Chumby One: handsome successor to the cutest computer ever

The Chumby One -- the successor to the incredibly innovative Chumby device -- is just about ready to ship, and is available for $99. Chumby is a cute, squeezable hand-held device that is wide open -- everything from the circuit board designs to the software is open-licensed and freely downloadable. The idea is to produce an adorable, versatile device that any hacker, anywhere, can improve, so that all Chumby owners can get more out of it. I have a couple of them at the office and I love playing with them. The new version looks amazing.

In addition to being about half the price of the original chumby, the new device added some features: it has an FM radio, and it has support for a rechargeable lithium ion battery (although it's not included with the device, you have to buy one and install it yourself). There's also a knob so you can easily/quickly adjust the volume. But I don't think those are really the significant new features. What really gets me excited about this one is that it's much more hackable. The most significant improvement is that the firmware is stored on a microSD card.

The microSD card isn't replaceable from the outside -- this is to prevent non-hackers from pulling it out and wondering why the device isn't booting anymore -- but if you take the back panel off (screws this time, no glue seals), it's fairly easy to access. The key here is that no longer do you have to worry about bricking your chumby device: if you screw up the firmware, you just pull it out, mount it on your dev box, and dd a new image onto it. Also, microSD is a "managed" NAND device, unlike our previous generation device which used a raw NAND device. This means that we don't have to rely on a MTD layer for the filesystem, and instead we can directly drop ext3 onto the device. While we still mount the root partition as read-only to harden the device against accidental damage, unlike our original cramfs implementation, you can trivially remount it as read/write and modify the linux on the device. Also, our OS image takes up only a small portion of the total device capacity, so there's actually over a gigabyte of extra space on there for you to load extra applications and libraries.

chumby One (Bunnie Huang's blog)

Chumby Store

DigiTimes in Taiwan reckons that the launch of Appe's putative tablet PC will be delayed so that it can launch a model with an OLED screen

Bear in mind that Apple's touch-screen tablet-style computer has not been announced, and stories about it may be mostly speculation. Still, you can't make a computer without buying components, and the companies that make and/or assemble components may sometimes leak information -- though this still doesn't mean the information is accurate. With those caveats in mind, DigiTimes in Taiwan is reporting that: 

 

Apple reportedly plans to postpone the launch of its tablet PC from an original March launch schedule to the second half of 2010, as the vendor has decided to switch some components and plans to launch a model using a 9.7-inch OLED panel from LG Display, according to sources from component makers.

OLED panels are very wonderful but expensive at the moment. However, prices will fall as production ramps up, and they're expected to appear in laptops in 2011. If Apple delays the iTablet launch, its OLED costs should go down while its retail price stays the same, with the profit margin getting healthier by the week. DigiTimes says:

The sources estimate that Apple's [OLED] tablet PC cost will drop to around US$1,200-1,500 by the second half of 2010 with the retail price reaching about US$2,000. The price could be more flexible if bundled with telecom providers' 3G services. Meanwhile, the 10.6-inch LCD panel-based Apple tablet PC is expected to [be] priced in the US$800-1,000 range.

It's assumed that each version will be made by a different Taiwanese supplier, with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Quanta Computer and Pegatron Technology being tipped by DigiTimes's source. Hon Hai makes iPhones and Xbox 360s, among other things, while Quanta makes MacBooks, OLPCs and laptops for Acer, Dell and other PC suppliers. Pegatron is an Asus spin-off and Asus also makes or used to make MacBooks. It's not unknown for large PC manufacturers to have half a dozen contract manufacturers in Taiwan, with the main ones being Compal, Foxconn, Inventec, Pegatron, Quanta and Wistron.

Apple is unsurprisingly already at work on the next version of its operating system, according to a new technical message that references Mac OS X 10.7.

As first discovered by MacRumors, a new database entry for the open source "launchd" framework responsible for booting Mac OS X references "11A47" with a new error message. Based on Apple's numbering scheme, the numerical prefix of a Mac OS X build determines the version number, and 11A47 would suggest a reference to the next version of the operating system, Mac OS X 10.7.

When it shipped, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard carried the build number 10A432, and subsequent updates 10.6.1 and 10.6.2 had the prefixes 10B and 10C, respectively. For Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, 10.5.0 builds leading up to launch were represented by the prefix 9A.

I saw this on AppleInsider today and was intriguied by it. The staff there indicate that they aren't surprised that work on 10.7 has already begun. As a software quality professional I agree. As a consumer, I was a bit surprised. the bits for 10.6.2 are still cooling, and Apple is pressing ahead with 10.7. I wonder what it will include..?

Wiltshire town to roll out £1m project funded by public and private money

• Steven Morris
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 November 2009 11.56 GMT
• Article history

Swindon is to offer all its citizens free wireless internet access. Photograph: David Levene

The Wiltshire town of Swindon is to become the first in the UK to provide free wireless internet access to all its residents.

A "Wi-Fi mesh" would give blanket internet coverage for 186,000 citizens, the council said today.

