Just received my Chumby ! Getting it was really a pain, I registered almost 2 years ago when the product was announced and when I get the right to buy one, the Chumby team announced that they would not sell it outside USA :/ Had to use the Force (and Olivier, thanks ) to have it arrive in my office in Paris . Nevertheless it’s really a UFO in the consumer electronics world. Firstly it comes in a cute pouch and really few things inside, just the strict necessary (no billion page manual, no thousand adapters…). As soon as you power it up, there’s really only one thing you can say :
The Chumby is awesome !
Small touchscreen wrapped in quality leather case and connected to the Internet and running widgets through an embedded Flash player. Initial set-up was really easy. Only weak point, it asked me for a firmware upgrade that is downloaded through Bitorrent and that lasted for ages to download with an average of 0,5 peers and almost no seeds (Chumby guys, you should have a seed always on !).
Once you have it up and running, it’s really easy to create a channel wher you drop some widgets from the available widget list. Widgets stay up for a defined time and then change to the next widget and you have connexion to the major web services available… and more to come with an really cool SDK.
Also check out the “virtual chumby” on my facebook profile !
As a conclusion it’s a really cool hardware connected to a really cool set of services… not sure how big the market is for this thing but geeks wiil love it !

Technorati Tags: chumby, widget

Just wanted to shout out and loud that Apple custermer care really SUX BIG TIME. This makes me mad, got my awesome black macbook in March, was working like a charm, fast, silent good autonomy, awesome products.
November 6th, my HD dies in pain… shit happens, had the same issue with my IBM X40 2 years ago (although it had shock prevention systems), so let’s pretend it can happen. First thing I do, call Apple, they usually have wonderful service – moreover I bought @ Apple store online. The guy who answers simply was an asshole : the only thing he could say was you aren’t an applecare subscriber, you need to pay another few hundred euros for problem diagnosis. Naturally there was no way I’d pay to get a confirmation that the HD was dead… after tough negociation I finally learn that I should drop my Macbook at the nearest Apple centre.
So I go and drop the Macbook.
Everyday I called for status update on the repair, and now Apple says they ran out of stock for the HD (160GO SATA… definetly it’s not the rarest hardware part). Topday I finally ran into some cool tech support guy @ Apple who decided to take the time and investigate … conclusion : over one month of wait time to get the part! And there’s no way to have they change the part with any other HD they have in stock but there’s no way … the part has been ordered
Well Mr Apple, your service sux. It’s the last time I get a Mac as professionnal computer, there simply is no service – if you own Apple shares, sell them now the production can’t hold it anymore obviously quality is dropping. I guess it’s not long before the P&L gets impacted …

Technorati Tags: Apple, customer care

No I’m not involved in this site at all I just stumbled upon it by following a link on Amazon.

Technorati Tags: spykee

Technorati Tags: google, gphone

Good news, just realized while browsing the web and checking LeWeb3 blog that WaveStorm is one of the 30 companies out of over 120 applicants to be selected to enter the Startup competition. Pretty happy to see that the project seems to meet the tough criteria set by the organizers :

• What was the problem the company was trying to solve? Is it a big existing market, a growing market or an emerging market?
• Does
  the solution the company offers merely echo other solutions on the
  market or is it truly differentiated?
• If it’s in a crowded market, does the company clearly differentiate itself or its product, explaining how they will rise above the noise?
• Do they have a clearly delineated plan for revenue?
• Will they have something they can physically show in a demo?
• Will the company be either announcing itself or launching a brand new product or solution at LeWeb?
• Also in an attempt to give as many companies opportunity as possible, we also considered if the company was one that had participated at LeWeb last year and tried to give a chance to newcomers.

I’ll be on stage at the Startup room on Day 1 2:50 pm, wish me luck !
Pretty fun, I’ll be on the big stage in the morning and the small one on the afternoon

Technorati Tags: competition, leweb3, wavestorm, startup

Just found this short tutorial to unlock your Apple TV and open it up to all those awesome services available on AkwardTV, like Joost for instance. This time no need to open it up with a screwdriver !

Technorati Tags: AppleTV, hack

It’s now official, Google won’t be making its own mobile phone. Instead it will collaborate with handsets manufacturers to certify their upcoming models to ensure their compatibility with the mobile google apps suite that has been recently revealed. If you want to get a snapshot at what this would mean, just check google docs on your iPhone .
This kill that everlasting rumor about the google phone but stresses once again that the mobile is an Internet terminal, just as your PC – only waiting for decent data plans ( btw, French SFr “unlimited” 3G is just a joke, no 10 Mb isn’t what I call unlimikted).

Technorati Tags: google, mobile

Bug Labs just revealed its lego device builder. Basically it’s a set of bricks around a core ARM11 processor that can just build up according to your needs. It’s running Linux and provides an Open SDK… sound like the perfect proof-of-concept platform to try up some new ideas.

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Technorati Tags: bug-labs, linux

If you’re in Paris early december, you shouldn’t miss that awesome conference corganized by Geraldine, Cathy and Loic : LeWeb 3.
I’ll meet you there both days as I’ll be speaking on stage :

December 11th, 11h20 – 11h50

The Internet’s impact on design
Mattias Luefkens – World Economic Forum (moderator)
Brent Hoberman – MyDeco.com
Rafi Haladjan – Nabaztag
Iris Ben David – StyleShake.com
Alexander Casassovici – Wavestorm

You might be wondering what’s WaveStorm got to do with design? Well, a lot ! Our moto and our vision is that all the electronics stuff that are currently around you are becoming connected and interconnected. Internet is coming to those devices, but not the Internet you are used to with the browser and the screen, the Internet of service that create a smart and comfortable environment, a service bubble that you just forget about in the comfort of your house but that really improves your daily life. Design is not just about the object itself but also the way it operates, it communicates, it lets you get information without interrupting in your life and not necessarily using a screen or a speaker. Internet is getting in your objects, and your objects beautifuly integrate your environment – and let you forget about them

Well, that’s for the theory – practicing is harder than envisioning

See you there with a bunch of cool devices

Technorati Tags: leweb3, speaker

Just received the Sony Rolly I ordered from Japan last sunday. This device is awesome, it’s basically a music player + Bluetooth A2DP headphone that that can dance on the music. It’s definetly no use but so much fun The sound of the two little speaker is pretty good and changes when it opens/closes/moves ears… Can’t wait to see how the cat reacts to that

Technorati Tags: sony+rolly