This project is an attempt at creating a monkeypatch for the Olark chat console, which will enable a user to capture events related to new/unread messages, and other bits of trivia including operator status.
You might be able to find the patch in bookmarklet form on this page.
If such a thing existed, it would be sure to communicate these events to a local Python server, whose sole purpose for existence was to relay such messages on to an embedded system via the USB HID protocol.
To run this Python server, one would first generate a self-signed certificate.
./generate_cert.sh
Fill in whatever makes you happy for the the certificate details.
If using virtualenv, go ahead and set up a virtual environment and activate it. This step is optional but recommended.
virtualenv observer_server
source observer_server/bin/activate
Next change to the observer_server directory, and install the server dependencies by running the setup file.
cd observer_server
python setup.py install
Then run the server!
python run.py
Because the server will be using the self-signed certificate that was created earlier, you'll need to visit https://localhost.spacenate.com:4443/ and accept your certificate. You will likely need to "add a permanent exception" for your certificate, and you may need to jump through some hoops to do this. Thankfully, it should only need to be done once (unless you generate a new certificate later).
Now you are ready to load the bookmarklet while using the Olark chat console, and the party is on!
The hardware is made up of an AVR microcontroller (I've chosen the ATtiny85) running the V-USB library for USB communications. You can find the firmware and more details about the hardware in the olark-observer-hardware project.