• Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Topic: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

I'm on vacation with my Chumby One and have not been able to use it much. My inlaws house has unreliable wifi (not Chumbys fault) and now I am at a hotel with free wifi, but the wifi requires a "click through" screen to activate usage, and the Chumby does not have a browser.

So, some suggestions :

- a mode of operation that will allow use of Chumby features that do not require internet, like :
-- playing music from the SD card or flash or iPod
-- playing sleep sounds
-- alarm clock

Sort of like "airplane mode" for your iPhone. I would not mind having to swap the SD card to get this, though built-in would be nice.

- a browser with enough functionality (lynx may be good enough) to allow me to "click through" the hotel wi-fi screens to activate the connection.  Another workaround would be to allow me to enter a mac address manually...I could activate the connection via my netbook, then use that MAC address on the Chumby.

Otherwise, Chumby is an amazing device for the price.  Happy so far.

Cheers,
Tom

  • Registered: 2009-11-26
  • Posts: 140

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Re: the click through wifi page at the hotel -- http://wiki.chumby.com/mediawiki/index. … pture_page

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Just looked at that page. Yuk. Has anyone ported Lynx to the Chumby? Wouldn't that be "good enough" in most cases? It would also be a more universal solution.

--tom

  • Registered: 2009-12-27
  • Posts: 65

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

tomtiki wrote:

Just looked at that page. Yuk. Has anyone ported Lynx to the Chumby? Wouldn't that be "good enough" in most cases? It would also be a more universal solution.

nc is on there if you feel like bashing out the HTTP manually.  wget as well but depends on how the portal page is set up.

  • Duane
  • Duane
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

There's a hack on this thread for using a chumby offline - you can set and use alarms with the built-in beeps, see the time, play MP3s on a dongle, and listen to the FM radio on the C1.  It's a simple script on a USB dongle that launches the internal Control Panel.

I use this when I'm in a hotel or other location with hostile wifi.  We're considering making this a supported behavior.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Duane wrote:

There's a hack on this thread for using a chumby offline - you can set and use alarms with the built-in beeps, see the time, play MP3s on a dongle, and listen to the FM radio on the C1.  It's a simple script on a USB dongle that launches the internal Control Panel.

I use this when I'm in a hotel or other location with hostile wifi.  We're considering making this a supported behavior.

A built in "offline" Chumby mode would be super. I was going to use the sleep sounds last night, but was blocked by the hotel wifi auth.

I'll build the dongle as soon as I can get my hands on one :-)

--tom

  • From: Austin, Texas...Y'all
  • Registered: 2008-08-01
  • Posts: 269

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

tomtiki wrote:

I'm on vacation with my Chumby One and have not been able to use it much. My inlaws house has unreliable wifi (not Chumbys fault) and now I am at a hotel with free wifi, but the wifi requires a "click through" screen to activate usage, and the Chumby does not have a browser.

So, some suggestions :

- a mode of operation that will allow use of Chumby features that do not require internet, like :
-- playing music from the SD card or flash or iPod
-- playing sleep sounds
-- alarm clock

Sort of like "airplane mode" for your iPhone. I would not mind having to swap the SD card to get this, though built-in would be nice.

- a browser with enough functionality (lynx may be good enough) to allow me to "click through" the hotel wi-fi screens to activate the connection.  Another workaround would be to allow me to enter a mac address manually...I could activate the connection via my netbook, then use that MAC address on the Chumby.

Otherwise, Chumby is an amazing device for the price.  Happy so far.

Cheers,
Tom

Do you have a laptop? If so, get a MAC address spoof program and spoof the Chumby's MAC and you can get the "click through" that way. Then when you have the chumby running, you can then let the laptop have it's MAC back. Or a travle router works great too and you can have a secure WLAN of your own and run how many and what ever you want.

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

burkhardi wrote:

Do you have a laptop? If so, get a MAC address spoof program and spoof the Chumby's MAC and you can get the "click through" that way. Then when you have the chumby running, you can then let the laptop have it's MAC back. Or a travle router works great too and you can have a secure WLAN of your own and run how many and what ever you want.

