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10/11/2026

3 CYBERDECK Features Nobody Even THINKS About Adding…

Most people building a cyberdeck focus on the Raspberry Pi, display, keyboard and battery.

But some of the most interesting features are things you probably wouldn’t think to include in a portable computer.

One is a built in hardware diagnostic system. With the right sensors and circuitry, your cyberdeck could monitor battery voltage, current consumption and internal temperatures, helping you understand what’s happening inside the enclosure.

Another is a dedicated offline information library. Instead of relying on internet access, you could store technical documentation, wiring diagrams, maps and useful reference material directly on your cyberdeck.

And finally, consider adding a removable electronics testing module. With accessible GPIO, compatible connectors and a microcontroller, your cyberdeck could become a portable workstation for programming and testing other hardware.

That’s what makes cyberdecks different from normal laptops.

You aren’t limited to the features a manufacturer decided you should have.

You can design an entire computer around your own projects, tools and interests.

The most useful cyberdeck isn’t necessarily the one with the most components.

It’s the one that can do things your normal computer can’t.

10/10/2026

3 Pieces of OLD TECHNOLOGY You NEED to Reuse Before You Recycle Them

Before throwing away old electronics, take a look at what you might actually be getting rid of.

Some of the most useful hardware for DIY tech projects is already sitting inside devices people consider completely outdated.

Old computers are a perfect example. Even when they can no longer handle modern everyday workloads, they can still become home servers, network storage systems or dedicated Linux machines.

Old smartphones are another incredibly useful option. They already contain displays, batteries, cameras, sensors and wireless connectivity, making them perfect for custom dashboards, controllers or portable computing projects.

And don’t overlook old networking equipment.

A supported router can sometimes become an additional wireless access point, Ethernet switch or a separate network for experimenting with networking concepts.

The important thing is understanding that technology doesn’t become completely useless just because it’s outdated.

A device that struggles to perform its original purpose might still be more than powerful enough for something completely different.

You don’t always need to buy new hardware to build new technology.

Sometimes you just need to find a better purpose for what you already own.

10/09/2026

3 FUTURISTIC Y2K Tech Devices That Still Feel Ahead of Their Time Today…

Some technology from the early 2000s looks more futuristic than devices being released over two decades later.

Y2K technology came from a period when companies were experimenting with completely different ideas of what the future should look like.

Transparent enclosures, unusual displays, physical controls, metallic finishes and strange form factors made everyday electronics feel like something out of a science fiction movie.

And some of those design ideas are still surprisingly relevant today.

Modern handheld computers, portable media devices and custom electronics projects often recreate features that were already appearing in experimental consumer technology during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Of course, modern hardware is significantly more powerful, efficient and capable.

But there’s something interesting about an era when companies were willing to make technology look completely different instead of following the same basic designs.

These three devices are perfect examples of why Y2K technology still inspires so many modern DIY tech projects.

10/08/2026

3 of the BEST Ways to REPURPOSE a Raspberry Pi at Home as a Complete Beginner

If you have an old Raspberry Pi sitting around, you might be surprised how much useful technology you can build without buying another board.

One of the easiest options is turning it into a Pi hole. This allows your Raspberry Pi to filter DNS requests to known advertising and tracking domains across devices configured to use it.

Another option is building a small home server. With the right storage and software, your Pi can host files, run lightweight services or become a place where you experiment with Linux and networking.

You can even turn your Raspberry Pi into a dedicated home dashboard that displays useful information like weather, calendars, system statistics or data from compatible smart home devices.

And you don’t necessarily need the newest Raspberry Pi for any of these projects.

Older boards can still be incredibly useful when you give them one specific job that matches their capabilities.

That’s what makes Raspberry P*s so valuable for learning.

Instead of buying more hardware every time you want to try something new, you can keep finding completely different uses for the same computer.

10/07/2026

3 Y2K TECHNOLOGY Features We NEED to Bring Back Before 2027

Technology has gotten significantly better since the early 2000s, but that doesn’t mean every design decision got better with it.

First, bring back physical controls.

Buttons, switches, dials and dedicated controls gave devices functions you could actually feel instead of putting absolutely everything behind another touchscreen menu.

Second, technology needs personality again.

Transparent plastics, colorful enclosures, unusual shapes and experimental designs made computers and electronics immediately recognizable. You could look at two devices and actually tell them apart.

