What the heck is a Chumby?
Good question, and the same one that I had when I first heard about this gadget at work. According to the website (www.chumby.com), “your Chumby uses your existing WiFi connection to keep you in constant touch with your internet life, from the moment it wakes you up in the morning.” Well, that sounds right up my alley. As the owner of a laptop, desktop and Blackberry, why not start my day with the internet?
Measuring about the size of a coffee cup, the Chumby is soft and round, and has a 3.5-inch color touch screen. This small size allows it to take over the spot previously held by your annoying alarm clock, but it’s portable and can be brought with you all through the house!
So, why get a Chumby instead of a new fangled alarm clock with Satellite radio? Internet, of course. Chumby is preloaded with “widgets” that allow you to access anything from the standard alarm, to internet radio, sports scores, MySpace pages, email and more.
The alarm clock that comes with the Chumby is completely customizable. You can wake up to a tone or internet radio, and modify the screen so you immediately see weather, your horoscope, news and even humor sites as soon as your roll over.
My favorite feature is the email notifications. Because of my hectic schedule as a technical quality assurance manager and webmaster for Maine Roller Derby, I receive about 100 emails per day. I feel constantly tied to my desk and would love the opportunity to continue on with my life while still being connected. Once the notification arrives, you can read the email on the Chumby using the integrated touch screen, then determine if you need to reply or not.
Of course, it’s not all work and no play for me. I have a mild (read: huge) obsession with icanhascheezburger.com. It’s probably the most ridiculous thing ever, but silly pictures of cats with phrases make me laugh for hours. With the lolcats widget, you can get these pictures sent to your Chumby in a rotating basis, providing hours of laughs (and strange looks from any house guests). In addition, you can view YouTube videos and your’s and your friends’ Flickr pictures.
For the developers out there, Chumby’s OS is Unix-based and entirely open source, meaning that any developers are able to design and distribute their own widgets. Many of the widgets currently available have been designed by community developers, allowing for much creativity and accessibility.
Best of all, once you buy a Chumby, the service is always free. The owners of Chumby are committed to keeping it that way, according to their website. The Chumby sells for $179, including shipping.
Melissa Harris is currently employed as a technical quality assurance manager in South Portland. In her spare time she plays for Maine Roller Derby, does web and print design and basically never sleeps.