Travel router is a good idea. I'll look into the spoofing software.

It would be nice to be able to do this "out of the box", but I understand wanting to keep the Chumby simple.

--tom

  • From: Austin, TX
  • Registered: 2009-05-07
  • Posts: 471

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

tomtiki, I've put up a binary of elinks, a text mode browser, at http://drop.io/chumby_utils -- just download it, ungzip it, and put it on the device.

unwiredben's Website

  • Registered: 2009-12-18
  • Posts: 76

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

It has to be said... but...

Muahaha, first post from my Chumby with unwiredben's elinks build. I think! wink

AWESOME! Thanks SO MUCH for this! Ahh, if only I knew how to compile programs to begin with...

  • ranl
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  • Registered: 2009-12-21
  • Posts: 6

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Duane wrote:

There's a hack on this thread for using a chumby offline - you can set and use alarms with the built-in beeps, see the time, play MP3s on a dongle, and listen to the FM radio on the C1.  It's a simple script on a USB dongle that launches the internal Control Panel.

I use this when I'm in a hotel or other location with hostile wifi.  We're considering making this a supported behavior.

As a new Chumby owner, I'd like to see this. I took my Chumby to work today to show it off, and the only thing I could do (since the wifi is user/pass protected) is set the time and date.
I guess my other question/observation is why you can't even set an alarm or listen to the FM radio if there is no wifi present?

Thanks!

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

I think I answered the last question in the block you quoted - there is a hack for it, and we're considering adding this as a supported behavior.

The current behavior predates the time we added such sophisticated alarms and music sources - back then, all the chumby did was play widgets and that was pointless without the network.  It's obviously time to re-examine that behavior.

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

I am unable to get my Chumby One to boot with "debugchumby" on the USB key. I have tried 3 different keys. File was edited with "vi" on Mac OS X. Anything else to try?

  • ranl
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  • Registered: 2009-12-21
  • Posts: 6

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Duane wrote:

I think I answered the last question in the block you quoted - there is a hack for it, and we're considering adding this as a supported behavior.

The current behavior predates the time we added such sophisticated alarms and music sources - back then, all the chumby did was play widgets and that was pointless without the network.  It's obviously time to re-examine that behavior.

Duane,

You did. I should of cut/copied/pasted out everything but the "...Were considering making this a supported behavior". My post was supporting the no-internet 'airplane mode' Product Suggestion.


Thank you.

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

unwiredben wrote:

tomtiki, I've put up a binary of elinks, a text mode browser, at http://drop.io/chumby_utils -- just download it, ungzip it, and put it on the device.

Unwiredben....you rock like a hurricane! I've got a Chumby One...where do I drop the widget?
Cheers...tom
P.S. I'd love to hear more about your class at NYC Resistor.

  • From: Austin, TX
  • Registered: 2009-05-07
  • Posts: 471

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

The class details at up at http://hackingthechumby.eventbrite.com -- I don't have a full syllabus yet, it all depends on what I get working by the end of January.

unwiredben's Website

17 Reply by tomtiki (edited by tomtiki 2010-01-01 10:00:13)

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

This should probably go to a new topic, but I'm still having difficulties getting the "debugchumby" script to run.

I was using a 1GB Kingston DataTraveler, which seems to have issues with mounting (sometimes it doesn't). I sshd into the Chumby and would often find that the drive had not mounted. So I switched to a Lexar Firefly 512 which is mounting consistently

While I was logged in, I looked around for the controlpanel.x file referenced in the script :


#!/bin/sh

chumbyflashplayer.x -i /usr/widgets/controlpanel.x


I couldn't find a controlpanel.x, so I changed it to controlpanel.swf


#!/bin/sh

chumbyflashplayer.x -i /usr/widgets/controlpanel.swf

Then I took out the blank line :

#!/bin/sh
chumbyflashplayer.x -i /usr/widgets/controlpanel.swf

Still not booting from the USB

What am I missing here?

Update : I'm thinking that controlpanel.swf is the network enabled control panel and controlpanel.x does not require network access. If that is the case, then everything is working normally for me, and I am launching the same control panel as the Chumby normally launches, so I am seeing no difference booting via USB.

