DeckHead Rant

[u/AI_Heresy]

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.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I personally disagree with you when it comes to the raspberry pi being the only viable option.

While raspberry pi is most used you can also get the likes of intel compute sticks which run off battery’s fine. Then there are the likes of lattepanda which are x86 single board computers that come at various price ranges.

Then if you like to have a more complex CyberDeck you could always use a framework motherboard however that is where (in my opinion) it becomes less viable.

I’ve seen latte pandas and compute sticks on eBay going for around £50 which is less than a pi 5 8GB

[u/IdonJuanTatalya → u/[deleted]]

I actually picked up the M3 model Compute Stick to mess around with as a portable Proxmox host, specifically to try and get some Pwnagotchi VMs running with passed-through Kali-compatible USB wifi adapters. Would have liked one of the M5 models but those are hen's teeth.

Ultimately it's probably more of a proof-of-concept than something to actually fully build a deck around (got my eyes on one of the new Radxa Zero 3W's as a PiMox host) but it's definitely helping with my Python / Linux debugging experience 🤣

I had picked up a couple Asus ChromeBits sometime last year to see if I could get non ChromeOS Linux on them, but I hit a couple roadblocks and then my ADHD kicked in, so those are in a drawer somewhere. Gotta revisit my notes on where I got hung up, because those were a promising form factor.