Re: A mentor / Advisor ?

["Dean Roddey" <droddey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Chris Hackett" <chackett@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4Uo3h.2178$Cv6.1699@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Thanks for the suggestion.
>
> Are there any on-line retailers that you know of for the CharmedQuark
> products and services?
>
> The CharmedQuark website seems to have two products, one is a software
> solution and the other looks like component / chassis type hardware
> device. Reminiscent of a linux appliance or something.  Is this the
> solution you are encouraging me to look at further?
>

There are two ways to purchase CQC. You can buy the DIY product (just buy it
through the online store, under the Try/Buy tab) and install it yourself.
Or, you can purchase it via an installer who will do it for you. The latter
is of course more expensive, but time is money and if you don't have the
time and have the money it can get you where you want to go quicker.

We don't really have a hardware product. What you see there is just a
standard PC (though a well done one with our logo engraved on the faceplate)
with CQC pre-installed. We are going to stop selling that though, since
we've teamed up with www.2partsfusion.com to do our hardware boxes for
anyone who is looking for a pre-fab hardware/CQC package.

I don't think that CQC is quite as A/V oriented as it might sound from
reading this thread. It supports things like the Elk and Omni Pro II panels,
and quite a bit of core automation type hardware, and will have more in the
upcoming 2.0 release (it looks like maybe 25 to 30 new drivers, though it
remains to be seen how many will be ready for prime time by the 2.0 release
date.)

It does have strong support in the A/V area, since that's a heavily growing
part of the automation world. Whereas turning lights on and off remains
something that doesn't quite click with many people, browsing your DVDs on
touch pads and so forth seems to be a more powerful driver to get people
excited about automation, then we talk them into turning the lights on and
off.

Anyway, the combination of something like CQC layered over an Elk or Omni
ProII is a quite nice solution that is very commonly used by our customers.
It can be quite an investment in time and learning curve to get both those
bits well understood and do all the physical installation though. If you
aren't getting into this for the love of the game, you might want to
consider professional installation, or at least professional consultation.

-------------------
Dean Roddey
Chairman/CTO, Charmed Quark Systems, Ltd
www.charmedquark.com