glitter on my hard drive: polly pocket computers & the return of personalized tech
my kingdom for a computer in my makeup compact
the tech I thought we’d have by now
When I wrote my first super secret entry in my pink and pink password journal, I had a sense that the technology in my life would be cutesy, customizable, and effortlessly chic.
Instead, I’m stuck with this space grey brick that feels surgically attached to my hand.
Growing up, technology felt exciting, cutting-edge, life-changing. Not surprising coming from a 90’s baby who grew up just in time to watch the birth of the Digital Age. It was my fault for watching too many spy movies as a kid that made me imagine that, by the time it came to have a computer or gasp cell phone to call my own, it would look way cooler than what it actually ended up being.
Nowadays, our holy trinity of a laptop, tablet, and phone is starting to feel more like a parasite that seems to feed off of our insecurities and now come pre-programmed with an AI application whose greatest selling point seems to be to write your work emails or create some twisted emoji hybrid.
I recently read an interesting article (and by that I mean watched an interesting TikTok), about the growing movement surrounding cyberdecks, custom-built, portable computers designed for niche, specialized, or hobbyist uses. The rabbit hole that I went down over the weekend proceeded to open my mind to different possibilities of what tech that is more personalized and free from the influence of large corporations could like. How we can craft computers and hardware to serve purposes that fit and adapt to our needs, as opposed to the other way around.
what is a cyberdeck?
TL;DR: Cyberdecks were first conceptualized in the 1984 sci-fi novel Neuromancer, where a “cyberdeck” referred to the portable consoles hackers used to jack into cyberspace. They served as personal access points to vast digital worlds, owned and operated by individuals rather than institutions.
Decades later, readers and tinkerers alike began making them real. What started as speculative fiction evolved into a grassroots, DIY movement where people were now building their own computers from Raspberry Pis, recycled keyboards, tiny screens, and handmade or repurposed shells.
There are entire subreddits devoted to the practice (which should surprise no one), showcasing builds that look like everything from rugged field equipment to childhood toys.
At their core, cyberdecks function as a rejection of sealed, space‑gray, one‑size‑fits‑all technology. They make computing feel personal and cutting-edge again, as reflective of your personality as that 2009 Red LG Chocolate phone. And as someone who does not have a computing background, but greatly appreciates the possibility of tech being used for good and for reflecting the sheer magnitude of human creativity, the concept was too alluring to not research further.
what are cyberdecks used for?
Overall, they are not intended to be a product that you can buy off the shelf or designed for mass adoption, but rather serve as an individualized, personal approach to computing that, through their very nature and existence, propel the key themes of sci-fi. Namely, where technology can be seen as a tool of resistance, and a customized hub that predates Apple minimalism and Big Tech ecosystems.
But in specific use cases, cyberdecks can be used for just about anything:
a distraction-free writing machine
a content library (where you can store media like e-books or photos or music) and other digital mementos without storage fees or privacy concerns
a low-stakes way to learn about computing tools and Linux without risking your primary device
a creator hub (complete with a writing center, as described above, coding lab, artwork portfolio display, or even housing crochet patterns!) Credit to Victoria Genesis for this idea on their TikTok).
researching/writing on the go, an entire fan-fiction database (if you’re into that), and all around, a way to reclaim technological agency as your own.
The important thing to remember here is that nothing needs to be optimized. This is “renewed tech”, meaning that, in my mind, it centers around discovery, agency, and exploration. Cyberdecks don’t need to inherently justify themselves—and nor do humans, for that matter.
how to build one: the four essential components
I know absolutely nothing about computers. When I first read that you needed a Raspberry Pi to successfully build a cyberdeck, my first thought was “what does baking have to do with any of this?”
But it turns out, you don’t need to be a computer whiz or Silicon Valley ex-pat to understand how to build a cyberdeck. Just a willing heart, patience, and a dream.
From what I have been able to understand, cyberdecks need four main components, which can be purchased or upcycled from a variety of different sources (such as thrift stores, yard/estate sales, buy nothing FB groups, etc.)
Remember: the point of a cyberdeck is for it to not look like everyone else’s, or mass-produced. Half the fun is customizing it to what you want it to look like!
1. The Brain
Computers need to think, and so a portable brain or processing center, such as a Raspberry Pi, are essential. Raspberry Pis are usually the most popular because they are small, affordable, and can more easily fit and be customized to the shell that you are using.
2. The Screen
Think smaller displays, which are often intentionally modest to emphasize portability and reject infinite scrolling or multitasking. It’s supposed to force more intentional use.
3. The Keyboard
Often recycled or salvaged, these are usually writing and command-driven to emphasize engagement instead of passive consumption.
4. The Shell / Case (my favorite part!)
This is most likely going to be your most expressive element and a great way to showcase your personality and what you want to use your cyberdeck for.
Examples:
Polly Pocket cases
Mermaid clamshell!!!!
Old radios, VHS players, makeup compacts
As we learn to appreciate how technology can showcase just as much of our personality as our hair, makeup, or fashion sense, I find myself so fascinated with cyberdecks because your aesthetic choice can also become a philosophical one. Nostalgia, creativity, and seemingly gendered objects can be reclaimed as serious tech.
