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How To: Turn your Android phone into a pocket Mac Plus
Because who doesn't want to carry a 37 year old Mac with them everywhere they go?
August 24, 2023
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The old Mac Plus is over 37 years old. Despite its age, that old workhorse is an oddly capable little machine. Word processing, painting, gaming… there’s a lot you can do with this Black & White screened powerhouse.

… if only you could bring it with you everywhere you went. While the Mac Plus has a compact, “All-in-One” design (complete with a handle), the 16 pound heft is a bit much to lug around everywhere you go.

Even if you could fit the darn thing in your pocket… you’d need a pretty hefty belt to keep your pants up.

Hellooooo, nurse!

Let’s be honest, if Apple were to release a “Pocket Mac Plus Classic” — a little hand-held that emulated a Mac Plus faithfully — they would sell a boatload of them. Heck, I’d buy it. I might buy two.

Luckily we don’t need to wait for Apple to release such a beast.

We can accurately emulate a Mac Plus, right now, on any Android Phone or tablet.

Step 1) Install Mini vMac on your Android device (this should also work on a Chromebook which has Android Play Store support).

Step 2) Get a Mac Plus ROM file. Rename that file to “vMac.ROM” and put it in the “minivmac” folder on your phones SD card (for me the path is “/storage/emulated/0/minivmac”).

Note: I can’t legally link to a Mac Plus ROM file. Which is super silly, since the Mac Plus was discontinued over 32 years ago. But, just the same, gotta keep things legal. Luckily finding a “mac plus rom”, or extracting one from the Mac Plus you own, is crazy easy with a little search engine magic.

At this point, if you launch “Mini vMac” on your Android phone, you’ll see this:

Hey! I need a bootable system drive!

That little disk icon should have a flashing question mark in it. That’s an old Macintosh way of saying, “Hey! You! Where’s the drive I’m supposed to boot from?!”

Let’s fix that.

Step 3) Apple used to make Macintosh System 7.5.3 available as a free download right from their websites. Over the last few years they seem to have stopped offering the download... but version 7.5.3 is still free to legally download and use. You can grab “System7_5_3.img” from the Internet Archive. Other versions of Macintosh system software will also work (such as version 6.1), but 7.5.3 is one of the latest versions that run on a Mac Plus. So download that and put it wherever you like. Personally, I use “/storage/emulated/0/minivmac” for all of my Mac Plus disk images, but there’s no hard requirement.

Step 4) With Mini vMac running, tap on the top of the screen to make the toolbar appear. Tap the floppy disk icon, and then “Select a disk…”. Navigate to wherever you put your “System7_5_3.img” file and choose it.

Shazam! You’ll now boot right into your desktop! Should only take a few seconds.

Mini vMac running Mac System 6.1.8 on a Unihertz Titan Android phone.

A Mac Plus! In your pocket! The future is now!

A few little pointers on emulating a Mac Plus on your Android phone / tablet:

  • The mouse cursor will click wherever you tap your finger. For most applications or games, this makes them work oddly well on a mobile device. Occasionally smaller items can be a bit clumsy to click.

  • Pressing the “Back” button on your Android device will bring up the virtual Mac keyboard. This is absolutely essential. Macintoshes have two buttons that your Android keyboard (real or virtual) do not have: Command (also known as “Open Apple”) and Option. You will need those to work with most Mac software. I end up leaving the Virtual Mac keyboard up all the time because of that.

  • Mini vMac works great with an external mouse and keyboard. Seriously. If you hook up a Bluetooth (or USB) keyboard and mouse you have a full Mac Plus — with full sized, regular input — on the go.

  • You can create your own disk images right from inside Mini vMac. You can then mount multiple disk images in order to set them up however you like.

  • Make sure to back up your disk images regularly. They can also be used in Mini vMac on your desktop computer. You can, quite literally, have the same “Mac Plus desktop” with you on your phone as on your Linux / Windows / Mac desktop.

  • You can find some software ready to go over at Gryphel.com. Enough to get you started. There is a lot of software out there that runs on a Mac Plus. Oodles. But I’ll leave that for you to search out and enjoy. ;)

  • I find that Mini vMac is not as big of a battery drainer as you’d think. Emulating a full Mac Plus, in my usage, seems to drain the battery a bit less than most games do.

