The Cyberdeck is a handcrafted portable computer inspired by William Gibson's 1980s science fiction. Essentially, this is a cyberpunk laptop. So the “writer's deck” is a similar concept, but only for writing text. I was indulge with some commercial options recently. But I think there may be a new champion in both device categories: Micro Journal Rev 2.1. Look at this beautiful thing. Just look at this!
Woon Kyu Lee has spent the last couple of years designing, 3D printing and hand-assembling a series of Micro Journal gadgets, carefully documenting his efforts to create YouTube And /r/writerdeck. Version 2.1 is actually its 10th generation (at least) and a slight revision of the earlier model. Lee's choices are eclectic and very personal – he has everything from a full-fledged mini-laptop to a device with a 2.8-inch screen that you can attach a keyboard to. One of his last projects was the creation new retrofuturistic case for AlphaSmart Neo 2classics of the niche category of writing devices of the 90s and 2000s.
But having followed his work for some time, I think Micro Journal 2.1 may be his masterpiece. It uses a 65% mechanical keyboard with a standard layout that is more user-friendly than some ortholinear keyboards in other Micro Journals. It has a full LCD screen instead of e-ink for faster response, and at 8 inches wide, it's relatively huge compared to most earlier Micro Journals displays. It has built-in batteries for portability, although they are AA size and must be replaced manually. Documents can be accessed through the web interface from another device or manually transferred from a USB drive.
And he's powered by Raspberry Pi Zero 2 Wso that you can continue its work WordGrinder (the focused recording environment that boots by default) or flash it with a huge number of other operating systems compatible with a semi-standardized microcomputer. If you wish, you can even turn it into a classic gaming emulator. (Please don't do this. Mr. Lee is a good guy and I think it will hurt him if he sees this.)
The design looks like a nice mix of suitcase typewriters and classic 80s all-in-ones, something that would fit at home next to a Commodore 64 or Osborne 1. And those round knobs on the sides aren't just decorative! These are up/down and left/right buttons, which make the gadget even more pleasant to the touch.
You can buy Micro Journal 2.1 – along with some of its earlier designs – at Tindie Store Un Kyu Lee. (In case you're wondering, it costs $359, which is much less than some similar, less feature-rich models in the Pomera and Freewrite lines.) But these pieces are quickly becoming hard-to-find collectibles, since Lee assembles each one by hand and only has time for very limited editions.
If you have a soldering iron and a 3D printer and are up to the task, you can build it yourself. As a believer in open source software and hardware, Lee provides print files, instructions, and specifications for all of his Micro Journal devices. on GitHub.
