Smart Home Blog

Verizon is going to demonstrate its new Home Monitoring and Control system at CES 2011. it’ll allow to control lighting, thermostats, appliance as well as remotely view security cameras and lock/unlock doors through smartphones or FiOS TV boxes. The system will use Z-Wave technology for home automation, sensors and climate control and wireless IP security cameras. The pilot Verizon projects are planned next month in Jersey. Will see it in action at CES.

The self-made home automation system demonstrated on that video has GUI similar to LCARS interface from Star Trek. You may see following components in action in that video: Agenda/Calendar, Shopping list (Groceries), Rain radar, Train departure times, Library & Media player connected to home cinema set, Internet browser.

Yesterday the LinuxMCE development team announced the beta version of 0810. The installation DVD is ready. We just have to wait a bit till it’ll be uploaded to the official torrent and project’s mirrors. The installation using install script will also work. Current alpha users can just upgrade their systems via apt-get. But it’s suggested to make a fresh installation if somebody will experience difficulties to avoid situation when the problem is related to old functionality.

The DVD installation of 0810 will be different then 0710. First of all the Kubuntu will be installed from DVD. And then you should run LinuxMCE installation by clicking on desktop icon. Nothing complicated at all.

Not sure that Russian language is already added to that beta. If not it’ll be added soon as well as my fixes for translation of UpdateEntArea menu entries.

Convergent Home Technologies based in England announced its new home automation system Dianemo. The Dianemo is based on the opensource smarthome system LinuxMCE with well tested hardware and some customizations. There is a few demo videos on the web site demonstrated all Dianemo features.

The Convergent Home Technologies engineers help a lot to grow up LinuxMCE. Full featured VDR integration, KNX/EIB interface, participation with new Z-Wave interface, sharing experience with hardware – all of this come from the Convergent Home Technologies. As result the LinuxMCE users can use that stuff for free.

I wish good like to Convergent Home Technologies with its Dianemo. Hope its customers will be happy with the system!

The latest HAI firmware expands the audio options and flexibility of its Omni and Lumina home control systems. Now they support a bunch of professional audio systems from NuVo, Xantech, SpeakerCraft and Proficient. Also, the NuVo Grand Concerto, Essentia, and Simplese; Xantech MRC-88; Speakercraft MZC; and Proficient M4 and M6 audio systems have been added to HAI’s audio connectivity list, joining the NuVo Concerto, Russound CAM, CAV, CAA-66 and CAS44 audio systems.

The new firmware also includes a number of additional enhancements to the automation capabilities of all of the Omni Family and Lumina Family controllers. These include support for the CentraLite StarLite lighting system, the ability to blink UPB lights at varying blink rates, raise/lower temperature settings a fixed number of degrees from their current settings, temporarily change the light level of a light then return to the previous setting, and control the action of the LED and beeper when displaying a message on a console or Touchscreen.