I bought a Chumby to play with — I don’t quite get it.  Yet.

It’s an alarm-clock sized device, with a color touch LCD display.  It displays Flash widgets you select in a continuous cycle, typically for 20-30 seconds per widget.  My widget set:  clock, weather widget, stock quote widget, and a few others.  Widgets can be interactive, using the touch screen for input.  You configure things on the Web, and the device downloads the config.

I was attracted to the openness:  full source code, etc.  I have a few ideas for displaying info from my home phone switch, my alarm system, etc.

But as configured, its sort of like a tiny version of the business waiting room display or Captivate displays in elevators, cycling through “stuff” to keep me occupied while I wait.  But in my home or office, that use isn’t  helpful.

Maybe I’m missing something?  More thinking required.