What happened with keyboard computers? They used to be all the rage back in the nineties and they were sexy as fuck...

That's sexy as fuck. Reminds me of a high end synth.

No. Raspberry pis are piss poor shit. Use something with some substance behind it.

Someday I'm going to do that, with a stripped-down Model M. I'll build C64 form factor, 3d print the case. Use a tiny-ass mobo. R9 Nano or the like on a PCIe riser, compact PSU.

I'll then add lots of schway LEDs and EL strips, refuse to hook it up to anything but a VR headset, and call it a cyberdeck. Like pic related, but more neon and less faggotry.

Needs more toggle switches.

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I know its' devs are sjws, but it is really the best SBC on the market. Beaglebones are like 2 years behind development, they're still stuck with only half a gig of ram.

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The Pis have a fuckton of documentation, which is helpful. They're also targeted by most of the SBC scene, so some things would have to be ported if you were using another SBC. They have their place, and there's nothing wrong with buying one used. However, they do have a lot of stupid design flaws that can limit them, such as the bottlenecking.
For a general computer you're probably better off with the Odroid XU4. It's got an 8 core processor from one of Samsung's flagship phones, 2GB RAM and a USB3 port. It's a bit pricier, but much more convenient to use as a daily driver.

Then again you can just take a laptop, remove the lid, and have a much better keyboard computer. A Thinkpad with a broken screen can't cost that much more than a RasPi/Odroid, but it'll be much better to work with.

That style of computer was popular as a concept in several cyberpunk fashion circles, they called them 'cyberdecks'

>>>/cyber/28346
reddit.com/r/cyberDeck/

The idea was that instead of a typical screen you'd use an HMD with a virtual desktop for extra cool points. This caught on when people expected the Oculus Rift to cost less than $500 and be good enough to replace several screen at once. A curious case of believing the marketing hype was grossly understated. When HMDs cost around a grand and were a blurry pixelated mess that needed an incredibly powerful computer the fad died out instantly.

If anything their lofty expectations for VR is a good indicator as to why it's dead currently.

Fisher-Price: My First Reddit Deck

At least they're hand assembled and unique. For a typical teenager this might seem like a fun project.

I'm sure people said similar disparaging remarks when highly customized gaming rigs to show off at LAN parties were fashionable. Now it's a massive industry and you'll have a hard time finding a case that doesn't have removable disk trays, easy access with thumbscrews and wire management built in.

Poor C64

They gutted an old C64c and threw shit in the chassis. Low effort if you ask me.

I'm not looking for a daily driver. That's what my laptop/desktop are for.

Well, there obviously is a market for all in one computers, but I don't understand why can't there be one for keyboard computers. You can cram more powerful hardware in it and get rid of the fucking case in the process.

?
explain

other than the fact that baked-in sound cards are common (and even those, you can still use optionally).. what?

laptops have to stay somewhat lightweight in order to sit on people's laps

If you over price them too you could sell it to idiots who think they got a great deal on some "advanced" tech. People are stupid, take advantage of this.

You can still buy those barebones C64x cases if you know who to ask (the guy's son). I bought two from him, and they have Cherry MX Blues on them. If you just want modern internals inside a C64 case, this man's your guy: retropc64.jimdo.com/
This guy has done exactly what the OP wants before, and he's planning on doing it again so keep an eye on his channel: youtube.com/watch?v=z_EMulPGc6I

Chinese keyboard computers:
geekbuying.com/item/K3-Wintel-Keyboard-Windows-10-MINI-PC-with-76-Keys---Touch-Pannel-Intel-Z3735F-2G-32G-802-11-b-g-n-LAN-Bluetooth4-0-HDMI-VGA---White-363503.html
banggood.com/OneBoard-Pro-Smart-Mechanical-Keyboard-Built-in-Android-4_4-Computer-p-966938.html
Cybernet's ZPC line is the closest to a mainstream keyboard computer manufacturer.

Like I said, I'll use a Model M. Or a Unicomp. I'm not going to hack apart vintage hardware for the case.

The concept of the deck goes back much further, to early Gibson works. The aesthetic and portable nature came about due to Shadowrun.

Tell that to Razer.

All in one PCs where the PC is just attached to the back of the display took over, and for good reason.

