Outrun

Introducing…

My Vapormac 99′

Earlier this year, I purchased an iMac G3 1st gen in Blueberry from a Mercari seller who either supplied deceptive photos or packed it poorly, and the polycarbonate shell was dislodged on the left side when I received it. I managed to pop it back into place with some difficulty, but it was all for not, as it turned on twice and then never turned on again.

I ended up going with Plan B (Plan A was to use it for a fic writing computer, like when I used to write on a crappy 80s Compaq Portable in Middle School during the early 2000s), completely gutting the hardware inside, hot-gluing the shell together. I wanted to use it as a real-life ode to some of the imagery of vaporwave and synthwave aesthetics, including a miniature bust of the David, a big palm tree, a neon-inspired LED Sunset, some MiniDiscs, and a strip of LEDs along translucent white screen frame. I also have a speaker in front of the disc tray area inside, and my old Zune wired into it with lots of mostly synthwave, vaporwave and lofi tracks, so it can play music.

I can’t say it’s exactly what I planned out, and I may add more to it in the future, but as someone who never had the entertainment and technology that I longed for as a child of the lower class (don’t be fooled, I still am), it’s nice to have this aesthetic piece in my room to enjoy.