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

[Chris Hunter <cjhunter@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yep ... the HA should work-away in the background & bother you
only
occasionally ... but it should also allow to drill-down & reset
something & take-over without hassle when you want to ... IMHO ...

Mind you, there GUI & GUI ... some are a lot better than others ...
the good ones give good productivity & look attractive, the bad ones
can be a real pain ... simplicity is a virtue / less is more / etc -
'though that's far from easy to achieve ... IMHO !

I think I've heard of a projector small enough to go into a PDA /
smart'phone ... maybe that could help with the display size
problem ?   Fighter pilots also use helmet-mounted displays - which
work by direct input to the eyes ... very small & lightweight, too,
because the pilots would like to keep his / her head if it's
necessary to eject ... another use for Bluetooth, maybe ?

Chris


On 12 Apr 2007, at 22:42, Mal Lansell wrote:
>
> Now there's my problem with GUIs.  What is the point of the PC based
> GUI?  If you've automated your house properly, why on Earth would you
> want to control it manually from your desk?  If the GUI is designed
> primarily for setup/configuration rather than control, then that is a
> good thing, but they so rarely are.
>
> Some control from MCE I can see, but detailed control of the whole
> system?  Just the things that matter to a user in that room is all
> that should be required.  Quick and simple to access and control.
> Turn on the heating, set the lights a bit differently from normal,
> that kind of thing - not programming the garden watering timers for
> the next 6 months.
>
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
> Not for me, sorry.  Why stand in a corner poking a screen when you
> can relax on a sofa with a PDA/Web tablet etc.  As for
"intelligent"
> lightswitch - it has no intelligence whatsoever.  It makes no
> decisions for itself - it just asks more questions.  What you are
> really describing is a control that you have no idea what it will do
> without reading all the options first.  It's the visual equivalent of
> a "Press 1 for" phone system.
>
>
>>
>>
>> To top it off, add in a PDA/mobile phone/Web interface, and you
can
> control
>> "your stuff" from anywhere :-)
>>
>
> That's better - but I'm still waiting for a suitable portable
> controller (my ideal is for a PDA with an 8" screen!).  My
640x480
> PocketLoox is very close - the resolution is high enough, it just
> needs a bigger screen to support rubbish eyes and fat fingers ;-)
>
> Mal
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