A Personal Information Display is any device that displays user-configured information, which can be a combination of static and dynamically-generated data. Unlike a full-blown computer, it is a small, simple Internet-connected device which consumes little power, runs silently, is highly reliable, and provides little or no opportunity for real-time user interaction.
Contents
User-generated static data
Dynamically-generated data
Most, if not all, of the dynamically-generated data comes from RSS and other XML-based sources.
Examples of devices
The Chumby fits many of these criteria, but the Pertelian and WidgetStation displays are simpler and come closer to meeting the low-interactivity requirement of a personal information display.
References
Personal Information Display Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA