6 ms·

Upgrading my old Chumby 8 Linux kernel

132 points by terinjokes 4y ago

kraquepype 4y ago
Why I am just learning of this... the box is priceless. "it has the WiFi's!!"
- dougg3 4y ago
  The Chumby was definitely a fun experience back in the day! The title page of the getting started guide inside the box says: So you purchased (or stole) a chumby The official Quick Start Guide (for those who oppose starting slowly)
  - kraquepype 4y ago
    Ahead of its time with absurdist packaging and documentation. I wish it had caught on more, and not only in niche products. Though, I suppose it would get old if every product was presented that way.
Gys 4y ago
Wow, I thought I misread but this is really about Chumby! I still have an original one. Used it for weather and stuff at the time. Not very useful now, but did not know they had several follow up versions, cool! Still like the idea.
- pjsg 4y ago
  My original (Leather covered) Chumby is still my alarm clock. The display is no longer as good as it once was, but it keeps working! Of course, it never had power fail recovery (or battery backup), so if you lose power in the middle of the night, then your alarm doesn't work in the morning.
  - ilyt 4y ago
    Interestingly enough technically rPi4 can boot off internet using nothing but builtin eeprom settings. So the modern clone could just boot off fully diskless off "cloud" or the web server in local network.
  - georgemcbay 4y ago
    > Of course, it never had power fail recovery (or battery backup) There's a 9-volt style battery connector hiding inside the little kangaroo pouch underneath the old chumby that is capable of powering the device but it was never officially supported and a standard 9-volt battery would not power the device for long enough to be useful in any realistic capacity. I do remember users hacking up their own battery packs with enough juice to keep it powered overnight but they tended to involve bulky external battery systems that kind of wrecked the overall vibe of the little leather ball.
threeio 4y ago
Loved my chumbies... I grabbed a few of the Sony branded ones and they were fantastic for music, Netflix and Chumby flash apps for a long time.
- ece 4y ago
  Still using mine as a white noise machine and weather/alarm clock. Helpful links to making your dash useable again: https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9843 https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9843 https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9752 https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9752
duskwuff 4y ago
Oh wow! I left this project by the wayside a long time ago; I'm astonished that someone was able to pick it up and make it do something useful. :)
- dougg3 4y ago
  Ahh, there's a familiar username! I was actually amazed at how long it had been when I finally built up the motivation to pick the project back up earlier this year. My GitHub linux repository is still forked from your silvermoon-linux repository with those original patches. Glad you stumbled upon this so you could see where it eventually got to!
dstaley 4y ago
Everytime I'm reminded of the Chumby, I'm saddened that there isn't a modern version with an open development SDK. While Nest Hubs and Echo Shows are now available dirt cheap, they're all just e-waste waiting to happen. I wish there was a cheap, highly available device with similar specs (WiFi, Bluetooth, nice displays, microphone, maybe cameras) that it was trivially easy to put your own software onto.
- duskwuff 4y ago
  > I wish there was a cheap, highly available device with similar specs (WiFi, Bluetooth, nice displays, microphone, maybe cameras) that it was trivially easy to put your own software onto. You mean like an Android tablet?
  - dstaley 4y ago
    No, something more akin to a smart display without a battery and a chassis that works well for being on a shelf or nightstand.
    - ChuckMcM 4y ago
      That does kind of describe the modern "cheap" android infrastructure. (caveat the battery, which after a bunch of years is useless anyway :-)) The other "modern" alternative to this is an HDMI display with a Raspberry Pi mounted to the back[1]. One could 3D print a different frame in order to mount speakers and a web camera, but that isn't really off the shelf any more at that point. [1] https://www.seeedstudio.com/raspberry-pi-ips-hdmi-display https://www.seeedstudio.com/raspberry-pi-ips-hdmi-display is an example.
    - CharlesW 4y ago
      Like this? https://www.adafruit.com/product/5290 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5290
      - dstaley 4y ago
        Yup, basically that idea, but a bit higher spec (Linux-capable CPU instead of a microcontroller, larger and higher-resolution touchscreen). But it's definitely on the right track! Ideally we'd have something in line spec-wise with the Amazon Echo Show 5.
ChuckMcM 4y ago
This is such a trip, I've got a number of Chumbies (Chumbys?) of the original OMAP processor variety. I even have a "Chumby Guts" kit that I got from Adafruit back in the day which has all the parts, minus the squishy case! They are a great tool for this kind of project because learning about building embedded Linux systems is easier with something that has all the parts already put together for you (it's just software at that point). It also shows how fleeting in time technology is. Building an equivalent today is certainly possible, but the parts you would use for it would be out of date/obsolete in a couple of years so no real "durability" to the existence of the tool. The biggest challenge is of course display tech. Displays are all custom made these days for products that have runs in the millions, there hasn't really existed a "standardized" parts eco-system for them. I had hoped the phone business might provide that but nope.

