INSANELY cool DIY vintage iMac restomod!

[@lukemiani]

It appears that as with my last video, the traffic has crashed Juicycrumb’s website 🤣 they’re working on it and will hopefully be back up soon!

[@krishnachoudaha8497]

can you make a video in which you upgrade the 12inch MacBook with apple silicon please...

[@sir_whocampsalot2876]

@@krishnachoudaha8497 sorry but thats not how that works haha

[@kooldudeno-lastname]

lmao

[@kingneutron1]

Dudes need to move that website to the cloud and get the accordion expandability going ;-)

[@ben_headley99]

@@krishnachoudaha8497this would be such a good video

[@tiernankeane5643]

Now turn a modern iMac into a vintage marvel 😈

[@DesiredKingOfEnder]

Get this guy to the top!!!

[@lukemiani]

Oh snappppp 👀

[@calorion]

Easy: Run SheepShaver.

[@Epicgamer_Mac]

@@calorionwhat is SheepShaver?

[@calorion]

@@Epicgamer_Mac A PowerPC emulator.

[@dionelr]

I love reusing old tech. That's a slick board too. No soldering, no adjustments needed... it's great!

[@Ryptahi]

Those ports are just screaming for 3D printed brackets to hold them nicely

[@pasi_99]

yeah 100%

[@mrfoxesite6982]

hugh jeffreys jammed the mac mini m1 internals inside this thing. it was also i think found on the road.

[@mrfoxesite6982]

yeah would look PERFECT.

[@squalley]

exactly 👍🏾

[@mrfoxesite6982]

@@squalley bro is black with that emoji. jokes aside. youre right.

[@mememe37]

I was hoping for a mac mini board inside of it, but it's amazing nonetheless!

[@rinnin]

I think the Mac mini boards actually fit pretty well into these iMac G4s. Pretty sure I’ve seen someone fit one in a Frankenstein Mac. Maybe it was Luke?

[@the_jcbone]

@@rinnin kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4jGgIeEbNSle8k It was Sean. Who else? 🙂

[@arthuralford]

@@rinnin Quite a few people have done this

[@theEDMdragon]

@@the_jcboneHugh Jeffreys did one too

[@Jorda5s]

Yea he probably didn’t want to do that again since he did it with his iMac kinda pointless cause then you can’t carry the Mac mini with you.

[@Epicgamer_Mac]

YESSSS finally a Luke Miani video! It seems like forever since your last one. Side note, I really love Juicycrumb. For real. I think we can all appreciate companies like them, who not only create awesome and fun projects but also help us get more use out of our older electronics. I only hope that they can get their prices down eventually, so that this kind of thing will become mainstream.

[@Cartagena1]

I’ve had my DockLite sitting in a box on my table next to my 20” iMac G4 for about 3 weeks now (ordered it back in January after seeing Action Retro’s video) and I can’t WAIT to have some time to set aside and do this conversion. This is everything I’ve wanted for almost a decade!

[@kenzito6753]

@@Cartagena1 I did my 20” already. Super smooth and easy. took about 30 minutes, taking my time. Best to you when you do it!

[@dorothysewing9997]

My old college had a Mac lab with the old iMac that dual booted in Windows. I went there many times to print out papers for class.

[@farsthary1984]

Next step: Put the mac mini logic board inside the dome too.

[@frankniethardt1813]

Actually, Hugh Jeffreys did this not too long ago...

[@ilyachap]

Was already done.

[@ranjitmandal1612]

👏

[@AngeloTelesforo]

Action Retro also did that.

[@MakeSomething]

I just did this last week and I freaking love it! It looks and works so good!!

[@ranjitmandal1612]

👍

[@highvoltage12v]

That was my college engineering dream project. Creating an adapter board foe thr G4 iMac that can adapt to the LVDs signal and maintain the ports in the back. Also installing a Nuc inside but that was with 2014 tech. So happy someone else got to it.

[@AsherPrime07]

Just found one of these in my parents storage shed and it still works! Keep up the good work man!

[@theretropal]

Tearing the guts out of a working iMac G4 and turning it into a monitor, which will barely be used. Would be better to get a non-functional unit and put a modern Mac Mini internals and that would be a modern marvel.

