[krainboltgreene]

> A good cyberdeck isn't clean or new. It's well used, customized, hand repaired.

This is not by choice, the subjects of the fiction are criminals who largely do not have legal means to get new equipment.

[zikzak]

That's why the scene in Johnny Mnemonic when they break into that computer store is so cool. He's got a wish list of gear he knows they will have and that he can use out of the box to do what he needs to do. It shows his competence.

[joshspankit]

See my other comment on the “are criminals” definition: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36930716