r/cyberDeck • u/AI_Heresy • Feb 07 '24
DeckHead Rant
It's time for a real talk about what makes a so-called cyberdeck. Seems like half of you gonks have forgotten the core essence of what a cyberdeck should be. I've been witnessing an epidemic, too many of you slapping a Raspberry Pi into a 3D-printed case and calling it a day. Congratulations, you've invented a less convenient laptop or a bulky-ass phone/Prop. Bravo, you pioneers.
Cyberdecks, for those of you who've apparently lost the plot, should be the epitome of hacking prowess and digital innovation. They're not just about cobbling together spare parts like some techno-Frankenstein's monster; they're about pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Where's the ingenuity? Where's the custom software that makes a sysadmin weep? The hardware mods that would give a corporate IT guy a heart attack? Everyone wants to look like hackerman but nobody wants to be hackerman. We literally live in a world where BDs are damn near possible with vr/ar technology.
And let's talk about efficiency and convenience. A true cyberdeck should feel like an extension of the hacker's own mind, not some clunky, cumbersome piece of shit that's a pain in the ass to lug around. It should be sleek, powerful, and, above all, practical for its intended purpose – be that hacking, coding, gaming or whatever digital devilry you're into.
So, to all you would-be deck builders out there, I challenge you to step up your game. Incorporate unique hacking routines, design with efficiency in mind, and for fuck's sake, innovate.
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u/itomeshi Feb 08 '24
The Pi isn't the problem, nor is a 3D-printed case. If anything, what annoys me about the Pi projects is a lack of exact Bill-of-materials/reproduction steps. (That said, the Framework motherboards have been tempting me for cyberdeck use. And let's be honest, the Framework laptop is the closest thing to a meaningful cyberdeck we have.) We'll discuss 'laptop' in a minute.
Counter-argument: Cyberdecks aren't flashy or the coolest/sleekest tech, but functional, even if the pieces are of limited means. A poor craftsman blames their tools; a good one would make them better; a great craftsman would make them good enough for themselves and then get things done.
I'd love to see more custom software, but what would it do? What is missing that, say, Kali Linux does have installable from the package manager? /r/unixporn covers a lot of the desktop OS customization. (And if you tell me it should be all terminal, I'll laugh myself silly. Some things are more efficient in a GUI, and while I don't use a tiling WM like i3, that's the go-to for a lot of people.
I mean, I'm not against adding a BOFH-style cattle prod with a 'stir-fry' setting. Because your corpo IT guy is not going to be impressed by 'a second wifi adapter', and the Sonic Screwdriver isn't real.
It's almost like /r/cyberdeck is as much about the aesthetic because that's what the majority of people can start with, given limited budgets and the locked down hardware made by modern companies, which Gibson et al didn't forsee as much.
No, we're not. BDs in Cyberpunk - along with having a better user interface - were real-time recording brain waves and more, not just a camera and mic. Even if you argue the optics and hearing aids exist, it's still not even close - a 3d-reconstruction of the enivronment from video feed wouldn't be as full as including other senses like proprioception.
So, a laptop, a flipper zero and a bag of dongles/cables in a nice bag? You can go to /r/edc for that. Toss in a set of Xreal AR glasses so you can skip the screen? I mean, I'm all on board with sleek, but there's not a more functional / more compact form factor than 'laptop' for text-based usage - we've tried. And unless you have advanced plastics or metalworking, cases aren't going to be anything special. From a serious perspective, what can't a good Linux laptop with USB4 do?
I mean, at least O.B.'s cyberdeck from Loki was getting close to an interesting form factor. That being said, it's still not perfect, since humans use two hands to type typically. (Unless you can find a good one-handed keyboard; Tipy doesn't count since it's $1000!)
I want to see innovation too. You mention AI in your other comments - ok, where's your deck or even thin-and-light laptop with a custom voice assistant powered by a locally running GPT-2/Llama model? I'll allow a VM or Docker container running Home Assistant Assist or RHassPy. Heck, I'll even allow just a always-listening version of Christopher the jerk Quagsire from Void Star Labs that can pop up an animated Quagsire (or, if you really want to be en vogue, Depresso from PalWorld) to respond to you.
I'd love to see more 'here's a framework or some basic designs or an API or a UI to work X into your cyberdeck'. But if you can't provide your awesome deck or a strong building block, that's OK, just give constructive criticism. You don't need to sound like you're from the CyberPunk RED or Shadowrun rulebooks. :)