Re: Dedicated Z-wave sites?

["Bill Kearney" <wkearney99@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Another factor contributing to our diverse experiences is
> manufacturer and industry group promotion.  We both see lots of ads in
> trade rags (or at least I do) promoting media servers as the be-all
> and end-all of HA.

Perhaps because they see that market as being far more lucrative.  Being
able to gouge $900 for software alone, or provide utterly no way for
end-users to program the systems, makes them much more money.  And in the
process fails to build the momentum for enconomy of scale price reductions.
But if they can make beaucoup dinero by gouging a small audience... PROFIT!

There's also the usability factor.  I think that since the HA market has
been so fragmented (for all manner of reasons) there's been little in the
way of 'guarantees' for successful implementations.  Successful in the "not
annoy the crap out of the users" perspective.  Far too few of the offerings
on the market really get anywhere near decent usability.  All too often
they're relegated to being solely a gadget lover's (masochistic) dream.  So
integrated them all together has been nigh on impossible.

So it's a market of extremes.  Either low-end, drive the wife crazy, or
high-end empty-your-wallet pricey.  With little in-between that actually
works in ways anyone would dare torment the spouse into using.

-Bill Kearney