The most black metal toy laptop out there running Arch Linux.
PinkPad started life as a children’s learning laptop and ended up as a fully functional tiny Linux machine because apparently I looked at a pink toy computer during lockdown and thought:
“yeah, that needs Arch Linux.”
So that’s exactly what happened.
The full (minimally) chaotic write-up, hardware details, software setup, assembly process, and mistakes live on my blog:
➡️ Full build log: https://missmolerat.com/posts/pinkpad/
Per definition, I’d say it very much is.
Back when I originally built it though, I intentionally avoided the term for a few reasons:
- at the time cyberdecks were often very “tactical”, rugged and “hacker bro” coded aesthetically, I wanted something pink, playful and unapologetically girly instead, and I also wanted it to maybe appeal to other girls who normally wouldn’t see themselves in that space
- many cyberdecks also felt more like cyberpunk art objects than practical computers: absolutely cool looking, but often bulky, fragile or not really meant for long-term everyday use
- my actual motivation was simply wanting one of those tiny mini laptops/netbooks that suddenly became popular early pandemic, but during lockdown they were either unavailable or absurdly expensive
So back then I avoided the word.
Nowadays though the cyberdeck scene has become way broader and way more creative, and thankfully no longer feels nearly as narrow as it used to.
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PinkPad is a heavily modified toy laptop based on:
- Raspberry Pi Zero W (v2 with Zero 2 W, Arch Linux Arm dropped their armv6 support :( )
- 5" touchscreen display
- Rii wireless keyboard
- Way too much glue
- Pink nail polish, obviously
The original shell came from a toy learning laptop and was modified to fit actual hardware inside. You find the STLs for this modification in this repo.
It is tiny.
It is impractical.
It is Black Metal.
And yes, it runs Arch, btw.
- Fully functional Arch Linux system
- WiFi
- herbstluftwm
- emacs of course
- my weird touch keyboard hack
- fully functional paw mouse (STLs + code for my "original PCB disappeared so lets 3D print one" follow)
Main components used:
- Raspberry Pi Zero W (or Zero 2, any Pi if you use the printed middle part)
- 5" LCD touch display
- Rii X1 mini wireless keyboard
- LiPo + Boost (or USB powerbank in case you fried your boost just like I did...)
- Random wires from the cable dimension
The exact parts, assembly notes, and build process are documented in the blog post above.
WIP! I was completely surprised this project gained attention six years after its birth, so have some patience, detailed configs and docs follow ;)
.
├── pics/ # README images
├── pink_paw/ # paw mouse code and configs
├── docs/ # Additional notes
└── misc/ # Random supporting files
Some general reading about cyberdecks that happens to mention the PinkPad and that I consider well written (judged by the highly professional standards of someone who usually only reads and writes C code ;))
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taz by Elisa Pfleger
A thoroughly researched German-language article about the feminist and anti-capitalist ideas within the contemporary cyberdeck movement, written by Elisa Pfleger for my favourite leftist newspaper.
https://taz.de/Cyberdeck-Trend-Junge-Frauen-gehen-mit-selbstgebauten-kleinen-Computern-viral/!6201838/ -
MAKE
A wonderful article and collection of cyberdecks and DIY computing projects that, imho, really captures the spirit of the cyberdeck community.
https://makezine.com/article/technology/computers-mobile/destroy-big-tech-with-a-salvaged-cyberdeck/