Why I built my own DIY cyberdeck straight out of 80s sci-fi

Everyone seems to be talking about cyberdecks. The name comes from William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer, where hackers called "console cowboys" used custom, rectangular, deck-like computers with red and green LEDs to jack into cyberspace. In practice a cyberdeck is a portable computer and can be almost anything you want: a full-on cyberpunk build, a basic utilitarian machine, or even a system packed into an Altoids tin or a biscuit tin.

If it's a computer with a screen or head-mounted display and a keyboard, physical or virtual, it can be a cyberdeck. Typical components are a small single-board computer—options include Raspberry Pi 4 or 5, Raspberry Pi Zero 2, BeagleBone or Banana Pi—plus a display, a keyboard (many tiny Bluetooth keyboards include a trackpad), power (18650 lithium-ion cells with a controller board, a board with a built-in battery, or a small power bank), and a case that can be off-the-shelf, repurposed, or 3D printed.

cyberdeck, neuromancer, william gibson, console cowboys, raspberry pi, pi zero, beaglebone, banana pi, 18650 cells, 3d printed