RE: XPL - XAP

["John B" <home-automation@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Chris,

> to expand  the capabilities of an Idratek set-up, I would obviously
buy
> the Xpl Cortex extension ... then what ... ??? !

It depends on what you want to integrate with.
There is xPL support for a whole load of devices - the usual suspects like
X10, C-Bus, media players, infra-red transceivers, caller ID, LCD display
units, DMX lighting control etc.

We have an application called xPLHal, which is the service that sits at the
core of most peoples' xPL networks.
It's a free (GPL) piece of Windows software that handles the configuration
and management of your xPL-enabled devices, as well as letting you create
macros (using either a scripting environment, or a fully graphical
environment if you're not keen on writing code).

In addition, xPLHal also includes a bridge to xAP, so if you decide to go
with a mix of xPL and xAP devices, you can bridge them both using xPLHal
(you do need to do a bit of scripting for this bit though - but it's not
too difficult).

To give you a quick example, suppose you wanted to link Cortex to Winamp,
so that an event somewhere within your Idratek system (maybe a button press
or something) starts some music playing.
You would first install xPLHal (this only needs to be on one PC on your
network), then install the xPL Cortex support, then finally the xPL module
for Winamp.
(all quite straight-forward and reasonably well documented).
Then it's just a case of using xPLHal to say: When you receive this
particular event from Cortex, send a message to WInamp to start playing
this particular music.

Now, that's not a brilliant example, but hopefully it gives you a basic
understanding of the xPL concept.

If you give us an idea of what sort of things you are trying to achieve, we
can give you some more specific pointers.

HTH,

John