bunnie's blog

Interview with MAKE: The End of chumby, New Adventures

bunnie — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:52:18 +0000

Last week, the Internet discovered the end of chumby as you have known it. My exit from the company five months ago was deliberately discreet. It was a good run, but it was also time for me to move on. Upon hearing the news, my good friend Phil Torrone reached out to do an interview, and I was happy to oblige. The interview encapsulates some of my experiences that may be applicable to others excited to get into the hardware business. Here’s some of the questions that I answer for Phil:

Can you talk about making a device from start to finish, from idea to factory to retail shelves?

What were the challenges with retail sales?

Did you get any patents? How do they work within the world of open-source?

Do you have any advice for a maker who is considering taking VC funding? Anything different if they’re doing open-source hardware?

What are your thoughts on Kickstarter for funding?

When you advise companies what do you most often suggest to the founders?

If you could do it over, how would you change the hardware of the Chumby? The software? The way Chumby was made?

Now that you’ve been part of a full cycle of a VC funded company that makes hardware, what suggestions do you have for company structure, from the people to the location, to the overall organization?

What’s next for bunnie, what are most excited about to do next?

If you’re interested, have a read at the jump!

Name that Ware April 2012

bunnie — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:28:00 +0000

The Ware for April 2012 is shown below.

And a nice side view, showing off the relays:

Thanks to Bruce Lane for submitting this month’s Ware!

Winner, Name that Ware March 2012

bunnie — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:27:46 +0000

The winner for March 2012 is MegabytePhreak! congrats, email me for your prize.

The ware is a Zhaoxin 868D hot air rework station, which combines both a soldering iron and a hot air gun into a single box. I purchased it for about US$19 in the Shenzhen electronic market.

When I travel to Shenzhen, I find it more economical to simply purchase equipment and dispose of it upon leaving, rather than the alternatives of paying bag check fees, or dealing with interrogation by security screeners. The iron actually has a nice bit of empty space on the inside, and the reason I had it opened up was to hide some valuables from cleaning staff while I was out. ‘Safes’ in Chinese hotels are often times not bolted to the walls, so putting your valuables in them is a bit like putting a big red arrow on your stuff that says ‘this is the box you should take’.

Name that Ware March 2012

bunnie — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:55:05 +0000

The Ware for March 2012 is shown below.

Been on the road in China this past month, so I snapped this one with my camera while on the go!

Winner, Name that Ware February 2012

bunnie — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:54:54 +0000

The winner of Name that Ware February 2012 is mangel, for correctly guessing the ware as a BBN Safekeyper box, CP1 Series, c. late 1992. Congrats, and email me for your prize!

Thanks again to Ben for contributing this rare look inside such an interesting box!