Where to begin? (AKA documentation SUCKS)

[jcleek]

How do I respond? Not sure where the idea came from that I was trying to do all of this from an iPhone...

 

In any case the problem is a bad PLM, and after reading pages of threads it seems to be a common problem. My frustration is in the documentation. I had a problem that is pretty common, but the documentatio said NOTHING. Called SmartHome and they said NOTHING. Wiki? Nothing. It wasn't until I decided to give it all one more shot and pulled it all out of the box that I got any "error" which could be found in ANY of the documentation. That tells me the documentation is poorly written. You guys 

probably know 20 different indicators that the PLM is bad. How many are in the documentation?One.

 

Look. I am a systems engineer. I build computer networks. If I delivered documentation that forced an end user to do ANY research I would no doubt lose my job. I get vendor documentation all of the time. Some is better than others, but so far I have not had to do this much research work for even the most complicated piece of equipment. The documentation needs to be written for people who have no clue how the product works. All of my frustration could have been saved if the guide said "if you do not see this popup you probably have a defective PLM". One sentence. Put in there all of the known problems and issues so people will know where they might have issues. Put it with the product. Highlight it in the wiki. If you are so sure of th products help other people be sure as well. My experience so far has done nothing to instill confidence in the product. My x10 stuff? At least I can say it works which is more than I can say for the Insteon right now...

[ResIpsa]

I can understand frustration over learning to use a new product, but I'm beginning to agree with someguy. The tone of your posts is really quite shocking. Most of the responses you've gotten have been from enthusiasts who have no relationship whatsoever with either SH or UD. But have you expressed any gratitude? No. Shown that you're willing to work with people? No. This is the thanks you give people for trying to help you out?

 

How do I respond? Not sure where the idea came from that I was trying to do all of this from an iPhone...

 

In any case the problem is a bad PLM, and after reading pages of threads it seems to be a common problem. My frustration is in the documentation. I had a problem that is pretty common, but the documentatio said NOTHING. Called SmartHome and they said NOTHING. Wiki? Nothing. It wasn't until I decided to give it all one more shot and pulled it all out of the box that I got any "error" which could be found in ANY of the documentation. That tells me the documentation is poorly written. You guys 

probably know 20 different indicators that the PLM is bad. How many are in the documentation?One.

 

Look. I am a systems engineer. I build computer networks. If I delivered documentation that forced an end user to do ANY research I would no doubt lose my job. I get vendor documentation all of the time. Some is better than others, but so far I have not had to do this much research work for even the most complicated piece of equipment. The documentation needs to be written for people who have no clue how the product works. All of my frustration could have been saved if the guide said "if you do not see this popup you probably have a defective PLM". One sentence. Put in there all of the known problems and issues so people will know where they might have issues. Put it with the product. Highlight it in the wiki. If you are so sure of th products help other people be sure as well. My experience so far has done nothing to instill confidence in the product. My x10 stuff? At least I can say it works which is more than I can say for the Insteon right now...

[jcleek]

I can understand frustration over learning to use a new product, but I'm beginning to agree with someguy. The tone of your posts is really quite shocking. Most of the responses you've gotten have been from enthusiasts who have no relationship whatsoever with either SH or UD. But have you expressed any gratitude? No. Shown that you're willing to work with people? No. This is the thanks you give people for trying to help you out?

 

Again, how do I respond? Thanks? You are right, people are trying to help. What would really help though is reading my question before answering. Several people tried to tell me what Java is when all I wanted to know was whether or not I was supposed to get a popup. Please read back through the posts. When Brian FINALLY answered my question what was the first think I said? That's right.... Thanks Brian. Brian answered my question after reading what I was asking and I thanked him for it. I also apologized when I missed an explaination by Michel.

 

As for "giving people"... what did I give the people? I gave the manufacturer some much needed comments on the documentation. Did you write it? If so, you should fix it. If not, the comment wasn't to you so please don't assume it was.