  • Different versions of the Mac System software have advantages and disadvantages. The earlier stuff tends to be lighter and faster. The later stuff has more features. I tend to like the 6.x series when running most Mac Plus software. But 7.5.3 should work fantastically for most things.

  • If black and white isn’t your thing, there is a build of Mini vMac called “Mini V II” on the Android App Store… with Macintosh II support. Which means 256 color goodness. It works nearly identically to Mini vMac… but slower. You’ll need a relatively peppy Android phone to run this one without lag.

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Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
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Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
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"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

Hey Guys and Gals,

After having a bit of a rough year I am happy to announce that the rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, that is to say that I am back :-) I am sure that in my absence absolutely nothing at all has happened ;-p

15 hours ago

Google really wanted me to let you know about this. As my "Recommended" programming, oops I mean viewing for today.

And, it is basically them telling what some of us already realize. It is ALL going to so-called artificial intelligence (AI). It doesn't matter how much anyone cares to doubt or deny it.

Important Change to SEO (New Google Update) - YouTube

@Lunduke #LundukeintheWild sighting around the 10 minute mark.

50% off The Lunduke Journal (including Lifetime Subscriptions) for one more day!

To all of you amazing nerds who have signed up for a new Lunduke Journal subscription today, thank you! You make The Lunduke Journal possible!

If you haven’t snagged yours yet, the “50% off everything, even the Lifetime Subscriptions” deal is available today and tomorrow (through Saturday, May 31st).

  • 50% off Monthly — Now $3 / Month (was $6 / Month)

  • 50% off Yearly — Now $27 / Year (was $54 / Year)

  • 50% off Yearly MP4 Downloads — Now $27 / Year (was $54 / Year)

  • 50% off Lifetime Subscriptions — Now $100 (was $200)

All the details on how to grab each type of subscription is right here. There’s also an audio podcast and video of me rambling about it.

Once again, thank you for all of the support. It truly does make a difference.

-Lunduke

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50% off The Lunduke Journal (including Lifetime Subscriptions) through Saturday!

About 3 weeks back we had a deal where every new subscription to The Lunduke Journal was 50% off. Monthly, Yearly, Lifetime… all of it.

And — holy cow! — was that a success. Broke the record for most new subscribers to The Lunduke Journal in a single day. By a mile. Two days in a row.

Never seen anything like it. The amount of support all of you showed for truly independent Tech Journalism was off the charts.

You know what? Let’s try that again. Now through the end of May (which is Saturday, May 31st — the day after tomorrow):

  • 50% off Monthly — Now $3 / Month (was $6 / Month)

  • 50% off Yearly — Now $27 / Year (was $54 / Year)

  • 50% off Yearly MP4 Downloads — Now $27 / Year (was $54 / Year)

  • 50% off Lifetime Subscriptions — Now $100 (was $200)

Choose whichever option feels right for you. All the details and links are below.

Every one — big or small — directly funds the work of The Lunduke Journal (with zero overhead). Every option includes full access to the community Forum. And, of course, every type of subscription keeps The Lunduke Journal ad-free and Big Tech free.

Remember: 50% off is only through Saturday, May 31st. The next day (Sunday, June 1st) the prices all go back to normal.

50% Off Yearly or Monthly Subscription:

50% off a Yearly or Monthly subscription to The Lunduke Journal are available via both Locals and Substack. (This includes full access to the community Forum.)

That means $3 / Month. Or $27 / Year (which works out to $2.25 / Month).

Via Lunduke.Locals.com:

Via Lunduke.Substack.com:

The Famous Lifetime Subscription:

The "World Famous Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription" is exactly what it sounds like. Pay once and get full access to The Lunduke Journal. For life.

Now, through Saturday, May 31st… you can snag one at a crazy discount. Normally these are $200… but you can grab one for $100. (You can also pay more if you’d like to donate a little extra.)

The Lifetime Subscription can be obtained via Locals, Substack, or using Bitcoin. All three options work great and are super easy. Scroll down and choose your option.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

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  3. Enter "100" (or more) into the amount field.

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How to get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

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  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

You can also obtain a Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.

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  • Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com (or both).

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Make a One Time Donation

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Via BitCoin:

Send any amount of BTC to the following address:

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  • Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with to let us know it was you! You can choose to keep your donation anonymous if you prefer. (Either way, all BTC donations get included in the matching deal.)

