callmematt

macxpress said:

inTIMidator said:

This is why I am staying away from this new home automation market. As cool as it sounds, I'm not willing to invest 1000s in a company who is here today and gone tomorrow only to start the process over and repeat. Until the market matures and standards are created, this guy is not going to be a dollar feeder to bleeding edge unreliable tech whose sole purpose is to bleed out my wallet.

You can do home automation without it phoning home back to the manufacturer. Just don't get devices that require this. 

Exactly. Indigo Domotics is a great example of a great, extensible, flexible home automation platform that is built on a sustainable business model. You can pay a subscription to keep your s/w up-to-date and (if you'd like to) use their cloud services. Or just buy it once and you're technically off-support, but it will still work just fine. I choose to support their development with a subscription because they do an amazing job. And with support from the community, I get things like HomeKit integration for all my non-HomeKit hardware (Chamberlain garage door opener etc.).

Or if you want a home automation system that does not require an upfront software purchase, you can try one of the open-source platforms that Aeotec recommends on their Z-Stick product page.

Cloud-dependent products / platforms might get you out of the gate quicker with an easier setup process, but then the fate of your HA system is in the hands of a 3rd party who has no obligation to keep their service running.