 

If I could do this all over again, know what I would do? I wouldn't have posted here. I would have seen the tech support phone number on the tech support page (where it should be) and I would have called for tech support. I would have had a new PLM shipped and you wouldn't know a thing about me. But because the only tech support I had access to is SmartHome (of questionable use) and this forum, I got frustrated at the lack of response. After several hours of reading on my own and getting nowhere I posted here. I continued to try and find a solution on my own by reading more. When someone finally responded what did they say? Read the manual.

 

You don't have to like me. If you do, fantastic. If not, that's too bad. What you do have to realize is that while there is a LOT of documentation it did nothing to help me solve the problem I had with the equipment the second I took it out of the box. And that, sir, is where my frustration comes from. And the frustration continues by repeatedly being told to read the manual for an answer that isn't there, long after we already have a solution. It is a bad PLM. And yes, I read the manual. The entire manual.

 

Let me close with this: for those of you who tried to help, thank you. For those I offended, I am sorry. If you wrote the manual for the ISY, please add one line about the popup when scanning for devices so the next person with a DOA PLM doesn't have to suffer....

 

Can we please close this thread....

[ResIpsa]

God bless anyone who has to put up with you and your attitude in person.

[jcleek]

God bless anyone who has to put up with you and your attitude in person.

 

And again, completely missed the point of my post. Your mind is already made up about me. No matter what I say you are not going to bother to read it. You will just assume I am a jerk and move on.

[aLf]

jcleek:

 

The apology is great.

 

I'll make this my final post to your "issues". The ISY is made by UDI. The PLM (VERY UNFORTUNATELY) is made by SH. THe ISY has evolved over many years due to two reasons, MIchel and his company made up of folks who would give you ANY help they can. Their tech service is second to none. Secondly from ALL the users on this forum. I personally felt the Maglight was possibly the best US product made up to buying my ISY. I'm on my second unit because of the wonderful things it does. All said I have a couple hundred bucks invested with UDI. I have thousands of dollars worth of Insteon. I'd rate the ISY a 10, Insteon maybe at this evolved point a 6. Documentation is not either ones strong suit, but that said, there are folks on this (voluntary) forum who have given time from their busy days to help users like you (and me) in getting things to work. I have recieved help via phone, e-mail, remote access and PM's. A WIKI by nature is a multi user document, hence Wikipedia. Even with my minimal usage of the ISY, I have found things that are new to me and maybe others. I'm confident you will too. That's really the meaning of life---continue to learn---then share with others. I don't think anyone on this forum willl object to you asking as many questions as you like. All you problems will get honest, sincere answers and I assure you that if it stumps the guys here, UDI management will get to the bottom of it. Just remember to be frustrated with SH for their many "propriatory" problems.

 

All this in my humble opinion.

 

Regards,

 

aLf

[MikeB]

Hi jcleek -

 

You certainly do bring up some valid points.

 

#1 - While I wouldn't say it is extremely common, bad PLMs do seem to be cropping up more and more lately. Steps to troubleshoot a bad PLM should probably be in the documentation.

 

#2 - There should probably be a more obvious notification that your ISY is in Safe Mode, indicating a possible bad PLM.

 

I am in charge of the PDF documentation. Our previous PDF manual was woefully out of date, so I personally re-wrote the document to match current firmware and released it several weeks ago.

 

It is a work in progress, so there will certainly be some items that should be in there but are currently not. I do have a running list of items I'd like to address in the next release, so thanks for your contribution.

 

Good luck with your replacement PLM, please post back when you have it replaced.

[jcleek]

Hi jcleek -

 

You certainly do bring up some valid points.

 

#1 - While I wouldn't say it is extremely common, bad PLMs do seem to be cropping up more and more lately. Steps to troubleshoot a bad PLM should probably be in the documentation.

 

#2 - There should probably be a more obvious notification that your ISY is in Safe Mode, indicating a possible bad PLM.

 

I am in charge of the PDF documentation. Our previous PDF manual was woefully out of date, so I personally re-wrote the document to match current firmware and released it several weeks ago.

 

It is a work in progress, so there will certainly be some items that should be in there but are currently not. I do have a running list of items I'd like to address in the next release, so thanks for your contribution.

 

Good luck with your replacement PLM, please post back when you have it replaced.

 

Mike,

 

THANK YOU!!! Thank you for understanding what I was saying! I look forward to seeing the next version.