Although it may seem incredible, the The current concept we have of a laptop was born approximately in 1983. Until clamshell laptops were invented, manufacturers made the keyboard and screen all on one base, with the Apple II being a pretty visual example of what a laptop looked like at the time. Currently, this type of computer has continued to be seen in movies, series, and video games. It is the perfect product for the typical hacker character, who needs to camouflage a computer to access a system without attracting attention, and directly carries a rigid briefcase that transforms into a laptop. These computers are commonly known as «Cyberdecks» and there is a whole community of artisans and Raspberry Pi experts creating their own versions.
The TRS-80 MC-10 Arcade that half Reddit has fallen in love with
The Raspberry Pi subreddit is a gold mine for all those users who like to experiment with technology and tinker with all kinds of gadgets. It is common to see all kinds of projects highly worked and with an outstanding level of craftsmanship.
A few days ago, the user crookdmouth he opened a forum thread showing off his new laptop, which is nothing more than a cyberdeck designed to be a replica of his first computer, a TRS-80MC-10. But he did not only stay with the aesthetics. The computer case is prepared to be a arcade machine for two players. A mix that is not only interesting, but also fits very well with the design of the computer. According to the user, it is not the first time that he has carried out a project of this type. About 9 years ago, he already made his first attempt to create a computer inside a wooden briefcase, but considered his project a failure because the keyboard was really uncomfortable to use.
For this new project, crookdmouth has used a Raspberry Pi 3B with a Pimoroni HyperPixel 4.0 Square display, which is a 4-inch square LCD panel with a 720-by-720-pixel resolution. Then he used a PCB to emulate input from analog sticks from his team, and completed the project with a USB-rechargeable power bank, a series of analog buttons, and a SK-64 mechanical keyboard, which despite being a cheap product, has fully customizable Gateron switches and perfectly matches the aesthetic that you have chosen for your Cyberdeck.
How its creator did it: step by step
The computer is controlled with the analog stick as a mouse. The operating system is loaded onto a microSD card attached to the Raspberry Pi board. On the side, a switch can be flipped to go from battery mode to wired power. And finally, it has an HDMI output to display a TV, a headphone jack, and a USB to introduce the odd peripheral.
The finishing quality of this Cyberdeck Arcade is truly spectacular and worthy of being carried out by a true professional. In the Reddit thread, its creator has not only explained the process, but has also uploaded a image gallery to Imgur with the Step by Step What did you do to develop the project?