Topic: My family loves the Chumby!

I knew I was going to love it, but I can't believe my wife (who usually abhors technological curiosities) and my 18 month old son love the Chumby! 

My Wife loves the ability to see the weather on it at a glance. I am using it as an alarm clock on our nightstand, and she can just look at it and see the forcast.

My son loves the touchscreen and all the fun little visual widgets (especially the face maker and the archive.org videos of bugs bunny cartoons) I was amazed at how quick he picked up on it being a touch screen and now pokes at it whenever he gets near.  I have always wanted to share some fun technology things with him, but being 18 months old he can't be trusted with a laptop, or PSP or anything else for that matter. The Chumby I feel safe with him holding and playing with since it is soft and not in danger of being bricked by a miraculous series of button-presses.

Thanks Chumby! I am eager to see what the future brings to my little chumbucket (the name is from Spongebob Squarepants)

2 (edited by bengaldave 2007-11-20 08:30:03)

Re: My family loves the Chumby!

Question on using as alarm clock.

Do you have to turn down the brigtness? It seems that at regular brightness, it is too brite for sleeping.

However, the other setting DIM, it does not have enough contrast for me to see.

Normally, during the day I wear glasses and without glasses my vision is not that good. However, the average alarm clock has enough contrast that I can make out the time from a distance, while I am in bed, without glasses.

I cannot seem to read the time on the chumby when the default digital blue clock is selected, when the brightness is set to DIM.

Re: My family loves the Chumby!

As an alarm clock I don't put Chumby into night mode. I am manually turning the brightness to dim, and made a channel called "sleepy Chumby" that just plays a clock for 5 minutes, then weather for 15 seconds and the moon phases for 15 seconds, then back to the clock.

So far I have been leaving it on "sleepy channel" while I'm at work too, then change it to a fun Channel when I get home" 

I am eager to hear about the battery, I don't have one in myself because it sounds like they were discouraged for a bit, but the battery will top off the chumby-alarm clock for me.

It is dim though, I agree that without glasses/contacts it would be hard to read the time.

Re: My family loves the Chumby!

The battery works fine for me, but i'm not sure how long it would last.