• Registered: 2011-06-27
  • Posts: 15

Topic: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

First i would like to thank everyone that keep the server and chumby running these years. I understand that chumby is not as competative as android or other platforms, but it will do the basic (internet radio, photo, news, weather etc), cheaper. I don't know if this service will kepp running for a long time, but we better be prepared.

So i would like to thank Zurk for making a great offline firmware and sharing it with us. Of course only a few widgets are loaded with this firm, anyway one of the reasons chumby will close is that not many apps are really usefull...As far as i understand, Zurk will keep providing updates and the reason i am making this post is to as Zurk to add more widgets in his next updates.

I know there are guides to download and install any widgets you want, but not all can follow them... So i would like to ask Zurk if he could add the following widgets:

1) Flickr
2) Youtube

So other users could vote what other widgets would kindly ask Zurk to add in his next releases...I understand this is not easy, so i am willing to pay for this!

Thank you Zurk in advance

2 Reply by zurk (edited by zurk 2012-04-29 12:09:08)

  • Registered: 2010-05-10
  • Posts: 222

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

not going to happen. sorry.
you can do it yourself with a little investment in time rather than money.
instructions are included. basically all you have to do is download the widgets and tweak the xml file.

i should add that the criteria for widgets to appear on the offline firmware are :
1. not available on chumby.com or currently available on chumby.com but broken or limited.
2. source code is available (either by asking the author or downloading) or at least easily modifiable by asking the author for the fla/as/uncompressed swf with debugging file(s).
3. no user interactivity required - widgets must convey information without poking the screen.
4. widgets must be useful and entertaining - new information conveyed in some form.
5. widgets must be network agnostic (after or before modification) -- must survive and work in offline mode regardless of network status.
6. widgets must be reliable over long periods -- must not suck up memory when run over periods exceeding a month.
7. interface must be public -- the widgets if interfacing with external services must have open interfaces with data protocols easily available.
8. not annoying and works for me. this is subjective but the bottom line is too much motion or flashy pointless graphics gets it tossed. also if it doesnt work in my environment it gets tossed. basically if i dont like it, its not going to be included since i do use the firmware myself and it is intended to be supported over 10-15+ years.
The vast majority fall into category 1, most comply with 2, all comply with 3-8.
you might have noticed i drop some widgets over time from the offline firmware. these are the ones which fail criteria 6.

both flikr and youtube fail 2, 3, 6 & 7 fyi.

  • From: Lakeland florida
  • Registered: 2011-06-01
  • Posts: 36

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

The widgets I have found the most useful have been the weather, rss feeds, and imageurl. With imageurl, I have located informational graphics on webpages to display on the screen. For example, I found still pictures on weather websites that display information on pollen count, air quality, uv index, lightning strikes, radar images and a local webcam.  The only problem I found is that if Zurk or myself find a way to incorporate it into the offline firmware, I do not know where the URL information is inserted. But if someone has an answer, let me know, I would appreciate it!

  • Registered: 2010-05-10
  • Posts: 222

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

URLs go in the profile file below the widget info in the parameters section.

main problem is that websites with all that info are often US localized and/or specific. the offline firmware is non US specific and covers the entire planet weather info using wunderground as I am not located in the USA myself.

5 Reply by ttherapo (edited by ttherapo 2012-04-30 01:30:01)

  • Registered: 2011-06-27
  • Posts: 15

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

Thank you for your reply and sorry to hear that you can't help (you already have....).I tried using octopus without any success, as i am not so pc expert.
1. I downloaded octopus and unzipped
2. run cmd and then entered c:\ my java path\octopus.java path, but i get an error cannot open octopus.java ( i laready installed java).

I am wondering, could someone upload the content that this app downloads in another site i.e rapidshare to download?

6 Reply by rsoandrew (edited by rsoandrew 2012-05-01 09:48:52)

  • Registered: 2012-04-22
  • Posts: 6

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

ttherapo wrote:

Thank you for your reply and sorry to hear that you can't help (you already have....).I tried using octopus without any success, as i am not so pc expert.
1. I downloaded octopus and unzipped
2. run cmd and then entered c:\ my java path\octopus.java path, but i get an error cannot open octopus.java ( i laready installed java).

I am wondering, could someone upload the content that this app downloads in another site i.e rapidshare to download?

The easiest way on Windows is to open the command window (run cmd), navigate to the directory where you placed the octopus files and then just enter 'java octopus' at the command line.

