Software engineer, 25, makes stunning WOODEN computers that are designed to be family heirlooms: Hand-built machines can’t connect to the internet to ‘minimize distractions’

A young software engineer decided he was tired of mass-produced computers and set out to find his own unique treasures, eventually turning his passion into a full-time job.

Keegan McNamara, 25, wanted to create the antithesis of the modern machine and the constant bombardment of notifications. That's why he decided to make 'beautiful, serene' computers and gave the brand a fitting name: Mythical Computer Co.

“Computers should be heirlooms,” McNamara said The free press.

'It has to be something you pass on to your children. It should be something that you encode a family history on, not just something that you trade in for the latest model in a few years.”

McNamara completed his first computer, called the “Mythic,” in March. The whole was built by hand. He carved the base from maple and walnut wood and used a hodgepodge of found parts and electronics.

The Mythic runs on a simple operating system called NixOS and does not connect to the internet. It only has the basic necessities. McNamara can use it to write letters, journal, or work on code, all in style.

McNamara graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He completed several internships at Amazon and designed websites, and it seemed his life path was set.

That was until the summer of 2022, when McNamara and his girlfriend visited New York City and stopped by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was struck by the Arms and Arbor exhibit, which houses a collection of intricately decorated firearms made for royalty.

That's when McNamara had a “light bulb moment.”

“These people thought it was worthwhile to turn these relatively utilitarian objects, things that were really just tools, into something beautiful,” he explained. “I was trying to think: Do we have something like this in modern times?”

His pursuits were partly inspired by his own father, who would also build wooden furniture in the family garage a friend of his grandfather who made guitars by hand.

“His guitars were like a beautiful piece of jewelry, but also completely playable,” recalls McNamara.

Although he doesn't classify his computers as art, his first step in the design process was to buy twenty pounds of modeling clay to start looking for a shape.

His next stop was a sawmill in West Los Angeles, where he picked up maple and walnut lumber. He collected electronics from stores around town. What he didn't know how to build, he taught himself through YouTube videos.

“I initially thought it would just be a side project,” McNamara said. He worked from a spare room and used only hand tools such as a hammer and chisel. When the computer was finally ready, he turned it on and felt a feeling he described as “an inner peace.”

“I'd been living with this thing in my head for so long, and now it was out there, in the physical world,” McNamara said.

He shared photos of his build online and didn't expect much more than just messages of support. However, he soon received a message from a former acquaintance, Max Novendstern, co-founder of the crypto start-up Worldcoin.

Earlier that month, Novendstern had tweeted: “Give me an e-reader with a chatbot and a note-taking system and nothing else… Strip computers of their dopamine taps, leave their crystal balls.”

Although McNamara won't reveal the amount the crypto mogul offered, it was enough for him to quit his tech job and focus on building computers full-time a month later.

“Suddenly I thought, 'Maybe this is my next career move,'” he said.

McNamara is currently working on his fourth computer, the Mythic IV. He only takes on one customer at a time. And, unlike the typical business model in the digital age, it doesn't advertise.

Potential customers are instructed to contact him through his website, which is designed to reflect the clunky style of early Internet pages. There, McNamara describes his company as a “one-man workshop” and shows computers he has built so far.

The 25-year-old declines to share what his computers cost, adding that the amount is usually “in the tens of thousands.” According to the site, each Mythic Computer takes months to make, and is priced accordingly.”

The process starts with a conversation that can span multiple sessions. McNamara might wonder what type of wood a customer likes, or if there are “shapes that you really like, even outside of personal computers.”

When setting a price, he takes into account factors such as the number of different components and new labor in terms of design in the construction.

Each computer is tailored to the wishes and needs of a user. The Mythic II, which he completed at the end of July, has features such as conversational AI and an e-book reader.

Since then, McNamara has completed two other builds and dedicated himself to Mythic Computer full-time.

He and his girlfriend recently moved to Ojai, a small city 80 miles outside of Los Angeles. But he no longer works from bedrooms and uses a rented hut as a workshop, far away from the rest of the world.

McNamara also uses improved tools such as an electric saw. Although the vast majority of my work is still done by hand, having power tools helps simplify the process.

Through it all, he has remained inspired.

“Most of the objects we create, see and live with every day are not very imaginative,” said McNamara.

'When you look at your environment through that lens, you start to think: 'This could be better. It could have a better shape, or more decorations.” You can do that with literally anything around you. It's just a way to make the world a bit more interesting.'