The £1m project will be funded by a mixture of public and private money. It is hoped the scheme will break into profit with residents subscribing to faster, paid-for access, above the free service.

About 1,400 secure access points will be fitted around Swindon, similar to those used in homes, but "with a much higher performance".

The borough council worked with a local businessman, Rikki Hunt, who came up with the concept, and the digital technology firm aQovia to create a new company – Digital City UK.

Under the brand name Signal, it will roll out the technology throughout the town.

Line rental is free and there is no connection charge. The public will be able to access the internet and download emails without charge, but usage will be limited.

There are also plans to deliver information such as real-time home electricity usage and air-quality monitoring.

The mesh also has the potential to provide free internet phone-calls. The council says this could be used by health professionals to carry out consultations and remote medical procedures or examinations through Telemedicine – a form of interactive online healthcare).

The council says subscribers can sign up for 20Mb upgrades for "significantly less per month than major broadband competitors" after a free three-month trial.

There will also be pay-as-you-go options so visitors can use the network.

The wireless project will be run by Digital City UK Ltd, of which Swindon borough council has a 35% share, with the intention of working on similar rollouts in other towns and cities.

Rod Bluh, Swindon borough council leader, said: "Not only will residents in the borough be able to access the internet for free, the council and its partners will be able to use the technology to provide cutting-edge services to the areas or individuals who need them."

The council caused controversy this year when it shut down all its fixed-point speed cameras.

Thanks Microsoft, Hello Google

Thanks to all the fine people at Microsoft. It was an interesting ride. Four years, 11 months, and 20 days, and I enjoyed every one of them. Well, except for the last few days, that was not fun at all. I hope I played a small part in making Microsoft more approachable, friendly to startups, and easier to work with. Microsoft is a different company, a better company, than when I joined 5 years ago. There are more new people who joined Microsoft in the last 5 years than all the previous employees combined. However, laying off 5,000 people when you have $37B in cash and huge profits is not cool. But hey, thanks for pushing me on to the Next Big Thing.

Mike Arrington at TechCrunch broke the story late Sunday night. TechMeme has other stories. He also did my exit interview last week, and seemed to know where I was going before I did.

Thanks Microsoft, I’m going to Google! Vic Gundotra at Google was the first one to contact me with an opportunity…90 minutes after the news of the layoff hit. That fast decisive action was refreshing, and such a contrast to the slow, secretive, bureaucracy at Microsoft. That speed and decisiveness also reflects different approaches to hiring great people, building great products and serving customers well. I have always admired Google. I am excited to now be part of the team. My job at Google will be helping developers (and startups) build great products and services using Google technology and platforms. Google is building world class products for companies of all sizes, but especially the enterprise market. I will be part of the team to make that happen.

Last week started a new personal journey for me. One without Microsoft. So, why not move forward without Microsoft technology, and try the new alternatives? Old habits die hard, but these were actually pretty easy to break.

Thanks Microsoft Outlook, but I’m going to Gmail. I made the switch to Gmail last week and it has been awesome! Outlook has been an old familiar friend for years, but it was getting kind of tired. Gmail is new, fast, web based, and has all the features I need. I especially like the way it threads conversations making it easy to keep everything in context. And of course the search capabilities are world class. One other subtle thing…no spam. I never realized how much corporate spam invaded my Microsoft inbox. Endless emails about corporate meetings, events, promotions, and CC's on email threads I don't care about. Gmail has been liberating.

Thanks Microsoft Office Office 2007, but I’m going to Google Docs. Hey, isn’t this November of 2009? Why Word 2007? One of the nice things about Google Docs, and all web based products, is that they can be updated continuously with no interruption to you. New features and bug fixes happen automatically in the background so you always have the latest technology…not the 2007 version. Another great thing about Google Docs is the easy online collaboration, and always working with the most up to date version of a file. No more need to attach versions of docs, spreadsheets, or presentations to emails…and then search for another email with the latest version. I have been experimenting with Google Docs and have been able to do everything I did in Microsoft Office. I can’t think of a single feature missing from what I need every day. There may be some edge cases…but I haven’t bumped into any yet.

Thanks Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5, but I’m going to Google Android. OK, now that I am no longer with Microsoft, I can admit I had iPhone envy. My Windows Mobile “Smartphone” didn’t measure up. But, the problem was my whole family has phones on the Verizon Family Plan network. And, AT&T doesn’t have good coverage in my area. My good friend Rich Miner showed me his Google Android phone last week. It is beautiful, lots of great apps,…and it works on the Verizon network. Awesome! Can’t wait to get mine.

Thanks Microsoft Internet Explorer, but I’m moving to Google Chrome. Chrome starts faster, loads pages faster, and is easier to use. The web browser is where most of us spend the majority of our time. And, most new applications are web based. Google Chrome is making the Operating System irrelevant. In fact I tend to forget it is there…until I see that “blue circle of death”. With applications now running in the browser, the client OS becomes less and less important.

The transition from Microsoft to Google will be an interesting story for this blog. Making the switch to new products and technologies will be fun. I hope many of you will share your experiences too. It is an honor to be part of the Google team. The new chapter starts right now.