If you are at all interested in the world of Bits & Atoms, Bunnie Huang’s blog should be part of your feedreader. Bunnie is a co-founder at Chumby and while some loathe the product only the hardest heart could not be impressed with his enthusiasm for physical “stuff” .
For instance a running feature on his blog is “Name that Ware” where a PCB is shown with just a few clues to it’s origin. Commenters try to uncover the mystery by finding patterns in traces or tell tale ports. I’m not savvy enough to pick a winner, but you can pick up a great deal just by reading the comments.
A recent post to Hacker News highlights the best of this blog, the nitty-gritty coverage of manufacturing. Bunnie tours the factories that made the Chumby and shares the experience, for good and bad. It clearly illustrates the differences between Japanese (automated) and Chinese (labor driven) manufacturing styles. Hardware hackers should be encouraged how much of the process is still manual. The production methods used to make stuff at home aren’t markedly different from those used by the pros, just the wages and working conditions.
I met Bunnie at a conference once and he was as excited to talk about the challenges of bringing a hybrid product to mass market retailers as the relative merits of plastic adhesives. If you love or hate the Chumby, spend a few minutes with the man behind the curtain.
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