Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

I want a Chumby too!, and btw id like to have 2 more arms and legs too, can you do all that.? I sure hope so!

(sorry) Man I love all this hype over a clock. OMG i really cant wait till day 1 release. Thinking of getting 2? (sorry)

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

I can't wait to get one of these for my boyfriend, as he's big into opensource. I think he'll love it, so if it comes out in Spring '07 that's what he's getting for his birthday.

I'd get one too, but I'm way less technical than him.

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

tipp2chicago wrote:

I'd get one too, but I'm way less technical than him.

Well, the device isn't *just* for hackers - we actually intend for this to be used by everyone.  We're making early units available to hackers in order to see what they do with them, but we expect them to actually be in the minority of users.

In the the long run, we're more interested in what *you* want it to do.

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

bunnie wrote:

Hi there, sorry to hear that your display is flickering. There is an ambient light sensor in the chumby that tries to adjust the brightness of your screen when the room light level is low. Two possible causes for your problem are either that the light sensor is slightly noisy (this could be caused by shadows moving across the sensor), or your display's dimmed backlight threshold is set too low for the display's backlight to perform in a stable fashion. This is a known bug in the current run of chumbys. Thus, one possible workaround is to go to your control panel, go to the screen icon (near the top left of the control panel), and swing the display brightness slider toward the right. Try going all the way first and seeing if it fixes your problem and then you can try finding a lower threshold that does some display dimming.

It may also be that the light sensor is varying according to the frequency of the mains if the sensor is monitoring fluo tube lighting.
Just my 2c :d
Cheers Grahame

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

I am really looking forward to the product release, but given what I have seen and read about so far, I am curious why people who have computers and/or pda's need an additional device, with an additional monthly fee, for information that is all available already on websites, or on a computer, or a pda-in other words, what is (are) the really unique service or feature that makes a Chumby irresistible.  My sense is that the history of technology is that "hardware-based" functionality always winds up getting subsumed in other, more functional devices and becomes a feature in that device-why is chumby different?  I am asking this critically-I REALLY am curious to see how I am misunderstanding the marketplace.

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

We've tried to cover the "why is a chumby different than another device I may already have" in this blog post:

http://chumby.wordpress.com/2006/08/29/ … he-chumby/

Happy to provide more clarification if you'd like.  The important difference is in the notion of "continuous partial attention" and in the form-factor.  These days almost anything with a microprocessor can emulate almost anything else -- the issue is design and suitability.

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

I am not sure if I understand

"the notion of "continuous partial attention"?

-a chumby is disconnected from your pc, but is part of your home or office wi-fi, right?  so I assume that the "partial attention" has to do with the time when we are disconnected from our main data source, the pc?

What I am trying to figure out, and I do like the form-factor as I have observed it on your website........is aside from the fact that its a really cool device that is touch sensitive (I presume)-no keyboard-and allows me to have data "streamed" to me (am I right?), or at least emulated between my two devices (pc and chumby?)

what functionality does chumby provide me, in my personal wi-fi or my office wi-fi space, that I don't get from my Mac or PC? 

I understand that the chumby is portable, wireless, etc, and I can put it on my bedside table-like a radio.  And I understand that if the open source community helps you develop widgets and all of that, it will be a far more functional device a year from now than it is now-----all of which is great!

But I am trying to understand, if it does all these wi-fi things and allows independent development, etc., why would I need this on my bedside table rather than getting out of bed, without the benefit of a chumby, walking to my laptop or my desktop machine and getting all that info, alerts, music, etc. THERE?

And, as a suggestion, why don't you include in the device one of these new "express cards" from verizon wireless or other wireless service providers

-with which the new imacs are equipped-so that if someone is a chumby user, they could connect this device to the internet in real-time, even if you are not in a wi-fi (Starbucks, etc) environment.

I know you would naturally be inclined to keep the cost down, but I wouldn't think that an express card "slot"-not an included card-is pretty cheap in the general scheme of things.  Most customers wouldn't choose to use the slot, but if anyone did, its part of the verizon cost, not the chumby cost......and isn't there some pretty cheap functionality over a wireless internet connection that is similar to what you are offering you customers in a wi-fi environment?  I am just thinking out loud.......

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

phomans wrote:

I am not sure if I understand "the notion of "continuous partial attention"?

Being "always on" it is a way of keeping an eye on net happenings/infobursts....in other words you can catch glimpses of things occuring in your online life in your peripheral vision. Chumby can be used to monitor online information anywhere within your home. You don't need to be seated in front of a computer. For example, I keep mine sitting on a bookshelf in my office or on my kitchen bench or side table in my loungeroom (looking forward to having multiple chumbys!). At a glance, I can see the top digg or slashdot stories, stock quotes, time, weather, my schedule, something entertaining...basically whatever information I choose to have shown on it. I also get a condensed version of the information. I don't need to load up a webpage or sit down at a desk...but I can if I spot something happening and want to follow up on it. For example, I'd like to have chumby alert me when a collaborative wiki is updated so then I can go back to my office and take the next action in a project.


I understand that the chumby is portable, wireless, etc, and I can put it on my bedside table-like a radio.

Yes, still connected to a wall plug, though. Has battery backup but doesn't run solely from a battery.

And I understand that if the open source community helps you develop widgets and all of that, it will be a far more functional device a year from now than it is now-----all of which is great!

...that's the brilliant and totally exciting part! We don't know what the chumby will be able to do or even look like a year from now! Chumby are encouraging individual and collaborative creativity! So basically the answer to your functionality question is going to change almost daily!

But I am trying to understand, if it does all these wi-fi things and allows independent development, etc., why would I need this on my bedside table rather than getting out of bed, without the benefit of a chumby, walking to my laptop or my desktop machine and getting all that info, alerts, music, etc. THERE?

Get out of bed...well it is going to be a much friendlier waking up experience than you are used to to start with...your music...check your schedule...read some headlines...then get up. But what I find is that out of the corner of your eye monitoring is quite handy for those of us that lead quite internet-centric lifestyles.

I'll leave the card and extra info on the functionality questions for someone else.

Re: Hello! My Chumby is awesometastic!

retro bump