Seventeen+ years ago
It’s been an odd week with a death, a marriage and an MRI. As a result, video production has been slower than anticipated. The new video is also currently on hold while I wait for the delivery of a broken device that should enable me to fix my broken device due to it being broken in a different way. That should be arriving tomorrow.
In the absence of a new video this week, how about an old video, a really old video I found on a hard drive. I’m not sure whether I ever published this one on YouTube. I do recall that it was a competition/audition to get a job. This was back when lots of companies were making videos with good production values to be watched on iPods or the first iPhone. Needless to say I didn’t get that job and after watching this stilted, awkward video you’ll see why.
In my defence though this was recorded in June 2008. That’s over seventeen years ago. We'd only just invented TV a couple of years prior.
I’ve got ever so slightly better at this since and hopefully no longer come across as a slimy twit.
And no, I never had hair.
Comments (117)
Bring Back tomorrows World :)
I've just downloaded the first series of ancient 1990s BBC series 'The Net' which was my first exposure to "the internet" and was what prompted me to get my first modem (at first a 2400 baud hardwire Motorola found in a skip at the back of an office building) followed quite quickly by my second (38(?)K but allegedly upgradable to 56k - I don't think it ever was, they kept stalling and then offered a lame trade in deal). Your bit about the Chumby was no worse than most of the stuff on those programmes (the start of the DIY, 'no crew' aesthetic for a lot of the away from studio bits, filmed on camcorder and edited on a fledgling PC) and probably a lot better than some. Certainly better than the annoying games reviews, which were dropped for Series 2. "Be a chum - give a Chumby this Xmas!"
interesting that the video is interlaced. wasn't PAL always progressive scan? or is this something to do with the output codec?
PAL was / is interlaced like NTSC. By the time I had worked out how to get the interlacing right on Home Produced DVDs I was fed up with the whole idea. The most annoying thing was that they would play perfectly on a PC, but the picture would tear apart when there was any panning on a PAL TV.
I still use my Sony Dash (HID-C10) which runs Chumby to check the time and weather
I can detect more of your natural accent was present back then than now
It’s always noticable if you go back how YouTubers always slow down their speech as you get better at it
Unfortunately I was trying to get this one over in within a time limit for the competition. I failed.
Don't you still have the Chumby? You could do another follow up to this lol.
I haven’t seen it for years, but I feel it must exist somewhere.
It's a bit like a colour TERMNL. I retrieved mine at the weekend and set it up to display my calendar, to-do list, train times from Appley Bridge railway station. I may loan to TNMOC as a live display modified for Bletchley. I'm using a RPI as proxy.
I'm glad the old video proved to be of some use.
And now I'm looking at old Chumbys on eBay!
There were a lot around 2016 at various auctions. A Chumby 8 would be nice. A friend is USA has a collection of.
I love that chumby.com still exists and looks wonderful retro.
Great retro video.
That ain't retro, that's pure vintage.
I owned a Chumby and had COMPLETELY forgotten about it!
I like the ethos of the Chumby as a user-modifiable device! It's nice that that is actually encouraged!
This "vintage" video does put me in mind of "The Secret Life of Machines" (minus the squiggle cartoons). Also... except for the video quality, I would be hard pressed to conclude from the tech itself that this isn't a recent video. It seems like we might have reached a ceiling with some aspects of our tech culture.
Ah, Tim Hunkin! Found a fascinating kids show from 1975-ish a while ago, about the danger fireworks can cause, which featured him and his cartoons. Quite the bohemian long-haired cravatte-wearing hippy in those days, though still with those round Lennon glasses!
Hope things around for you soon, Mat! All the best! And thanks for this blast from the past, I was thinking about this device recently but could not remember what it was called!
A 2925 Chumby would require subscriptions for the channels and display ads.
and do a forced update at least once a month, probably just when you wanted to check the weather and train times.
He could go far!
He seems to be an intelligent and articulate young man , I’m sure he’ll go far in the info-tainment industry. Mostly, I was amazed at how far technology has come in so short a time. Hope things start to look up again soon, Mat.
