Okay, it's pouring rain here (boomers 
) so I'm stuck inside (I should be studying, I will). Here's a little of what I found today:
I especially liked this part:
- The internet was not to control the house.
- The house shouldn't have to be "booted up"
- A computer can interface with the house but no central computer should control
I think basically what he is saying that the basic house functions can be operated without the need of the computer. This is very true. A few high end systems take total control of the lighting and if the system gets wiped or is off line the lights don't work. This is something my wife has made very clear to me very early on in my home automation experiments. if it fails and I can't turn it on/off with the normal switch I don't want it.
The first one did cause me a bit of confusion. It's worded awkwardly. Sound like he doesn't want any control from over the internet. I don't really agree with this but I can understand his thoughts on that.
This one falls into what Marc just wrote HA has yet to discover MVC. I work for AT&T and when I was a Systems Engineer we worked of documents that clearly indicated exact what was to be done (wire A connect to port B) and how it was to be configured. With these documents we had a plan. When we were done the design documents gave us a clear indication of what was built. On the issue of the 'who owns the code', the documentation contained the full configuration for all the equipment. The only thing not in the document was the passwords. If we managed the network we retained control of the passwords. If the customer managed the network they would be give default passwords and they would then change them.
Also this problem with HA people have with not wanting HA over IP (not us of course), get over it.
I P On Everything!
And finally I found another interesting article from Smarthouse:
It's meant for Australia but I could easily see this being brought up anywhere in the world. I responded to it on my blog. Part of the title contains 'What are you nuts?'. I think you know what my response is. 
Comments (4)
Aug 04, 2009
Marc Fleury says:
The part where the house must not be booted up is very important. I design...The part where the house must not be booted up is very important. I design my house with the same principle. I want a physical layer that is independent of what I do with OR. Then on top of it I have this fancy iPhone layer that controls the house.
I relate to the point that the internet should not control the house. When I talk to people about HA they either tell me a/ ah yeah! the world where my phone talks to my fridge and my fridge tells me I am out of milk b/ ah yeah! the world where I can log into my house and turn my lights from afar. Both of these are usually meant as a sarcastic comment. The main problem i see is one of marketing.
I cannot for the life of me read a HA marketing brochure of PR. They downright suck balls. I am tired of watching a MILF happy in her kitchen because she has the latest green technology. I think HA should be marketed the way toilet fixtures are marketed. It is all about luxury in your home. The technology marketing applied to HA is a catastrophy. Features should not drive the PR message, luxury should. There is little must have features here and it degenerates in a alphabet soup of features.
Compare the two messages
Aug 05, 2009
Neil Cherry says:
The part where the house must not be booted up is very important. I design my ...Yes, very true. Both Insteon and X10 (I don't know about UPB, ZigBee or Z-Wave) are a bit clunky in that respect. The Insteon modules do have button on the front to bypass the automation but it's still a bit clunky.
Again I agree in 2001 I wrote this:
[Embedded Linux and Home Automation]
I still don't see the Internet frig being one of the first things we see in home automation.
Dam, glad I wasn't drinking anything.
I'd hate to have to explain that one to my wife!
The first one sounds like me trying to explain home automation (you don't want me to do marketing). As an engineer I explain it like an engineer. The second is quite right but lets not go with the first. We need better marketing.
Oct 06, 2009
Neil Cherry says:
MarcF, another line to add to your collection of marketing don'ts: "Surfing the ...MarcF, another line to add to your collection of marketing don'ts: "Surfing the Web in the bathroom". Seem that Steve Jobs didn't like one of the Apple Tablet prototyped because all it was capable of doing was "Surfing the Web in the bathroom".
Oct 06, 2009
Marc Fleury says:
Hehe, one of my acid test for new tech is "does it help with pron"... I definite...Hehe, one of my acid test for new tech is "does it help with pron"... I definitely think this would qualify...
Ok enough!
brrrr.