Category: Gadgetry

“SuperRob” of Kotaku snapped a few fuzzy (okay, they’re more than fuzzy, they’re kind of horrible!) pics of MS Live Anywhere from Major Nelson’s phone (he of the Xbox dev team). If you squint really hard, you can kind of make out what’s going on…

Bunnie Huang, co-developer of the chumby, offers some of his thoughts and some more background info on the device, on bunnie’s blog:

“So, the cat is out of the bag, and I’m finally able to talk about a project that I have had the priviledge of working on for the past several months. I have been working on the chumby, an inexpensive (sub-$150) Wi-Fi enabled content delivery device that is designed to be used around the home. From the hacker’s perspective, chumby is basically a linux client that runs a Flash player and streams content from the “chumby network”, our content management service. In my mind, these were the goals of the chumby design:

* simple. A non-hacker user familiar with computers– for example, a typical teenager–should be able to set up and use a chumby. In addition to a lot of thought put into the UI, the chumby network’s ability to deliver drag-and-drop content via Flash widgets is the tehnological cornerstone for chumby’s simplicity. It is this simplicity that differentiates chumby from general purpose devices such as PDAs and laptops.

* fun. This is a device whose core consumer market is not the gadget fanatic. It needs to be accessible to everyone, so we are trying to take the industrial design in a direction that we like to call the “anti-iPod”.

* deep. A fatal flaw in many “simple” products is that they are too shallow, and miss key features that would make them useful. Products like the Civa pictureframe, the Ambient Orb, and the Nabaztag rabbit are examples of devices that are too one-dimensional and lack depth. And this leads us up to the most important goal for me–

* yours. The chumby is architected to be as open as possible to anybody who wants to hack it. In the design of the system, we consider not only open source software hackers, but also hardware hackers and artists and “crafters”–e.g., people who are equally skilled in their ability and passion to do non-computer things, such as metalworking, sewing, carpentry, etc.”

You may also want to check out some close-up pics of the chumby mobo here and here.
Also, Bunnie addresses some the controversy around chumby’s End User License Agreement (EULA) here.

Heard of the chumby? You may not have up until now, but if the developers’ hunches are correct, you’ll be hearing a lot about it in the near future, and especially if you’re a hacker type, you’ll *have* to have one to play around with. They’re expected to retail for about US$150.

The chumby is basically a small Wi-Fi enabled Internet appliance. But unlike other such devices of the past, this one is designed to be tinkered with, hacked, customized, and set up exactly how you want it. In fact, it was dreamt up by Bunnie Huang and Joe Grand (among others), both members of Make magazine’s advisory board. One of the cool pieces of hardware inside the unit is the “chumbilical cord.” Christine Herron, who played around with the chumby at this weekend’s annual FOO camp (Friends of O’Reilly) explains the geeky details:

“Chumby runs on a a 266MHz ARM controller, with 32MB SDRAM running at 133MHz bus speed and a six-layer board. The touchscreen is a 3.5” TFT LCD with LED backlighting, and an ambient light sensor tells chumby when to dim its backlighting. There are stereo speakers, a headphone jack, and a power supply that can use between 6 and 14 volts. A squeeze sensor allows users to open up the case after it’s been nestled inside its soft, Tribble-like shell.

“My favorite item: the “chumbilical.” This plugs into the board, and has a daughter card attached. As bunnie says, it’s a “hacker-friendly portal to the world.” This small card has USB; an SBI bus; and outputs for the bend sensor, speaker, battery, microphone, etc. Embedded software developer Steele also delivered a bunch of back doors for the hardware hacker.”

Read her entire posting here.
Here’s Dylworld’s coverage of the Foo show and tell, including a pic of Bunnie holding one of his little electronic Tribbles.

In a piece carried on an Australian car website, a Pioneer spokesbot let slip that Apple will soon be releasing a Bluetooth adapter for iPods which’ll allow them to wirelessly communicate with Pioneer’s new DEH car stereo head units. The Bluetooth-equipped car system is already capable of talking to Bluetooth mobile phones, allowing you to make and receive calls through the car’s head and speakers. The basic Pioneer DEH model (DEH-P7850BT) will set you back 800 shekels. The more power, color-screened DEH-9850BT costs $1,000.

