LEGO's Classic 1979 Computer Brick Reborn As A Working Mac Mini With Touchscreen

If you're reading this right now, there's a very good chance that you were one of many millions of children to grow up with LEGO as one of your favorite toys. The Danish plastic connecting bricks are a timeless classic, and no doubt many of you, like me, spent countless hours pretending that our Lego minifigs were in fact working on very important things at their Slope 45 2x2 with Computer Screen blocks. Well, now you can take on the role of the LEGO person yourself, as long as you're willing to build your own M2x2.


That's what Paul Staal calls his new machine that uses a custom 3D printed chassis to reproduce the style and shape of the classic 3039 angle block. This block was used, with a printed pattern on the face, as a computer device in many playsets published in the late 1970s, including the 928/497 Galaxy Explorer, 918 Space Transport, and 920 Alpha-1 Rocket Base. It's for that reason that Staal decided to recreate the block while taking inspiration from the classic Macintosh to build his Lego-block-shaped mini-PC.


So what's in the M2x2? An M4-powered Mac Mini, complete with 7-inch screen and a few tricky bits. One of the knobs on top is actually an integrated media control knob for both volume and play/pause functions, while the other one serves as a wireless charging bay for an Apple Watch or AirPods, although I have to express my disappointment that you can't actually charge anything with the plastic cap in place, ruining the aesthetic while using the charging bay.


It's the aesthetics that are exactly the point of such a system, of course. It doesn't really have any more or less capabilities than the M4 Mac Mini that powers it, but it sure does look awesome sitting on a desk. Staal created a few dedicated displays that complete the aesthetic, although none of them exactly resemble the classic printed pattern on the 3039p23 block that shipped in those classic Space sets.


If you're keen to have your own M2x2, the build doesn't look particularly complicated. You'll need to source the exact model of 7-inch IPS Touch display and USB Type-C hub that Staal used, and obviously, you'll also have to own a Mac Mini and be willing to dedicate it to the project. Staal cheekily doesn't include that in his bill of materials on his website, but he does have a cute pictorial build guide (with accursed sideways scrolling) on his site detailing the machine if you're keen to have a go at the process.