I stand corrected - it appears to have been published on June 7 2008 - the blog via Wayback Machine 🙈: https://postimg.cc/WDp1SLSy https://postimg.cc/RNrCynXK
Wow, that’s a huge amount to deal with in such a short time. I’m sorry for your loss, and I hope for good results from the MRI. I like the old video! I had a similar black Macbook back in the day. This video definitely brings those early youtube vibes.
Wow. Look at that. It's in color.
I remember Chumby! Also… funny how modern TRMNL is so similar to Chumby. 🤣
Chumbtastic!
We used a Chumby in our clubhouse to display real-time power consumption.
I don't recall the exact timeframe, but we ran this for years. In fact, we still display our power consumption publicly on our website: https://status.ctdo.de
Blast from the past! I LOVED my chumby!
Talk about old new stock!
I remember the Chumby! The ISP I was with at the time was pushing these pretty hard. Sadly, said ISP has now gone to the same place as the Chumby. BTW this is an excellent first video.
🤔 I think there may have been a few earlier videos.
The first "cheese sandwich" video. ;-)
The Cheese Sandwich videos were quick and easy to make. I seem to recall this one taking quite a while due to all the B-Roll.
I thought it was a good video and you were very clear in what you were saying and easy follow. Those are my thoughts anyway
What a handsome young man. Yes please, I'll take twenty!
I don't want to encourage you too much, but I think you might have a future on YouTube. 2008 I was writing my master on gas turbines, which would mean my computer was on in the morning, as I was running simulations on 16 cores and thus I could see the forecast, which was bleak, possibly because of the crisis. It is good to know we have learnt a lot from that and now, having given all our wealth to the rich, the coming crisis will barely make a dent on our economy. What would be quite a thing though, would be to have that annoying cable out of the way... That thing could almost be pocketed and... That's an idea.
That must have been a really tough competition to get the job, since this video really isn't half bad. (Especially by 2008’s standards.)
I suspect they just gave the job to a friend, or the job didn’t exist.
I don’t think it was that bad of a video. The only cringe-worthy moment for me was you speeding up the talking at the end to try to shorten the video (I think) 😅. Really lovely to see this classic material!
Oh god you look like my next door neighbour, and sound a bit like Terry Christian. Although the presenting is obviously much better than Terry Christian. 😉
Bonus points if you watch this on your chumby
Crazy that Chumby went on to be bought by Google for $1bn.
Such a cool look back into the Chumby. I owned two of them. They were such great devices for the time.
Not hiring you was their loss (and maybe ultimately your gain as it led you to the Techmoan experience). I think this is pretty damn good. Thanks for pulling this from deep in the archives. Very fun to see not only this technology from over 17 years ago, but proof of how you've always been an engaging presenter. I coach people speaking for a living, and you're hitting all the right notes!
Mat, I really enjoyed this video and like some of the others, I’d probably buy one of those things myself even today. When you were really ill, I used Grace Robbins’ super handy list of old Patreon videos she posted (Thanks Grace!), and watched all those, then went back and watched the published videos from the beginning too. You can really see the fascinating evolution of them as time progresses; almost like watching a Timelapse of a sky scraper being built. Regards
There are people with more experience who do worse than this, not too bad at all. Sure the production quality screams "home made in 2008" and you sure have improved on that front a lot.
This video seems vaguely familiar. Either you did post it to YouTube, or you made another video about the Chumby. In any case, it was good to hear your voice this week, even if there was some hooligan lip-synching to your script 🙃
I'm guessing this is back in the day when YouTube had a time limit, was it 5 or 10 mins? Do you still have this device, does it still function?
I remember that time limit thing. If I recall correctly it was five minutes and depending on some sort of criteria you could go a smidge over 10 minutes. But according to the Wayback Machine, here's what the YouTube main page looked like in June 2008: https://postimg.cc/ygDTtGv1 The majority of the featured videos focus on random acts of kindness and free hugs.
