Cyberdecks are short-tempered, rejecting major technical oversights in style and materials
When I reach out to the self-proclaimed “open source baddie” CC for an interview, I’m pretty sure he’s emailing me from a pink wallet.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” he tells me of his seashell cyberdeck. “It’s a Tamagotchi. And it’s an e-reader. It’s connected to my vault and my servers, so it has access to all my server data, which has all my PDFs, and books, and notes, and everything… It’s also connected to my AI setup at home.”
CC doesn’t have a background in software engineering or computer science, but she’s been successful enough at building unusual cyberdecks — DIY minicomputers — that she’s documenting the process on her Bimbo Tech blog so other women can follow her lead, even if they don’t know what RAM is.
The cyberdeck concept originated in William Gibson’s 1984 sci-fi novel “Neuromancer,” and when credit card-sized computers like the Raspberry Pi hit the market in the 2010s, hardware enthusiasts began building and sharing their cyberdecks in niche online communities. But in the past few months, these communities have grown in popularity thanks to women on social media teaching each other to build creative, gender-neutral computers by documenting their building processes.
“I have a joke that there’s this misogyny in tech – because whenever they put out a high-end model, or a high-end model… I always like, let me guess, black or silver,” CC said. “It will never be pink.”
The process of customizing and designing a cyberdeck has become an art in itself. On Instagram and TikTok, you can find a cyberdeck made of wood and moss that uses Game Boy Color games; a desert-inspired MP3 player built inside a 3D-printed fossil; a Barbie doll house that opens to reveal a working mini-computer; or an image of a duck that can be used to record voice notes.
“I don’t want Meta AI glasses. I want to loot books with a decorated little shell,” said creator Sarahbelle Kim on TikTok. “Nobody can guard you there. You can get some basic parts at a thrift store or eBay and just customize them.”
There is clearly an aesthetic motivation in the rise of girly cyberdecks – why? not use a Hello Kitty wallet to check your email? It’s fun for fun’s sake. But the women who build these top-notch cyberdecks aren’t all about glitter. This trend reaches its peak at a time when people feel powerless against the ubiquitous homogeneity of big technology.
“I think that’s a refreshing thing for people who are sold these devices like Apple… If you try to jailbreak, if you try to do anything on this phone that you paid $1,000 for, it’s out of warranty,” CC said. “So I like to see people put the power back in their hands, put the power back in their hands, which always means creativity when people are given ways to get out of the black box.”
Maro Vardanyan doesn’t work with hardware as a blockchain developer, but he always enjoys collecting and playing with old computer parts.
“A few months ago, I just started doing a hobby and making jewelry pieces and bags out of old recycled or refurbished computers that I had,” she said. “When I saw everyone making cyberdecks, I was like, wait, why am I just making recycled and refurbished ones when I can save the pieces in a wearable, mobile thing?”
Vardanyan took a different approach to creating cyberdecks, choosing to emphasize the historical relationship between fiber art and technology. Vardanyan refers to her work as “computer crochet” or “macrame motherboards,” a deliberate nod to the role of weaving — a practice often considered a domestic, female activity — in the history of early computing.
Before silicon processors, some early computers used magnetic memory, which was made up of copper wires that were finely stretched to combine the 1’s and 0’s of a binary code. For example, in order for NASA to build the Apollo Guidance Computer, expert textile workers were tasked with carefully weaving the cables in intricate intricate patterns, which powered the spacecraft that put the first man on the moon.
“The original processor was hand-woven by tailors, not engineers or anyone else,” he said. “I feel like hand-weaving, even fashion-meets-technology… A very full circle.”
Vardanyan began weaving pink Raspberry Pis into bags and corsets, then posted photos of her works in progress to X.
“Of course, when macrame is growing, all the men are like, ‘This is such a waste of a Raspberry Pi,’ … or, ‘what about the rain?'” she said. “And then I have to be like, ‘Actually, it’s kept in an acrylic shell.’ Then they’re like, ‘This is too active, and the GPIO is going to lose power!’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, I’m using a steering wheel, so it’s going to move and be fully functional.’
CC has also met some demeaning men on the internet who object to the idea that someone could use a Raspberry Pi for something as ridiculous as a beach bag computer during a RAM shortage.
“This guy on Reddit was like, ‘You built your first computer a month ago, calm the f— down.’ Mind you, I’ve been building PCs for years,” said CC. “So, long story short, he ends up apologizing and buying me a circuit board for my next cyberdeck.”
From CC’s mermaid purse computer to Vardanyan’s Raspberry Pi corset, these cyberdecks outright defy Silicon Valley culture, and not just in their surprising embrace of the color pink. They don’t work and they don’t work on purpose, which seems insulting in a culture so obsessed with perfection that unregulated Chinese peptide injections are all the rage. It’s a bold move to choose a tricky, DIY tech experience to build an intimate relationship with devices that feel invisible despite their ubiquity.
“Ten years ago, I would walk into a conference, there would be three girls, and people would just say, ‘Have you been hired by the marketing team?'” Vardanyan said. “I can’t even tell you how amazing it is to see so many girls on social media and Instagram getting into hardware, getting into software, and teaching. [each other]and that is a strength we lack at all levels in society.”
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