Cyberdeck Brainstorming Hack Chat

Join us on Wednesday, August 10 at noon Pacific for the Cyberdeck Brainstorming Hack Chat!

If there’s one thing for sure about Hackaday, it’s that we keep a finger on the pulse of the hardware hacking community. Trends come and go, but they rarely slip by us, thanks to the constant supply of tips to hot projects that our loyal readers send in. It’s great to get a first look at these projects and see what kind of trends they represent, and to see how the community reacts to them. Some trends fade quickly, some catch on for a bit, and some really catch fire.

One trend that’s gotten pretty hot lately is the cyberdeck. Finding ways to squeeze a computer into a compact, field-ready package and make it useable is a challenge right off the bat. Adding the suite of sensors and peripherals that have become de rigueur for cyberdecks adds another level of complexity, and taking the build across the finish line with the proper cyberdeck aesthetic makes these gadgets super-fun to build and (hopefully) to use.

If cyberdecks sound like fun, you’re right! And to help us all get onboard the cyberdeck train, we’re going to mix things up with this Hack Chat. Rather than putting one person in the hot seat for our usual AMA-style discussion, we thought it would be fun to get everyone into a chat and brainstorm some cyberdeck designs. And to help seed the discussion, we’ve invited a bunch of hackers whose cyberdeck builds we’ve featured before:

• [bootdsc], maker of the VirtuScope
• [Back7], who popularized the Pi-in-a-Pelican style of cyberdeck
• [a8ksh4], designer of the “chonky palmtop”
• [I/O] and the Joopyter retro personal terminal
• [cyzoonic], who upped the complexity with a watertight ruggedized cyberdeck

We’re not sure everyone will be able to make it, but we are sure that the more cyberdeck-adjacent people we have in the chat, the better. Whether you’re a veteran builder or just starting your first build, you’re going to want to stop by this Hack Chat and get in on the discussion. Particularly because we’re just kicking off our new Cyberdeck Design Contest in about an hour (spoiler!), and this’ll be a great way to get going!

Our Hack Chats are live community events in the Hackaday.io Hack Chat group messaging. This week we’ll be sitting down on Wednesday, August 10 at 12:00 PM Pacific time. If time zones have you tied up, we have a handy time zone converter.