Re: A mentor / Advisor ?

["Robert L Bass" <robertbass1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> One bit of propaganda oft repeated by a certain strident, incompetent and
> dishonest fool is that Insteon is proprietary and only manufactured by a
> single company. In fact, Insteon is no more and no less proprietary than
> Z-Wave.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Houston (who claims to have me filtered) cannot engage in a discussion of the merits without resorting to
name calling.

There is but one manufacturer of Insteon.  That company holds the patents.  Their SDK allows folks to develop interfaces but no one
else makes Insteon wall outlets, switches, etc.

> Neither specification is published for all to see
> but the Insteon SDK was initially available for
> $100 (including about $90 in hardware)...

The SDK does not allow anyone else to manufacture the components -- only to develop interfaces.  Zwave (actually Zensys, which is
the patent holder) has licensed the production of Zwave hardware to scores of major industry players, such as Intel.  Those
manufacturers have neither the option nor (apparently) the interest in developing anything for Insteon.

> while the Zensys SDK cost $10K (although I
>suspect that not all developers were required
>to pony up that amount)...

Zensys was not interested in selling their original developer's kit to DIYers.  They went after major league manufacturers.  There
is now an affordable SDK which homebrew *software* developers may want to investigate.  It retails for about $70.  I don't sell it
but it's readily available through other online merchants.

> company that bought the Zensys SDK has
> since released a less expensive "SDK" of their own which appears to be a
> wrapper for underlying Zensys SDK functions - a neat marketing ploy as a
> tie-in to the devices they make but not something many serious developers
> would consider.

Agiain, Mr. Houston disparages the SDK without ever having seen it.  He says it "appears to be" but has no idea what it contains.
Houston contribute useful information on subjects he actually knows.  However, on this and several other subjects he has repeatedly
posted opinion as fact.  Unfortunately, many times his opinions are wrong.  It is a disservice to the reader to continue denigrating
a product without any knowledge of the product.

> Insteon devices and/or Insteon interfaces...

Interfaces, yes.  Lighting devices, no.

> And there are Insteon-based products being
> manufactured and sold by other companies.
>
>     http://simplehomenet.com/IO.asp
>     http://simplehomenet.com/irrigation.asp
>     http://simplehomenet.com/hvac.asp *
>     http://simplehomenet.com/servers.asp
>     http://www.smarthome.com/12000vs.html
>     http://www.smarthome.com/128301.html
>
> * Looks like I was wrong about there being no
> Insteon thermostats although this will not
> interface with the ELK serial adapter.

Not one of these is a wall switch, dimmer, appliance module or outlet.  Those compose better than 90% of the controllable devices in
most HA projects.

> Now, as any one who pays much attention to
> CHA knows, I've reported both good and bad
> things about Insteon...

You've also made numerous uninformed statements about Zwave, none of them positive.  You've also wrongly accused me of nefariously
supporting it for profit.  You fail to mention that you've got a chip on your shoulder concerning me since Marc and I disagreed with
some rather absurd comments you made on another subject.

> I think the jury is still out on whether Smarthome
> can deliver a reliable system...

One sage poster has said that Smarhome won't sell poor quality product unless it has their own name on it.  :^)