I need to see safety tests that have bene done on some of these products that are basically adapters for outlets. In general, it is unwise to connect any sort of plug/adapter/extension in between appliances and outlets. What have these rather cheap products done differently to suddenly make it safe to do so?
They probably have some warnings labeled or documented. For LED or compact fluorescent lamps or other low amperage devices only.
That is probably how it will go for most HomeKit-enabled devices that are released from now on, but entrenched companies like Insteon can't just abandon their existing tech stack. It will be a hub-to-hub thing for at least a couple years, if you want something from the big boys.
That isn't going to be much of a contest. They'd be better scrapping existing hardware if that's the case and getting with the program so to speak, or become another footnote in tech history.
I don't get this hub concept. Would it not make more sense to make the Apple TV the hub and use software to control all the devices from there? Unless having a separate hub means your system is proprietary and you cannot mix and match devices. Therefore making more money at the expense of limiting the possibilities. Capitalism at it's best.
I don't see a hub being required period. Any more than Siri requires a hub, surely it is going to be part of the Apple Eco System, with some elements locally dealt with and some via Apple. I've no idea of course but I would think anyone with the SDK should know, or are they under an NDA?
So I assume you have your TV remote hidden? Oh wait, you don't have a TV so you can't sit down in front of in the first place. You're pretty short sited.
I doubt I'll ever understand the point of these 'keep you from having to stand up and walk a few feet' gadgets. We sit around too much. Getting up and about is good for our health. It make no sense.
Automation goes beyond the avoidance of movement. I'm using Insteon devices to control our entrance gate, remotely control irrigation of our orchard, and a number of other areas where safety has been enhanced.
The gates automatically open, path lighting turns on, and inside lighting will go on when we get within range of our house. The outdoor lighting turns off once we're in the house - is it necessary? No, but it's not a question of reducing our movement, but more with the added safety we gain with pathways lit. Lights are on for less time now, as they are only on during the times we need them - and, they aren't inadvertently left on overnight.
With no additional equipment, we now are able to respond to UPS/Fedex, etc when they drive onto the driveway (or push the call button), and open the gate from anywhere in the world. Not the end of the world, but we have missed many deliveries while working in the orchard as we couldn't make it to the gate before the driver drove off. Now, we get an alert as soon as the driver drives onto the driveway, and we are able to open the gate within seconds of their arrival.
Gone are the days when we have forgot to close the gates and deer have walked in and feasted on plants on the property. We didn't manage the gates nearly as well as the home automation has.
We would be fine without this capability, but the same could be said for many other things we have in our lives. We'd get far more exercise if we didn't have a car - life would be more limited, but we could do fine walking or riding a pedal powered vehicle.
I'm glad the capability exists, but can appreciate that it may not be of benefit for all people.
Eric, Apple HAS to do that - that's the whole point of HomeKit - a single language. Maybe other developers can give it a go too but if we want to have Siri control our apps, Apple is going to want to control that experience I reckon.
I'm sure Apple will have an App. But developers could also come up with their take.
For example, there are lots of popular "to do" Apps. You could add HomeKit devices to your "to do" lists (for example, scheduling your sprinklers).
And then we have the App Worlflow. HomeKit seems like an ideal addition where you could assign single icons on your phone to do popular things (lock all doors and close the garage, for example). One popular concept with home automation is the idea of "scenes" (pre-programmed settings). I think this concept would fit perfectly with Workflow. Icons as "scenes".
I doubt I'll ever understand the point of these 'keep you from having to stand up and walk a few feet' gadgets. We sit around too much. Getting up and about is good for our health. It make no sense.
Here is an audio link to an interesting podcast on 'the internet of things'. The programme is from a series on marketing but it puts the internet of things and also the ?watch into a broader perspective.
It won't necessarily sell you on the idea of it all but it makes a compelling argument for why the technology is here to stay.
Here is an audio link to an interesting podcast on 'the internet of things'. The programme is from a series on marketing but it puts the internet of things and also the ?watch into a broader perspective.
It won't necessarily sell you on the idea of it all but it makes a compelling argument for why the technology is here to stay.
I doubt I'll ever understand the point of these 'keep you from having to stand up and walk a few feet' gadgets. We sit around too much. Getting up and about is good for our health. It make no sense.
