Home Automation DIY

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.

JLTSoft is running an Off Season Sale on their LightShowMaster software, which you can buy directly from JLTSoft right now for only $59.99 (regular $99.98)! Don’t wait till July though, ’cause this deal won’t last long.

LightShowMaster is a software product that allows you to use your PowerLinc Modem Serial interface to control your Insteon-compatible devices to create exciting animated lighting displays synchronized to music. Take control of your holiday lights, flood lights, rope lights, etc. and impress your neighbors with your very own animated light show!

LightShowMaster (click to enlarge)

Featuring a visual sequence editor, LightShowMaster makes creating new lighting sequences fast and easy! Command your lights to turn on/off or fade up/down using one of the 20 different fade speeds. Now that Light Show Master 2.0 supports the PowerLincModem (PLM), you can send up to 20 commands per second in your sequences! Create multiple sequences and have LSM run them together in any order to create a complete lighting show. Light Show Master 2.0 now gives you the flexibility to create the show schedule that fits your needs. Now you can schedule the date and time for any show event, and you can have multiple shows in a single day. You can also schedule your show to run minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or even years at a time! And there is no limit to how many show events you can schedule! A new feature in Light Show Master 2.0 allows you specify an Insteon trigger device that will trigger your show to automatically start playing. Now you can trigger your shows to start up automatically when triggered by the Insteon motion detector! Many audio formats are supported, including MP3, WMV, WAV, MIDI, and any other format supported by Windows Media Player.

Image credit: JLTSoft

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)

NVS, the maker of Home Control Pro iPhone application (formerly known as Vantage Remote Pro), slashed price for its offering from $449.99 to just $189.99 to celebrate release of version 2.0.

Home Control Pro is an iPhone and iPod Touch App designed to control your Vantage Infusion System. It automatically gathers data from Infusion Master to populate system-wide control of buttons, lights and thermostats.

What’s New in Version 2.0

Please make note of all system ip address before installing this update. You will need to reload all Vantage Systems after installing this update.

Automatically configures load types as a slider or a toggle button.

Button states now display as the LED color, supporting multi button states and colors.

Support for button Press, Hold Time, and Release.

Organizes buttons in order, under the Keypad they are associated with.

New Custom Pages, supports direct control and feedback of a Tasks VID.

Task VID’s controlled in Custom Pages can be set for a button press, press-release or press-hold-release.

Support for Vantage Systems with Multiple Masters/Controllers.

Removed 30 second auto refresh feature, added a manual refresh button. App still refreshes when an area is accessed and after a button press.

Added edit section to change ip address of a system.

Improved editing page of unwanted areas, loads, thermostats, and buttons.