u/juliendorra

I was frustrated with existing adapter solutions for the M0100 mouse, so I created an era-appropriate adapter that is USB-C native and can use any cable you want (short or long depending on your needs).

I created two different versions, the first one is for the more common rounded connector, and the second one is for the rarer chunky connector (I had to hunt down one of these mice with a chunky connector to be sure make it at the right size!). So people can pick the version that looks best with their mouse. (I listed a few adapters over at Lectronz for now if anyone is interested).

I use these adapters in workshops with my dedicated Mac Paint easy timelapse and clean screenshots emulator page (https://juliendorra.com/macintosh/), but of course it works with any emulator, or even with modern apps! 

The first Macintosh mouse, the M0100 model, was the very first industrialized, consumer-ready, large-scale produced mouse. It is an incredible feat of design and engineering: the young design team at Hovey-Kelley managed to get from $500 mouses that needed regular tech maintenance like the ones at Xerox PARC to a $25 mouse that users can clean up in seconds. Most of them still work today! And as they were produced in the hundreds of thousands, you can find one anytime on second-hand marketplaces for a reasonable price.

Using a M0100 mouse on a modern computer is perfect if you want to really understand and feel what it was to use a Macintosh in 1984, but you can't justify the space or cost of a full 1984 Macintosh.

I especially love to hand the M0100 mice to my design students so they can draw in Mac Paint with the real pointing device it was designed for by Bill Atkison and Susan Kare. Using Mac Paint with the M0100 mouse always blows their mind and creates a incredible conversation about design, tools, and the evolution of (or lack of) the mouse-based computer.

This adapter is based on RP2040 Zero and use a custom PCB board to connect it to the DB9 connector (Yes, it is actually a DE9 connector! But everyone calls it DB9) .

I use an 'Universal Grey' color for the housing, as connector color varies a lot from mouse to mouse, due to age, UV exposure and changes in processes, so getting an exact match covering all connectors is quite impossible. I found that a neutral grey was working best in the end!

This is not a smart watch, it’s an art watch 😄 running generative art code directly on-device. And only that: no clock, no notifications, just gen art code (I can cycle through the synced scripts using the buttons, and resync with the online editor using wifi when I want)

Every 83 seconds, the watch wakes up and run the selected art code again, creating a new, unique 200x200 e-ink image on the fly. This is ever-changing art I can keep on my wrist all day. Every time I glance at it, I have a small surprise.

Scripts are written in a custom mini-language called Micropatterns that is interpreted live on the watch (see the last captures). The language centers on the usage of a maximum of 16 patterns, 1-bit, used as stamps and shape fill, and the web editor allows bi-directional editing of the patterns in the code or by drawing them.

It's not a watchface on top of another firmware, it's a whole new firmware: this watch is fully dedicated to running generative art. It has a small art OS inside 😅

The firmware manage the scripts, parse the currently selected script into the command tree, walk the tree to emit a draw order list, and then rasterize the draw orders.

ESP is great there, because I could easily add wifi syncing, but also BLE setup! (the web editor use webBluetooth on Chrome-family browsers to connect to the watch, to set up the watch super easily)

Ok, but why run generative art code directly on a watch?

Last year, I wanted to see what having e-paper generative art always with me would feel. I wanted the art to be really created on device, not images pushed down from a server, so the device would be able to generate art autonomously forever after a sync. E-paper (or eink) also allows the screen to maintain the last image indefinitely even if the battery is empty, making it perfect for displaying art (no blank screen!)

At first I created a m5paper version… because I had one in a drawer! It was great to be able get this little epaper ESP device out of my pocket in random places, like at the top of the Eiffel tower, and see a new generated artwork. That test validated that it was different and that the little art surprises were often quite delightful. the m5Paper display is really beautiful at 960x540 pixels: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/juliendorra_e-paper-is-still-emerging-as-a-platform-ugcPost-7331250379029975041-apdG/

Then a few days ago, I finally made the watch version I wanted from the start, and ported it to the Watchy, an ESP32 epaper watch. The watchy is more constrained, with no PSRAM, and of course a much smaller battery. But that was the occasion to optimize the data structures, and I could run the scripts live on the device (they render faster than the display refresh them! So the paradox is that most the re-run time is spent refreshing the e-paper display, even using partial mode)

And now I can wear generative art for 3 or 4 days straight on one charge.

The display is much smaller and only 200x200, but as they say: the best art is the one you have with you.

This is not a smart watch, it’s an art watch 😄 running generative art code directly on-device. And only that: no clock, no notifications, just gen art code (I can cycle through the synced scripts using the buttons, and resync with the online editor using wifi)

Every 83 seconds, the watch wakes up and run the selected art code again, creating a new, unique 200x200 e-ink image on the fly. This is ever-changing art I can keep on my wrist all day. Every time I glance at it, I have a small surprise.

It's not a watchface on top of InkWatchy or another firmware, it's a whole new firmware: this watch is fully dedicated to running generative art. It has a small art OS inside.

Last year, I wanted to see what having e-paper generative art always with me would feel, and first I created a m5paper version… because I had one in a drawer! It was great to be able draw it from my pocket in random places, like at the top of the Eiffel tower, and see a new generated artwork. That test validated that it was different and that the little art surprises were often quite delightful. the m5Paper display is quite beautiful at 960x540 pixels: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/juliendorra_e-paper-is-still-emerging-as-a-platform-ugcPost-7331250379029975041-apdG/

Then a few days ago, I finally made the watch version I wanted from the start, and ported it to the Watchy. And now I can wear generative art it for 3 or 4 days straight on one charge.

The display is much smaller and only 200x200, but as they say: the best art is the one you have with you.

This is not a smart watch, it’s an art watch 😄 running generative art code directly on-device. And only that: no clock, no notifications, just gen art code (I can cycle through the synced scripts using the buttons, and resync with the online editor using wifi)

Every 77 seconds, the watch wakes up and run the selected art code again, creating a new, unique 200x200 e-ink image on the fly. This is ever-changing art I can keep on my wrist all day. Every time I glance at it, I have a small surprise.

Scripts are written in a custom mini-language called Micropatterns that is interpreted live on the watch. (see the last captures). The language centers around the usage of a maximum of 16 pattern, 1-bit, used as stamps and shape fill, and the web editor allows bi-directional editing of the patterns in the code or by drawing them.

It's not a watchface on top of another firmware, it's a whole new firmware: this watch is fully dedicated to running generative art. It has a small art OS inside 😅

Last year, I wanted to see what having e-paper generative art always with me would feel, and first I created a m5paper version… because I had one in a drawer! It was great to be able draw it from my pocket in random places, like at the top of the Eiffel tower, and see a new generated artwork. That test validated that it was different and that the little art surprises were often quite delightful. the m5Paper display is quite beautiful at 960x540 pixels: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/juliendorra_e-paper-is-still-emerging-as-a-platform-ugcPost-7331250379029975041-apdG/

Then a few days ago, I finally made the watch version I wanted from the start, and ported it to the Watchy, an ESP32 epaper watch. And now I can wear generative art for 3 or 4 days straight on one charge.

The display is much smaller and only 200x200, but as they say: the best art is the one you have with you.