RE: Re: RFXCOM to HomeSeer and other HA apps via xAP - and other GUI's ..

["Rob Iles" <rob.iles@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Mal,



Great work on the RFXCom integation!



[Disclaimer: I'm a developer for Harmony Home Automation Server -
http://tinyurl.com/yp3rws (Domia)]



IMHO, Home automation - motion sensors, scheduled events, environmental
reactions etc play a big part. (my SO took some convincing, but was gutted
when I tried the "try to live without it" test :-) - I unplugged
the TM13,
CM11, and disabled all Harmony events - took a lot of adjusting to, and I
was asked to please re-enable it all within 24 hours!)



Getting to the point about UI's - - Harmony offers traditional Windows
GUI's
(run as many as you like on networked PC's, they all up date to show
current
status of all devices, and can control said devices).  We also offer an MCE
interface (switch/dim devices using your MCE remote control) - which
*sometimes* comes in handy.



The really "sweet" features, are our touch screen displays -
8" /15" LCD's
that can be wall mounted, and offer complete control of all connected
equipment - - think of it as in "intelligent" lightwitch - which
can set
scenes, show CCTV etc.



To top it off, add in a PDA/mobile phone/Web interface, and you can control
"your stuff" from anywhere :-)





Sorry if that sounds like a sales pitch - - it's not meant to be one, as
I'm
DEFINITELY not a salesman!!!



Just pointing out that, in my opinion, there is definitely a GOOD reason to
have a usable UI in a HA environment :-)





Happy to (try) to answer any questions - or pass them on to our sales
team.....but I'm *much* more interested in hearing what the rest of you
think? Is a UI important, or should it be "black-box"?



(in case it's not evident, I speak for myself, not my employer etc etc blah
blah).



Rob



_____

From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Mal Lansell
Sent: 12 April 2007 00:05
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: [ukha_d] Re: RFXCOM to HomeSeer and other HA apps via xAP - and
other GUI's ..


I'm not trying to have a dig with this next comment (and I really am
not - I'd just like someone to try to convince me otherwise), but I've
always wondered what the purpose of the fancy gui really is - sitting
at a PC turning your lights on and off by hand seems like a failure of
automation to me - you may as well just use the switch on the wall.

Regards

Mal





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