Automate your home with YANZA
Yanza is a small system which allows to control x10 devices. It’s installed under MCE and adds functionality needed to manage your home appliances. Free version of Yanza allows to control 2 x10 devices only. Which is appropriate solution just for playing with automation not for real using.
The next issue is x10 protocol. It’s very old and insecure. So, probably it’s better to use Z-Wave, Insteon, ZigBee or some other modern protocol.
And finally, you need Microsoft MCE to work with Yanza. IMHO some Linux solution is more stable and cost effective. For example, BlueLava is a set of Perl scripts. You can use it to control any number of x10 devices. Moreover, it offers a web interface. So, you’ll able to do that from any place. BlueLava is open source application. You can customize it as you want.
I wouldn’t like to say that Yanza is not good or whatever. I’m sure that it gets its users. But personally, I don’t see any reason even try it. Because the offered features are too pure and you can use it with MCE only.
Many thanks for your constructive review of YANZA Home.
May we take this opportunity to add some points.
The FREE version of YANZA Home allows two X10 devices to be controlled, so as you say it is a great introduction to Home Automation without spending lots of money, and it can be used to control a typical lounge lighting for real use.
YANZA Home will add the full 256 X10 devices soon.
X10 may be old, but it is established worldwide, and with the new second generation X10 it is very reliable, and over the last 30 years has out-sold all other HA system put together, it is a very cost effective introduction to Home Automation. X10 can easily be made as secure as other systems.
YANZA Home will add RAKO wireless lighting control this month, and also Cytech Comfort security control in July 2007, followed by Z-Wave, Insteon, ZigBee aswell as lots of other protocols.
You do NOT need Microsoft MCE to work with YANZA, it will run on XP, MCE, or Vista, all of which can be made into very stable solutions, with YANZA Home tested to run continually as a 24*7 system for months at a time.
Also, YANZA Home DOES offer a web interface, in fact it ONLY offers a web interface, as the application when started is in fact a browser.
This means that YANZA Home can be accessed from XP, Vista, MCE, 98, 2000, and also from WiFi PDA and mobile phone devices, and not just using Internet Explorer, it also works with other browsers. Watch this space for exciting developments in the next few months!!!
The YANZA Home features are designed deliberately to be “pure” as it is “automation for the people”, so anyone can automate their home very very easily.
The fastest we have seen someone download and started using YANZA Home is 2 minutes and 24 seconds, so we think that proves it is really a very easy to use system, but also it may not be for everyone, particulary if you want to do a lot of customisation.
Try YANZA Home now for FREE at http://yanza.com
New FREE features will be added.
YANZA Support
Thanks for your updates, YANZA Support! I didn’t want to offend you. It’s just my opinion and I don’t have pretensions to be absolutely right! Anyway, find my comments below and … good luck with your system!
It’ll be nice. In that case YANZA can be used for “serious” automation.
It’s also very good. x10 is most famous and oldest protocol but the new ones are coming and we shouldn’t ignore them.
By the way, integration with MCE IS NOT disadvantage. Moreover, it’s good to have such kind of integration since your system is based on Windows. Also, IE is not the best solution for web. So, it’s correct that you support Firefox and Opera (I guess).
Actually, the most interesting part of home automation is customization because each person has his/her own desires and preferences.