Say you're in a rush and you leave the house. Minutes later, you're wondering if you left the lights on, the door unlocked, or the AC on. Boom, you check your iPhone and turn them off, lock your door, reset the AC temp...
Insteon is a current protocol and hookup that uses the electric wires in your house plus wireless for communication. What the Insteon Hub does is allow you to tie this existing Insteon based system you have in your house into a HomeKit network. So if you have existing Insteon sprinkler controller, garage door opener, light switches, etc (like I do) you can now integrate this into your HomeKit based network (but I don't use the Insteon hub, rather I use a Mac mini with Indigo and an Insteon controller). Think of it as a bridge for existing Insteon controls to your HomeKit network.
Which controller do you use? I have Z-wave with the Vera controller, and the UI is not great. I'm hoping HomeKit can provide a better UI, plus let me use other protocol controllers.
Below is a great overview of home automation hardware and software features.
You don't have to endure anything. That block button is your friend.
Thank you for the suggestion, but I would actually prefer that you just not troll/cheerlead/obfuscate regarding google. The life advice by itself I can, um, live with, but all together it is just too much.
How high is your fence? I have seen deer climb over 2 meter tall fence to get to a vegetable garden.
From Google:
to the astonishment of deer control experts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rates white tail deer as being able to jump 15 feet high.
The deer could jump over the fence, but there are some visuals that have worked out well so they haven't attempted - at least for the last 15+ years. We've used things like trees and shrubs taller than 12' to provide a wide "wall" extending above the fence.
Those of you who just bought an Ecobee3 recently who are ticked off that you have to buy an entirely new E3 to get homekit support, well some of us did our homework on this, and if your like me who checked if the E3 would gain HK support before you bought your thermostat, only to just now find out it won't, Ecobee lied to us all four months ago and said the E3 would support HK via a firmware update. Below is a link to the Ecobee developers forum, the 10th comment down has a screen shot of the email from Mike A at Ecobee who told us this. So Ecobee lied to us all to keep selling what would very soon become out dated hardware. So why shouldn't everyone who bought an E3 in the last four months get a free upgrade after Ecobee LIED TO THE HIVE. Link below.
"My guess: Apple wanted them to wait so it could show off how they are all interconnected at the Keynote.
There better be a way for us to tell Siri what we want to name each device so we can get her/him to turn these devices in and off".
Douglas must have wrote that on an iphone or ipad..."turn these devices in and off"! The apple autocorrect hard at work, it can't even understand ON AND OFF, so how's siri going to turn anything on and off via homekit if she can't understand those basic commands?
Comments
I need to see safety tests that have bene done on some of these products that are basically adapters for outlets. In general, it is unwise to connect any sort of plug/adapter/extension in between appliances and outlets. What have these rather cheap products done differently to suddenly make it safe to do so?
They probably have some warnings labeled or documented. For LED or compact fluorescent lamps or other low amperage devices only.
That isn't going to be much of a contest. They'd be better scrapping existing hardware if that's the case and getting with the program so to speak, or become another footnote in tech history.
I don't see a hub being required period. Any more than Siri requires a hub, surely it is going to be part of the Apple Eco System, with some elements locally dealt with and some via Apple. I've no idea of course but I would think anyone with the SDK should know, or are they under an NDA?
How do you know his site is short?
I doubt I'll ever understand the point of these 'keep you from having to stand up and walk a few feet' gadgets. We sit around too much. Getting up and about is good for our health. It make no sense.
Automation goes beyond the avoidance of movement. I'm using Insteon devices to control our entrance gate, remotely control irrigation of our orchard, and a number of other areas where safety has been enhanced.
The gates automatically open, path lighting turns on, and inside lighting will go on when we get within range of our house. The outdoor lighting turns off once we're in the house - is it necessary? No, but it's not a question of reducing our movement, but more with the added safety we gain with pathways lit. Lights are on for less time now, as they are only on during the times we need them - and, they aren't inadvertently left on overnight.
With no additional equipment, we now are able to respond to UPS/Fedex, etc when they drive onto the driveway (or push the call button), and open the gate from anywhere in the world. Not the end of the world, but we have missed many deliveries while working in the orchard as we couldn't make it to the gate before the driver drove off. Now, we get an alert as soon as the driver drives onto the driveway, and we are able to open the gate within seconds of their arrival.
