(^42) The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book raspberrypi.org/magpi
WINDOWS 98
WAT C H
f Microsoft had designed
a smartwatch back in
the late nineties, it
might have looked something
like this! Michael Darby, aka
314reactor, has built a chunky,
Pi-powered wristwatch running
the Windows 98 operating system.
Projects SHOWCASE
Wind back the clock with this chunky wristwatch
Windows 98
is emulated
using QEMU
It takes several
minutes to
boot up
The Pi A+ is
overclocked
at 800MHz
Michael wants
to make a Pi 3
version
He has also
created a
Robo Skull
Quick
Facts
I
A LiPo battery, hidden
underneath, powers the
Raspberry Pi A+ and touchscreen
MICHAEL DARBY
A tech nerd from a young age,
obsessed with computers and tech,
with a dream to one day be like
Tony Stark.
314reactor.com
While he admits the ancient OS
used to drive him mad back in the
day, he has an odd nostalgia for it.
“Many years later you look back
on it and want to relive it. I think
time has a funny way of keeping
more of the good than the bad
within memory.”
Once he’d accrued the required
components, including a
Raspberry Pi Model A+, it only
took a few hours to put together.
There’s a tutorial on his site:
magpi.cc/2nX9ss4. The Pi A+
sits in the bottom of an Adafruit
Pi Protector case with a PiTFT
2.4-inch HAT touchscreen on top.
Five tactile buttons have been
added to the latter, although only
one is currently used – to shut
down the system cleanly. The
watch is powered by a slimline
LiPo battery connected via a
PowerBoost 500 with switch, while
Velcro feet secure the watch body
to a wrist strap.
Emulation is employed to get
Windows 98 working on the
watch, using the QEMU hypervisor
running in Raspbian. “Its relatively
simple,” says Michael. “Once
you’ve set up a QEMU environment
on another PC and installed
Windows 98 to it, it’s a case of
dragging the virtual hard drive
Buttons have been added to the
PiTFT screen, although only one
is currently used
Emulated using QEMU, Windows
98 really works, albeit slowly