Macindash
Animation by Reijo Palmiste (@reijowrites).
I designed and 3D-printed a little monitor for Basedash dashboards. The idea was to send them to people whose software we admired. I had pretty high hopes for it, and it didn’t get the response I’d hoped for. But I’d probably still do it again.
Work and media
About
And then there's Macindash.
The project I had SUCH high hopes for. And that I've shared very little about... because, well... because it didn't really amount to much.
https://www.basedash.com/macindash
This was where it started. A simple tweet from Guillermo Rauch about how he has charts on his desk with a Temu monitor.
https://x.com/rauchg/status/1844792098718978442
And since we were working on dashboards, I had this idea.
I said, what if we made that, but specifically for Basedash? What if we made a monitor that was old school, retro, and there was a mode for our application that worked on that viewport?
So I modeled it.
And made some 3D renderings of it sitting at my desk.
The different versions
I shared a walkthrough of the different Macindash versions in August. There’s a whole lineup of models in it, from boxier cases to the rounded front, with the screen frame, back and other pieces pulled apart so you can see how they fit together.
I also shared this short preview in June, with the dashboard appearing across the front of the monitor.
Back in November 2024, I’d posted a close-up of one of the prints.
Screens, prints, and custom floppy disks
And bought a screen on Amazon and started doing some testing. And some printing.
And some more printing.
And some more printing.
All with the goal of sending them to people who we thought were making credible software. People who went and inspired us, either through their quality of work or their aesthetic choices, or who were pushing back and making things that were uncommonly good.
Or people who we felt would use the form factor for their own apps, hopefully, maybe creating some kind of a display for it or just as a novelty factor.
Or just as a paperweight.
And we also have custom floppy drives that I found that are also USB drives. So of course I had to make custom labels.
A lot of custom labels.
Assembly and packaging
And then I had to assemble them all. Glue them together. Heck, I even had to grind down the weights because the quality control is so bad that the size of the slot I had for the 3D print didn't match the sizes of different weights.
And then I had to put them all in custom boxes with custom inserts and custom foam, assemble them, and then ship them.
What happened after shipping
And then....
And then nothing.
Three were lost in transit. One was damaged. Two, I'm never sure if they actually made it. One was sent back from Canada. Had to be reshipped. One was sent to an old address, so someone random in San Francisco has one of these. And I don't know who they are.
One made it to @drk, and one made it to someone who I greatly admire, but isn't really a data person, so at least they have it. I hope they like it. (this one was kind of a long shot, so I get it)
And the one that was returned from Canada finally made it to @tcosta at Fey.
This whole project was an incredible, incredible amount of effort. And a bit of a letdown, if I'm being honest. I wasn't able to get it to get shared or get the exposure that I was hoping for. But that's okay. At least they're cool.
But you know what? I'd still probably do it all over again.
That was a fun project.
Check out what it looks like inside of the actual product. We have a full-blown vintage macOS theme for the app that someday can be turned into just normal TV mode.
Pretty cool.
Macindash at Fey
The one I sent to Fey made it into T. Costa’s post on August 11, 2025. He thanked our team for the gift and shared these photos of the monitor, the floppy disk and the signed letter that went with it.
T. Costa (@tcosta) · Designer and cofounder at Fey
The attention to detail and creativity here is unreal.