The cool thing about cyberdecks is that you get to design them to suit your personal tastes. [NickZero] wanted an ultra-minimal build, and set about putting together just that.
The build is based around a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, which has a lighter power draw than the full-fat models at the trade-off of some processing power. Since it’s a W model, it has the benefit of wireless connectivity baked in from the factory. The Pi is paired with a Gherkin 30% layout keyboard kit, which neatly matches the 7″ Waveshare touch display in width. Power is courtesy of a juicy 4000 mAh lithium-ion cell, which is taken care of by an Adafruit Powerboost 1000 charger module. Everything is then laced up together inside a nifty 3D printed case.
It’s a simple cyberdeck, and one that’s probably quite satisfying to use when you get used to the fact that there are no number or modifier keys on the ultra-cut-down keyboard. It’s also a great example of how a bunch of off-the-shelf gear can nonetheless be assembled into quite a cohesive whole. In much the opposite way, we’ve seen some maximalist cyberdeck builds lately, too.
“Cyberdeck” might simply be an aesthetic? What would one actually look like in the event of preparing for society dissolving? This is not a technical challenge, but rather one of actuality!
I’ve only read Neuromancer and not the other two entries in the Sprawl Trilogy, but the book that introduced cyberdecks to the world didn’t portray a society that seemed to be on the brink of dissolving. More like one that had its problems but appeared functional enough in its own way, viewed from the perspective of its seedy underworld. Case’s cyberdeck was not some jury rigged bit of scavenged gear – it was a top of the line Japanese built machine.
i appreciate the cover photo answering the question ‘what’s this good for?’ so directly. it’s good for running a screensaver.
i feel like the where have hero nerds gone? article puts this in a bit of perspective. one of the things i love about the film Hackers is how they were all so excited about hardware because When I Was Your Age, even getting your hands on a laptop at all was a bit of a struggle…and of course you would customize it because an affordable laptop can’t do anything…i would bend over backwards to interface with whatever happened to land in my lap because i couldn’t possibly afford what i actually wanted. now, temu sells superlative cyberdecks for $150 and every peripheral speaks USB and costs less than lunch