We offer many cyberdecks here on Hackster and almost all of them contain Raspberry Pi single board computers (SBCs) running Raspbian, which is a Debian-based Linux distribution. This configuration is so common because Raspberry Pi models are affordable (current supply shortage) and compact. But there are many other SBCs in the market and some of them are capable of running operating systems other than Linux. YouTuber iketsj took advantage of this fact and used a LattePanda Alpha SBC to build a unique cyberdeck that runs macOS.
For a large part of Appletheir computers used PowerPC processors with a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) architecture which was not compatible with Intelthe x86 architecture of. Because they were compiled for the RISC architecture, early versions of Mac OS X (from 10.0 “Cheetah” to 10.4 “Tiger”) could only run on Macintosh hardware – not “generic” Intel or AMD. But in 2006, Apple switched to Intel processors. This allowed users to create “Hakintosh” computers with off-the-shelf hardware running Mac OS X (later called “OS X”, then “macOS”). Today, many computers with 64-bit Intel processors can run macOS, including the LattePanda Alpha SBC.
All current LattePanda models are equipped with Intel processors and can run both Windows and Linux operating systems. And while there’s no official support, they can also run macOS. This cyberdeck does it with the LattePanda Alpha connected to a 5 inch LCD screen. It also has an inexpensive mechanical keyboard (virtually a necessity for a cyberdeck) that fits into the 3d printed pregnant. Power comes from a trio of 18650 lithium-ion battery cells via a nifty power board that appears as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in macOS.
There’s no mouse/touchpad or built-in speakers, so it’s a pretty minimalistic cyberdeck. But we are excited to see a cyberdeck project with something other than normal Raspberry pie/Combo Raspbian. To make it really usable, iketsj can connect an external monitor and a USB mouse. The built-in 5-inch display continues to work when the external monitor is attached, providing exciting dual-screen capabilities.