No PowerLinc V2 Upload Support - Matt_Bendiksen_692

What vendor email do you have that says anything about upload support in 1.x? And what are you referring to on the website that leads you to believe upload support was going to be in 1.x or 2.0? I'd like to make sure it is corrected so no one else has false expectations.

Regards,
Matt

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Sunday, December 31 2006 @ 12:06 PM PST

When can PowerLinc V2 Upload be expected? - Marty.Skinner

Okay, I'll bite.

The VersionTracker features for 2.0.0b15 says: "Indigo has native support for the following INSTEON / X10 compatible devices:
PowerLinc V2, PowerLinc 1132U/CU, CM-11, and LynX-PLC interfaces".

It doesn't say anything about not supporting uploads to the PowerLinc V2 units. Going over to the "Developer's Site" also doesn't say anything there unless you click through to other pages. And then it says things like: "Note that Indigo does not currently support uploading to the PowerLinc V2, but we plan on including this functionality in a future version of Indigo."

All these non-VersionTracker web pages are talking about Indigo 1.8, not the 2.0 beta cycle which makes sense.

So which "future version of Indigo" is planned for supporting uploading to PowerLink V2 units if it's not 2.0? Or is it only that this hasn't made it into the current beta package but it will be there before 2.0's release?

This is perhaps the most important question for someone that has neither controller: is the 2414u "better" (more capable) than the 1132cu? Maybe the 2414u isn't actually more feature rich than the 1132cu, but from the comparison chart it seems that it is. Nothing in life is a sure thing, but I don't want to buy the 1132cu today and wish I hadn't tomorrow.

I'm probably not alone: my purchase decision is hanging in the balance.

/Marty

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Thursday, January 04 2007 @ 10:01 AM PST

PowerLinc V2 Uploading - Matt_Bendiksen_692

You are correct that the home page for Perceptive Automation does not mention the lack of upload support to the V2. But it also doesn't list quite a bit of other details about the hardware support. If you follow through to the compatibility matrix page, the essentials promotion pages, the actual purchase page on FunForGeeks.com, support forum, etc., they all mention hardware support details including the lack of upload support to the V2.

I'm definitely not trying to "hide" anything about Indigo's capabilities -- the problem is Indigo supports NINE different home automation interfaces and support dozens of different X10 and INSTEON modules. Listing the capabilities and compatibility Indigo has with all of that hardware cannot be done in the first sentence of my home page, which is why I have detailed information on pages like the compatibility matrix. It is the customer's responsibility to do the due diligence on what software and what hardware they should purchase given their needs, and my responsibility to educate the customer as best I can.

Additionally, note that Indigo has strong support for the interfaces compared to the industry average. Most other high end home automation applications (even ones on Windows that cost more) don't support uploading at all to any interfaces.

PowerLinc V2 support is a high priority. As noted on the website it will be in a future version, most likely 2.1 (or might be called 2.5). It will not make it in the 2.0 release. I don't believe (but I could be wrong) that I have ever stated differently in an email or on the website.

The 2414U is more capable in several aspects. It has potential to handle more complex home automation logic compared to the 1132CU and, of course, it supports INSTEON. But its X10 support isn't as good as the 1132CU or 1132U.

Regards,
Matt

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Thursday, January 04 2007 @ 10:28 AM PST

PowerLinc V2 Uploading - deemery

Well, SmartHome.com -gives away- software that runs on a PC and uploads programs to the Insteon interface. Unfortunately that program runs only on a PC. But that's the capability I need. I'd pay a reasonable amount of $ for that on the Mac, but certainly not $200! So when I get my dumb-assed PC fixed, I guess I'll stick with the free PC-based alternative. (For $200, I'd sure expect the Mac software to provide this capability.)

Part of my problem is that the Insteon control unit is located far away from the computers, due to interference from the computers and associated UPS on the X10 signals the Insteon sends to my controllers. Thus the ability to program the Insteon from a computer downstairs, and then carry the controller and plug it in upstairs, is part of how I use it.

dave

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Friday, January 05 2007 @ 05:24 PM PST

PowerLinc V2 Uploading - Marty.Skinner

Matt,

Thanks for the update on this capability. That's what I need so that I can decide what to get, and/or when I will get it.

I personally will *not* hold you or anyone else to your projected timeline for this or any other feature.

So now two other questions remain: do you charge ~$109 dollars for each software update, or only for major ones and will 2.1/2.5 involve an upgrade fee from 2.0? Again I won't hold you to your response but it will play into my decision.

It was also interesting to see the comment that deemery left: if PC software can do this for free now, although I dislike it I might look into running something like that under Parallels on my Intel-based Mac. I don't update my power-control settings that often...

/Marty

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Tuesday, January 09 2007 @ 07:26 AM PST

PowerLinc V2 Uploading - Matt_Bendiksen_692

Hi Marty,

Indigo 1.0 was released in March of 2003. There have been several 1.x update releases, some offering major new features like upload support to the older PowerLinc 1132CU and support for INSTEON. All of those were free updates -- Indigo 2.0 is the first paid upgrade. The plan, at this point :-), is for upload capability to the PowerLinc 2414U to go into a 2.1 or 2.5 release which will be free for all 2.0 customers.

Thanks for the interest in Indigo.

Regards,
Matt

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Tuesday, January 09 2007 @ 07:05 PM PST