[@SaulidSnake]

A certain Australian Tech KZbinr has done that :)

[@AmirRazan]

​@@SaulidSnake HUGH JEFFREYS!

[@onigvd77]

Action Retro did the M series convention with the 20 inch version a few months ago, a very cool project, Juicy Crumb rules

[@SaulidSnake]

@@AmirRazan indeed, although a very fiddly project.

[@AmirRazan]

@@SaulidSnakeVery fiddly indeed.

[@pearelectronics3083]

Hugh Jeffries put an m1 Mac mini in one of these a while ago and it looks completely original minus the ports, you should check out his video after finishing this one

[@SlaughteredDecay]

I thought i had deja vu, but now I remember!

[@cypherian2]

Wow! That is really cool! I have a 2011 iMac that still runs and is still in occasional use. We are going to replace someday soon. When we do I think I will convert it into a monitor to save it from becoming E-Waste!

[@patricktrakzel9657]

Well done Juicy Crumb team! You know they have one for an Imac from 2011 () as well. Huge shotout for Adrian, Timothy an Jon. And Luke, for featuring their amazing product, and the vision! Less e-waste.

[@grandtheftauto1233]

Love this computer so happy someone has developed this amazing plug and play upgrade

[@akshitdas2012]

This is simply lovely and fantastically amazing! I'm glad to see companies interested in making products to restore old gems... :)

[@artanis4ever]

Can't believe I'm just seeing this! I have vintage iMac exactly like the one Luke just converted, excellent shape and works 100% but like he said, it's too old to do anything productive. It will connect to the internet but everything loads ridiculously slow if at all. I turn it on occasionally and just play music because as he said, those speakers ROCK! I've always thought it was the most gorgeous computer ever made and wished I could get it updated enough to use... now I can and I'm stoked!

[@MrDangeroz]

what a great idea, eagerly await a 15" iMac G4 version.

[@wingkei1314]

Just did this exact same setup on my 20". It's made the computer relevant again in my home. It's such a pleasure to sit infront of and use even after a whole day being infront of a regular PC at work.

[@jonyoungmusic]

Miss my 17" G4 iMac. Had one around 2008/2009. I used it mainly for photoshop cs3 work but it honestly didn't get much use but looked beautiful!

[@jojomon5]

The Mac mini set up looks great. I sold my still working 2003 lampshade iMac a while ago. Looks like a great time to find another one.

[@Sproutt]

The CRT is the Goat imo of Apple comupters

[@crestofhonor2349]

I have an old Apple CRT. Fantastic looking with it's Sony Trinitron inside

[@Sproutt]

@@crestofhonor2349 that is Litterally my Dream Computer… (still is) whay back in the day.

[@13StJimmy]

Just saying if Apple made a Mac Studio with a screen just like this (with smaller/modern bezels) I’d buy it day 1

[@Girayipin]

I don't think the image quality of this model will be satisfactory for us anymore. but the fun continues for vintage lovers.

[@11ThreeDoctor]

Mine is still in use! along with my Ipad Air, 2 Mac Minnis, iphone 13 maxpro, all connected to my 104TB NAS... Keep up!

[@emilsecker7881]

Hopefully you have a more modern iPad for daily stuff

[@noville452]

Incredible , I had never even heard of the computer before . Very neat system , and i love what you turned it into .

[@ColinsCity]

OMG that's Don Gilet in the iMac commercial hahha he has been in a lot of british tv shows that i've watched. It's great that you can do this with such old tech, it's another way of keeping old macs alive but with modern hardware versus going down the opencore legacy patcher route.

[@Kraaketaer]

