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lilyoyo1

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Everything posted by lilyoyo1

  1. See zwave tips and tricks post at the top of this sub forum under "adding devices"
  2. You're taking my comment too literal. Of course names matter. If everyone was named "you", then no one would know who people were talking to. In this specific case, im trying to make something easy to understand and break down what's happening, the name is not the focal point. The point that I was making is that the software could be called anything. It's just a name. If you read all the comments, people are haggling over whether the software is called Isy or something else, which is causing others to be even more confused. That's great you're into computers but not everyone is and most won't have your knowledge. That's who this is for! You're adding technical information for for non technical people (or various degrees of technical understanding) that is already having a hard time understanding. How does that help them, when they asked for an easy explanation? The fact is, the name doesn't matter for the subject at hand. We can call the software Cookie monster. It's still the software. If Michel came on here and said the software was called cookie monster- does that change what it does? I was trying to simplify things for a few users that was having issues understanding things vs causing more confusion because of a name or being absolutely technical I CLEARLY stated the isy994 hardware would be going away at some point and polisy would be all that's left. Not once did I say there wouldn't be software. It's all about context concerning overall posts than 1 single post
  3. The more I read these posts the more I see that confusion is coming because people are getting caught up in terminology vs focusing on what's in front of them. The isy994 is hardware that runs software which allows a user to manage insteon and zwave devices (along with other supported devices. It doesn't matter if one calls the software Isy software, admin console software or chicken mcnuggets. It's a box with software that allows a person to control smart devices. Polisy is simply hardware that will eventually replace the isy994. At this time its an add on device to the isy994 so that users can add and manage additional devices that the isy994 does not natively support. Polyglot is the framework that runs on polisy (v2 can run on Rpi) which allows users to control non-native 3rd party devices such as hue, ecobee, harmony, Ring, and Sonos. The technical term for this is called nodeservers. Right now, The isy994 is needed with polisy because polisy (outside of alpha/beta testing) does not run the software needed to manage and control devices. It runs the nodeservers which the Isy controls. Once fully operational, users will not need the Isy to manage and control devices since polisy will be able to do the same thing. When this day comes, regardless of what a person calls the software, insteon, zwave, and nodeservers will all run on polisy. While the Isy 994 will continue to be sold in the meantime (just like the 99 before it) at some point it will be discontinued and polisy will be the only hardware available and all this will be moot
  4. You have. She automatically tunes out when it comes to this stuff. She's quick to say "that's what I have you for!"
  5. I understand your point of view but I also a question whether or not things became more convoluted due to the amount of information out there that you read during your time. Information overload happens often in that manner. Instead of things becoming clearer they becomes more confusing. I don't think anyone having problems understanding makes them slow. All of our minds consume information differently. I can read polisy's webpage and realize i still needed the Isy right now but wouldn't in the future. My wife who couldn't tell you the difference between a Mac and PC (except Mac is made by Apple), took it to mean the same thing. I can see where that could lead to confusion but i think it would cause people to question whether to buy now or wait more than anything else.
  6. Here's the thing about Advanced controllers- They're considered advanced for a reason. This is why Lutron requires training even for basic level stuff and paid training for advanced stuff. Its not easy. They choose who they want to install homeworks due to its own complicated nature. Ditto for C4, Crestron, Savant, DMX,etc. UDI (and other similar systems) are giving you the power of those types of systems at an affordable price. This goes back to why most dealers wont sell Lutron at a reasonable markup to DIYers. They dont want the headache of calls from that person when stuff isnt working. Problems arise when non technical people want play in a space that is above their technical expertise without being willing to invest the time and energy that it requires. You (not saying you personally) cannot use the Isy (or any similar system) and think you can walk away and come back however long later and pick it back up. Every single thing in life requires familiarity in order to be proficient with it. Some require more than others. Case in point; If you havent ridden a skateboard in 30 years- get back on it and see what happens. I remember when I learned how to set up command fusion. I kept messing around until I became proficient with it. I hadnt touched it in years when I tried once last year out of boredom and gave up. While some things were familiar- I felt completely lost. Is that their fault for not making it easier or mine for not using it? It's mine. reality is; if I wanted simple- I could just use mobilinc or some other app already created. Command fusion was hard because you're designing everything yourself. They can't write a book on something that can cover every variable a person can choose without setting limitations on what a person can do. The same applies to the ISY, Polisy, polyglot, etc. Expecting a sales page to go into details about every little detail means information overload. While they may sell more devices to some who may desire alot more information- they'll probably lose many more who gets turned off by it. The polisy page is there to convey information about the system. Not go into the technical details about how it works etc. Thats like buying an oled tv online from bestbuy expecting the webpage to tell you all about what oled is and how it works. Based on this conversation, I asked my wife to read the Polisy page. Her initial impression was that I wrote it. She said she can tell a technical person wrote it. I asked her what she thought about Polisy and she said (paraphrasing): A box that connects to the system you have now so that you can control stuff that you normally wouldnt be able to. In the future it'll replace what you use now and be an all in one solution. She didnt care about polyglot or any other technical term. She just wanted to know if it works which is most people are after and what sales pages are for. Had they provided too much information, she wouldnt have read it. Part of the problem on the Polisy page is that somte of the information is not needed. By talking about nodeservers and polyglot, UDI is probably making things more complicated for non technical users. Then again- for technical users (or those willing to invest time to learn) that missing information could keep them from jumping aboard. If a person wants simplicity, they should get a simple controller that is more forgiving if left alone for some time. Even then, people struggle with Alexa and google home. reality is, the ISY (and similar systems) arent for everyone. Even now, multiple people have tried to explain things and some are still lost. At some point, they need to be real with themselves about their expertise level and either commit to staying on top of things so that they arent lost everytime or look towards something that fits their lifestyle better. Its easy to say UDI should do a 30k write up for dummies. Who's spending the time and money for something that most will not read? We cant even get people to read the responses to their own forum posts, wiki, isy cookbook, posts on the same subject right below theirs, etc....All information that is already readily available. Technology changes way too fast for UDI (or any company) to do something like that. We tend to forget how fast technology changes. 