Via Locals:

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You Make This Possible

A huge thank you to all of the subscribers who have made The Lunduke Journal possible. Because of you, we have been able to do true Tech Journalism — to tell the stories that no other Tech News outlet has the cajones to touch.

And to all of you new Lunduke Journal subscribers (which, wow, there’s a lot of you): Welcome to the last bastion of truly independent, Big-Tech-Free, ad-free, non-Woke Tech Journalism.

-Lunduke

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50% off Monthly, Yearly Subscriptions! Lifetime Subs for $100! Let's get everyone subscribing to The Lunduke Journal!

The number of free subscribers to The Lunduke Journal has absolutely exploded — across a bunch of platforms — which is truly amazing. The real Tech News is spreading farther than ever.

In fact, the free subscriber growth is so utterly massive, that if even a tiny fraction of you became a paying subscriber… The Lunduke Journal would become comfortably financially set for a very long time. Able to continue reporting on Big Tech — and corrupt Tech Foundations — well into the future.

All without taking a penny from Big Tech.

With that in mind, let’s do something awesome… something that will make Big Tech really grumpy.

Let’s get as many people subscribing to The Lunduke Journal as possible. Right now. This week. Let’s make this Big-Tech-Free, Non-Woke Tech News publication financially set for a good, long time.

To give everyone a kick-in-the-butt to help make that happen, I’m going to discount absolutely every type of subscription in a crazy way — through Friday, May 9th.

  • %50 off Monthly — Now $3 / Month (was $6 / Month)

  • %50 off Yearly — Now $27 / Year (was $54 / Year)

  • %50 off Yearly MP4 Downloads — Now $27 / Year (was $54 / Year)

  • %50 off Lifetime Subscriptions — Now $100 (was $200)

That Lifetime Subscription one is crazy.

Seriously. Make a one-time donation of $100, and be subscribed to The Lunduke Journal… for life. (This includes full access to the community Forum.)

If even 1% of the new free subscribers who have joined in the last month take advantage of this… The Lunduke Journal will be fully funded through the end of this year. And then some.

Let’s make it happen. Scroll down. Pick which ever subscription type works best for you. Then high-five yourself for making Big Tech grumpy.

Just be sure to do it by the end of the day on Friday, May 9th. The prices all go back to normal after that.

50% Off Yearly or Monthly Subscription:

50% off a Yearly or Monthly subscription to The Lunduke Journal are available via both Locals and Substack. (This includes full access to the community Forum.)

That means $3 / Month. Or $27 / Year (which works out to $2.25 / Month).

Via Lunduke.Locals.com:

Via Lunduke.Substack.com:

The Famous Lifetime Subscription:

The "World Famous Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription" is exactly what it sounds like. Pay once and get full access to The Lunduke Journal. For life.

And now, through Friday, May 9th… you can snag one at a crazy discount. Normally these are $200… but you can grab one for $100. (You can also pay more if you’d like to donate a little extra.)

The Lifetime Subscription can be obtained via Locals, Substack, or using Bitcoin. All three options work great and are super easy. Scroll down and choose your option.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select "Give Once".

  3. Enter "100" (or more) into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

How to get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

How to get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

You can also obtain a Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

50% Off DRM-Free, MP4 Downloads:

Want to be able to download every show The Lunduke Journal releases (and watch them on whatever device you like)? Yeah. You can do that. For 50% off.

Note: This DRM-Free download option does not include access to the Forum. This option is strictly for downloading the episodes.

Make a One Time Donation

Subscription not enough (or not your thing)? Want to toss in a one-time donation to The Lunduke Journal? There’s a few great options!

Via BitCoin:

Send any amount of BTC to the following address:

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with to let us know it was you! You can choose to keep your donation anonymous if you prefer. (Either way, all BTC donations get included in the matching deal.)

Via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Click “GIVE ONCE”.

  3. Enter any amount you like.

You Make This Possible

A huge thank you to all of the subscribers who have made The Lunduke Journal possible. Because of you, we have been able to do true Tech Journalism — to tell the stories that no other Tech News outlet has the cajones to touch.

And to all of you new Lunduke Journal subscribers: Welcome to the last bastion of truly independent, Big-Tech-Free, ad-free, non-Woke Tech Journalism.

-Lunduke

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