Many thanks. but somewhere the notion of "minimal" got lost. I don't
have an iPhone nor am I interested in controlling my home remotely over
the web. When I leave for the winter my computer and all peripherals
are turned off and my internet, cable and telephone service are
suspended awaiting my return because it saves me about $330 to disable
the services for the winter.
Scott and his link to Insteon info <http://www.smarthome.com> have
convinced me that Insteon is the way to go. Insteon devices are similar
to X10 and compatible in an Insteon system but are much more reliable
(X10's achilles' heel is powerline interference). My only remaining
problem is whether to accept the internet enabled controller or the one
with just a USB interface to the computer. It's clear that the internet
enabled controller will do what I want but adds more function (internet
access) and possible security concerns (internet access) than I need.
On the other hand, it's not clear that the USB only device can do the
job if disconnected from the computer. Furthermore, it appears that it
requires a separate software package to program the controller that, all
by itself, appears to cost more than the internet enabled device. I'm
frustrated that having spent somewhere between 1 and 2 hours probing the
site and reviewing documentation that I haven't been able to figure that
out. It also appears there is more than one software package. The
problem is no clear statement about software requirements for the device
and a software user's manual of 180 pages giving detailed instructions
(including writing macros) with no such thing as a one or two page
functional overview. Yee gads!!! The documentation is clearly written
by the programmers rather than tech writers. But I'll figure it out.
Chuck Norcutt
On 9/10/2010 12:55 PM, usher99@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Hi Chuck,
> It is very clear X-10 can do this. I believe my nephew does something
> like that on his I-phone.
> http://www.iphonehomecontroller.com/
>
> Thers is a forum to ask questions as well--if their site were set up
> better it would be obvious how to configure this capability:
>
> http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=16616.0
>
> There is various software that provides a web link interface but I have
> no experience with them.
>
> http://www.jclautomation.com/internet.html
>
> I should ask my nephew.
>
> Mike
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