randyth

5 seconds sounds great. I recently put together a crude test using the Echo -> IFTTT -> CAO Gadget's Tag Manager -> ISY's REST interface so that adding something to the Echo's to-do list turns on a light. I'm not sure if the slowdown is with IFTTT, the Tag Manager, or both, but it can easily take 5 minutes between me giving the vocal command and the light turning on. Humorous, yes (it really did make me chuckle when the light finally turned on), but not very practical. It makes one wonder exactly how much time actually passes during the time-lapse portion of this video: -Randy

Definitely worth it for me, but like many here, I enjoy the time I put into it. I consider it a hobby. My wife often jokes that I'm not happy unless I have something to fix. As a result, I am frequently playing with the system to break improve things. My home theater system falls under the same category (SageTV forever!). Some "Practical" Benefits: * Automated sprinklers based on current and forecast weather * Automated whole-house ventilation system that reduces need for AC by knowing when to exchange air instead of running the AC * Monitors my sump pump to make sure it's still operating * Notifies me when I'm away from home and my smoke alarms go off (never used in real-case scenario, thank goodness) Some Fun Benefits: * Lights my way to bed when I'm done for the night * Turns on the nightly news if I'm in the room at 6pm * Provides simple timer functions for an outdoor fountain and indoor "ambient" lights * Makes things happen when I push buttons (the six-year old version of me is so very impressed) -Randy

Sadly, I did not make the cut to be one of the initial Amazon Echo developers. Happily, there are other home-automation nerds who did... http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/23/amazon-echo-nest-wink/ https://youtu.be/QS6dNFpGbfs -Randy

It's a good sign that Amazon recognizes and supports the Echo's home-automation potential. It seems just a matter of time they'll open it up to HA developers and HA devices such as the ISY. -Randy

I have 64 programs (gotta love nice binary numbers). Apparently I need to start creating more if I'm going to keep up with y'all -- my wife will be so happy if I do since all my home-automation "improvements" work out perfectly first try. -Randy

Try this: Right click on the device and select Remove from Folder. The device should then move to the "root" folder. Once in the root, right click on the device and you should see the replace option. -Randy

I filled out the form a few days ago. Hope to hear more from Amazon soon. -Randy

General advice for all things tech: When in doubt, reboot.

OMG, I'm going in and renaming all my variables now with a i_ and s_ prefix. Such a great idea. Such an obvious thing to do, too... no wonder I overlooked it.

Still no response from Amazon regarding my request for developer info. In the mean time, here a fellow who's discovered some interesting info: http://www.piettes.com/the-amazon-echo-api/ Similarly, here's a guy who is constantly polling the Echo's to-do list to act on voice "commands": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r58ERvxT0qM -Randy

Yeah, I wouldn't have purchased one if I had to pay the full $199. I'm hoping Amazon is as open with the Echo as they are with the Fire TV as far as developer access goes. I haven't had any time to attempt to monitor how the Echo app communicates with the device to see if there are any obvious ways to get it talking to the ISY, but I have inquired about the Echo developer program (no response yet). It would make an excellent Ubi-type device if Amazon allowed it. The voice recognition is really quite good. -Randy

Initial impressions after about 45 minutes of messing around: Excellent packaging, right up there with Apple or Sonos products Setup was a breeze -- plug it in, download an app on your smartphone or tablet, enter your WiFi password into the app (no Ethernet port), and you're ready to go It comes with a Bluetooth remote that is very similar to the one that comes with the FireTV (I wouldn't be surprised if I could pair it with a FireTV, though it has fewer buttons) The remote is mainly so you can quickly pause/play and skip back/forward without having to take the time to give your Echo verbal commands The remote is also handy for giving the Echo verbal commands via the microphone button at the top of the remote when you are out of range from the Echo. No need to say "Alexa" to get the Echo's attention when you talk to it via the remote. Sound quality of the speaker is decent as long as you aren't expecting high volumes or booming bass. I really like how you can adjust the volume by spinning the top of the device (it has a movable ring around the top of the cylinder). The microphone is really good and dealt well with the fact that there was ambient TV noise going on in the background while I was messing around with it. Voice recognition is excellent so far. It works with Prime Music without additional setup, fuss, or having to "add" the Prime Music to your library (as you have to do before you can play Prime Music via Amazon's CloudPlayer). I now fear Amazon will never help Sonos get their system working with Prime Music. It comes integrated with iHeartRadio and TuneIn, which is awesome. I was able to simply say, "Alexa, play KLCC" and it started playing my local NPR radio station within seconds. Surprisingly, it does NOT yet connect to the FireTV so I can't say things like, "Alexa, search for Doctor Who on FireTV." I have to believe this is coming. My only attempt so far to see if I could hack into it was to simply enter its IP address into a browser. Nothing there. -Randy

Just received my Amazon Echo invite, ordered one, and should receive it this Friday. Could turn into an expensive doorstop, but I do expect to get some initial entertainment checking out how open and accessible it is. From the invite email... I'm a software developer, can I develop services for Echo? We'd love to hear your ideas for what you might build for Echo. Contact us at echo-developers@amazon.com

I think you mean www.theubi.com/, right?

I don't think we can evaluate your program without seeing what is changing the AC_Temp_Difference_Cool_Den variable. In any case, is AC_Temp_Difference_Cool_Den a State variable? If it isn't, try making it one and see if that helps you achieve your expected result. -Randy

Brilliant. I really should have figured that out on my own. Thanks for the help and quick reply. -Randy

I have a EZFlora sprinkler system controller I would like to cut the power to during the late fall and winter when my sprinkler system is drained. Of course, if I do this, the ISY Admin console complains about losing connection with this device. Is there a good way to "disable" a device inside the admin console without deleting it? I would like to stop ISY from complaining about not having contact with the EZFlora while still keeping all my device-related ISY programs and controller/valve names intact during the sprinkler system's off season? Thanks, -Randy

Great. Thanks so much for your answers, Lee. -Randy

Amusing philosophical question without context. Please ignore. (Ha! I just noticed I did not properly enumerate that final question. Appropriate, I suppose, since infinity is not a number.) Anyhow, I have an actual followup question that is somewhat related to my time-triggered questions: Would the [calm down] action in the following example execute... If Control 'panic button' is switched On Then Wait 30 minutes [calm down] ...even though, like a clock reaching 9AM, the pressing of a controller's On button represents a moment in time and so the triggering event (the 'panic button' being pressed) might not actively be "true" after a 30-minute Wait? Thanks again, -Randy

A few simple questions regarding the deep mysteries time-triggered (Scheduled) programs... Let's say I have a program with no "Conditions," just a scheduled time of "If Time is 9:00:00AM" 1) Is the Else block in such a program irrelevant (would never execute)? 2) If I am silly enough to have a "Wait 30 minutes" as the first command in my Then block, would commands following the Wait execute despite the fact that the program's time condition is no longer true (it's no longer 9AM) at the end of the 30 minute wait? In other words, does the completion of a Wait/Repeat command/block only cause non-time Conditions to be reevaluated? 3) Does using a time period (From [time] for [duration] or From [time] to [time]) complicate this at all? 3) What is infinity minus 1? I assume (and my simple tests appear to confirm) the answers to #1 and #2 is yes, but I thought I should ask anyway. Thanks, -Randy