A common criticism we hear of cyberdecks is that functionality too often takes a backseat to aesthetics — in other words, they might look awesome, but they aren’t the kind of thing you’re likely to use a daily driver. It’s not an assessment that we necessarily disagree with, though we also don’t hold it against anyone if they’re more interested in honing their build’s retro-futuristic looks than its computational potential.

That said, when a build comes along that manages to strike a balance between style and function, we certainly take notice. The vecdec, built by [svenscore] is a perfect example. We actually came across this one in the Desert of the Real, also known as the outskirts of Philadelphia, while we stalked the chillout room at JawnCon 0x1. When everyone else in the room is using a gleaming MacBook or a beat-up ThinkPad, its wildly unconventional design certainly grabs your attention. But spend a bit of time checking the hardware out and chatting with its creator, and you realize it’s not just some cyberpunk prop.

It all started when [svenscore] caught the ergonomic split keyboard bug awhile back. After getting used to the layout on his desktop, he found going back to the standard keyboard on his laptop was rather unpleasant. Carrying an external keyboard wherever you go is pretty much a non-starter when doing any serious traveling, so he decided his best bet was to build a portable machine that integrated his keyboard layout of choice.

The size and shape of said keyboard ultimately dictated the outline of the vecdec, leaving little room for luxuries. Still, [svenscore] managed to sneak a few surprises into this Raspberry Pi 4 powered cyberdeck: a SX1262 LoRa transceiver allows for experimenting with Meshtastic on the go, and a I2C connected PAJ7620U2 gesture sensor located between the keyboard halves allows the user to navigate through documents with a literal wave of the hand.

We’ve seen some ergonomic cyberdecks before, but the fit and finish on the vecdec certainly helps it stand out from the pack. With machines like this out in the wild, perhaps it’s time for another Cyberdeck Contest?