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39 amazing Steampunk computer mods
PCs, Macs and peripherals for Victorian punks
Tom Porter, Mon 23 Mar 2009, 10:33 am UTC
11. Dave Veloz's Mac Mini Mod
Jake Von Slatt describes this Mac Mini makeover as "brilliant in its simplicity and execution." The gentlemen who created it, Dave Veloz, did so as a present for his soon to be wife…
10. Dave Veloz's wedding set-up
…it was used to display a slide-show of photos at the couple's wedding reception although we're hoping Garageband wasn't removed to save space! Notice the granite monitor base and leather detail – exquisite.
9. The Brass Brain
This isn't actually a mod, it's a 2500 lbs computer circa 1928 which could "do the work of 100 trained mathematicians in calculating tides." Could you get anymore Steampunk? There's further reading available here.
8. The DialupPC
"A Skype, MSN voice chat-ready (and now Google talk) PC with a retro twist." The phone, box and decoration are all antiques, the insides are state of the art (or they were in 2004, when Skype was only up-and-coming).
7. Diving helmet PC
This featured at number 17 in TheHottestGadget.com's 17 hottest Steampunk computer creations. It's a PC stuffed inside a vintage brass diving helmet – Steampunk by default – and cool as hell.
6. The Jules Verne
Those illuminating green tubes might look a bit OTT, but check out the intricate exposed mechanisims on the front panel. Jon Valjean's Jules Verne won first prize in the xLAN case mod competition – it's easy to see why.
5. The Brewery PC
Nicknamed The Brewery because of the protruding copper pipes and taps on the top. This Russian creation makes great use of LEDs, especially through the round porthole on the side. In fact, it makes great use of everything.
4. Datamancer's laptop
Disguised as a Victorian music box, beneath the gorgeous decoration sits a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop running both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. Well worthy of it's two picture allocation…
3. The Telecalculograph
We've already seen Jake (Of All Trades) Hildebrandt's Bug mouse, now take a look at what he plugs it into. The Telecalculograph is a masterpiece – big respect for the working 'furnace' – watch Jake's video to see how its "eight degrees of brightness" actually work.
2. The Frankenstein
D Mattocks' monster creation is apparently 8ft tall. It's unclear what operating system lies beneath, but the sheer amount of dials, taps, pipes and those glowing radioactive signs at the bottom are enough to make any Steampunk fan weak at the knees.