Wow, young Mat! Your voice was indeed pitched a bit higher back then! It was when I just moved to Switzerland... Wish I were that young again... (but without the pimples 😜)
I didn’t find the video awkward or stilted. It’s an interesting device. I’m amazed that the Chumby website still works in 2025! When did you stop using your Chumby?
Was going to say the same thing about the website!
I absolutely loved my Chumby. I had the next generation (which was indeed rechargeable) and even the Sony Dash which used Chumby’s services.
I kept waiting for the part where it would automatically toggle the power to your router via some smart plug or whatnot. I now feel quite silly. Pretty fun demonstration though!
Actually find your presentation style very good with the only issue being some slight hesitation between sentences. And I notice that your voice sounded a bit better in 2008 likely because those nasal polyps weren't as severe then if not entirely absent. (You still sound great today FWIW🙂).
Death, a Marriage and an MRI. A Techmoan movie coming soon to your home cinemas.
You were thinking too like Four Weddings and a Funeral? 😅
Masterful editing, presenting, and summerizing. I'm sure you were too good for the position and the hiring manager felt threatened. Thanks for sharing!
Always interesting to see how the more things change, the more they stay the same, seeing as it hardly differs at its core from a smart display/speaker of any kind today. As for the actual presentation of the video, it’s certainly heartening in its own way that, despite your preemptive description of it, it’s still preferable for me over the vast majority of similar “advertainment” both them and now (whether indeed this video would’ve been sponsored or not)
I miss my Chumby! I had the all plastic V2 and I loved it. Maybe my favorite era of the internet.
Ha! I just gave my Chumby to a friend a few weeks ago.
Aside from you looking maybe 16 or 18 years younger, this is not bad. You have evolved since then into a very good presenter, but I could have said that when I first started watching you in 2018 or whenever it was. And wow, did the Chumby *ever* set the world on fire. -- Sent From Chumby Chat
I'd hire you from that!
I remember I was up against Ashens who reviewed a Bic pen. He didn’t get the job either.
Getting a definite René from 'Allo 'Allo vibe here. "You may be wondering what I am doing stealing ze 'earse of Monsieur Alphonse ze undertaker at midnight while 'olding a bridal bouquet and wearing a medical gown..." (two British airmen suddenly sit up in the back of the hearse with a cheerful "Hello!")
Officer Crabtree with “Good moaning” still cracks me up. I guess this video was also a bit of early good techmoaning 🤣
Still a million times better than I could ever produce. Don’t be so hard on yourself, we appreciate all of your work and the large amount of effort that goes in to producing any ‘proper’ video. Those that think this stuff is easy have little idea of what is involved, artistically or technically.
Hope all is well with your MRI and health, and I'm sorry for your loss. A wedding, funeral and an MRI ... hmm wasn't that a Hugh Grant movie?
Oh man web 2.0, connect the things to all the other things! 😋
Was the original Chumby service free after you'd bought the device? we know that's a terrible business model - a service required to keep devices running, funded by sales of products. I note that after Chumby folded, a new company sprung from the ashes and restarted the service as a subscription model. It surprises me to read that it's running to this day - is that right?
I don’t know about now, but back when I used this it was all free.
Much better than all the AI generated junk we see nowadays! "I love it!"
a blast from the past! always good fun to dig through an old hard drive and see what you can find. never heard of this before, but it did remind me of another device - did you ever get your hands on a 'Little Printer' by BERG? It came out not long after (2012). Similar kind of idea to this, albeit using thermal paper rather than a screen.
