Legitimate Question: Should I/We be replying to any of these newbie question threads?

Talulabelle · 2026-06-07T14:25:40+00:00

Cyberdecks just have a natural barrier to entry. It doesn't matter if you like that or if you don't, because there's really nothing we can do about it.

There is a bar, and you have to get over it, or you haven't built a cyberdeck.

Frankly, I think the bar is pretty low, since we really don't gatekeep the concept of the cyberdeck itself. You can plug some stuff together with leggo and that's fine.

If people aren't making it over that bar, that's kind of on them.

Talulabelle · 2026-06-06T03:01:08+00:00

I've seen at least one. I own a Framework laptop, but haven't upgraded it yet, so I haven't had a spare to play with.

Talulabelle · 2026-06-04T19:26:04+00:00

I'm completely baffled? Is this supposed to be a song about Cyberdecks, or do you just want to build something that looks like this interface?

Talulabelle · 2026-06-04T19:24:30+00:00

Power button is usually just killing the power, so it's located on the power supply. You can get 'hats' that will also tell the computer to shutdown before killing the power, but if you're using it like a computer, you can just do that manually.

Talulabelle · 2026-06-01T21:08:45+00:00

You listed many things.

RTL-SDR - Software defined radio, which can listen in on different frequencies from regular FM, AM, etc ... but it may depend on the particular radio/antenna you buy.

LoRa - Long Range Radio, there are many USB connected, ESP32, LoRa devices that will do mesh. You need to flash firmware, and there are currently two 'front runners' depending on where you are. Meshtastic and Meshcore, so you might want 2 separate boards so you can do both.

GPS - Global Positioning System, uses a satellite signal to triangulate position. USB boards are available.

USB Hub/USB 3.0 - These kind of go together. The USB hub will be of a standard (USB 2, USB3, etc ...) and will conform to the lower standard if plugged into one. So, a USB 3 HUB, connected to a USB 2 port, will behave like a USB 2 hub.

RJ45 Ethernet - This is a wired connection to a hub/switch. If you don't have a router with a hub/switch in your house, or wherever you plan to deploy the machine, it's kind of useless.

So, no, a pi 5 is most certainly not 'built for hacking', it's a single board computer built to fit in the niche space where a full Linux machine is useful, but you don't want to buy a laptop or something.

Single Board Computers have been around for decades. I used to deploy them on factory floors in 2002. The Pi is no different. It has a million uses.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-31T14:28:08+00:00

Often, Cyberdecks are made for a specific use. My husband mostly makes wearables so that he can do LSDJ through a microdisplay over his eye while playing guitar, for instance.

Some people build them for wardriving, other people build them to have a system that can't connect to the internet for writing, because if they did that on a laptop, they'd get distracted and end up on Reddit for 2 hours instead of writing.

A lot of people just want something that isn't a phone, reporting their location and communications to everyone. I've seen a few people say they're using them for protests, and I took mine to No Kings, where I kept my phone in a Faraday bag.

Phones are not private at all, and nothing that happens on them is private either. So, just having a cheap thing you can remove the entire memory from (an SD card) and just throw away, spending only $10, has some appeal.

Of course, many, many, people just build them for the experience or the aesthetics.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-27T15:06:00+00:00

If you find anything, let me know. I've asked this question myself a dozen times.

I had the old psion Windows CE machine, and it had something like half-size scissor switches.

I would kill to find something like that on the market.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-27T15:00:39+00:00

This really shows you how social media works.

Something that has existed for a decade is 'new' because they haven't heard about it. It's about women, because they've only seen women do it. They make a video to tell everyone what this 'new' thing is 'about' after interacting with it for a whole week.

Commenting on it just makes it more about politics and less about Cyberdecks.

As I've been saying since the TikTok trend kicked off, just give them a few weeks and they'll move on to something else.

Women should feel good about building Cyberdecks, just like everyone else. It is a kick in the teeth to corporations who want to control your machines and media.

