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Damaged parts: DVD drive, power connector, battery and part of the casing

I got the dvd drive out (above), but there was some resistance... oh dear, all those hidden pesky screws.

I took the screen off and tested the connections to make sure it was okay

Look it's an Amiga Keyboard Mac!

The device still works fine without the screen and external video output seems to keep working fine.

The screen is now all marked out on the top cover for cutting:

Next Steps:
- Find a 13.3 inch 16:10 resistive touchscreen [Done]
- Get a dremmel and cut the screen dimensions out on the other side of the top case
- Screen rotation
- Shielding for the parts at the bottom of the screen (foil?)
- A new battery: Rechargeable Battery - 13-inch MacBook (White)

Find a way to re route the cables for:
- Backlight
- iSight
- Airport antennae
- Video out

Update: 17th April, 10pm

The screen has been purchased!

Includes:
4 wire Resistive Touch Screen (Film on Glass.. epic)
Connecting Parts / PBC RJ to usb controller
Operation Supports : Windows 98 / ME / XP / 2000 /Vista windows 7, Linux, Mac OS operation.
Compatible with 13.3"(16:9)-inch Touch Screen Models.
Dimensions / Size: 299 x 195 x 2 (mm)

The dimensions are JUST what I need:

Update 19th of April: On the software front

Drivers:

Just got the driver information from the supplier:

Firstly it is definitely OSX compatible, and secondly it has 4 point AND 24 point calibration. By the looks of the driver and software information it's an eGalax Touch Screen (they are an OEM provider so that's a plus), I also found the company website with the other drivers if I need them.

http://home.eeti.com.tw/web20/eg/drivers.htm

I haven't installed it onto the tablet mac hardware yet though, as currently it's connectivity is kinda limited. Basically I can't find an ethernet cable and the airport antennae isn't connected due to the screen being pulled off at present.

Screen Rotation:

Given it will be a tablet I will need to rotate the screen so I had to find some software. (Thanks to Steve for making me look/think of it)

The program is meant to have some shortcuts (Example: command option 0 for landscape), but I can't get them working so that is something to investigate later. For now I can use the drop down box using my finger to select the option I want.

Software Source: http://www.magesw.com/displayrotation/

On Screen Keyboard

Apparently you cant just whip up an apple script to bring up the keyboard anymore, nor can you just drop the application into the dock. Great. This is where a tip from Alex comes in.

In 10.6 they took away that ability, so I need an app and a script for that.

Download and install keyboardViewer:
sudo install keyboardViewer /usr/local/bin

Script:

tell application "System Events"
if exists (process "Keyboard Viewer") then
click process "Keyboard Viewer"'s window 1's buttons whose subrole is "AXCloseButton"
else
do shell script "/usr/local/bin/keyboardViewer"
end if
end tell

One that is all done I can click an apple script in the dock to launch the keyboard rather than fiddle with the little drop down menu.

Software Source: http://github.com/nriley/keyboardViewer

Up Next... Construction!

Marking out the screen roughly

Screen frame inverted and the cable routing checked:

A few notable issues here:

- The iSight simply will not fit with it's current frame
- The display cable is at risk of being damaged in this configuration
- The silver tape on the airport cables once removed exposed the shielding (what the hell?)
- The inverter board is going to be a serious problem (see below)

I don't see how to re route it without changing or modifying the cable in some way at this point, I'll have to see how it works out. I may do it like this:

And simply make the cable just that bit longer to stretch back to the original position. Once the touch panel arrives I'll be happier to actually cut out the front , but until then I have to wait. At this point it could be friday next week before I see it.

Whilst I wait for the screen it was time to investigate the power button;

The big problem was I did not want to dismantle the keyboard to kind out, just in case. The documentation is also kinda sparse unless you're a developer apparently, that sucks a little. After a quick search I found that the keyboard appeared to be USB based (see below), that's a plus because USB is only 4 pins

But I had to confirm, so I found a project that used one of the keyboards as a USB keyboard and this is what I found:

This confirmed it for me, we had 6 data pins, 1 ground and one isolated cable in the ribbon. This splits out to 10 pins at the ribbon connector:

Excuse the quality, but what you will see is the usb pins (marked in red) and the two unknown pins moving into the PBC in another direction (in green). From what I've been able to ascertain I need to short these two pins using a low-value resistor (100-470 Ohm), but you have to be very careful (oh joy) and you may short something else out if you aren't.

Update: 5th of May - Up Next: The Screen!

The screen arrived and it's damaged, so Im not impressed

Firstly I looked like a crack dealer at the post office:

Secondly because it looked like the fit was bloody perfect, why am I ****ed the fit is perfect?

There is a problem...

