Apple HomeKit?

[larryllix]

So, if I want to receive a SMS if light device X stays on more than 30 minutes, I can achieve that with a variable ? How would this look like ?

You don't need a variable for that. You can just write a program with a 30 minute delay (Wait 30 Min) and then send an email to a SMS conversion service.

 

A variable would dbe an unnecessary extra taking two programs.

One to detect the status of the lamp and set the variable to 1 (then) or 0 (Else).

One to detect the value change (var = 1) of the *state* variable and send the email/SMS (Then)

 

Every program that changes the value of that variable would then cause the email/SMS to be sent.

 

ISY watches State variables and runs every logical usage of it (If).

[stusviews]

A simple example of variable use, just to get you started:

 

If
        Control 'Device' is switched On            <--triggers the program when the device is manually turned on
    And Control 'Device' is not switched Off   <--cancels the program if the device is manually turned off prior to 30 min
 
Then
        Wait  30 minutes
        $variable  = any_numeric_value <---set the variable which can be used in another program as a condition
 
Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')
 
Einstein did not say, "everything is relative." The expression is a relatively easy way to introduce Einstein's Theory of Relativity and has become a common idiom in the English language.

 

BTW, you are smarter than you are

[asbril]

A simple example of variable use, just to get you started:

 

If

        Control 'Device' is switched On            <--triggers the program when the device is manually turned on

    And Control 'Device' is not switched Off   <--cancels the program if the device is manually turned off prior to 30 min

 

Then

        Wait  30 minutes

        $variable  = any_numeric_value <---set the variable which can be used in another program as a condition

 

Else

   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

Einstein did not say, "everything is relative." The expression is a relatively easy way to introduce Einstein's Theory of Relativity and has become a common idiom in the English language.

 

BTW, you are smarter than you are

Great & Thanks.. BTW I knew that  "everything is relative'  is not really from Einstein and that it refers to his theory of relativity.  I just enjoy joking about it

[larryllix]

Great & Thanks.. BTW I knew that  "everything is relative'  is not really from Einstein and that it refers to his theory of relativity.  I just enjoy joking about it

Speaking of relative, another programming lesson.

 

. . Sister_in_Law != wife

[giesen]

Speaking of relative, another programming lesson.

 

. . Sister_in_Law != wife

Is there a logical operator for "not yet"?

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[lilyoyo1]

You can have it be simple and cheap but it wont be good. If its good and powerful then it won't be cheap. The fact is, accomplishing what the ISY can do is not an easy task.

 

This is why there aren't many systems that try. For simplicity, drop down boxes work well but you have to limit the options otherwise it becomes difficult. Once you start limiting things for simplicity; you water down capabilities which turns that controller into a lessor system. 

 

There is no money in making an ISY competitor with these "easy" systems. The money it takes to build and maintain servers is great. Add the cost of programmers to write code and oversee code also raises costs. Now charge 80-150 bucks for this system! You'll lose money. The systems that do try and do more generally do a poor job of it (here's looking at you smartthings and wink) since they are not trying to put to much into it to save on costs.

[GuitarBuilder]

Early computer - only techies could dream of programming and using it.

 

 

 

Computer for the masses - highly successful.  Simple, very powerful, and no tech skills required.  Definitely good!

 

 

Early home automation system - only techies can dream of programming and using it.

 

 

 

Home automation for the masses.  Simple, powerful, and no tech skills required.  Not here yet!

[G W]

 

 

Early computer - only techies could dream of programming and using it.

I built one of those. It was my third computer. Anyone remember Don Lancaster?

 

 

Short and to the point.

Best regards,

Gary Funk

[asbril]

Early computer - only techies could dream of programming and using it.

 

 

 

Computer for the masses - highly successful.  Simple, very powerful, and no tech skills required.  Definitely good!

 

 

Early home automation system - only techies can dream of programming and using it.

 

 

 

Home automation for the masses.  Simple, powerful, and no tech skills required.  Not here yet!

Thanks for putting my thoughts in  images ! Though I am way less technical than most ISY users, I am more technical than Joe Average. The next home automation must work for Joe the Plumber 

[paulbates]

I built one of those. It was my third computer. Anyone remember Don Lancaster?

 

 

Short and to the point.

Best regards,

Gary Funk

 

I was S100 on an IMSAI 8080. CP/M With dual 8" floppies mounted on plywood.

 

[jtara92101]

I never had anything that fancy. I always had clones, save for an IBM PC my business bought once they came along.

 

First computer I owned was a Schelbi H-8, a clone of the Mark-8 from Popular Electronics. It was a kit you built on a wire-wrap board.

 

My first CP/M machine was some clone whose name I forget. didn't look as snazzy as either the Altair or Imsai. I got some 60MB drive - 60MB! When most drives were 10MB. I ran a Fido node that distributed freeware utility software - PCUtilBoard - from the excessive space on that HUGE drive!

 

Having had only clones, I don't have to kick myself for having discarded any museum-worthy computers! But maybe the clones would be even more museum-worthy, don't want to think about that.

