[Tfug] Tablets

[John Kiniston]

I think you should still be able to get the sources and toolchains out of
their wiki, A quick look pulls up:

http://wiki.chumby.com/index.php/Hacking_Linux_for_chumby

If anything is missing contact their support, Duane is watching it still
and is good about stuff.

Chumby stopped making devices so all that's left is the used ones and
questions as to when the devices are all going to stop working.

I've got a Chumby One (3.5 Inch Cube) on my nightstand as the worlds best
alarm clock and radio.

Inside they look like this: http://adafruit.com/products/278

They sold the boards separate for a while like that to encourage hacking. I
have seen people hack them into robots and onto TV platforms.

It's a resistive screen so it's not the most precise input, But so are the
cheap Android tablets from China.

On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 11:11 AM, Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> --- On Sun, 8/26/12, John Kiniston <johnkiniston at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > How about going with a 8 inch Chumby or Infocast?
> >
> >
> http://compare.ebay.com/like/150871420998?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar
>
> Hmmm... interesting device!  But, looking at a variety of
> photos, it's unclear whether or not this is a tablet-ish
> device sitting in a dock *or* if the "base" is a permanent
> part of it?  I.e., in the latter case, it would be problematic
> to mount it to a wall.  Granted, you could surgically remove
> the base but one has to assume the manufacturer is using
> that volume for "guts"!  :-/
>
> > They are cheap right now, Especially the Infocast
> > clone.
>
> Is there any reason *why* they are cheap RIGHT NOW?
> (obsolescent, new model introduction, problems, etc.)
>
> > Chumby supports USB to Ethernet adapters too:
> http://www.chumby.com/pages/help_req_ethernet
> >
> > I have recently seen someone port webkit to them
> > so your not tied completely to the flash based widget
> > model.
>
> As with other offerings, I don't see the sources available
> for the kernel (i.e., drivers) anywhere.  That would allow
> me to repurpose it as best fits my needs...
>
> I also noticed some comments regarding usability issues with
> its touchscreen -- though those comments lack much precision.
> I'm guessing the screen is only effective for "taps".  E.g.,
> perhaps poorly suited for gestural input?
>
> And, some mention of an even *smaller* device -- 3.5"?
> That would have been worth investigating had I not settled
> on a different user interface modality already!  :<
>
> Thanks, I'll see what more I can find.  They seem to be
> cheap enough that I might just buy one to throw away...
>
> --don
>
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