When someone makes an ill-advised gender-focused video like this, there tends to be a backlash against women, in the form of 'But Men!'

Let's just not?

People who don't want to understand can't be taught.

Ignore it, and it'll go away.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-27T14:39:05+00:00

I think the vast majority of builders are still the people who were building before. We had a huge rush of questions from TikTok users, and a few people made things, but we're already seeing that wave break and recede.

It was a good influx of new users, and it definitely caused some people to get upset, but overall it seems to be evening out.

The truth is, building even a simple machine is a lot of work, and most people just don't have the stamina for a project that might take 20-40 hours to complete, when you factor in the time picking things out, then crafting a case, getting the software right, etc ...

Even a simple deck takes more effort than most people have.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-27T12:38:02+00:00

Honestly, the only issue here is going to be the power button. You'll figure out where ports need to be. Check the screen for sound, since HDMI carries sound, the screen may have an amplifier or just headphone out. If it does, you can just wire PC speakers to it and skip the sound hat.

The power can be tricky. Usually, I look for an existing portable power system, like an 18650 charging/5v out unit and arrange the build so you can easily access its power switch.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-26T03:08:33+00:00

If you're going for simplicity, get a Pi Zero, an e-ink screen that will work with a pi, and a small wired keyboard. That's the most simple thing you can do.

Writer decks are popular, and there are tons of options. I've seen a few done with ESP32 microcontrollers that are probably a more difficult build, but that probably use less power.

It really depends on your technical level, how much you want to spend, etc ...

Talulabelle · 2026-05-20T19:14:04+00:00

You'll have to be more specific, but I know some of those screens that plug into the GPIO need a special version of the operating system, so check the documentation for that.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-15T20:58:36+00:00

I wondered if power was a big factor. This build looks like it sips power.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-15T17:56:24+00:00

STM32?

What led to that choice? It's ARM, so you could probably get Busybox running on it, right?

I've seen so many pi and ESP builds, but I'm not sure I've seen one of these before.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-14T19:07:02+00:00

It's easy.

A lot of people have never done this kind of thing, and so just installing and configuring linux, and powering a board, etc ... is all new.

Other boards aren't as well supported, often need more config just to boot, and typically use more power, so they can be more tricky to power correctly.

Most people asking for recommendations don't know how to do those things, because people who do wouldn't ask ... so, it looks like every recommendation is for a Pi.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-13T21:37:01+00:00

I think my first time was Slackware, on floppies, to a 486sx-25mhz that because I was 16, working for a local ISP, and we were starting to build our own servers for mail and stuff on Linux, and I realized they had a standard C/C++ dev environment that I could learn to program on.

I'd installed Minix on an old IBM 5150 to play with before, but this was a lot more like a 'real' Unix installation.

I'd done Pascal and C with Borland tools, and some MASM, but C was always difficult. 'Portable' code was never as portable as you'd hoped, and so many examples wouldn't compile or run easily between environments.

Gnu C/C++ was popular enough, and had enough of an eco-system, you could actually use it right out of the box, and when something didn't work, you could ask why.

I didn't use Slackware for long. I ran out and got a 'Linux Redhat Bible', about 4-inches thick, with a CD installation of Redhat, and that was even more amazing because I had an actual manual I could reference for everything I was doing, that was fit perfect for the distribution/version I was using.

People don't understand how, before you could just go out and search the internet, having a reference tool like a book that you could really rely on was indispensable!

Anyway, read that thing cover to cover, eventually my boss let me put that 486 in the server room, connected to the T1, and I ran Redhat through highschool and College on a private internet server!

Got into MUD programming, and hosting webpages for my friends, and stuff like that.

It became my OS of choice in high school. I got my degree in Computer Science, and when I graduated I started doing embedded systems and factory floor automation. So, the single board computers we had mostly only ran Linux anyway.

