Re: Compass Software

["Joe Lucia" <joe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Sure they do, they have explicit statements that the software is intended
> for professional dealers

But they don't SECURE it as if they only want professionals to have it.
 I could give one username and password out to ALL of my dealers and
tell them not to tell anyone else and to only access their own accounts
or the things they are competent enough to access, but they won't,
regardless of my "explicit statement", therefore proper security is
required if you only want "professional dealers" to use the resources
you make available to everyone.  And I say "made available to everyone"
because it obviously IS, password or not.

> > If I own my alarm system, I expect to be able to Program my alarm
> > sytem.  If software is Required to program it, then the software should
> > be readily available.
>
> No it should not, GM/Ford/Toyota programs the computer chip for your car but
> they are not under any obligation to provide you with the ability to
> reprogram it,

Cars do not need to be initially programmed by the user (or Dealer for
that matter) to make them work.  They work as-is, out-of-the-box.

> the method to do so does exist however they do not approve of
> doing it yourself. They cannot control the outcome of your downloading a
> panel nor can they control you downloading someone elses panel therefore it
> is not for you.

This is a matter of Controlling who is working with your hardware.
Even a Professional doesn't always know what they are doing nor should
be programming a panel they have not had enough experience with (I see
it every day!).

Even a Professional can't download someone elses panel if that panel
has been secured properly by the "Professional" that originally
installed it.  If an end-user gets the software, then if the
Professionals do their job, there is no worry of the end-user doing
something they shouldn't with someone elses panel.  Mmaybe they could
include an "explicit statement" to the end-user telling them they
should only use the software on their own panel, think that would keep
everyone honest ;)

>
> > I put a Vista 20P in with wireless sensors with a non-alpha keypad
> > (keypad is also the wireless receiver).  What I didn't realize until
> > after it was all installed was that  I could not configure the wireless
> > zones without an alphanumeric keypad because of it's Menu-Mode
> > programming.  I HAD to use the software to program my wireless zones
>
> No you didn't, the installation manual clearly states an alpha keypad is
> required which btw will also program the sensors.
>
> > (maybe someone else knows how to do it without the software, but I
> > couldn't find it in the manual).
>
> Let me ask you this, if you cannot find out what is required to program or
> how to program zones in a Honeywell panel after reading the manual why would
> Honeywell or ANYONE trust you with software?

Yes, the manual indicates that you must have an alpha keypad to program
the zones using the Menu Mode.  But when reading I kept getting the
impression there was a way to program them without using Menu Mode
since I didn't have an alpha keypad.  Apparently Not, so I either
needed to purchase an alpha keypad just so I could program the panel,
or get the Software.  I already had a usable modem so I opted to
download the software.

>
> > For this reason, the software should
> > be available to the user/owner/whoever is programming the panel,
> > regardless of their profession or skill level (if it's your panel, you
> > should be allowed to screw it up, and pay for a service-call afterwards
> > to have a professional fix it).
>
> Again it's clearly noted in the installation manual that an alpha keypad IS
> required and it goes into great detail how to program sensors and you
> couldn't figure it out therefore its up to Honeywell to make software
> available????

> > You just don't sell hardware to
> > someone and then tell them they can't have the software to program it

> > Of course, if the software was NOT required to program the panel, then
> > it should be Sold/Given to professionals without necessarily being
> > available to the general public.
>
> It already is, it appears you do not know how to properly keypad program the
> panel

I think you are under the impression that I HAVE an alpha keypad.  I do
not.  It does say "if you have an Alpha Keypad then you can use the
Menu Mode to program your Wireless zones".  It doesn't say "if you
don't, then you need to get an alpha keypad or use the software", so I
kept searching for a way to program the wireless zones with a non-alph
keypad.  It wasn't a matter of knowing how to do it, it was a matter of
knowing if I had the proper Tools to do it.  Once I knew I didn't have
the proper tool, I got the tool and did the job, no problem.  I just
want to make sure the Tool required to complete the job didn't require
purchasing additional hardware because the software wasn't available to
me, someone perfectly competent to use it and understand the
consequences of invalid programming, yet I wouldn't call myself a
"Professional Dealer" per se because I'm not a Technician or Installer.