As of this writing I’m up to 11 widgets cycling in my Chumby: weather forecast, horoscope, stock quotes, word of the day, this day in history, IMDb died today, Rotten Tomatoes reviews, recent Chumby widgets, Google News - Tech, daily countdown to Van Halen concert and the default blue clock.

Since my Chumby post yesterday, some folks have asked for my opinion on whether or not they should buy the Chumby or if it’s just another gadget? Longer answer requires a detailed review which will take me some time to get to considering I want to explore and experience both the user and developer side of things.

Short and very premature answer? At this point is if you aren’t a programmer and/or don’t have a desire to do any programming, it’s probably better to wait to buy a Chumby until more applications come out. For example, the one and only Twitter client as of this writing doesn’t even allow posting to your Twitter account. I’m sure better widgets will come along that allows this functionality through the Chumby with time. Give us geeky programmer types more time to get up to speed with Chumby development and I’m certain an increasing number of interesting, entertaining and useful applications will emerge. Right now though, it’s not something I’d tell my non-programmer friends to buy.

With that said, I did shoot some high definition video of opening the box and unpacking Chumby for the first time. This shows how big it is, what comes with it, the neat Chumby stitched bags and more. If you have a High Definition TV then I encourage downloading the 197MB HD video below (thanks Blip.tv, I’m now a pro customer) and watch it there, or if you want the lower quality version maybe you’ve already watched the version above. Watching it in HD is almost like having the Chumby in your hands. The iPod and PSP versions still look pretty good though too.

(Sidenote: should I be writing ‘the/a’ Chumby or simply Chumby? The Chumby.com website seems to use Chumby both ways, so I’ll try to stick with Chumby when referring to it directly or a/the Chumby when talking about it as a device.)

And yes, I’ve seen some folks poking fun at the name. I definitely didn’t buy it for the name. Saw Chumby labeled “obscene” already but don’t think I’d take it that far. Lots of things have weird names these days. Sign of the times.

Hmmcast #178 downloads
PSP .mp4 (480×272) iPod .mp4 (640×480) Windows .wmv (1480×1080 HD)

• Don’t have to be “cool” to get a Chumby, here’s the details
• Chumby update arrives
• Sony, 3 others join to work on new high definition format
• Microsoft Zune unboxed black
• So Far, High-Definition TV not producing anticipated sales
• Amazon Unboxed gets into crowded ring handcuffed and is sucker punched by Hollywood pricing