With the damage it has it's not fit for use, you can see the marks so clearly with a backlight on

It's not good at all

Note: The screen is awesome, its a glass on film overlay and the opacity is fine. I want to use this as the screen for it, but I can't because the screen is damaged. It's a real shame, but now I have to see what the manufacturer will do about replacing the item, it's in a disgusting state for something that's meant to be new.

I decided to install the thing anyway, just to see how it went...

Just after I installed it:

This was after installing the software for the first time:

For now ignore the rounded corners and that the screen doesn't line up on top, I'll be sorting that out. The backlight works, the airport works and Ill try something with the iSight soon.

Note to any attempting this: At all times wear a mask when cutting the case
I know it might seem stupid to say it, but trust me you want one on.

6th of May: An update on the touchscreen:
The manufacturer said that the peeling material wasn't the screen and it was a double protective overlay. So I tore that off this morning and it's damn immaculate. The screen clarity is obviously better, but there is now risk of the screen scratching against the case.

The plan at the moment is to get some thin adhesive felt and place that on the inside of the case at the margins on the touchable area, this should make sure that the screen isn't damaged if there is any movement. The other thing is I'm going to have to invert the screen frame again due to the felt adding a few more mm of thickness to the touch layer, so my space under the screen just got a little smaller.

6th of May (11pm): An update on the touchscreen (again):
Sorted out the touch response issues (those listed above) and everything is working as it should now, I will have to sort out the internalisation of the usb connection and then it'll be fine to close her up permanently. There is still some case cleanup to go as well (the edges are horrible at the moment).

So I had a little fun:

7th of May (11pm): (mostly) final product:
After spending about an hour sorting out cables and board positions I was able to "close up" the macbook tablet for the first time today.

It is now portable and usable, I couldn't be happier. The mod makes it only a little heavier than it was previously and that should be fine for what I will be using it for. The issue at the moment is still screen rotation, once I have that sorted out everything will be awesome.

See below:

9th of May: Slow progress from now on

Some of the finishing touches are going to have to be put on hold from here on out as university commitments come up (the reason for rapid progress over this week) but as it stands right now;

- The touch functionality is working perfectly
- Only minor recalibration is normally needed (4 point) after being thrown about
- The wireless is properly restored (There were issues with connectivity and only one wire being connected)
- The issues with the inverter board heating has been solved (you can see the hinge cover is partially back below)
- Screen rotation works on horizontal flips (vertical spazzes out)
- It has a new battery and it now fully portable (apple store guy was like "wtf, nice..")

I'm going to use it over the next week and see how everything goes, so far everything has been pretty cool and I'm a lot better at typing on it now after spending time in the IRC using it. I will have to make a clip to hold the cover closed before the weekend is over though, as walking around with it sticky taped shut isn't pretty :p . I will post up the polished version of the case when I get around to it, but for now it'll do the job I want it to.

The Maclet beside it's big brother the MBP during my typing tests on the IRC:

And a quick 360:

14th of May: Slow progress

I finally took off the rear protector on the screen and fitted the little buffers to stop the screen scratching, the screen now has a stupid chemical sheen on the back side. I'm slightly annoyed by this, but I'll leave it as it is for the moment. I will have to get it off using rubbing alcohol or something, but Im checking with the supplier first to make sure I cant bork anything.

I will also add a protective layer of my own over the top, I've tested it out and funny enough a projector slide sits in perfectly :p It's a cheap option but it'll do for now.

I've found a way to lock down the top cover properly using a heat gun (plastic welder) and a clip, so that will be done next. I'm going to do it so that the battery must be removed to open the top cover, for safety reasons.

EDIT: instead of posting again, I'll tack this on here.

Also: Someone found a way to enable ink without a recognised tablet on mac in 2005

Here is how to enable INK on ANY Mac with OS X (tested with 10.4.2) and make use of it using a touch screen display (I use a carTFT 7''):
- Go to /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/

- Double Click Ink.menu. The INK Icon will appear in the tray (upper right area)
- Chose "Open Ink Setting" (or similar, my OS X is German) from the INK icon's menu
- Enable Ink by clicking the according check box. Voilá!

And that still works (10.6.3) so I've been messing with that for a few days works well enough but it can get confused sometimes. It's seriously hard to hold something to video with and actually control a touchscreen; sheesh.

27th of May: On/Off Sleep Switch
I've been increasingly worried about the touchscreen causing the Maclet to turn on during transport and I didn't want to have to make some kind of crummy looking cover. So I found an alternative; I now have the sleep magnet jammed into an old stereo headphone jack. When I plug in the headphone jack (the nub) I gain a "sleep switch", turning the jack upwards and the Maclet sleeps turn the jack downwards and the Maclet turns on.

I have to refine the magnet position so it isn't so particular, but it solves my on and off button issue with less trouble than I was going to have; I call that a win

Also let me say thanks for all the kind words and interest in the project guys, it's been fun to do so far

For tips and comments please visit: http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/896998-project-macbook-tablet/

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