Paul's Blog

Well, I've obviously been playing too much Final Fantasy Online, or is it Guild Wars? I forget which... either way, I totally missed the GA press release of the HomeHub software.

On July 3rd, in Reading, UK, HomeHub (www.homehub.co.uk) luanched their solution for home control and monitoring. The software is designed with simplicity and affordability in mind. HomeHub’s aim is to take home control to a more mainstream market. ...and I don't blame them for their efforts. I seriously think many people could benefit from even the simplest Home Automation packages. It's all certainly better than those old clunky timers people used all of the time. It's when you get into automation to the extreme, that you have to worry... that your wife won't kill you ... for walking out of the room to turn on the light that is right next to you, just so you can use your cool control pads to do it remotely. ;)

HomeHub is designed to allow customers of all skill levels to automate their homes. Control and monitoring is achieved through one easy to use browser-based interface from any computer on the home network or from a wireless PDA, smartphone or even the TV. It is based around existing open standards and technologies and uses commonly available devices like webcams and media adapters.

More importantly, HomeHub provides the ability to access a property remotely via the internet using our own secure connection technology. This gives real added value to a customer’s broadband connection and requires no complex firewall setup, router configuration or exposure to the internet.

“As a simple example of HomeHub in use, take the recent press coverage of a thief caught in the act by a webcam that was emailing images to the owner while he was away” says Brett Cherrington, HomeHub’s Technical Director. “That setup was created by a computer programmer who wanted to protect his PC but HomeHub now allows anyone to achieve the same. By adding a £20 webcam to a HomeHub setup, a customer can achieve an instant camera monitoring system with motion detection, secure remote access over the internet to live video from the webcam and text and email alerts in response to triggers. Camera pictures and video can be stored on the customer’s PC or on our HomeHub secure servers.”

Richard Sillitto, a volunteer tester and now satisfied customer says, “The attraction for me is that HomeHub allows me to setup a sophisticated security system of my design, with relatively little cost or technical know-how.”

HomeHub is being offered on one month’s free trial to allow evaluation and after that for a monthly fee of £9.95. No up front costs or hidden charges, just affordable, simple control.

HomeHub offers the following services:

Core Functions: Device setup, events engine, automatic updates and remote access.
Automation: Control and automate lighting and appliances and monitor information from devices.
Security: Install and use motion sensors, network and USB cameras, alarms, alerts, hardware keys and all home automation features to easily create a comprehensive security and safety system.
Entertainment: Organised storage and playback for media (music and pictures) on any capable device. Simple sharing of pictures on your home PC with friends and family all over the world.
Alerts: Send text messages or emails (with picture attachment if required) when triggered by an event
Shared Folders: Easily share folders and files on the home PC for simple secure access over the internet when away from home. Also upload files back to your PC from your remote location.

HomeHub also provides:

Secure remote access to your HomeHub any time of the day or night
5 free text message alerts per month (top-ups available)
Email alerts from your HomeHub
64Mb of storage space on our servers for your security camera recordings
Customer and technical support
Software updates
“We are more than happy to offer advice and help you work out what you need for your particular application” says David Henderson, Managing Director of HomeHub. “Individual customer requirements will always differ and we already have HomeHub installations in large and small domestic settings as well as commercial environments from a village hall to a car showroom.” Send us an email to info@homehub.co.uk with any questions you may have.

You'll find that you can run HomeHub on a PC under Windows 2000 or XP - Linux and Mac versions are currently in testing and will be released later this summer.

For me, however, I found that I had difficulties with the Java runtime starting up when starting the HomeHub application, while in Beta. Now, I have an outstanding post from the good folks at Homehub still sitting in my blog comment list, that I haven't quite acknowledged formally. Firstly, My apologies for not doing that, guys. I really do think you have a cool idea, here. Maybe we can sit down and see what's up with my 700mhz system with 384MB of RAM?

At any rate, check out the new HomeHub software at the Homehub website.

Via:[HomeHub]

Given that I've recently purchased a new car audio head unit (car radio for all of you old folks), I had to report this little tidbit, which made it's way to a number of blogs via the wonderful find from The Red Ferret Journal.

Play your MP3 favs, and other digital music formats, in your car! This great new product accepts a SD memory card or a USB memory drive. Which it appears you can do by simply dragging and dropping the materials on the memory device and just sliding it into this cool car audio system. The unit can also play standard CDs and CDR’s. ...and of course, no USB or SD memory is supplied with the unit.

What can it do? Check the specs:

-MP3/FM Car Audio
-Audio CD / Audio CD-R/RW
-MP3 CD-R/RW
-MP3 USB interface (1.1 & 2.0 compatible)
-MP3 SD/MMC Card reader
-Power Output 4x45W
-RDS (Radio Data System)
-TA/TP (Traffic Program)
-EON (Enhanced Other Networks)
-PTY (Program Type)
-AMS (Auto Memory Store)
-MP3 - ID3 Tag Display
-MP3 track search
-4 DSP Equalizer Modes
-Loudness
-Anti-Theft flip-down detachable panel
-Multi Color VFD Display
-Subwoofer Line Out
-Amplifier Line-Out x4
-RCA Line-In x2
-Telephone Mute
-Dimensions : 178 x 155 x 50mm

And comes with these accessories:
-Easy connect plug ISO Type
-Panel carry case
-Installation manual

I've only seen this listed at Dr. Gadget's, who is in the UK, but I'm sure it'll show up (if it hasn't already) here in the states.

Via: [The Red Ferret's Journal]

I've been hesitant to talk too much about Insteon's new technology for Automation. Not because I don't believe in it, but because I'm a fairly cautious person when it comes to reporting the goings on of technology. I get enough things wrong, so a little caution might help me... some.

Insteon is a new technology for automation, which is focused on supplanting the long-used X10. I personally have a fairly large investment in X10, and have been wary of switching to something new. Insteon, however, has caught the attention of many due to its great innovations, as well as its ability to also use X10 as a protocol for automation.

Insteon becomes an appealing solution because it's wireless. X10 technology carries its signals on AC electrical lines. X10's solution has been somewhat problematic because certain devices are known to "pollute" the power line with electrical noise. Using wireless over-the-air technology is definitely a way to reduce errors (in general) and devices should respond more quickly and accurately.

The Insteon Starter Kit sells for $99 at SmartHome.com and includes a remote control, two lamp modules, and two repeaters that bridge your power line signals. That is supposed to improve the reliability of your old X10 devices too. I already have something bridging the two legs of my power, so I don't know how that would work in my environment - if necessary at all. What you don't get is a way to computer control the Insteon interface. Then again, smart automation software companies like HomeSeer (A long time favorite of mine - I am an early adopter of this software and highly recommend it) will (are) probably be working with the Insteon SDK to create the necessary interface that fits your entire set-up.

But there are some caveats. There are definite risks we have to consider with automation toys. On one hand there is a great level of convenience, and on the other there is a scary trade-off. I'm not sure I'm 100 percent comfortable with allowing my automation environment to possibly be discovered and controlled by someone with something like " AirSnort" and a laptop; depending on the wireless protocol used. Then again, hopping on the web and turning off all of my lights (or not thinking about that at all), or changing the temperature on my thermostat from my bed isn't a bad trade-off.