I absolutely love projects like these, it's so cool to see people doing this kind of work to not only keep this old hardware alive, but keep it *usable*. There's obviously still plenty of room for improvement - from ambitious things like making this a one-cable docking solution rather than needing three cables, to the simpler ones like including plastic inserts to fill out the port cutouts in the case - but what they've done so far is still incredibly impressive. (And, of course, the people using this to stick Mac Minis into the case are doing even cooler things!) Now, there's also an elephant in the room here: PSUs and CCFL backlights die with age, and most likely most of these will die in a relatively short amount of time - they're 20+ years old already, after all. Luckily both are also things that can be replaced and modernized, but not without serious engineering effort - replacing the CCFLs with LEDs would be great, but if you want it to look good (and have reasonably accurate colours) you can't just stick an off-the-shelf LED strip in there (not to mention the different power and voltage needs of LEDs vs. CCFLs), and replacing a bespoke, proprietary multi-voltage PSU like that with something more modern is absolutely doable, but again not trivial (though given that capacitors are the most likely point of failure, PSUs can often be repaired - but that's also pretty dangerous work). Still, we're seeing an ever growing cottage industry of projects like this, making replacement power supplies, spare parts and accessories for old gaming consoles and 80s computers, display adapters and upscalers, and all kinds of tools and equipment to keep old tech usable in various ways. Absolutely love seeing this.

[@mariodasilva8729]

I just LOVE how you perform magic with these oldies and change them with some great hardware to a new life! Keep it going, Luke! You are using the FORCE within you!!! Im still waiting to see what Juicy Crumb comes up with for my iMac 27" from 2015... The last time you only showed us its poissible, but no link to buy it!

[@Robert.Novack]

This is why I love this channel. If I only had skills! Sadly drooling lol. But big thanks to everyone involved in this project. I appreciate you all.

[@davidlavelle70]

A wonderful machine, my favourite Apple computer by far. I wish they'd done an Intel version as it was so user friendly.

[@carzeta9846]

It’s (in my opinion) the most beautiful product Apple has ever made, and I hope I could get one someday day. Great video, as always, Luke! A big hug from Argentina!

[@quaqstar]

You should match the iMac with its matching table, the Rain Design iGo, which was. a desk designed for the lampshade iMacs

[@quaqstar]

They still sell their deadstock from the era.

[@airborneinferno]

I’ve been thinking about of these for my 20” G4. Really slick installation process but still a bit of an investment

[@mattalki]

The only thing that would make this more perfect is if the optical drive was functional as well. That would be super slick! Very cool mod!

[@otter-pro]

Wow, this is the easiest DIY mod for imac G4. I think there will be a surge of demand for iMac G4 on Ebay.

[@nicolaselhani]

This is absolutely amazing!

[@kenzito6753]

Another great video Luke! Keep em coming good sir! I have the board in my 20" iMac and loving it. SO glad to see the 17" is released now. I may be getting one for my 17 as well... when funds reach egregious levels again! :-)

[@SalemTechsperts]

Crazy how well that display has held up after all these years

[@nickcorr7244]

Fantastic, another Aussie gem 🇦🇺

[@daspec]

It would be great if they also used a mac mini motherboard internally for a complete standalone system

[@techfantc8289]

Wow, great project! I have a working 20" G4 iMac with mouse, speakers and kb in excellent condition. Thought the kb was from a later model. I didn't realise they were worth that much. I'm glad I kept it :)

[@robertz2826]

Now all we need for the next step is that board with a placeholder for a mac mini/macbook mainboard, so that you can just screw it on and connect it. Turning that G4 into a real modern mac with vintage design ...

[@LJGrindewald]

Love this. I love this kind of reusability, which Apple lacks in. There's also the modification of putting a Mac mini M1 circuit board in this iMac, giving it new life.

[@Himegw]

Great setup ! I have been using my pro speakers with my G4s QS and MDD, then i bought an iFire belkin adapter and have been using them with Mac Pros and now with an M2 Pro mini. I just use an ipod FW power adapter to power it. :)

[@moeskido]

What a great re-use for these beautiful machines. Hoping JC can complete the work needed to sell versions that allow a modern Mac mini logic board to go inside this and the 2011 iMac as well. Also, I would have thought that a melamine sponge would scratch the plastic, especially transparent acrylic.

[@djcmike]

Is there a way there to connect the CD/DVD drive or even better, put in a new SATA BD drive?

[@ivo1813]

7:42 - what's the name of that electric screwdriver you using?

[@stephenvalente3296]

Saw this one a few months ago. Not cheap, but it's a good way to retain the old G4 iMac hardware. I have a 20" model alongside the 17" & 15" ones too. I was told when buying it for about £20 a few years back the only way a video signal worked was via the external port, so maybe the LCD is broken, or the wires, or both.

[@paynemax3825]

What about the built in superdrive?