 

I worked for a company that made industrial controls, and we put a lot of Altairs in Detroit factories, running CNC software and for various gauging/measurement tasks. We used EPROMs to hold CNC path data, replacing cam-following lathes. The EPROM was pretty-much an analog of the cam, but much faster to change-out. This was for LONG production runs, where a machine may run a part for weeks or months, followed by a day-long change-out. With the CNC and EPROM it could be changed in a few minutes (I think they probably swapped the whole EPROM board) and didn't have to fiddle with paper tapes. For some of the work, we loaded Microsoft Basic from a paper tape, but most was in assembly language. (And in any case, always written to EPROM when done - we had big EPROM boards that could hold Microsoft Basic.)

 

I started a computer club with a couple of friends (SEMCO, based in Detroit). In it's heyday, the group met in an auditorium at Ford engineering in Dearborn - computer clubs were quite the thing, and we filled that place when we had guests like Bill Gates. (Yes, he stumped for the computer-club crowd.) Bill Gates being Bill Gates, we were alternately awed by his visions of the future, and put to sleep by his presentation.

 

Sorry for the Coffee-Sop diversion, I didn't start it! We should now drift back toward bashing Apple, Insteon, and The Cloud.

[mwester]

I still have my KIM-1.  I powered it up a couple years ago -- it still works just fine.

[jtara92101]

A KIM-1 is museum-worthy! But I even cloned that!

 

We went visit MOS Technology in Pennsylvania and came back with a prototype 6502 chip. Chuck Peddle showed us a KIM-1, not yet ready for sale. I had to wire-wrap the 6502 into a custom development board. They gave us a 9-track tape with an assembler to load onto the time-sharing system at my school (my company rented time). There was a little Kim-like monitor on the tape as well, which I modified a bit.

 

There is a "hole" in the mask of the original 6502 chip design. It is for the electrical outlet at the lower left of the designer's office wall.

[cyberk]

Hello everyone,

 

I do very much appreciate all the feedback and input. In short, we have the whole spectrum from doom for UDI all the way up to Apple is horrible.

 

 

We cannot make everyone happy in the same way that neither Apple, nor Google, nor Microsoft, etc. can make everyone happy. As such, we will have to choose our battles and priorities and, currently, our first priority is to continue staying in business and the second is to stay focused on our technology.

 

For those of you who want HomeKit support, may I ask how much more are you willing to pay for an ISY (or some hardware extension thereto) and will you commit to it? Please note that from our initial estimates, we probably need at least $200K to have a robust solution. As such, please let me know if you are willing to start from $500.00 and more.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

For a true UDI product, meaning backed by the support and care that UDI already provides, that will integrate with HomeKit, zigbee and zwave+, and be powerful enough to run nodes on board, put me down for $500 a device, easy. I'm even willing to pay $500 for UDI software that I can run on BYOD (bring your own device)

 

Maybe I live in a fantasy world, but I still think that if UDI went with the crowd funding approach for these new things, wonderful things could happen.

 

Michel, you got my support, let us know!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cyberk]

Also where Echo or Dot is not available I just lift my wrist and command Alexa on my CoWatch (Dick Tracy style..) Alexa provides way more options and flexibility then Siri..

 

Cheers,

Alex

Im still looking for a good smart watch, please share, lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[asbril]

Hello everyone,

 

I do very much appreciate all the feedback and input. In short, we have the whole spectrum from doom for UDI all the way up to Apple is horrible.

 

 

We cannot make everyone happy in the same way that neither Apple, nor Google, nor Microsoft, etc. can make everyone happy. As such, we will have to choose our battles and priorities and, currently, our first priority is to continue staying in business and the second is to stay focused on our technology.

 

For those of you who want HomeKit support, may I ask how much more are you willing to pay for an ISY (or some hardware extension thereto) and will you commit to it? Please note that from our initial estimates, we probably need at least $200K to have a robust solution. As such, please let me know if you are willing to start from $500.00 and more.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

Michel

 

I am a great admirer of you and your team.  Not only am I pleased with my ISY994 ZW, but I am impressed by your support system. Your communication skills should be  an example for technology companies across the globe.

We understand that you must make choices and that you can not please everyone. If the question is whether I am willing to pay upwards of $ 500 for a ISY that is compatible with leading home automation protocols, then my answer is yes. Same answer for an annual fee.

In my view the biggest challenge for home automation is to make it technically accessible for Joe Average.  The installation of the ISY994 and the configuration of the Administrative Console are beyond the average consumer. Many of us enjoy playing and tweaking the AC but the home automation of the future must be plug & play. I believe that it is not so much connectivity between ISY, Zigbee and Homekit, but more connectivity with end-products (Nest, Sonos, Somfy, TV, etc).

I don't consider myself an expert at all, but my guess is that it may take 5 years until we see that off-the-shelf plug & play home automation.  That gives you a nice business life cycle for the techies until then, but also a challenge to make it to the next cycle of plug & play.  But if you set that path, then you would be a prime acquisition target for any of the top contenders (Amazon, Apple, Google...). Crowd funding would also be an option.