And finally, bring back technology that encourages you to open it.

Replaceable parts, accessible screws, expansion slots and modular hardware made many older computers much more interesting to repair, upgrade and understand.

We don’t need to bring back 2002 performance.

Just give modern hardware some of 2002’s personality.

10/06/2026

Building a RASPBERRY PI 3 in 1 | Installing Pi Hole | FINAL PART

One Raspberry Pi. Three completely different services.

For the final part of my Raspberry Pi 3 in 1 project, I’m installing Pi hole and finishing the entire system.

I started by turning my Raspberry Pi 5 into a NAS with NVMe storage so I could access files across my network.

Then I added Nextcloud, turning the same hardware into my own private cloud that I could access from my other devices.

Now I’m adding Pi hole.

Pi hole acts as a DNS filtering service for my network, allowing the Pi to block requests to known advertising and tracking domains while also giving me visibility into DNS activity across connected devices.

And all three services are running from the same Raspberry Pi.

That’s what I wanted this project to demonstrate.

Instead of building three separate Raspberry Pi projects, you can take one capable board and turn it into an entire home server that teaches you Linux, networking, storage, self hosting and system administration along the way.

The Raspberry Pi 3 in 1 is officially finished.

10/06/2026

3 of the BEST Additions You Can Add to Your Cyberdeck That Nobody Else Does

Most cyberdecks have the same basic hardware: a computer, display, keyboard and portable power.

But the entire point of building your own computer is being able to add things a normal laptop would never have.

One option is a dedicated ESP32 or microcontroller built directly into the cyberdeck. It can handle sensors, LEDs, physical controls and other electronics independently from your main computer.

Another is a modular expansion system. Instead of permanently installing every accessory, you can create accessible GPIO or other connections that let you attach different modules depending on what you’re doing.

Finally, add a dedicated system display that constantly shows battery information, temperatures, network status or system usage without taking up space on your main screen.

That’s when your cyberdeck stops being a Raspberry Pi inside a cool enclosure.

It becomes a computer designed specifically around YOU.

10/05/2026

How to Design a CUSTOM PCB That’s Compatible With Raspberry Pi | Part 2

Once you understand what you want your PCB to accomplish, the next step is turning that idea into an actual schematic.

For a Raspberry Pi compatible board, that means figuring out exactly how your circuit will interface with the Pi.

You need to identify the GPIO pins your design uses, understand its power requirements, choose the components your circuit needs and determine how everything communicates.

If you’re using something like I2C, for example, you need to understand which pins handle SDA and SCL, what voltage your components operate at and how those devices will connect electrically.

Then you can start placing those components into your schematic and creating the connections that will eventually become physical traces on your PCB.

This is where reading datasheets and double checking pinouts becomes incredibly important.

Don’t worry about making the PCB look perfect yet.

Part 2 is about making sure the circuit itself makes sense before turning that schematic into an actual board layout.

10/05/2026

3 CYBERDECK Builds You Can Make That Will BLOW Your Mind…

A cyberdeck doesn’t have to be a homemade laptop inside a Pelican case.

Build an FPV field station with a display, physical controls and hardware designed around monitoring your equipment away from your desk.

Or build a completely offline cyberdeck loaded with maps, documentation, reference material and useful tools that remain available without depending on an internet connection.

You could even build a portable electronics workstation with GPIO access, an ESP32 or microcontroller built into the system and connections for testing, programming and interacting with other hardware.

That’s where cyberdecks become completely different from normal computers.

You aren’t choosing between laptops someone else designed.

You’re deciding exactly what you want your computer to accomplish and designing the hardware around that purpose.

10/04/2026

Is a SMART MIRROR Actually Worth Building Yourself in 2026?

If your only goal is putting a screen behind a mirror, buying something premade is obviously easier.

But that completely misses the reason I think you should build one yourself.

When you build your own smart mirror, YOU decide what hardware it uses, how large the display is, what information appears on screen and what features you want to add later.

You can reuse an old monitor, choose a Raspberry Pi that actually matches the project and build the frame around the exact size and style you want.

More importantly, you actually learn something from it.

You’re working with Raspberry Pi OS, displays, software configuration, physical measurements, mounting, cable management and troubleshooting while building something you can use every day.

Buying one gives you a smart mirror.

Building one gives you the smart mirror AND the experience of understanding exactly how it works.

That’s why I’d still build one myself in 2026.

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