I made the mistake of trying to watch through the Patreon player at first, which seems even worse than it was, which is impressive. Nice to see a flashback to a very different time though. Of course the video does lack the now standard "as always thanks for watching" sign off
Yeah, I’m the same; can’t stand the Patreon player and put the URL into YouTube app instead. Regards
Death (🥺), Marriage (nephew/neice?), MRI (you?) Yikes. No, I am certain you never published this one. I'm not sure why you thought you were 'slimy' unless you were giving it a better review than it deserved. Your witty personality was definitely lacking here compared to your future work. In other words, it REALLY looked like a job interview. I got an insurance job in March 2008 and worked at it for 16 years. It wasn't at all life-affirming, now I sort of regret my life choices. Back when I was still resembling a human being, someone in Australia (or so they claimed) had read my fanfiction stories online and wrote that they wanted to hire me on to a unique project due to my creative skills. I thought they were a fraud, so I politely declined - but who knows, it could have been a chance toward a more fulfilling career. I don't know where I was going with this story. It's too late for regrets, I guess. Have you hidden away any more videos in the Mat Video Vault? 😉 🤍
I think this is the only complete, edited video I have in the archives. I’ll explain the death and marriage stuff in the next update. I worked in an office from 1987 until 2016. It barely paid the bills and took up what should have been the best years of my life. Unfortunately you can’t go back and have a do over.
It's not that bad at all, Mat! And of course I looked to see if they still have a site, like everyone else. Surprised to see they do.
THE SECRET ORIGIN OF TECHMOAN! WHO HE IS AND HOW HE CAME TO BE!
Chumby sounds--to my American ears--like the kind of cheeky (or nasty) insult that British folk would call each other: "Hullo there Mat, you old Chumby!"😀😉
It sounds like a bag of rotten fish that you'd throw into the ocean in order to endanger yourself with sharks.
I can’t believe that the Chumby.com website is still going
And it appears that a lot of the widgets are even still getting updates. I assume this device must have a die-hard fanbase of around 15 people, lol
Weird to hear the same voice with the image of younger you 😅
Oh my, I remember (dimly) those long distant years of nearly two decades ago. TV, as you say, had only just been invented. Hard to believe now, but for the younger folks there was an early reality TV series that will educate you, about a heavy plant operator called Frederick, who lived in a small US town with his wife Wilma. It's eye-opening.
It’s incredible that chumby.com is still running!
Not remotely slimy nor twitty, just young(er). You look and sound very much the same, which is a good thing! But God, how old and remote 2008 looks, it was just yesterday 😢
Strange, in 2008 if you wanted the weather / news / your email / to know whether you'd sold something on ebay / to know if your train is running on time, you'd have to turn on your computer to find out.
Could that be the first example on YouTube of an attempt at a match cut at about 1:35? YouTube pioneer since the beginning.
"CHUMBY"!!!!
Honestly, this ancient video is shockingly competent and well-made. It's nothing like watching the first MrWhoseTheBoss or MKBHD videos.
Not aged a day since then and actually quite a cool device for its day.
What do you think of the Chumby now? Not as a modern device but for when it was available, would you still recommend it?
I'd still probably buy one if they came out now. Whether I'd use it though...
I'm the age you are in that video now (probably), and I have that exact hairline. Damn.
At least now you know you'll be irresistibly handsome in seventeen years.
"a death, a marriage and an MRI" And the strange thing is, they were all at one event - but that's a story for another day.
A delightful blast from the past there. Many thanks. I wonder if anyone will view this on a Chumby? Surely the best way to do so. Hope you’re well, Mat.
I'm sorry for your loss, Mat.
Thanks. However on this occasion it's more of a blessing..
I always wanted a Chumby I do feel like I have seen this video before :?
It’s very possible. It might have made its way to YouTube at one point, it’s all a distant memory.
Direct Link for video is https://youtu.be/YEHK7_fyVj4?si=edw8oF0YXtT3scIy if you don’t want to watch it in Patreon. Sorry to hear about the death… when’s the MRI result due if I may ask? Will save the video for later. Thanks for sharing. Regards
Apologies, I forgot to add the link, I've corrected that now.
Family and health are priority always…thank you for the update
Do a Chumby retrospective!
It's probably just a useless box now - can't connect to Mat's WiFi, any online service is probably long gone. A paper weight or a door stop? In other vintage news, Mat sounds the same but looks much younger. 17 years younger.
Hey, a TechMoan ThrowBack. A TechBack. A ThrowMoan.
Better a ThrowBack than a ThrowUp 😀🤢
I wish I had all those widgets on my Nest hub! And look, the MacBook is properly black with a properly glowing logo, the way it should be 😎
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