Right now my bet is on UD and you & team.  שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה

[GuitarBuilder]

Here's a datapoint:

 

As part of my HA/Security experimentation, I had Vivint install their top-of-the-line system in my home.  Wired/wireless sensors, combination doorlocks, garage door control, video security inside and out, as well as pool pump, lights, etc., as well as a control panel with cellular and battery backup.  Installation was free - no down payment necessary; I figure they installed about $1.2K worth of equipment.  Monitoring costs $70/month with a 2-year contract.  Access is highly secure; this is not a toy like Echo.

 

I was willing to pay that and I'll guess that a fair amount of the population would go for it as well (Vivint has about 1 million customers).

 

The overall functionality is virtually the same as ISY, but a non-technical person has an easier time programming it.  Yes, conditional statements are possible and I have a number of them currently working.  Not as flexible sensor/device wise, it uses Z-wave and an I/O module for wired sensors.

 

I'm not saying this is the answer, but it puts price/performance in perspective.

[larryllix]

I built one of those. It was my third computer. Anyone remember Don Lancaster?

 

 

Short and to the point.

Best regards,

Gary Funk

Yup. TTL Cookbook, CMOS Cookbook, Video Cookbook, and many more.

He was the God I worshipped for many years.

 

I ran into him on Usenet a few years back and he was right into alternative energy and talk me about "exergy"

He had published a book on the hydrogen scam explaining why it would never work and why the governments don't mention their embarrassment anymore after being duped by the "scientists"

[G W]

Yup. TTL Cookbook, CMOS Cookbook, Video Cookbook, and many more.

He was the God I worshipped for many years.

 

I ran into him on Usenet a few years back and he was right into alternative energy and talk me about "exergy"

He had published a book on the hydrogen scam explaining why it would never work and why the governments don't mention their embarrassment anymore after being duped by the "scientists"

He is one of the smartest people I've ever known. He's correct about hydrogen, for now, but someday it will work.

 

Short and to the point.

Best regards,

Gary Funk

[larryllix]

Maybe. Right now there are too many factors against and it's a dead loss.

We can't create it with wasting too much energy

We can store it having the smallest molecule there is not container that can hold it.

It doesn't convert back to a usable form of energy with anu efficiency.

 

The "exergy" of hydrogen is less than 3%. (from electricity to hydrogen and back). It is presently costing us too much energy to support eh idea and all government have dropped any further research.

 

BTW: IIRC LEL-HEL is 3% to 97%. Compare with liquid gasoline, very dangerous stuff.

 

Another tidbit Don Lancaster taught me. There is more hydrogen molecules in a gallon of petroleun than a gallon of liguid hydrogen.

[G W]

And that's the paradox. Farming hydrogen is a good idea but we just don't have the technology. But I'm sure Apple will figure it out soon.

 

Hydrogen: the free resource that is cost prohibitive.

 

Short and to the point.

Best regards,

Gary Funk

[GuitarBuilder]

Yup. TTL Cookbook, CMOS Cookbook, Video Cookbook, and many more.

He was the God I worshipped for many years.

 

I ran into him on Usenet a few years back and he was right into alternative energy and talk me about "exergy"

He had published a book on the hydrogen scam explaining why it would never work and why the governments don't mention their embarrassment anymore after being duped by the "scientists"

Don was definitely a good circuit designer; I've used his books extensively.

 

A scientist he is not; I would not believe much of what he says about hydrogen.  For one, there are no hydrogen molecules in petroleum; the molecules are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur atoms.  Big difference!

[GuitarBuilder]

And that's the paradox. Farming hydrogen is a good idea but we just don't have the technology. But I'm sure Apple will figure it out soon.

 

Hydrogen: the free resource that is cost prohibitive.

 

Short and to the point.

Best regards,

Gary Funk

 

 

We do have the technology - multiple alternatives, as a matter of fact.

 

Hydrogen is not free, nor cost prohibitive.

 

There are plenty of ways to produce hydrogen using renewable energy, which makes it very low cost.  However the transport and delivery are in infant stages in the US.  Germany already has hydrogen pipelines.

[larryllix]

Don was definitely a good circuit designer; I've used his books extensively.

 

A scientist he is not; I would not believe much of what he says about hydrogen.  For one, there are no hydrogen molecules in petroleum; the molecules are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur atoms.  Big difference!

IIRC there was no mention of hydrogen atoms or molecules but you are correct. Most elements don't exist in their  atomic state.

 

Right H₂ ?

[larryllix]

We do have the technology - multiple alternatives, as a matter of fact.

 

Hydrogen is not free, nor cost prohibitive.

 

There are plenty of ways to produce hydrogen using renewable energy, which makes it very low cost.  However the transport and delivery are in infant stages in the US.  Germany already has hydrogen pipelines.

Renewable energy conversion is not free either and still cost prohibitive and is not low cost.

Why would we take 100 kWh of expensive electrical energy and produce 3 kWh worth of hydrogen energy?

It's is a useless form of energy storage that is 97% wasteful.

 

Even existing battery technologies are much more efficient, safer, and compact per energy unit.

 

When we find hydrogen pockets in the earth we can tap, then it may be worth bothering with. Not going to happen.

 

All governments have rejected hydrogen energy storage technology now they know it isn't an energy source.

 It works for the space launches though, mostly. That may change.