To make my life easy, I just created a folder on the C drive called octo and placed the octopus files there. If you do the same the following steps will work for you.

{Don't type quotes in the following instructions}
create a folder called "octo" in the root directory of the C drive C:\octo
Start CMD {a black screen with a command line will appear}
type "cd \octo" and press enter
type "java octopus" and press enter
wait for the widgets to all download - it takes a while.

  • Registered: 2011-06-27
  • Posts: 15

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

thank you for your reply, i did what you said and i got this:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\octo>java octo
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: octo
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: octo
        at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(Unknown Source)
        at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
        at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
        at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(Unknown Source)
Could not find the main class: octo.  Program will exit.

C:\octo>

What now?

  • Registered: 2012-04-22
  • Posts: 6

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

ttherapo wrote:

thank you for your reply, i did what you said and i got this:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\octo>java octo
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: octo
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: octo
        at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(Unknown Source)
        at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
        at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(Unknown Source)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
        at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(Unknown Source)
        at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(Unknown Source)
Could not find the main class: octo.  Program will exit.

C:\octo>

What now?

I messed up - since corrected. The command is "java octopus" {fully spelled out}

On a separate note, this takes forever. Mine is still downloading and I started it just before my last post. This might be better suited for a torrent.

  • Registered: 2011-06-27
  • Posts: 15

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

tried java octopus, i get the same error...i agree this should go to a torrent, but since i don't think is going to upload this to a torrent, i guess i have to keep trying! I already downloaded and installed java from link from zurk link and then followed your instructions. Still nothing..Please help

  • Registered: 2012-04-22
  • Posts: 6

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

ttherapo wrote:

tried java octopus, i get the same error...i agree this should go to a torrent, but since i don't think is going to upload this to a torrent, i guess i have to keep trying! I already downloaded and installed java from link from zurk link and then followed your instructions. Still nothing..Please help

I used the development kit version of Java so maybe that makes a difference.

Download the correct one for your version of Windows here.
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/ … 91156.html

Once you download and install it, try the instructions I put earlier again.

Full Instructions Repeated
{Don't type quotes in the following instructions}
1. Download and install Java using the link above.
2. Create a folder called "octo" in the root directory of the C drive C:\octo
3. Download and Unzip the Octopus files and place the unzipped files into the c:\octo directory.
4. Start CMD {a black screen with a command line will appear}
5. Type "cd \octo" and press enter.
6. Type "java octopus" and press enter.
7. The download will begin and you will see the individual widget URLs scroll by but it takes a long time to complete.

  • Registered: 2011-06-27
  • Posts: 15

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

Thank you for the reply,

It finally started downloading, now what? How do i understand which are the widgets and how do i install/make offline firm uderstand the widgets?

  • Registered: 2012-04-22
  • Posts: 6

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

ttherapo wrote:

Thank you for the reply,

It finally started downloading, now what? How do i understand which are the widgets and how do i install/make offline firm uderstand the widgets?

You'll have to get Zurk or somebody else to help you with that. I haven't figured it out yet myself but I thought it would be helpful to have all the widgets in case the server goes totally dark.

13 Reply by bobsz (edited by bobsz 2012-05-02 18:20:09)

  • bobsz
  • Blue Buddy
  • Offline
  • From: Long Beach NY
  • Registered: 2011-01-01
  • Posts: 546

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

I never used this octopus method, because I just really want to get a few widgets, not the data for the whole shebang. I think you should check out some other areas of the forum. Most of the basic stuff is being discussed elsewhere. What you have now is a giant backup of data, like an archive. But each widget only uses a few of each of those files you've downloaded. Start reading the original threads on the offline firmware, and then see other threads about the basics of using it. Especially read about your "profile."

  • Registered: 2011-02-10
  • Posts: 66

Re: New Widgets for Zurk Firm?

ttherapo wrote:

I know there are guides to download and install any widgets you want, but not all can follow them...

I made some notes as I went along; this might help with getting your widgets downloaded:
http://lady-of-lothlorien.com/chumby/zu … notes.html

I made a second version of the file this morning:
http://lady-of-lothlorien.com/chumby/zu … t_usb.html

I've got a sort of footnote with a few notes on octopus too.

Though I, too, would really like to know if there's a way to interpret those files.  I sent the output to a file hoping that it'd include the widget names or something as it downloaded, but no luck.