Re: Software feature set for automation

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Marc F Hult" <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

<stuff snipped>

> >What do you all think?
>
> That the even excellent software with deep financial backing that had
these
> attributes in abundance has failed in the home automation marketplace.
(eg,
> Savoy's CyberHouse, Premise Systems).

If I had to guess, I would say that Activehome is the most widely used piece
of automation software.  That's not a testament to its ease of use or
reliability.  It's more likely a reflection of X-10's marketing efforts.  As
I was going through my old module box I saw that I had modules from 1st
Alert, BSR, Sears, Radio Shack, Stanley, IBM, Powerhouse, Leviton and
Magnavox.  I'll bet there are plenty others.  That's an awful lot of toes
dipped into the pond.  My take is that most major players have all decided
that the PLC protocol isn't up to the job, at least straight out of the box.
So any software that was tied to these systems dead-ended.

> What is needed for Joe and Jane is software that succeeds in  the
> marketplace, and so evolves and doesn't dead-end as un-supported legacy
> software. This requires that end-users can use the stuff they buy.

Usability is the key, but it's something that applies to both SW and HW.  If
module X doesn't go off when programmed, I think both parts of the system
would get the blame from a naive end-user and go to the dustbin together.

Again, though I hate to admit it, Activehome is still there while many of
the others have folded.  The problem I have seen with X-10, at least, is
that beyond a certain level of use, gremlins arise.  Whether it's noise or
signal sucking or interference or phantoms, any X-10 installation greater
than about 10 modules is likely to enter the "phantom zone."  No matter what
SW you yoke bad HW to, it's going to fail.

Since Activehome offers no real upgrade path to anything superior, people
really cluster at that level.  I say this based on the number of unique
posters that appear to ask questions related to X-10 signal failures and
then fade away.  The next step for many of these people is to either call an
electrician or move to an Ocelot or Elk.  Suzy Homemaker, who can figure out
how to use a Mini-timer and lamp modules with a little hand-holding, gets
off the HA train right then and there.

> Quoting from the article  "Home Automation: If you provide it will they
> come?" in the July 2005 issue of Security Systems News,  "I's still a very
> niche market"  attractive to " people how have an interest in gadgets".
> Making an analogy to homeowners' unprogrammed VCR's, "It's blinking 12. We
> can program [all-in-one home automation] panels but the consumer can't
> operate it."

I'm not sure I agree.  People who've never seen X-10 before they stay at my
house really like it.  Guests are always happy not to have to get up to turn
off the bedroom lights and not to have to even reach for the bathroom light.
The problem with HA gaining "critical mass" is that unlike PC's, to really
get into HA, you have to twiddle with the home electrical environment in a
way that goes well beyond plug and play.

I've been successful in "selling" (getting people to use in their own homes)
mini-timers, mini-consoles and appliance and lamp modules to people who were
non-technical.  However, as soon as I explained that doing what I did with
the bathroom lights and the Hawkeye required pulling a wall switch or
calling an electrician, the "look" appeared in their eyes.  It's been very
clear to me at least that "plug and play" is the model of the day and
putting in an X-10 wallswitch daunts perhaps 90% of the population.  That's
where I think HA has failed to generate a critical mass.  I don't think ANY
SW could overcome the basic HW limitations.

> Which implies that the software has to be useable, i.e., the end user has
to
> be able to make it do what they want (with varying degrees of professional
> support).

I think had X-10 not been crippled by signal-sucking and noise issues the
software you seek would have already appeared.  I think it *will* appear now
that much more robust transmission protocols have arrived.  Black and
Decker, Motorola and a number of other big-name vendors are dipping their
toes in again.  The home of the future's still on the way, but it's getting
closer all the time.  As soon as one of the startup protocols like Z-wave,
Insteon or ZigBee develops a critical mass and appears to be stable (even
when scaled up), the revolution will occur.  Gear can then be made in
numbers that drive the cost down to X-10 levels.

> Broadly successful models other than installer-centric security
> panels and high-end systems (Crestron , etc) are scarce.

I think this reinforces my notion that the game ends for many when they hear
the words "call an electrician."  The installer-centric panels and high end
systems are usually all done at once by highly skilled people.  If something
was left out, the owners will call back the original installers.  That's a
far different model than mailordering modules from Smarthome.

I think that there's also a sort of human "back EMF" at work as a result of
all the bailouts from the HA consumer market.  All those otherwise early
adopters have been burned and now they are twice shy.  That's a hump any new
SW/HW combo will have to overcome.

--
Bobby G.