6-7 years ago, it took a syncrolinc, command fusion, global cache, countless hrs of programming, etc. to get my tvs talking to the isy. Now, I can do it in less than 2 hrs setting up polisy and writing a couple of programs to do what I want accomplished. Once everything is ported over, that time will be even less. In regards to official and beta- it's all relative. Alot of companies (here's looking at you samsung) push out bug filled "official" software only to send out patches later. UDI labels their patch OS's beta as not every user really needs to be on the latest "official" firmware (set it and forget folks) Because they put their firmware on the forums in the open for anyone to use we get to see advancements as they come vs when they want to send them to us. Because of the costs to certify official releases when it involves zwave, you will see this more often (part of why zwave makers are slow to release new series devices). UDI could potentially lessen confustion by putting a note stating something about that but then again- we get people posting where to find the firmware on the firmware page so I doubt it.
  7. Just because you don't know anyone doesn't mean anything. A friend of mine in California lost a part of his family (Aunt, Uncle, and 2 cousins). A year later his 22 year old sister still requires oxygen. On a personal level, I lost one of my best friends, nephew, and Uncle. I pray no one has to go through or watch someone go through but when you see it, it changes your perspective on it. While the news doesn't talk about it as much, COVID is very much still a reality. My wife's a doctor and gets to watch what people go through on a regular basis.
  8. Not trying to be offensive here but if it were that simple, it would have been easy to do and your original program would have worked when you tried to do it that way. Someone else could potentially take the time out of their day to sit down and find a simpler solution but there is no guarantee it would cover all your bases the way @MrBill's did. Some people overly complicate things while some will simplify things too much then wonder why things arent working out the way they intended or during certain times. Mr.Bill's programming takes those variables into account to lessen the chance of failure
  9. Id recycle it. Until recently, mine was in my test ISY but since its no longer supported its pretty much worthless. Someone may want it but its not worth anything. Id recycle it
  10. Some people don't know how to make filet mignon so it's better for them to stick with ?
  11. See the Polisy sub forum. This topic has been recently covered on there a multitude of times....Including your last post
  12. Im not even going to argue with you. If you dont know what Amazon Alexa devices are, you really should take time to do research on the subject matter prior to buying equipment. To help you, I attached a screen shot of Alexa devices. NOT to be confused with ALEXA COMPATIBLE DEVICES. Since you seem to know more about the subject than the people you've asked for help? did you bother to attempt to try and control the outlet when it was above 32 degrees? ALEXA DEVICES: ALEXA COMPATIBLE DEVICES: Much much more available
  13. Being compatible with Alexa/google home does not make the ISY compatible with Alexa or Google compatible devices. Those are 2 very different things. The former means you can use Alexa/Google to control devices connected to the ISY. The latter means Devices were made to work with Alexa or google. Also, while 40 feet may not feel huge to you, yes it can mean the difference between a device working and not working. These forums and others are filled with people having issues with range for much shorter distances.
  14. Access points do not link to the ISY
  15. Told you. Not even 24hrs. ?.
  16. If it doesn't say works with insteon then it does not work with insteon
  17. There's going to be a few more pretty soon
  18. I'm confused since you said you don't want to rely on a hub but then talk about using systems that require a hub. From my experience with Hue and Control 4, 2.4GHz being an issue for the space is overblown. There are steps a person can take (such as changing channels) to minimize that. With that said, unless someone lives in an apartment, townhouse, or condo; most issues will be kept to a minimum. At this point, Matter doesn't matter. It'll be great for those Alexa/Google/Homekit users who want simplicity but for those desiring advanced control, I'm not seeing where it's beneficial.
  19. I am. We can chat. Lutron has a great system but the look of their standard switches has always held them back for me. With the new look, it's something Id want in my own home and my name associated with in regards to homes in working on. I like the fact that you can substitute standard sunnata switches in non automated areas to keep the same look. There are also supposed to be non rf versions of the dimmer and relay coming as well. This will come in handy (dimmer) for situations where you want to dim from multiple locations. It's a cost savings for customers who value uniformity while at the same time allowing one to still make a little more than they probably would have without. Id love for UDI to support RA3. Alot of that comes down to Lutron giving access to their API though. I know @simplextech has said he's already looked into it so that's a plus in that area. Maybe @Michel Kohanimcan check with Lutron too to help facilitate it.
  20. I'm moving on. I'll be switching to Ra3 and C4
  21. I just saw that. I guess I'll start putting some up once that one sells
  22. Zwave requires (at least they used to) secure devices to be within 3 feet of the controller. While you may have the 500 board, your locks are 300 which means that's the level your controller will be using.
  23. I'm surprised you were able to upgrade your Isy to. 16b but don't know where to find updates. It can be found on the sub-forum that says software releases and updates
  24. The 500 series board is not out of date. Im simply saying polisy and the 700 board prepares you for tomorrow. Most zwave devices available are 500 series. 700 is currently the newest release but it'll be another year or 2 before the market is saturated with those devices. With that said, even then, zwave will have a newer release and 700 will be considered old by then.

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