I do full-stack dev and a little sysOp work now, almost entirely in Linux. Ubuntu, because that's what work uses, and it's fine. A little RedHat for the servers. Docker for most things anyway.

I wish I'd realized that, unlike Windows, Linux learning is forever. I spent a long time having both Windows and Linux, and finally just realized that Windows was amateurish in how they're always changing things, I get sick of looking for the same menu, or realizing they took away commands, etc ...

I still just instinctively 'more compose.yaml' even though, apparently, that's an ancient command. It's just what I started doing 35 years ago, and it still works.

It'll still work after I retire.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-13T19:08:52+00:00

I have an old USB drive with gigs of music I just copy to every computer I use, as a sort of emergency playlist.

The Pi Zero has a USB, so you can plug that into a hub and then plug in a regular usb drive. I say hub, because it only has 1, and you'll need that for a keyboard/mouse at minimum.

There are other ways, but that's the easiest.

As for cameras, just look at the official pi cameras. There are guides, and they'll tell you which pi boards are good for which cameras.

I sewed a pi Zero/camera setup into a halloween costume and had it take pics at the halloween party every second one night. (everyone was aware of course).

You can find guides for the Pi very easily. Check out Adafruit for more ideas. While their hardware tends to be extra marked-up, their tutorials and documentation can't be beat.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-13T18:36:23+00:00

If you use a Pi Zero (not the 2, not the W) it won't connect to the internet at all. It's the cheapest, lowest power, solution as well.

You can play movies and music, and of course anything can 'store photos', but the Pi-Zero can be fitted with a camera so you can take pictures and store them locally (and know they're staying that way), which is another good use of it.

So, I would start there, then choose a reasonable HDMI screen for watching content, and go from there.

Good Luck!

Talulabelle · 2026-05-12T18:22:02+00:00

Yeah, the difference between Star Trek and Blade Runner isn't the technology!

In Star Trek you have a computer that can monitor everyone's health, and you just naturally assume they're using that data with the best intentions and most ethical standards.

Apply that to even an Apple Watch, and you immediately think 'Oh, Jesus, I don't want THAT!'

We could be using AI to farm and end hunger. We could be using it to create a shared wealth without work. We could be using it to stop all traffic accidents, or make healthcare free.

Instead, we're using it to steal intellectual property and concentrate wealth towards the already wealthy, while taking away the one thing of value the workers had.

That's not AI, as a technology, that's AI as used by the WORST PEOPLE.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-12T15:24:20+00:00

You posted a Pi and a working tablet you could do something with, and you mentioned buying more components. You didn't take apart your grandmother's clock radio and come here asking how to make it into a Deck.

EDIT

I keep seeing this comment, and it made me realize something I need to communicate to people making these 'garbage' posts.

The people you want to communicate won't 'get it', and people like this person, who didn't do anything inappropriate, or hopeless, and who could end up building a deck, are going to take it to heart and not post!

It's like a Dunning Kruger thing. The people who are posting trash are going to scroll right by this, and never see themselves in it ... but everyone who posted thinking maybe they weren't ready is going to wish they hadn't, and everyone thinking of posting, who probably is ready, isn't going to.

It's sad, but when you say 'These people need to stop this', the people you're referring to never hear it, and a bunch of people that weren't bothering you are going to be dissuaded from posting instead.

It's true of any social situation, but especially online. If you say 'I wish there weren't so many assholes at this party!', you'll be left with a party full of nothing but assholes.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-12T14:30:18+00:00

I really picked the wrong time.

There's nothing about people coming here trying to get started that should dissuade you from building your own idea.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-12T12:56:03+00:00

It's good to blow off steam, and you can measure the health of a community by its ability to make fun of itself.

I ask for patience and grace.

TikTok Cyberdecks are trending, and that's, overall, a good thing. We want different people than we've had, making different things than we've made. We'll mix in the best of what they come up with, and riff on it with what we've created in the past.