[@Himegw]

@@paynemax3825 maybe get a sata to usb adapter and route the cable through the hole of the old ports. Power can be taken from inside with molex to sata power. Of course you have to get a sata dvd or bluray drive. But it will work

[@roterodamus]

KZbinr Rocky Hill did something similar with the iMac G3 and the eMac a while ago. I don't know the resolution on those old CRT screens but, retro gaming would be awesome in one of those. I'm so nostalgic for the eMac especially, the design still holds up.

[@crestofhonor2349]

Those CRTs don't have resolutions but they do have a certain amount of detail they can show which is based on the dot pitch. They actually work fantastic for modern stuff too as motion clarity is still unmatched

[@BigDavoNorriwong]

The CRT screens were amazing. I sold my G3 last year but was so surprised with how nice it looked, considering how bad regular monitors and Windows XP did, back then

[@finder7063]

I have a dead iMac G4 20'', this seems like a good option

[@os2171]

I wrote my old BSc and MSc thesis in one of those… in my old lab… beautiful

[@marcosanchz]

Great video! @HughJeffreys restoration video of a G4 is pretty cool too! With a mac mini inside

[@Chimpur]

This might pair up nicely with my 2013 Mac Pro....

[@luke9511]

this is kind of like an idea i had, there would be a pcb like the one they sent you with all of the ports but there would also be another pcb with ports that plug into all of the external ports on a mac mini motherboard with connections that connect to the bottom pcb so the external ports can be used, but also with connections to use the stock monitor and the same power port

[@ClubEnergizeTV]

Oh my gosh, Mr Miani, you have completely outdone yourself that is absolutely gorgeous, I thought I was dreaming 😮 you’ve just made me a customer of those guys. Tai chi Love

[@nicomonkeyboy]

I have one and want a solution like this. Edit - it only say 17" or 20" - can you do the 15"?

[@NavarreBartz]

15" and 17" are identical on the inside from everything I've been able to find on them over the years.

[@nicomonkeyboy]

@@NavarreBartz Thank you!

[@NavarreBartz]

@@nicomonkeyboywelcome! Sorry I didn't have better news. (See my subsequent comment.)

[@georgegonzalez-rivas3787]

Confused -- do you need the Juicy Crumb AND and additional Mac Mini to get full functionality? (ie: the juicy crumb is mostly a 'ports, I/O adapter'?

[@volvo09]

Yes, this is simply a display / IO hub now. You still need an external Mac.

[@shabblabbat]

yes, its just a pass through so you can use the monitor and plug the old junk into it along with your external Mac.

[@georgegonzalez-rivas3787]

@@volvo09 thanks, but sad

[@georgegonzalez-rivas3787]

@@volvo09 Thanks, but sad

[@georgegonzalez-rivas3787]

BTW, presumably I can also access/use the DVD player? That would be very useful as I have an old library of DVDs

[@Vitwoes]

Amazing 👏🏻👏🏻 who don’t want one of that?!

[@mergirlll]

Okay this is f awesome!

[@RowdyGeronimo]

This is why I’m subscribed.

[@ConceptCentral]

Perfect timing I was just looking for a circular and extremely purple way to upgrade my iMac G4

[@NineteenEightyFive]

One of your best videos! Easily a top 3 Mac design ever

[@bighill8272]

Innovation's through the roof. Compare the last 10+ years or so with Cook and its like they just clamped the brakes on.

[@caingamalo4584]

action retro did a similar thing. hugh jeffrey's work is so far the best.

[@ericrhill]

I backed the DockPro M1 on Kickstarter way back when and am still waiting to receive it. I'm a big fan of what JuicyCrumb is doing to reduce e-waste by upcycling old equipment and I hope they're able to keep growing. I'm just waiting for the day I can pull my old 2011 iMac out of the closet and put it back to work.

[@digitalrampage]

We are getting there! Sorry about the delay

[@ericrhill]

@@digitalrampage No worries I'm patient!

[@bblin0033]

Hope that you do a separate video for the Pro Speakers! They just look so good and cool even with today’s standards,

[@tttrelva]

I’ve been searching for a 20” iMac to get this upgrade

[@christianadamo]

11:59 not me eating them too while watching haha

[@BollingHolt]

That's super cool. I've been looking to find an iMac G4 system for a while just to have, but they're apparently scarce in my neck of the woods (Montgomery, AL). I'm currently running 1440 displays on my M2 Mac mini, so I'd run it on a setup like this all day long!

