rz01.org

A retrofuturistic Computer Terminal

Posted on 2026-06-05

I’ve always wanted to build a retro system to go alongside my regular PC, but used systems are getting more and more expensive. Then I remembered that I still had a few Raspberry Pis and a 7-inch LCD lying around. A quick search online led me to this nice 3D model: Raspberry Pi Display-Ständer. This design immediately reminded me of those iconic TV sets from the 1960s and also of various old computer systems. I downloaded it right away and printed it with white PLA filament. I then installed the Luckfox 7" LCD and a Raspberry Pi 4B and set up Debian Trixie.

The result was this pseudo-retro computer terminal, which I can use to explore gopher holes, read SDF’s BBOARD, and use various other terminal-based applications:

Is this something I need? Probably not. It is something I will use? Most likely yes. And it already is a lot of fun!