So, I’ve had this useless, 2006 MacBook laying around for some time now.
What does one do with a 12 year old, nearly worthless, 32bit laptop? And I do
mean nearly worthless. A quick search on eBay revealed that this MacBook can be had
for about $25. The 64bit Core 2 Duo (2007) can be gotten for about $10 more. Again,
I asked myself, “What do I do with it?” It only has 2GB of RAM and modern browsers won’t
even run on it. There aren’t too many options where this old laptop is concerned.

Off to the ubuntu website I went. Even installing ubuntu on it was a little tricky and
I was limited to the 32bit version of ubuntu, as well. However, once I got ubuntu settled
I installed MagicMirror. I was not disappointed. This laptop even has a mini DVI out port
to drive an external monitor. I thought about disassembling it to use it for a conventional
style mirror but that would mean acquiring another monitor and a larger piece of two-way
mirror. I had a small piece left over from the “Vanity Mirror” I made not too long ago. So,
I took the bezel off the MacBook and cut the mirror exactly the same size as the inner metal
bezel that secures the display. I affixed the mirror to the inner metal bezel around the
display with a drop of Gorilla Super Glue in each corner. That’s all it needed. Put the outer
bezel back on. I did this by design. I could have made the mirror as large as the casing.
Why didn’t I? Because I wanted the lid to open and close normally, which it does very nicely.
When you open the lid you are greeted by a mirror, not a black display. Pretty damn cool!

So, what do you get with your $25 MacMirror? Everything! Compare this to buying a Pi.

2GHz Core Duo T2500 Intel Processor (32bit)
2 GB of RAM (Maximum)
250 GB Hard Drive. (Original 60 GB)
Intel GMA 950 Video Card with 64MB of VRAM
13.3" TFT active-matrix display with a 1280 by 800 native resolution.
Mini DVI out supports 1920 by 1200 resolution on external monitors.(That’s crazy!)
Slot-loading double layer DVD/CD-RW SuperDrive (Still functional)
Gigabit Ethernet
Wifi - AirPort Extreme (802.11a/b/g)
Bluetooth 2.0+EDR standard.
Two 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports.
One Firewire “400” port.
iSight Camera (not working)
Integrated microphone

For less than the price of a Pi3, this thing performs wonderfully and outperforms the Pi3 in
every category, even running a 32 bit version of ubuntu. The MM software and ubuntu run very
nicely together and the Hello-Lucy voice enhancement runs beautifully, with excellent response
time. :-)

https://youtu.be/OjHeJd2avhw