[@samdavidh]

I think this is brilliant. Only issue is you lose the old internals, I hope many people save theirs such that they can be put back in future. For preservation purposes, it would be good to be able to use them in the future.

[@terryclair2914]

Awesome work from those guys!

[@MusicianKnowsBest]

God, I love these freaking iMacs. By far the best looking Mac ever made.

[@gerry-p9x]

I had 3 of em on bulk trash nite 10yrs. Ago. Sold for 30. Bucks a piece at swap meet

[@Ovijz]

I still got my Macintosh 128K, it’s still amazing

[@PolluxChung]

I always like this desk lamp iMac. Even today it still looks very modern. The retrofit with Apple Silicon is great. The weakest link unfortunately is the screen.

[@Evie0133]

the GREATEST iMac of all time 👀

[@Lord_Mangoat]

The iMac G4 was the 1st computer I bought for myself with my own money. Absolutely loved the design, but hated those vent holes. It sucked in so much dust. If I were to only want 1 monitor, that design was perfect. 2 or more displays though, I just rather something else.

[@jayrwalker]

That's a throwback, IDE cables. Do you remember when than was the only connector even for the CD rom. Then come sata, and now I need my hard drive to be the dimensions of chewing gum #M.2 /NVME.

[@baldybald100]

So freaking beautiful!!! I wish there was a way to house modern displays in a vintage housing for the retro look. But I doubt that’s what the majority of the market wants :]

[@twkarches]

I pulled a working G4 iMac out of the trash a few years ago. Vey tempted.

[@mikelxc]

Mac mini logic board should fit inside without a problem. There're definitely enough room, hope they can come up with an upgrade that will take in the new logic board and make this a real iMac

[@King_Cooler64]

Been waiting for this video

[@tobiaslofi]

I’m positive surprised that the screen still looks good today! That is incredible given its age! (My 2006 MacBook screen is much dimmer and duller today)

[@Nebbed]

My question to you Luke is how did you get your keyboard so white? Those USB keyboards for the G4 iMacs were well known for yellowing badly. Did you retrobright them yourself?

[@Pendleton115]

They turn yellow from exposure to UV light, it’s likely it was used in a home that didn’t utilize CFL Tube lighting and wasn’t stored in direct sunlight.

[@tom_123]

This is such a fun and satisfying project!

[@Concreteowl]

I wish they would just make a converter for the speakers. The Griffin iFire cable goes for ridiculous money and only works with firewire. There are so many of these speakers out in the wild. There is definitely a demand for such a converter.

[@Pendleton115]

We do! It’s currently available for back order on our website. It’s called the JC Hi-Fi :)

[@patrickbrayne647]

I have performed a similar thing with an old retina iMac, you can get adapter boards for those too! Anyway, awesome video as always!

[@LKBRICKS1993]

Great video so much fun to watch really enjoyed it reusing od tech is great for the environment.

[@williameverets2736]

Job well done Above and Beyond, Thank You

[@mikedeclemente]

i have been looking for something like this for a a while! just ordered!

[@cheapixx]

Finaly something i started following you for.

[@charminbaer2323]

I hope they can do something similar for the 27" Thunderbolt Display and give it some updated ports like USB-C and a true one cable connection for modern Macs.

[@deavo74]

Congrats on the half million subs 🫡

[@zaneduncan4902]

This was my second ever computer, i used to play with the screen a lot because of how satisfying and smooth it moved

[@PetsoKamagaya]

Friggin awesome! Can you add a 2nd monitor to it? What about the optical drive - is it supported? Can it be upgraded to bluray?

[@BilisNegra]

This is a very nice project. I would not gut a perfectly working iMac G4, though. There'll will be less and less of those as time goes by, and we'll regret not preserving them. [edit:] Love to learn DosDude has been involved in this project. He's genuinely amazing.

[@budgetkeyboardist]

It's a super cool project! I always thought the iLamp was the coolest Mac design ever. Still do. Not sure I'd want to give up my 4k screen, but it's still damn cool.