RetroConnector (aka Charles Mangin) makes tiny Raspberry Pi cases in the form of mininature reproductions of Apple IIs, Lisas and Atari XLs—and more besides. The pitch is simple: "Connect your old Apple computer to new computers and peripherals. Outfit your desk with nostalgic miniatures."
He also updates classic gadgets, such as the M0100, "the best mouse Apple ever made", to work on modern machines.
So much good design is abandoned and forgotten because it was hitched to technological ecosystems that die. It's great to see these classics made new again in user-friendly, ready-to-rock fashion.
Cult of Mac's David Piernini recently interviewed Mangin.
Mangin will peer inside old machines in his collection to see how pieces fit together, study photos and patent drawings, and then spend several hours in iDraw and the 3D-sculpting program Autodesk 123D to scale down the pieces with absolute attention to detail.
He then uploads the files to the 3D printing company Shapeways, which sends back the printed pieces within a week. Mangin then sands, paints and assembles the little Apple. It takes about three weeks, including some 20 hours of time on the computer, before he can ship a completed piece to a customer.
