Chumby

["Dave Ward" <d.ward@xxxxxxxxxx>]

A friend just brought this to my attention

http://www.christine.net/2006/08/announcing_the_.html

The chumby is a low-cost, wifi-enabled information delivery device that's
so appealing
you'll want to keep one close.

Introducing chumby, a compact device that can act like a clock radio, but
is way more
flexible and fun. It uses the wireless internet connection you already have
to fetch cool
stuff from the web: music, the latest news, box scores, animations,
celebrity
gossip...whatever you choose. And a chumby can exchange photos and messages
with
your friends. Since it's always on, you'll never miss anything.

Chumby runs on a a 266MHz ARM controller, with 32MB SDRAM running at 133MHz
bus
speed and a six-layer board. The touchscreen is a 3.5" TFT LCD with
LED backlighting, and
an ambient light sensor tells chumby when to dim its backlighting. There
are stereo
speakers, a headphone jack, and a power supply that can use between 6 and
14 volts. A
squeeze sensor allows users to open up the case after it's been nestled
inside its soft,
Tribble-like shell

The add-on card with digital and analog I/O also looks interesting

it's hackable and open source!

Looks very interesting,  provided It gets plenty of applications written
for it.

Dave