When I was learning more about this movement and the creators/instructors behind it, I was pleased to see how so much of cyberdecks were rooted in the punk ideals of rebellion and capitalizing on already-existing analog trends, but in ways that feel realistic and a responsible usage of technology that does, in fact, make our lives easier.
I think what I was learning from these cyberdecks was that technology does not have to be what Big Tech has confined us to—an unsafe, at times predatory or cannibalistic digital wasteland where our every move is tracked and everyone wants to harvest my data to sell me something.
the analog trend without going analog: the cyberdeck as a cultural movement
To extrapolate, today’s reality has often felt like a deluge of space gray and aluminum—minimalism that we have come to worship as a virtue. Sleek, corporatized extensions of ourselves that only seek to extract information from us, instead of using technology as decentralized spaces that emphasize freedom and our own personal uses as opposed to overlords tracking our ever move. The fact that I have politely ask apps “not to track” while still fully knowing that they still will feels like the world’s dumbest Faustian bargain where I already know I’m getting fucked over.
The TikTok user (and Substack author!) Rachel Lowenstein discussed this fascinating phenomenon on the Cyberdeck movement and how the recent re-popularization is mainly being led by women as a re-imagination of patriarchal tech. In her words, she argues that women and girls are sick of the toxic ecosystems that profit off their sexuality and/or dehumanization.
While the internet can be a damaging place for all, as we have reviewed on this Substack before, women and girls are 27 times more likely to be bullied and harassed that men are. Online spaces have become just as policed and unsafe, in some cases, as public ones.
Big Tech, she argues, is inherently masculine in how it has co-opted the definition of what technology can and should look like. Everything is uniform, utilitarian, colorless. The overarching patriarchal, big tech system is designed to maximize profits and ignore a diverse set of stakeholders who might imagine our tech looking different.
We should have known AI on our phones was coming when Apple pre-downloaded the U2 album onto all of our phones. You can tell not a single woman was asked if that was a good idea, because let’s face it, consent has never really been top of mind for a lot of men.
Rachel also argues that cyberdecks present an opportunity to disconnect from traditional technological structures while still sharing in the conveniences that can come with modern computing. I have to concur with this assessment and further argue that, as it does with everything, capitalism has reshaped our relationships with technology in which we now only see it as a staging ground for surveillance, profit, and market value baked in.
What once began as tools of empowerment and connection are now essentially bricks in our hands that track our movements and shopping habits so it can connect to optimized surge pricing, and even tracking and monitoring our health. It is now so addictive that I consider it to be my version of a cigarette break while I’m at work. I need my scroll time or I will riot in the streets!!
Cyberdecks could, in theory, pose as an analog revival that couples with a return to vinyl, notebooks, and film cameras, despite its futuristic elements.
permission to try, your honor?
I will come right out and say it—I don’t know how to code, and the primary reason that I wanted to write this essay was because I was scrolling on TikTok and thought the clamshell cyberdeck was pretty and was very much captivated by the aesthetic. But I want to reframe this as a point, and not an overall flaw.
Technology, computer science, even the basics of coding were never marketed to me as a student. And looking back, I often wonder as to why that is. It turns out my experience is very similar to what is reflected in society—in that girls are more often than not, not encouraged or actively discouraged from pursuing STEM and tech-focused fields, and that even by age six, society by and large already considers boys to have a better grasp on these fields.
But throughout this rabbit hole I was so empowered to see so many folks from diverse backgrounds discussing their excitement at getting involved in tech while having no prior experience. I’m a sucker for when something deemed inherently masculine is given an opportunity for other people to enjoy it. Tech culture often thrives on gatekeeping, and so I see this cyberdeck movement not just as experimentation, but a reframing on traditionally gendered topics to become more democratized. And in this new age of trying to resist Big Tech, this has become all the more important.
wrap up and further resources
Customized tech isn’t just about nostalgia or finally living out your Totally Spies dreams (although yes, maybe that’s part of it), but it also invites curiosity and trying something new that many of us, I am sure, thought off-limits. In short, it’s about reclaiming agency, creativity, and possibility while resisting the efforts of space gray minimalism.
If you are reading this and are planning to build or have already built your own cyberdeck, drop a comment here, I’d love to take a look and fawn over your brilliance!!!
Educational Videos:
ubeboobey
mewtru (pocket kindle)
shey (for ethical consumption)
cocoasAesthetic (latte mani handheld mini game) DUNKIN CYBERDECK
andrea moon street kits
Caitlin Jordan
peebs the fool
If you made it this far, I’m really glad you’re here.
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I really miss old tech. I used to love getting my hands on cool gadgets as a kid, and now everything is stupid and gray and I hate it. I would love to build one of these, but am so overwhelmed by all of the information out there and have no idea where to start. I need someone to explain it to me like I'm 5.
My early 00's inner child yearns so much for cute and customizable tech. A cyber deck in a polly pocket case might heal me