Chumby hack gives it VGA screen, less cuddly exterior

The Chumby has already proven itself to be quite the hackable device, and now one of the more prolific Chumby hackers out there has taken things up a few notches by not only giving it a bigger VGA screen, but a new cold, hard exterior as well. As will quickly become clear if you read through the how-to linked below, however, this latest hack by bunnie (of Robo Chumby fame) is certainly not for the faint of heart, with a stereo microscope even required for some of the more delicate work. If you manage to plow through it though, you'll soon have a slightly clearer view of your favorite Chumby widgets, not to mention a device that you definitely won't have to worry about anyone picking up and squeezing.

[Via Slash Gear]

[Johan S @ Apr 9th 2008 4:40PM]

That's one massive big frame. There's more surface area on the frame than the actual VGA screen.

[mikehtiger @ Apr 9th 2008 4:54PM]

Wait a minute... Some people DON'T want their gadgets cute and fluffy?!
My whole perception on reality is askew!

[KidDooc @ Apr 9th 2008 5:03PM]

I'll bet it's not a touch screen like the original Chumby. I wonder what cool hacks he has on the XO PC that's in the background.

KidDoc

[ScOObyDoo @ Apr 9th 2008 5:31PM]

And I'll bet you didn't read the article. Otherwise you would have known that it DOES have a touchscreen.

[Matt @ Apr 9th 2008 6:08PM]

And you spelled your own name wrong at least once.

[OneLove @ Apr 9th 2008 5:13PM]

I have a Chumby in my pants

[YoMomma @ Apr 9th 2008 7:30PM]

me too!

[OneLove @ Apr 10th 2008 6:06PM]

dude, you stole my call of duty 4 profile name

[Scuba Steve @ Apr 9th 2008 5:51PM]

My Chumby woke me this morning to my favorite radio station...which is 500 miles away...and when I hit the snooze "button", the alarm silenced...FOR A PERIOD OF TIME THAT I GET TO DEFINE! Not rocket science, but amazing how many clocks dictate to you how long you will snooze. In Soviet Russia, we snooze you!

When I finally woke up and hit "alarm off", it showed me the local weather...then my email...then my google calendar...then the baseball scores...and then started in with headlines (including engadget)...at which point I got out of bed.

Yes, I love my chumby. :-) I may get another since the little woman also loves it and keeps it on her side of the bed. I'm guessing that she wouldn't feel as attached to the digital photo frame version pictured here, but the larger screen is nice...and you have to give him props for pulling it off.

[randompass @ Apr 9th 2008 6:07PM]

My alarm clock does. You hit the snooze button additional times to increase snooze time. Still doesn't wake me up though

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Apr 9th 2008 6:35PM]

@randompass: Funny, my alarm clock decerases the snooze time each time you press snooze...

[Jack @ Apr 9th 2008 6:21PM]

I like the blue olpc in the background!

hahah, yeah, thats pretty neat though, maybe not practical, but neat!

[CraigJ @ Apr 9th 2008 6:51PM]

does everyone have the same Ikea desk?

[Sean @ Apr 10th 2008 8:27AM]

Yes.

[Brian @ Apr 10th 2008 11:31AM]

This is exactly what I want, but I can't solder or build adapter boards. For someone without soldering skills is there a similar device - touch screen, rss feeds, weather, clock, customizable, etc.

[derspiess42 @ Apr 25th 2008 11:18AM]

Chumby hacking FTW. Not that I'm adventurous enough to do anything to mine...