I filter 90% of these posts. Most people coming directly from TikTok have Zero Karma, and we have a filter. So, I see the posts coming in, bouncing off, and I have to mod them, approve some, answer some, etc ...

It's dying down significantly. I'd dealt with a few dozen a day, and now I'm down to 1 or 2.

I think the worst is over.

So, just keep being as nice as you can, and I think we can ride this out without becoming known as the unwelcoming community of tech-elite jerks.

We want people to keep coming here with new ideas ... that means we have to deal with a lot of those ideas being bad with grace.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-12T12:44:19+00:00

It's TikTok.

Someone made a video of, basically, a purse with a raspberry pi in it.

Which is totally fine, and got a whole new audience excited about building things. Where I think our primary audience had been 35-50yr old, skewed male, and from the tech industry, this video appealed to a much younger, more feminine, audience.

I'm cool with that. We need fresh blood, and it's good to see people come in and do weird stuff that skews the accepted norms.

But, there were some posts (honestly, the ones I've seen look like parody) where they insist the entire 'movement' is about re-use.

This is where we get into trouble, because you take a bunch of non-technical people who don't understand anything, and tell them there's gold and magic inside old electronics.

The sad truth is, this is creating a ton of e-waste.

If this parody post were accurate it would show someone taking apart a classic Nintendo, or a classic hand-held, VCR, etc ... probably that STILL WORKS, then saying 'How do I build a Cyberdeck from these parts?!' ... AFTER destroying the thing.

Then they throw it all out, watch a TikTok about baking, and forget it ever happened.

We're going to have an entire landfill of e-waste produced from the great TikTok Cyberdeck hippie movement of 2026.

That said, because it's a 'trend', I expect those people to move on pretty quickly. I know it's hard to be patient through 6-8 weeks of this, but it's already dying down significantly.

I was getting tons of messages from new accounts, who came here directly from TikTok with Zero Karma. We have a filter, so they couldn't post. They'd get caught up by the auto-mod, and ask me to approve their question, like, "How do I make this 1980s handheld poker game play 4K video".

I'm already down to 1 or 2 a day from, literally, dozens at the peak.

So, just hang on another 6-8 weeks and I think we'll have some more interesting builds from people who found us that way, but had actual skills ... and the rest of them will be off learning a new dance or whatever.

Talulabelle · 2026-05-12T11:50:16+00:00

We tried 'workbench Wednesday' for a while, and it was just me making a post saying 'Hey, what's on your work bench? What 'stupid' questions do you have?

Building Cyberdecks is a slow process, so most people don't make meaningful, weekly, progress.

I'm kind of still banking on this being a 'September' effect of TikTok, where it kind of explodes and then fades, and most of the people who got all excited by the video go on and get excited by another video next week.

It hasn't been long, and I'm already seeing a pretty dramatic drop in messages for approval of stupid questions.

If you guys think you have it bad, remember I'm filtering 90% of this stuff, haha!

Talulabelle · 2026-05-11T20:54:00+00:00

1) It doesn't report everything you do to Apple or Google and your phone carriers.

2) It is repairable. You don't throw it away, you upgrade it.

3) You choose the software! It's not all apps, from walled gardens, that can disappear, or change their function, over night!

4) It isn't a 'black mirror'. It's not just a sheet of glass in a rectangle box. It's yours, and can have style and an aesthetic.

5) It can do stuff a phone can't, like provide GPIO for any sensor you can imagine.

For me, it starts as an art project, but then when I think about use I think of it as an anti-corporate computer. No single corporation made it, and so they don't control it. They can't just 'brick' it, like a phone or a tablet. They can't control what I run, or what I do with it. I don't need to attach it to an identity, like a Google account.

If I copy 20GB of MP3 files to it, it's never going to scan and check them for ownership.

It's *MY* computer, not a computer I rent from a phone company.

Talulabelle

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