Hacking My Nabaztag: Reading MSN Messages Out Loud With a Talking Rabbit (2008)
Archival repost — originally published on my old blog on December 12, 2008. Lightly cleaned up for dev.to; most of the tech mentioned here (Nabaztag, MSN Messenger, Messenger Plus! Live) has long since been discontinued, but I'm keeping the content as-is for the history. A week ago I got my hands on a Nabaztag:tag — one of the first "smart" connected objects, years before "smart speaker" was even…
In 2008, the author acquired a Nabaztag, a Wi-Fi rabbit from the French company Violet, featuring a text-to-speech voice and the ability to move its ears and change colors. The device came equipped with an API, allowing users to script their own commands and create unique functionalities. The author's objective was to have the Nabaztag read messages from MSN Messenger aloud when they were away from their computer, eliminating the need for constant screen presence.
To accomplish this, the author utilized the scripting environment provided by Messenger Plus! Live, an MSN add-on known for its UI enhancements. Messenger Plus! Live offered a variety of event hooks, enabling the author to implement custom handlers within their script. To illustrate this concept, the author shared a video of their initial trials with NabKiller, the nickname given to their Nabaztag.
Beyond the initial setup, the author envisioned additional features for their project, including real-time notifications for the arrival of new episodes of their favorite shows and the integration of a Pandorabot for added intelligence.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
