Cyberdecks, going analog, and convivial technology

aakkartik 3 days ago 18 commentsRead Article on blog.hydroponictrash.solar

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Discussion (18 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews

nl•about 1 hour ago

I recently got a (good!) 3D printer, and that combined with Claude has got me building lots of custom hardware devices using ESP32s.

I don't really see the value in a full-computer experience (which seems to be what most cyberdecks try to do - badly) but I can see utility in "sidecar"-style hardware, which is more akin to a phone app but with a better experience because of custom hardware.

stackghost•about 1 hour ago

I'd be very interested in reading about the kinds of hardware projects you're doing with esp32s and your printer!

nl•14 minutes ago

I have a (very much!) enhanced version of https://github.com/anthropics/claude-desktop-buddy running on a different ESP32 board with a case: https://github.com/nlothian/claude-desktop-buddy-FNK010B/tre...

I have a bunch of Home Assistant controls using a variety of custom controls and cases.

I have a custom version of Seeed's ESPClaw (https://github.com/Seeed-Projects/espclaw - there are a lot of other ESP Claws too) with a case.

I'm working on a Tamgotchi-style mini-game device using ESP-NOW to connect with nearby devices.

Lots of other random projects at various stages of development.

cobertos•6 minutes ago

Any chance you have or could post pics of those custom HA controllers? Seeing custom interactables and how they integrate with ppl's environments are always suuuuper interesting

icedrift•39 minutes ago

Something I've been doing is making an automated hydroponic tent. Temp, humidity, EC sensors and a few servos to control nutrients all feed into an esp32 + servo controller and broadcast data through a local webapp. Just need to add a camera for timelapses and remote viewing.

ideasphere•about 2 hours ago

Cyberdecks are nice for photos and build blog posts, but does anyone actually regularly use them?

yummypaint•about 1 hour ago

For general compute they will lose to a laptop, but that isn't supposed to be their purpose. I think the best use cases require extra hardware that would make a laptop too bulky or awkward. For example a deck with a VNA, SDR, scope, and arbitrary waveform generator for field work with radio equipment. The traditional computer capabilities are sort of extra. Any sort of diagnostic "cart" with a dedicated computer and a bunch of test equipment could be a candidate for miniaturization.

inigyou•33 minutes ago

I'm imagining a computer set up for DJing with big-ass speakers on the outside top lid, and a bunch of analog controls on either side of the keyboard, and a heavy battery.

matheusmoreira•about 1 hour ago

Been working on a handheld cyberdeck with a good thumb keyboard. I'm masochistic enough to write entire projects on my smartphone with vim running inside termux, so I think anything that improves on this will certainly be used.

Measured my thumb's swiping arc and designed a split keyboard specifically for my hands. Managed to get every symbol in there with no layers. Now I just need to save up some money and order protypes so I can get a feel for the switches. Can't move forward until I've perfected the keyboard.

overvale•33 minutes ago

They're interactive art projects!

tartoran•about 1 hour ago

I got a ClockworkPi uConsole and am not really using it much, and that’s because it’s become very hard for me to read on the high dpi small screen for too long.

skydhash•12 minutes ago

The two non computer device I use today are my digital audio player (DAP) and my ereader. If I have the time and money, that would be the kind of specialized tasks that I could design a cyberdeck towards. The laptop form factor is quite nice for computing although I would like more direct ports than USB which is complex for experimentation.

glaslong•about 2 hours ago

More of a fun Maker project for sure

Retr0id•about 2 hours ago

The ideal "cyberdeck" form factor is just a regular laptop. So to the extent that a macbook pro counts as a cyberdeck, yes.

functionmouse•about 2 hours ago

no, they're plastic crap for kickstarter photos. not designed for human hands.

They once existed (see Sony Vaio P 2nd gen; coolest thing in the universe) but modern OEMs no longer have such taste.

colechristensen•about 2 hours ago

I always wanted one of the tiny form factor laptops but during that period I had a specific need for a real non-usb hardware serial port and instead bought a laptop that actually had one which was very strange (2009 maybe?)

inigyou•36 minutes ago

At CCCamp 2023 was someone showing off how they converted a laptop with a broken screen into a cyberdeck by removing the screen and permanently connecting the bottom half to VR glasses.

There was also a musical Tesla coil. And some group called Anderstorp, who converted a massive obsolete router into a beer tap.

jesse_dot_id•about 1 hour ago

I became an engineer because I'm lazy.