Enthusiast recreates 43-year-old Apple Lisa with FPGA board — first commercial computer with a GUI faithfully cloned with modernized machine

A hobbyist recreated Apple’s 1983 Lisa on an FPGA board, giving the vintage GUI computer a modern hardware core.

The LisaFPGA project adds native HDMI, USB keyboard and mouse support, emulated storage, and optional speed boosts.

Builder Alex Anderson-McLeod says the design will be posted on GitHub and could also be sold as a clone.

The effort highlights the Lisa’s importance in Apple’s GUI history and the broader value of preserving classic computers.