh/iMac devices that were all the same
Calhoun wasn’t the first to attempt to unite an early Macintosh with today’s iMac in the name of nostalgia.
Designer Ian Zelbo created the Macintosh Retro. This concept incorporates an Apple M2 processor and color display into a flat Mac that looks like the front of an Apple computer from 38 years ago.
The CURVED/labs Lisa is another design, which employs an aluminum pedestal to create a flat-screen Mac with the classic Macintosh front end.
