Chumby

[mdlbear]

My chumby is on its way! I just got the availability email this evening, so of course I've ordered it. OK, I have a weakness for cute little linux-based gadgets. What can I say?

There are a couple of really unique things about the chumby. First of all, the user interface is based on flash (the flash player is the only component of the whole thing that isn't open source). Second, it isn't just the software that's open source: the hardware is, too. (They figure, if somebody can make it more cheaply than their Chinese partner, they've got themselves a second supplier.) Third, most of the "case" is leather, sewed on to the plastic housing. The pattern is, naturally, downloadable, and they expect that many, if not most, users will customize their chumby's appearance as well as its functionality.