One would assume that the iPod adapter will also work with other Bluetooth wireless audio devices, such as headphones, speakers, and the like. No word on when the adapter will be released, but when do we ever know about the release of Apple products beforehand?

[Via iLounge]

I guess Logitech figured that, because Nintendo wasn’t going to be using the name Revolution for their game system with the innovative controller, Logitech might as well use it for their “groundbreaking” new controller. Logitech’s idea of a Revolution (MX) is a very swanky looking wireless laser mouse with features they say will make a huge difference in how you use your mouse.

Some of these features include hyper-scrolling (you can free-spin the scroll wheel to blaze through long documents), a detailed navigation mode (which lets you scroll line-by-line through dense documents, spreadsheets, etc), a search button on the mouse (just behind the scroll wheel) which will allow you to initiate a search on a word by clicking the button when the mouse is on that word, a document quick-flip button (the wheel on the side), which lets you flip through open docs/apps, and a couple of other document-handling features. We’re not sure that it’s going to change the world or anything, but it looks like a cool and comfortable mouse with some bells and whistles that might actually be useful. But at US$100, it’s a Revolution that may require financial backing from some shady off-shore sugar daddy.

[Via Ubergizmo]

As I read more about Ubuntu Linux, I’m getting more excited about installing it on our Alienware tower. We posted an item about Lifehacker’s “Top Ten Ubuntu Apps & Tweaks” the other day. Now Linux.com has Ten Tips for New Ubuntu Users. It has useful info, such as what you need to do to install KDE or Xfce desktops on top of Ubuntu, how to get multimedia working (for licensing reasons, it doesn’t support MP3, DVD and other media formats out of the box, but for most hardware, this is easily fixed with some packages), changing defaults to your liking, etc. Definitely worth taking a look at if you’re about to take the Ubuntu plunge.

[Via Lifehacker]

Today’s “Hack Attack” column on Lifehacker is a top ten (eleven, actually) list of awesome apps the author, Adam Pash, is using with his recent install of Ubuntu Linux.

My son just went back to college and said I could commandeer his old Alienware box. I’m thinking about installing Ubuntu on it (as a dual-boot with XP) so I can get more proficient with Linux. I haven’t gotten down and dirty with the Penguin since I worked on my TiVo book.

The European Union thinks so, at least as far as its recently enacted RoHS Directive is concerned. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, which went into effect on July 1st, is designed to restrict the use of certain hazardous materials in the manufacturing of electronics devices. The Palm Treo 650 runs afoul of this directive, as does many other electronics devices from other makers. Palm was forced to stop selling the 650 in Europe until a new replacement product that is within RoHS guidelines can be developed, hopefully says Palm, within the coming months.

Other manufacturers are expected to be withdrawing their products as well, pending more environmentally-friendly redesigns. Once these designs are worked out, let’s hope the manufacturers start selling this greener gear to the worldwide market, not just where they’re “directed” to do so.

[Via Treehugger]

According to a recent press release, US Robotics has added two phones to its line of VoIP (Voice over IP) devices. Of improvements made to their VoIP tech, the press release states:

“The phones feature technology enhancements designed to prevent echoes and resolve the “tunnel” sound Internet calls can generate with lower quality hardware. The integrated keypad on both phones allows users to place calls to Skype contacts with speed dial numbers assigned, or to dial telephones anywhere in the world with SkypeOut™”

The el cheapo USR9602 USB Internet Mini Phone (pictured) sells for US$25 and is designed as an entry-level VoIP phone to replace that el cheapo headset you might be using. The USR9601 USB Internet Phone sells for $50 and adds a blue back-lit LCD screen that can display contact and call status, and supports Skype caller ID. The phones are compatible with both WinXP and Mac OS X.

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around. This is your iPod nano tooling around in an “I-Tank,” a bullet-proof case that its maker claims can withstand an “a RPG or mortar shell explosion 85 percent of the time.” Um, not that you likely need that… yet. But I guess if it can withstand an IED, it can weather more homely assaults in your backpack, on the dash of your car, and in the pocket of your cargo pants. The cases weigh from 3 oz. (nano) to 5 oz (60GB Video) and sell for US$45 to $75. Ouch. I think I’ll take my chances with incoming ordnance.

[Thanks, Jay!]