Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Software, Hacks, Cult of Mac, PowerBook, PowerMac G5, Mods, Leopard
MacMods of the Year for 2008 announced
I find it interesting that despite all of the slick case designs and gadget melds, the winner ends up being a software hack (well, it's actually more than a software hack, but still, you won't find any neon tubing in this mod, just a beige case): Leopard running on a PowerMac 8500. The mod itself ends up being a fine trip over the history of Apple's current software, its past machines, and all of the gooey chips and hardware inside. Very cool. Kudos to all the modders for their work -- we can't wait to see what 2009 brings to the mod community.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim said 10:34AM on 1-13-2009
You know, the first 360 demos were run by a couple PowerMac G5s working in tandem because of their PowerPC processors. I wonder if it'd be possible to jerry-rig an emulator or API layer (a la Wine) to do that on those machines...
Reply
collide007 said 4:30PM on 1-13-2009
Why on earth would you do that? Why? Macs are beautifully designed, why shove it in a ghastly 360 case? It's sacrilege.
Reply
Big-O said 5:36PM on 1-13-2009
There's all kinds of reasons! It often comes from taking broken hardware and trying to still do something useful with it. For example I have the insides of a mac laptop that has no keyboard, or screen anymore, but still boots. I could spend a couple of hundred bucks and get replacement parts on ebay...OR, I could do something fun with it! I'm thinking of turning it into a home arcade machine.
The itch to mod is one that not everyone has, and I get that, but for people like me that love to take stuff apart, it's tons of fun.
Big-O said 5:38PM on 1-13-2009
Oh, and there's another good reason, the grand prize for this modding contest was worth over $1,000. That kind of cash tends to motivate people.
collide007 said 5:50PM on 1-13-2009
Good points, and modding is cool, if its creative, like the steam punk mac mini for instance. But the mod in the picture is both mundane, pointless and ugly. I tried to check out some other mods, but I struggled to navigate the mac mods website and to discover anything interesting.