Alex Anderson-McLeod: Recreating the Apple Lisa with Modern Hardware! The Lisa FPGA Project

In this Classic Computing interview session, host David Greelish sits down with computer engineering PhD student Alex Anderson-McLeod to discuss his latest open-source initiative: The Lisa FPGA Project. If you'd like to support my work, consider buying me a coffee. Your generosity helps cover the costs of research, filming, editing and producing new videos for everyone to enjoy. https://buymeacoffee.com/davidulc The Apple Lisa is one of the rarest, most expensive, and notoriously fragile machines in vintage computer history. Alex’s project aims to change that by replacing complex, aging, and frequently battery-bombed circuit boards with a single, modern FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) board. Discover how this project achieves cycle-accurate performance to run original Apple Lisa software while seamlessly introducing modern upgrades like HDMI video output, USB keyboard/mouse support, and onboard hard disk emulation, all while keeping the design completely open-source. I recreated the Apple Lisa computer inside an FPGA! - The LisaFPGA Project:    • I recreated the Apple Lisa computer inside...   How I Recreated the Apple Lisa Inside an FPGA - The (Open-Source) LisaFPGA Project:    • How I Recreated the Apple Lisa Inside an F...   Apple Lisa PCBs: https://github.com/alexthecat123 DosFox Builds "the First Apple Lisa Since 1986," Using Reverse Engineered Parts: https://www.hackster.io/news/dosfox-b... Adrian's Digital Basement Apple Lisa Resurrection:    • Apple Lisa Resurrection   Retro Tech Restoration: https://retrotechrestoration.com/ MacEffects: https://maceffects.com Joe's Computer Museum: https://jcm-1.com 00:00 - Introduction to Alex Anderson McLeod & The Lisa FPGA Project 00:52 - Life as a Computer Engineering PhD Student 02:40 - Future Career Goals: Xilinx, SpaceX, or Freelance Hardware Design? 04:05 - What is an FPGA? (Field Programmable Gate Arrays Explained) 05:40 - How Software Programs Hardware in an FPGA 07:05 - From Snap Circuits to Maker Magazine: Alex’s Early Tech Journey 09:44 - Falling in Love with the Apple Lisa at age 11 10:40 - Saving Up and Rescuing a "Horribly Battery-Bombed" Lisa 12:30 - Designing Reproduction PCBs for the Apple Lisa IO and Motherboard 14:50 - How to Order Assembled PCBs via GitHub & JLCPCB 16:45 - Why the Apple Lisa Architecture is Visually and Historically Unique 19:30 - Self-Taught vs. Academic Knowledge in Complex Hardware Design 20:45 - Other Weird Vintage Computing Intersects: Zenith Z-120 and S-100 Machines 23:50 - The Asterisk of "Cycle Accuracy" & FPGA Overclocking Nuances 26:40 - Making Apple Lisa Computing More Reliable and Accessible 28:15 - The Historic Value of the Lisa GUI vs. The Xerox Alto 30:40 - Exploring the "Lisa-in-a-Case" Hardware Concept 34:05 - Manufacturing a Bulk Run of 50 Boards with Mac Effects & Joe's Computer Museum 36:00 - Supporting Vintage Hardware: Blending Real Keyboards, Profiles, and HDMI Out 37:18 - Traveling with Lisas: Vintage Computer Festivals (Southwest, Midwest, Southeast) 40:45 - Why The Lisa FPGA Project Remains Fully Open Source 44:00 - Outro & Classic Computing Wrap-Up Tags / Keywords: Apple Lisa, FPGA, Lisa FPGA, Vintage Computer Festival, Classic Computing, Field Programmable Gate Array, SystemVerilog, Retro Computing, Computer Engineering, Apple History, Open Source Hardware