Home Automation DIY

Now, this is an original concept! Actually, this is no longer a concept, this product is already in production (in The Netherlands only, for now).

I’m talking here about a ‘balcony-on-demand’ from Dutch company called Bloomframe. This product transforms your window frame into a full-sized balcony, capable of holding a whole bunch of grown-up dudes (see photos below).

(continue reading this article and leave comments here…)

SmartLinc controller

Mobile Integrated Solutions has just released version 2.14 of their MobiLinc Pro software for iPhone and iPod Touch.

The major feature of this update is that it adds support for Smarthome’s low-cost SmartLinc INSTEON Central Controller (2412N).

Previously, MobiLinc supported only Universal Devices’ ISY 26/99i and PowerLinc 2414 controllers.

The new update also polishes some GUI issues and ISY communication when switching from EDGE/3G to WiFi connection.

Here’s a fresh new idea for home automation enthusiasts. Apparently, you can use your iPhone or the last generation iPod Touch (the one with a mic) as an external wireless microphone used to relay voice commands to your home automation controller (provided it’s a Windows-based PC).

No, there’s no app for that (yet), so you will have to fumble with a few pieces of software on your PC, but the result could be well worth the time spent.

This great idea comes courtesy of Greg Badros (ex-Google, and now Facebook’s Director of Engineering) who explains the process in details on his blog. So follow Greg’s Tech Mumblings to find out how he managed to blend together Homeseer, Skype and Virtual Audio Cable ($30) for a very neat set-up.

And here’s the good news for Android fans – this set-up will work with your Droid too.

TouchLinc #1270

Remember that touchscreen from a decade ago, called TouchLinc? It was one of the few affordable X10 touchscreen controllers at the time. It had black and white screen and three hardwired connections: power, PC Serial port (for programming) and 4-conductor telephone cable to your powerline interface.

Guess what? Smarthome is releasing an updated wireless version pretty soon (expected in stock 5/18/2010). Yes, of course it will support INSTEON, and to accomplish that you will have to have a SmartLinc (aka 2412N) controller in your set-up.

So, what’s new? (continue reading this article and leave comments here…)

Control4 has updated their free iPhone app to version 2.4. Control4 My House UI app controls lighting, HVAC, Audio and Video devices including Apple TV and iTunes, IP cameras, etc., through a familiar Control4 interface.

Added new language support including: Afrikaans, Croation, Czech, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish.

Various defect fixes including but not limited to:

• Control4 1.8 version changes.
• Duplication of thermostats in certain projects.
• Security keypad issues in certain projects.
• Portrait to Landscape switching view issues.
• Album artwork retrieval issues.
• Improvements in camera movie display.
• Display of diacritic characters in certain languages.
• Device Driver support updates (requires getting an updated version of the Control4 project)