Filed under: Software
Indigo 3.0, increased geekiness for your home
Once upon a time, my house was alive. It would wake me up with an hour-long procedure of ramping up the lights and using a zen chime at increasing intervals. Once the hour was up, it would check to see if I had opened the bathroom door yet and, if not, scold me with increasing levels of profanity for sleeping too late. It would read me the weather and top headlines while I brushed my teeth. It would turn lights on and off as I moved through the house. It had everything but an omnipresent, glowing red eye.
And it was grand, until a series of events (that I can now look back at and laugh) resulted in the PC it was all running on devouring itself and the connected backup drive. Now, in addition to an offsite backup system, I've got a lot of switches, sensors, motion detectors and the like and haven't had the heart to build the system again. But here I am with an extra Mini, and Perceptive Automation just released a new version of Indigo. My inner geek is just itching to restore my home to its former blinking, talking, almost-sentient glory.
Indigo is considered by many to be the best option for X10/INSTEON home automation on the Mac, competing with software such as XTension and Thinking Home. Back in 2007, Mat noted a lack of thermostat options that could prevent one from going completely geek on a house. Well, Indigo now supports the new INSTEON Thermostat Adapter, which can wirelessly control several Venstar thermostats. Assuming you don't already have a compatible HVAC system, you can add that to the (considerable) cost of futurizing your home.
Indigo has also added upload capabilities for the INSTEON PowerLinc 2414U (in addition to the existing support for the PowerLinc 1132CU) for people that would rather not leave their Mac running 24/7. Improved support for the iPhone and iPod touch, increased web server performance, a plugin architecture and a few other overall usability enhancements round out the list of new features, fixes and improvements.
Personally, I'm excited to give the 30 day trial a go. If my house approves, a license will cost $179.95. Existing users of version 2 will be upgrading for free, and owners of earlier versions can get the $89.95 upgrade price. If you're thinking that your house just isn't doing its share -- or just happen to have a lot of X10 switches around -- have a look. Also, be sure to check out High Earth Orbit's hefty Indigo widget.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ian said 6:58PM on 5-07-2008
This stuff is nice, but don't expect to be able to do anything too advanced with it. Most of the lights in my house are networked and I have some simple security sensors set up, but the Insteon devices available right now aren't very sophisticated.
For example: There are several Insteon compatible thermostats available. As a thermostat, one would think they would have the capability to report current temperature, alter the programming, and change the target temperature remotely. As it turns out, *all* of the products on the market are simply a regular programmable thermostat with the ability to switch to a single temperature on command.
Reply
Matt Bendiksen said 2:11PM on 5-08-2008
Ian:
Actually, there is a new INSTEON Thermostat Adapter that provides very good support for HVAC control. Much more than just recalling a temperature. Indigo can set the COOL/HEAT setpoints, change the operation mode, get the current temperature and humidity, trigger logic on temperature changes, and can even show temperature/operation mode on a browser (iPhone) accessible Web page.
http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/hardware/thermo_adapter
And here is a list of most of the INSTEON modules supported by Indigo:
http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/indigo/hardware.html#insteon_modules
Regards,
-- Matt Bendiksen
Indigo Developer
Binja said 6:51PM on 5-07-2008
This sounds like a product that, once setup, might inspire me to cry myself to sleep.
I cannot put my finger on why,but...
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hmurchison said 7:56PM on 5-07-2008
Home Automation is cool but the hardest sell is the ROI. If you pay $20k for an automated home you'll likely never break even. It's strictly "creature comfort" here. Managing your thermostat and lighting may save you a couple of hundred bucks a year but there are precious few areas to realize cost savings.
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booger said 8:13PM on 5-07-2008
Wake me up when Indigo supports Z-wave...that is, if Homeseer running on VMWare hasn't woken me up already.
@murch anyone who spends $20K on home automation is a tool. a broke ass tool. like a headless hammer.
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ecobore said 4:47AM on 5-08-2008
Jeez, next thing the Mac will be inseminating your girlfriend aka 'Demon seed'! (If you haven't seen it, the ULTIMATE home automation movie!)
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Smarthome Kyle said 4:26PM on 5-21-2008
Fantastic product that takes full advantage of the INSTEON home control automation.
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