When it was working, it worked exactly as advertised and was great; color was clean and bright, and the blink1-tool command line utility for setting the color gives a very nice, smooth transition from one color to another.
Unfortunately, mine malfunctioned; it suddenly started flickering through several colors, and when I unplugged it from USB and plugged it back in, it came on in a state where one side was full-white all the time, and the other side could be controlled. After fiddling with it a bit more (and trying it on multiple computers), I unfortunately found it in a state where it just flickers through colors wildly. I expect an electrical short?
That having been said, I'm ordering another one because when it worked, it worked great. For the price point, maybe order two just in case one goes faulty on you.
I bought this in hopes of having it light up when an email arrives in Outlook - two hours after opening the box I got my wish (and most of
that time was spent googling). I used a combination of four pieces of free software as follows:
1. AutoIt: A freeware BASIC-like scripting language designed for automating the Windows GUI and general scripting.
2. OutlookEX User Defined Functions (UDF): A user-contributed library that allows AutoIt scripts to communicate with MS Outlook.
3. OutlookEX UDF Example Script for New Mail Event (_OL_Example_NewMail_Event): An example script that uses OutlookEX UDF that activates when a new email arrives in Outlook.
4. Blink1Control v1.93: Blink(1)'s command line tool 'blink1-tool'.
I know all of that looks complicated but I simply installed AutoIt and OutlookEX UDF (I have no idea how they work) then I simply added two lines to the _OL_Example_NewMail_Event script; one line runs blink1-tool to turn the LED on when the new mail arrives, and the other line runs blink1-tool to turn the LED off when you acknowledge the message. See the two 'Run' lines below:
Func oOApp_NewMailEx($sOL_EntryId)
Local $oOL_Item = $oOApp.Session.GetItemFromID($sOL_EntryId, Default)
Run('"c:\Users\<user>\Downloads\Blink(1)\blink1-tool.exe" --rgb 255,153,0')
MsgBox(64, "OutlookEX UDF Example Script", "New mail has arrived!" & @CRLF & @CRLF & _
"From: " & $oOL_Item.SenderName & @CRLF & _
"Subject: " & $oOL_Item.Subject)
Run('"c:\Users\<user>\Downloads\Blink(1)\blink1-tool.exe" --off')
Simple as that. Works like a charm.
I'll be buying more of these, they're slick.
H.C.E.
For once, a nice device that's open and flexible.
I hate "the internet of (not-quite-your) things" that is the new normal.
this, on the other hand, is a polite thing.
source code on github. command line, python, ruby, javascript, linux, mac, windows, and lots more. useful, useful, useful.
If you just want an LED to control from your phone, this might be overkill. But in the right hands, this will quickly become a trusted tool.
My son has this plugged into the USB on his desktop's keyboard. We incorporated our Amazon Alexa with the IFFT app, and with a simple phrase we're able to alert my son that I need him which is nice verses yelling "dinners ready!!!!" across the entire house. Simple to instal, relatively easy to configure to use with Alexa.
The Blink1Control2 software is decent and open source, so anyone with the ability to program JavaScript can fix bugs and extend it. I primarily use mine at work with IFTTT event triggers for Google Calendar notifications and bash scripts on timers for monitoring things I can't with IFTTT. Toast notifications are easily ignored on multiple monitors, and I'm not always wearing my headphones to hear audible alerts. I've found it to be a handy, unobtrusive way to get important notifications in a way that is hard to miss. I used to miss the start of meetings because I'd be engrossed in my work, but a couple red flashes in my peripheral vision is enough to break out of it, and is easily recognizable as "time for a meeting!"
The biggest flaw I've found so far is that the diffusor/casing on mine has a loose tolerance around the USB board inside, allowing it to wiggle. It hasn't fallen out, but I'd like to see it more permanently affixed so the device feels like one solid unit.
Feature Product
- Can pulse when someone mentions you on twitter
- Can glow red if your computers CPU is slammed
- Shows the status of your continuous integration build
Description
blink(1) is a small USB light to give you glanceable notice of anything on your computer or the internet. blink(1) makes it easy to connect data sources in the cloud or on your computer to a full-color RGB LED so you can know what’s happening without checking any windows, going to any websites or typing any command. Connect blink(1) to IFTTT, your mail, URLs or your favorite scripts.
Love this device, I have it connected with some home automation systems, so I have it preform things like telling me someone is at the front door before they even knock or ring my "RING Video Doorbell". Also have it set to remind me of specific time events, the LED color combos/light flashes are so easily programmed, and the uses are almost limitless.
I purchased this to place on a Linux file server to indicate the health of the system. Works as advertised in this capability. There was a whole of of press given to monitoring tweeks and the like, but I found you need to use an outside service to do most of that stuff. Not willing to give yet another company access to my information.
The ThingM blink(1) is fun and a little geeky. It plugs into a USB port and can be made to blink, display colors, display patterns, and so on via software. There is still a "roll-your-own" feel about the software in that I have spent the bulk of my time playing around on the Mac OS command line, however there is integration into IFTTT, so you do not need to be a total geek to enjoy this. There are samples of other things you can do with the blink(1), if you want to concentrate more on the "what" it can do than on the "how" to do it.
I just got this set up (using the program linked in one of the question responses above), and I think it will work beautifully. It has a custom set color option, along with several cycles, strobes, and ability to split the light to be two different colors. I will never use all of the capabilities, but it will work great for my busy/available/stepped away notifier in a busy office. Thanks!
Does what it says, was easy to set up with IFTTT, I am using the Beta3 x64 software, no issues, still need to figure out what all I want to use it for, but nice little gadget
edit, just updated to Blink1Control2-2.0.2-win, nice upgrade
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