The Raspberry Pi community is no stranger to projects that sound absolutely bonkers. In the past few months, we have covered numerous hardware and software initiatives powered by the Raspberry Pi, including innovative ways to make your screens smarter, an LLM experiencing existential dread while being trapped in inferior hardware, dedicated DIY buttons for Microsoft Teams, and so much more. Now, it seems like we are on the verge of witnessing yet another project that sounds absolutely insane.

Enter the insane "pico-mac-nano"

The Verge has come across a rather fascinating product, a functional Macintosh PC that comes in at just 2.4 inches tall, powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico. This strange device has been dubbed the "pico-mac-nano" by the assembler, 1-Bit Rainbow (1BR), who are selling the "PC" for $56 on their website. It is important to note that this miniature device emulates the Macintosh operating system through a custom-designed PCB housed in a replica Macintosh 128k case sporting a 2-inch 480x640px TFT LCD panel and support for USB keyboard and mouse.

1BR has noted that this project is completely open-source and that all the associated code, 3D printable case files, and PCB gerber files are freely available on GitHub. As such, the $56 asking price for this miniature Macintosh is for procuring all these parts and assembling them as a single unit to be shipped to customers; it is completely possible not to pay 1BR a dime and build the project by yourself too, if that's what tickles your fancy.

If you're interested in the backstory behind this initiative, you can also have a gander at this detailed 1BR blog which chronicles the device from the stage of inception to being ready for shipment. It contains some rather interesting details, such as the fact that the pico-mac-nano is inspired by the work of Matt Evans who we have covered previously, and that 1BR actually started by procuring the "smallest suitably high-resolution display I could locate at a reasonable price" and then working their way backwards from there until they had a fully functional miniature Macintosh model.

Before you get all excited and order the pico-mac-nano for $56, keep in mind that 1BR is offering no warranties for the product, including any software that is capable of running on it. You will essentially be paying for a project that is more of a collector's item, since you can't really use a 2-inch display in any practical manner. That said, it's still a very impressive piece of work, so if you are okay with the caveats, you can order the miniature Macintosh from 1BR's website, keeping in mind that the lead time is 30 days.