They're still sold, I see semi-recent ones at the dentist I visit.
They could easily have higher spec modern versions on the consumer market, but I haven't seen any.

neowin.net/news/this-slim-foldable-keyboard-is-actually-a-windows-10-pc-the-pipo-kb2

This looks like exactly what you're asking about. I have been waiting for these to be released since April, ut the release dates have come and gone with zero new info.

Hacked C64 case with bad paintjob, ugly stickers and worse keyboard. :(

My underage friend, back then sound chips were socketed to the main board and could be swapped. It was common practice to take the SID chips out of Commodore 64Cs and replace them with original SIDs because original SIDs were made with different filters and produced slightly different sound that many people found more desirable

We added monitors to them and called them laptops.

There are two different classes of laptop nowadays
1.) The lightweight portable laptop

2.) The thick. ruggds, desktop-replacements that are essentially all-in-one desktops with batteries and very high-end desktop grade hardware, commonly seen in the form of gaming laptops and portable workstations.

Sounds familiar

FUCK

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So, I didn't know that these were a thing.

It sounds like it'd be a super fun project though. I see that there's a C64 VIC-64 + monitor in perfect condition locally for $175. I figure that's a little expensive given what I can find on eBay, but am wondering how Holla Forums feels about it. Monitor is 1702.

There is also a functional VIC 20 for $50.

I got a Vic-20 + 1702 monitor off Craigslist for just 100 bucks total, and it came with the original box and manuals

this fucking retard

What?

There was a kickstarter to bring new cases using using Amiga A1200 form factor with some up to date features. Other kickstarters will come for keyboard replacement but you can already turn an original a1200 keyboard into a usb one using a keyrah 2 adapter from individual computers.

Not a single one with an ergo dox for easy comfy typing on that retarded strapped form factor.

The killer when buying monitors on ebay is the shipping costs.
A friend of mine found some VIC stuff for me from an old machine shop. I think I paid ~$150 total for 3 VICs (1 was broken), 2 1702 monitors, manuals, cassette decks, software, and some peripherals.

If you're in the UK, you could always try an Acorn.

Wouldn't it be quite easy to make a cyberdeck out of a laptop?

Just take off the monitor and bam you're done. Most laptops have some kind of video output for external monitors so you could just plug your HMD into that. I personally I've been looking at some "drone racing" HMDs but man those are expensive for how shitty they are but I don't really want anything like the gaming HMD with all kinds of useless tracking.

Then you have the bottom half of a laptop. No cool form factor, no room for additional features or expandability. Shit, man, with a slightly larger case you could stick bits of networking equipment inside. Little Microtik router? Hub for packet capture? Wireless AP? Easy, just make space for it.

On the topics of HMDs, I really hope Vuzix comes out with a nice, high-res display of some kind. They've done some really cool glasses-based ones, but the resolution was always shit, like 320x240, and used a compound cable. Give me transparent 960x1080 over one eye, and I'll be happy for life.

I remember we were still using this things in school circa 2002/2003. I never understood why we used them for the sort of stuff we were doing during IT class when they'd already been redundant for years at that point in time.

Laptops have horrendous keyboards though since they gotta fold together.

Why would anyone do this, you might as well use a laptop.

I'm pretty sure it's one of those newly made cases that are available in red.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Reminds me of this.

Please tell me that's some sort of ironic cosplay. Because if not, wow.

Talk about slapping a motherboard behind a keyboard...

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I actually have a ToughMate case for my CF-19 which includes a harness to do exactly like that pic of yours

Owning such a thing, OK. I got no beef with that. People own weird stuff. No big deal.

But the question is... do you actually USE it in public?

You haven't seen many laptops yet, son.
notebookreview.com/notebookreview/avadirect-clevo-p570wm-review/

Clevo didn't listen:

No, because I sold my CF-19 a few weeks ago to fund a CF-31.

And if I still had it, I wouldn't use the harness anyway.

holy fuck it's Alex Jacobson irl

LCDs got cheap enough that they could be attached as a cover for the keyboard.

That's a sexy computer, I'd buy it.

Hey Holla Forumsnicians, look at this
cybernetman.com/en/Keyboard-pc/

this guy would make an awful street samurai

Now all you need are some wind turbines to keep it cool.