--tom

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

You're correct about the "swf" extension - my typo, sorry.

What editor are you using to create the "debugchumby" file - because this is Linux, the line endings *must* be linefeeds, not carriage returns (which would be produced by NotePad, for instance).

Duane's Website

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

A more elegant solution to the "no network" problem would be something along the lines of Christian's solution from 2008 :

http://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=1982

This runs all required resources on the Chumby locally, then redirects the Chumby to those local processes. Full functionality is maintained. Network processes initiated from the Chumby would probably still work.

Is there a list of widgets that do not require network connectivity?

Wondering if this works on the Chumby One. I'm going to hack it and try.

--tom

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Duane wrote:

You're correct about the "swf" extension - my typo, sorry.

What editor are you using to create the "debugchumby" file - because this is Linux, the line endings *must* be linefeeds, not carriage returns (which would be produced by NotePad, for instance).

I'm using vi. If I do a "set list" in vi, I see $ at the end of lines.

--tom

  • Duane
  • Duane
  • Blue Octy
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  • From: San Diego, CA
  • Registered: 2006-08-24
  • Posts: 8,197

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Hmmm, weird - I used this exactly hack over the Xmas weekend in a hotel with a chumby one.

Duane's Website

22 Reply by tomtiki (edited by tomtiki 2010-01-01 10:29:30)

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Duane wrote:

Hmmm, weird - I used this exactly hack over the Xmas weekend in a hotel with a chumby one.

Is there some way I can tell if the script is actually running? It appears to be booting as normal, ignoring the USB drive. The drive is mounted.

--tom

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

unwiredben wrote:

tomtiki, I've put up a binary of elinks, a text mode browser, at http://drop.io/chumby_utils -- just download it, ungzip it, and put it on the device.

Ben,

Not sure where I should put this binary...I am familiar with Unix/Linux but Chumby is uncharted territory.

Would I invoke this from a USB keyboard?

Thanks,
Tom

  • ranl
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  • Registered: 2009-12-21
  • Posts: 6

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

Tom

I also created the debugchumby script that Duane referenced above, and was having the same problem (it wouldn't boot from USB). I was able to get the C1 to boot from my USB drive only after I turned off my wireless. It seems that the C1 tries to start the network first and if the C1 can bring up the network it would do so instead of running the debugchumby script from the USB.

--ranl

  • Registered: 2009-11-30
  • Posts: 34

Re: suggestion : no-internet "airplane mode" , simple browser

ranl wrote:

Tom

I also created the debugchumby script that Duane referenced above, and was having the same problem (it wouldn't boot from USB). I was able to get the C1 to boot from my USB drive only after I turned off my wireless. It seems that the C1 tries to start the network first and if the C1 can bring up the network it would do so instead of running the debugchumby script from the USB.

--ranl

Ranl,

See post 19 in this thread. I gave up on the simple script an decided to use Christian's method for offline usage, which involves moving some code to the external USB drive :

http://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=1982

Here is his description :

"Basically I put everything the chumby needs on the local web-server and redirect the chumby to localhost instead of chumby.com"

The problem with the simple script......What if you are in a situation where wireless exists, but you can't access it? Will the simple script fail over properly? I would rather boot it into a mode where the wifi is not expected.

Christian's method provides an alternative environment for the Chumby. After tweaking the code with updates that he lists later in the thread, I have it mostly working. Last time I ran it I had to manually repair the /psp/hosts file by running a special "debugchumby" script (mentioned in the thread). You can put widgets on the USB drive and invoke them from the Chumby.

Once this boots, the wifi is still running, though you can turn it off like this :

/sbin/ifconfig rausb0 down

and back on like this :

/sbin/ifconfig rausb0 up

Be aware that if you have a wi-fi connection that was previously working with the Chumby, it will use that connection. It just doesn't need it. I had to turn off my wi-fi to make the normal widgets quit working. I would prefer that it just ignore the connection so that I know my widgets are standalone.

Another complicating issue is that the controlpanel widget will continuously try to restart the connection if it goes down. Not sure how to solve that.

--tom