Calamari

Calamari is be a custom sync server designed to handle uploading, organising, and syncing of widgets for the Chumby family of devices.

Calamari is designed to allow you to use your Chumby while keeping full control of both the device and the network services.

It also provides a better value than Blue Octy's subscription service for users who feel that the price isn't worth the myriad of broken widgets that rely on now defunct network services/APIs, provides peace of mind to those who feel that Blue Octy's sync service may not have the longevity they require, and provides a better ease of use for users who are used to using custom widgets and editing profile.xml files by hand or users who develop their own custom widgets by automating the profile.xml and download process.

What currently works

• Authentication for the Calamari dashboard
• Uploading widgets to Calamari from a computer
• Organising widgets into channels from a computer
• Syncing widgets from Calamari to a Chumby
• Allow neutering Chumby.com sync to allow use of custom widgets even when unsubscribed

How does neutering Chumby.com sync work?

Calamari provides a simple shell script called neuter-sync.sh which leverages the Chumby's extensive ability to hook into user scripts during power on.

Calamari uses userhook0 to remove the downloaded widget cache before the control panel is able to start and redirect it to /dev/null, effectively blackholing any downloaded widgets from Chumby.com which has no effect on using widgets apart from a slight slowdown from the control panel trying to load a widget that doesn't exist.

Removing /psp/rfs1/userhook0 allows you to re-enable Chumby.com sync.

Do I need to use the neuter script?

If you pay for a Chumby subscription, you do not need to neuter your sync.

If you don't pay for a Chumby subscription, Blue Octy will sync a channel with a clock widget which has no timeout, disallowing you from using custom widgets on a rotation (allowing pinned custom widgets though). Due to this, you will need to use the neuter script to use custom widgets in a rotation if you are unsubscribed from the Blue Octy Chumby.com service.