blink(1) is the world’s best indicator light, designed to give you glanceable notice of anything on your computer or the internet.
blink(1) makes it easy to connect any data source 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 commands. blink(1) mk2 improves upon the original blink(1) with better functionality and great new features.
blink(1) packs three dimensions of information (color, brightness and pattern) into a single tiny package that fits into any USB port on nearly every device. It makes it incredibly easy to connect any data source 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 commands.
We designed blink(1) in the spirit of our favorite old school Unix tools and we tried hard to make it simple, flexible, and robust.
blink(1) can:
- show the status of your continuous integration build
- flash when a web page has changed
- display multiple information sources simultaneously
- work in parallel with as many other blink(1)s as you have USB ports
- glow red if your computer’s CPU is slammed
- …and hundreds of other things!
IFTTT
IFTTT is a service that lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement “if this, then that”. IFTTT supports most every internet service so when something important to you happens on the Net, IFTTT will tell blink(1) mk2 to flash.
BLINK(1) AT HOME
Get things done without having your face buried in the computer. If you’re expecting a call and don’t want to make noise, blink(1) can help.
BLINK(1) ON THE GO
Monitor network speed when you’re in the cafe, so you know when the guy in the corner is seeding on BitTorrent and it’s time to go elsewhere.
BLINK(1) AT WORK
Ever wanted a physical “Busy” indicator for your cubicle or office? With blink(1) and a USB extension cable, you can let your coworkers know when you really can’t be interrupted.
And because blink(1) is physically unobtrusive and requires no drivers to confound the OS, it makes a great multi-modal notification light for rack-mounted servers, alerting to task updates or system alerts.
Organizations using blink(1)
We’re very happy to learn that several organizations have been using blink(1) to help monitor server server, continuous integration (CI) builds, bootup process, and other tasks.
Some organizations that are using blink(1):
- Pixar
- Microsoft
- Sharp
- CBS Sports
- fluke
- PARC
- Adobe
- Shutterfly
- Sony Pictures
- Autodesk
- Disney
- University of California
- Max-Planck Institute
Kickstarter
blink(1) was initially funded with Kickstarter. Thank you to all our backers!
Open Source
From the source code for the applications, to the SDKs, to the firmware and hardware designs, blink(1) is open source. To see the source, visit our github repository.
