Home Automation DIY

I have finally received my SmartLinc package yesterday. Yeay!

Here’s my first thoughts.

The installation process is pretty straight forward. Connect one end of Ethernet cable to SmartLinc, another to your router. Plug SmartLinc to available power outlet and you are ready to go. Or almost ready… Depends on your router’s configuration. In my case I have MAC filtering option enabled, so only devices whose MAC addresses are entered into router’s configuration are allowed to connect to my network. So, naturally, SmartLinc couldn’t get an IP from the router. It’s very easy to add a new MAC address to the router. That is if you know it. After thoroughly searching for MAC address on the SmartLinc box’s label, included Quick Start Guide and the SmartLinc device itself and not finding one, I turned to my router’s logs. They revealed that device with a certain MAC address was refused connection 100+ times. I entered that MAC address into router and… nothing. I had to unplug and re-connect SmartLinc to power outlet for it to get the IP. That was not so bad though.

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The Smarthome team has sent its customers the following email.

Dear Loyal INSTEON® Customer,

You are receiving this message because you have:

Placed a NetLinc Pre-Order
Added NetLinc to your Wish List or,
Added NetLinc to email notification using “Notify Me”

To avoid any confusion when you receive your shipment or notification, we would like to inform you that NetLinc has been renamed from:

NetLinc - INSTEON Central Controller
To
SmartLinc – INSTEON Central Controller

Please be aware that this is only a name change and that part number (2412N) and product functionality remain the same.

Sincerely,
The Smarthome Team

What should we make of it? Is NetLinc getting smarter before even being born? I don’t know, but I would personally prefer the original name. I think NetLinc reflects the purpose of the device better - it links your Home to the Network. Hey, Smarthome, how about HomeLinc? Wait, I think they already have desktop software called HouseLinc. Oh, never mind.

The NetLinc SmartLinc is a small home controller that plugs into the Ethernet port of your router. It allows mobile web-enabled devices such as iPhone or iPod Touch to remotely control INSTEON compatible devices. SmartLinc is scheduled to ship on August 28th.