#21

Mmm. Good quote. It does make me ask:

What would a computer that I love be like?

…

Something to think about.

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#22

To be honest I don’t know! I just know I dislike the bright, awkward, hot, metal rectangle I’m forced to grapple with every day.

I think AR interfaces will become more compelling over time. I’ve had a chance to try a beta version of the hololens. I wasn’t entirely convinced bit it did allow me a glimpse into the horizon of what’s ahead. The intangibility of it bothered me. It also seems to be one of those vapour technologies. I think we are 3 or 4 years away still from a big breakthrough.

I think the comparison of Sandbenders to Ciat Lonbarde again is apt. There are many things a computer can be. I’m right now daydreaming about material exploration. Or new form factors. I’m fascinated in modular with the turn towards micro-skiffs. It’s not at all how I would have envisioned modular 4-5 years ago.

1 Like
#23

is it more about purpose-built computing skiffs, rather than the everything devices we use?

by that definition, norns is a cyberdeck, albeit one that doesn’t adhere to the cyberpunk cosplay aesthetic.

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#24

I would absolutely agree. Norns is the first music cyberdeck. I am no fan of synthwave or the associated aesthetics. But the POINT of this movement remains salient. Reinventing what is a computer. The fundamental shape of the computer

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#25

For my part I tend to agree with @dianus on this for three reasons:

  1. Trackpads

  2. Ubiquitously crumby keyboards

  3. Lack of modularity/upgradeability

Now, cyberdecks don’t always fix #1, but they do tend to make them less prominent features (in other words, they tend get them out of the way and focus on the keyboard). #2 is definitely an area where cyberdecks can shine, as they tend to be very friendly form-factors for the inclusion of one’s choice of keyboard (without a more undesirable keyboard getting in the way).

#3 is pretty obviously the main point of cyberdecks and and actually includes the other two, although here I’m referring to everything else, particularly the screen, battery, and computer components. The benefits of the screen and battery being properly modular is, I think, self-evident, but when it comes to computer components, the situation seems a bit more complex: Generally, small-form-factor computers make it impossible to upgrade most parts because of the demands of the form, and so, instead, the computer itself becomes a module.

This last bit is of particular interest to me given the approach I’ve been contemplating of late regarding a portable setup focused mainly on running a text editor (well, emacs). I’ve been ambivalent on whether to rely on my phone as the computer (with a small USB-C hub and Termux, given the inadequacy of Android for this purpose, otherwise) or a Raspberry Pi 4 with a battery; luckily everything I’m considering for this purpose (a portable multi-touch monitor with its own battery, my Planck Light keyboard) has uses for me beyond this (I can hardly say the same for most of the several laptops of which I’ve come into possession over the years, and not for lack of trying).

My difficulty with this approach compared to a laptop is the sheer number of loose items, the necessary cables, and the constant plugging and unplugging that would be required to stow them properly between uses. I have to imagine that any solution to this would look a lot like a cyberdeck, but that it need not be too terribly unwieldy (and indeed, not many of those mentioned in this thread are all that cumbersome). I do have to say though that I’m kind of keen to adapt an approach somewhat like this, as I am quite fond of MOLLE:

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MTS-Pack

2 Likes
#26

Found this thing today, thought it fit the bill pretty well :slight_smile: I love these monochrome screens… I can almost feel the low the latency responses to keypresses… ahhhh… Not quite a cyberdeck by definition but the aesthetic is there.

https://trmm.net/MDT9100

Imgur

Also this scene from Johnny Mneumonic reminds me of the idea… pull together a bunch of components and bam you have a custom computer…

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#27

This makes me want to watch that movie…

Just realized I haven’t watched it since 1998 or so…? Confused the hell out of me as a kid.

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#28

Reminds me of the Pipboy from Fallout New Vegas (that one was yellow/orange by default, I believe, the others are green), a tried and true fictional cyberdeck-ish piece of video gaming:

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#29

Found what looks to be an essential accessory for your cyber deck (no affiliation)

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#30

20 chars of backed.

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#31

wow that’s cool and interestingly related with the Johnny Mnemonic video above, in that movie there is a dolphin hacker that uses ultrasonic waves to hack government satellites.

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#32

Also Ice-T, Henry Rollins, Takeshi Kitano, Udo Kier, and Dolph Lundgren. It’s fun.

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#33

jibbers crabs I’d forgotten how much was going on in that movie! I might just give it a watch again sometime.

1 Like
#34

I find this thread really fascinating because it makes me think about the differences between computing as a means to an end vs computing as a performance.

Much of how we want a computer (and our manufactured environment) to look and behave is shaped by aspirational form factors. An example of this is in how we create music. A modern DAW is quite capable of creating any music that you can think of yet a large preoccupation of myself many others in the forum is to wrangle with the idiosyncrasies of hardware.

As computing power and knowledge increases, the past visions of computing will continue to diverge from the modern incarnations of computing.

The cyberdeck is an extrapolation of the “personal computer” with an emphasis on person over computing. There is an idea that if we enable the individual though hardware then they can compute anything. https://mltshp-cdn.com/r/1JCO2.webm

The reality is that computing is going to progress and while an individual will be empowered it’s not through their individualized device but through whatever ends up coming out of this sort of research:

2 Likes
#35

Very interested in building a small device in a peli case that could do simple midi utilities/ puredata patches/ audio i/o and allow users to switch out their own keyboard / midi controller in the area where a keyboard would normally go. probably simple enough with a raspi?

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#36

this exactly right. we are at a point where it is both relatively simple and incredibly fruitful to build application-specific open source computers that don’t rely on corporations or platforms.

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#37

I’d like to humbly mention that I was the sound designer for Johnny Mnemonic. With lots of help from Mark Wlodarkiewicz and support from Leslie Shatz. It’s not the greatest thing ever released, but it does have a lot going for it. “Loop it through Jones!” Jones is the dolphin.

There are several good cyberspace scenes in the film. Lots of VR goggles.

65 Likes
#38

Holy shit!! That’s incredible. I saw this when I was a wee lad and it had a bing impact on me. I just watched the scene posted here today and the sound was ace. How do you feel about it all these years later?

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#39

Well, it has been 25 years, and I haven’t seen it again lately. I do remember that at the time I thought the sound was buried by music too much in the final mix. I used a lot of sounds I made for the film with my recently purchased Serge modular. It was a lot of fun to work on. The job kind of fell into my lap. I’d read everything William Gibson had written at the time and was a big fan. I still am! Glad you enjoyed it.

18 Likes
#40

I’m afraid I’m going to offer nothing to the conversation, but this is why I joined lines! The breadth of experiences and knowledge on this little slice of the internet is staggering.

Gotta get this s@&) outta my head!

6 Likes