Gone are the days when we have forgot to close the gates and deer have walked in and feasted on plants on the property. We didn't manage the gates nearly as well as the home automation has.
We would be fine without this capability, but the same could be said for many other things we have in our lives. We'd get far more exercise if we didn't have a car - life would be more limited, but we could do fine walking or riding a pedal powered vehicle.
I'm glad the capability exists, but can appreciate that it may not be of benefit for all people.
Gone are the days when we have forgot to close the gates and deer have walked in and feasted on plants on the property.
How high is your fence? I have seen deer climb over 2 meter tall fence to get to a vegetable garden.
From Google:
to the astonishment of deer control experts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rates white tail deer as being able to jump 15 feet high.
Eric, Apple HAS to do that - that's the whole point of HomeKit - a single language. Maybe other developers can give it a go too but if we want to have Siri control our apps, Apple is going to want to control that experience I reckon.
I'm sure Apple will have an App. But developers could also come up with their take.
For example, there are lots of popular "to do" Apps. You could add HomeKit devices to your "to do" lists (for example, scheduling your sprinklers).
And then we have the App Worlflow. HomeKit seems like an ideal addition where you could assign single icons on your phone to do popular things (lock all doors and close the garage, for example). One popular concept with home automation is the idea of "scenes" (pre-programmed settings). I think this concept would fit perfectly with Workflow. Icons as "scenes".
It won't necessarily sell you on the idea of it all but it makes a compelling argument for why the technology is here to stay.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/the-internet-of-marketing-things-1.3094019?autoplay=true
I like the "Farstuff - IoT" podcast. I don't know if they have covered home automation yet, though with expectations of significant announcements coming from WWDC next week, I'm sure a show on the topic (and HomeKit) is in the works. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/farstuff-internet-things-podcast/id804773289?mt=2
Say you're in a rush and you leave the house. Minutes later, you're wondering if you left the lights on, the door unlocked, or the AC on. Boom, you check your iPhone and turn them off, lock your door, reset the AC temp...
Insteon is a current protocol and hookup that uses the electric wires in your house plus wireless for communication. What the Insteon Hub does is allow you to tie this existing Insteon based system you have in your house into a HomeKit network. So if you have existing Insteon sprinkler controller, garage door opener, light switches, etc (like I do) you can now integrate this into your HomeKit based network (but I don't use the Insteon hub, rather I use a Mac mini with Indigo and an Insteon controller). Think of it as a bridge for existing Insteon controls to your HomeKit network.
Which controller do you use? I have Z-wave with the Vera controller, and the UI is not great. I'm hoping HomeKit can provide a better UI, plus let me use other protocol controllers.
Below is a great overview of home automation hardware and software features.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgHb6Gq4ol2CcHEyUzhmdnUySlhFdjFOZTlUSVFoZEE&gid=3
Having some automation doesn't mean everything should be. At some point does it turn into a live-action Wall-E movie remake?
And yes stepping away from the TV for the most part would be even better for your health and well-being IMO.
It's not enough that we have to put up with your incessant google trolling/cheerleading/obfuscation, now we have to endure life advice as well?
You don't have to endure anything. That block button is your friend.
Thank you for the suggestion, but I would actually prefer that you just not troll/cheerlead/obfuscate regarding google. The life advice by itself I can, um, live with, but all together it is just too much.
How high is your fence? I have seen deer climb over 2 meter tall fence to get to a vegetable garden.
From Google:
to the astonishment of deer control experts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rates white tail deer as being able to jump 15 feet high.
The deer could jump over the fence, but there are some visuals that have worked out well so they haven't attempted - at least for the last 15+ years. We've used things like trees and shrubs taller than 12' to provide a wide "wall" extending above the fence.
Link below.
http://developer.ecobee.com/api/topics/homekit_support
douglas bailey
06/02/2015 09:30 AM
"My guess: Apple wanted them to wait so it could show off how they are all interconnected at the Keynote.
There better be a way for us to tell Siri what we want to name each device so we can get her/him to turn these devices in and off".
Douglas must have wrote that on an iphone or ipad..."turn these devices in and off"! The apple autocorrect hard at work, it can't even understand ON AND OFF, so how's siri going to turn anything on and off via homekit if she can't understand those basic commands?