132 points by terinjokes 4y ago

kraquepype 4y ago

Why I am just learning of this... the box is priceless. "it has the WiFi's!!"

dougg3 4y ago
The Chumby was definitely a fun experience back in the day! The title page of the getting started guide inside the box says: So you purchased (or stole) a chumby The official Quick Start Guide (for those who oppose starting slowly)
- kraquepype 4y ago
  Ahead of its time with absurdist packaging and documentation. I wish it had caught on more, and not only in niche products. Though, I suppose it would get old if every product was presented that way.

Gys 4y ago

Wow, I thought I misread but this is really about Chumby! I still have an original one. Used it for weather and stuff at the time. Not very useful now, but did not know they had several follow up versions, cool! Still like the idea.

pjsg 4y ago
My original (Leather covered) Chumby is still my alarm clock. The display is no longer as good as it once was, but it keeps working! Of course, it never had power fail recovery (or battery backup), so if you lose power in the middle of the night, then your alarm doesn't work in the morning.
- ilyt 4y ago
  Interestingly enough technically rPi4 can boot off internet using nothing but builtin eeprom settings. So the modern clone could just boot off fully diskless off "cloud" or the web server in local network.
- georgemcbay 4y ago
  > Of course, it never had power fail recovery (or battery backup) There's a 9-volt style battery connector hiding inside the little kangaroo pouch underneath the old chumby that is capable of powering the device but it was never officially supported and a standard 9-volt battery would not power the device for long enough to be useful in any realistic capacity. I do remember users hacking up their own battery packs with enough juice to keep it powered overnight but they tended to involve bulky external battery systems that kind of wrecked the overall vibe of the little leather ball.

threeio 4y ago

Loved my chumbies... I grabbed a few of the Sony branded ones and they were fantastic for music, Netflix and Chumby flash apps for a long time.

ece 4y ago
Still using mine as a white noise machine and weather/alarm clock. Helpful links to making your dash useable again: https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9843 https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9843 https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9752 https://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=9752

duskwuff 4y ago

Oh wow! I left this project by the wayside a long time ago; I'm astonished that someone was able to pick it up and make it do something useful. :)

dougg3 4y ago
Ahh, there's a familiar username! I was actually amazed at how long it had been when I finally built up the motivation to pick the project back up earlier this year. My GitHub linux repository is still forked from your silvermoon-linux repository with those original patches. Glad you stumbled upon this so you could see where it eventually got to!

dstaley 4y ago

Everytime I'm reminded of the Chumby, I'm saddened that there isn't a modern version with an open development SDK. While Nest Hubs and Echo Shows are now available dirt cheap, they're all just e-waste waiting to happen. I wish there was a cheap, highly available device with similar specs (WiFi, Bluetooth, nice displays, microphone, maybe cameras) that it was trivially easy to put your own software onto.

duskwuff 4y ago
> I wish there was a cheap, highly available device with similar specs (WiFi, Bluetooth, nice displays, microphone, maybe cameras) that it was trivially easy to put your own software onto. You mean like an Android tablet?
- dstaley 4y ago
  No, something more akin to a smart display without a battery and a chassis that works well for being on a shelf or nightstand.
  - ChuckMcM 4y ago
    That does kind of describe the modern "cheap" android infrastructure. (caveat the battery, which after a bunch of years is useless anyway :-)) The other "modern" alternative to this is an HDMI display with a Raspberry Pi mounted to the back[1]. One could 3D print a different frame in order to mount speakers and a web camera, but that isn't really off the shelf any more at that point. [1] https://www.seeedstudio.com/raspberry-pi-ips-hdmi-display https://www.seeedstudio.com/raspberry-pi-ips-hdmi-display is an example.
  - CharlesW 4y ago
    Like this? https://www.adafruit.com/product/5290 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5290
    - dstaley 4y ago
      Yup, basically that idea, but a bit higher spec (Linux-capable CPU instead of a microcontroller, larger and higher-resolution touchscreen). But it's definitely on the right track! Ideally we'd have something in line spec-wise with the Amazon Echo Show 5.

ChuckMcM 4y ago

This is such a trip, I've got a number of Chumbies (Chumbys?) of the original OMAP processor variety. I even have a "Chumby Guts" kit that I got from Adafruit back in the day which has all the parts, minus the squishy case! They are a great tool for this kind of project because learning about building embedded Linux systems is easier with something that has all the parts already put together for you (it's just software at that point). It also shows how fleeting in time technology is. Building an equivalent today is certainly possible, but the parts you would use for it would be out of date/obsolete in a couple of years so no real "durability" to the existence of the tool. The biggest challenge is of course display tech. Displays are all custom made these days for products that have runs in the millions, there hasn't really existed a "standardized" parts eco-system for them. I had hoped the phone business might provide that but nope.