6/27/2015
Topic:
Protocol & Device Support Suggestions
Guava
|
What's easier than telling your house to turn on a light? THINKING about the light being on... and having CastleOS do so.
I'd like to see support for the Emotiv Insight, a device that monitors your brain activity and allows you to interact with your computer simply by thinking about something. This would be especially useful if your significant other is sleeping and you want to turn on/off/dim lights or devices or verify that all the lights are turned off or whatever.
http://www.emotiv.com/insight.php
They have an API: https://emotiv.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201170279-Programming-with-the-Xavier-SDK-Overview-and-Introduction |
7/11/2015
Topic:
Why hide the actual system requirements?
Guava
|
I could find nowhere on either the CastleOS site or this CastleOS forum, and especially not in the product description, the requirement to purchase at additional cost hubs, usb sticks, or other interface hardware to be able to control zigbee devices like WeMo/Ge/Philips Hue/Wink and their respective devices.
Why is this not mentioned anywhere?
Here is Chris discussing the very reasonable and very good reasons why these additional devices are needed: "No internal radios - if we did that we'd be region/protocol locked. Instead, we support dozens of protocols/regions with one HUB via USB adapters and bridges as needed. Z-Wave alone has a different radio for each region of the world - it quickly gets ungainly..." Source link: http://www.castleos.com/forum/topic408-new-hub-questions.aspx#post2874
So, again, I ask. Why is this extra expense and extra requirements never mentioned... ANYWHERE?!?
One might think of a very good reason: to hide the true cost of getting up and running with CastleOS. The site makes no secret of the fact that a Kinect unit (and possibly a pc to connect it to) is required for each room you want to control. But why the conspiracy of silence where it comes to having to buy a USB Z-Wave Stick if you want to control your z-wave door locks? Why no mention that if you want to control one of the above mentioned zigbee devices like the Philips Hue bulbs you need to buy 1.) a zigbee adapter (at least $50), and 2.) a Philips Hue starter pack ($189 with 3 bulbs or $80 with 2 bulbs... you figure out that logic), and then you need to buy other bulbs or wink devices (the Hue Bridge is apparently compatible with wink devices, who knew).
I don't mind extra expense. It's expected and I'm not whining about having to buy a z-wave lock when I want to automate my door. My point is that this issue is never mentioned and it makes me feel like a deliberate attempt to hide the extra expense. This is, of course, a foolish thing to do for a company who wants to have happy customers, repeat customers, customers who will evangelize their product and spread the word about it to their friends and social networks. So why make such an obvious attempt to hide the truth: that the CastleOS Hub comes with NO interfaces for any of the home automation protocols you will want to use with it.
PS, the Almond+ wireless AC router is far cheaper and states clearly that it comes with zigbee and z-wave antennas, even has a well documented list of the devices it is known to work with.
To summarize, stop this lie of omission. Add text everywhere the CastleOS devices are mentioned to let people know that it comes with no antennas or adapters for any protocol. Period. And also post a list of compatible devices (if there is one, I haven't found it and I've looked). I'm tired of searching through dozens of forum posts and FAQ pages to find out what works with the CastleOS Hub. It's not rocket science, it's just good public relations 101. |
7/15/2015
Topic:
Why hide the actual system requirements?
Guava
|
I see that the CastleOS Hub product page now has the (*) asterisk and blurb further down about the additional hardware needed. I didn't even know that it (the Hub) had Bluetooth. Thank you for making that change.
But I still feel strongly that you should put up a compatibility matrix for the various devices you support and a note about what extra hardware one would need to actually make it work with CastleOS. As an example, here is the (improperly named) compatibility list for the Almond+ router w/ home automation: http://wiki.securifi.com/index.php?title=List_of_compatible_sensors_-_Almond%2B_2014
If you look down that list you will see that most items were both user tested and verified as working by the vendor (Securifi). I think this is a good model to follow. And some are listed as user verified only while yet others are vendor tested only. This tells me that they have a dedicated user base that tries out new things, pushes the boundaries, to improve the information for all users of that product. And it tells me that the company listens to their customers.
You are selling an amazing product but one should not have to spend hours browsing forum pages to find out what does and does not work with CastleOS Hub (or the CastleOS Mini PC).
And to Chris, a final point of frustration is that my original post asked about "WeMo/Ge/Philips Hue/Wink and their respective devices." And you answered "Sure we talk to the Hue Bridge." You have a habit of only answering part of a question or only answering it half way, at least this is my take from reading almost all of your posts in the forum. I understand you are a business type and trying to get a straight answer is like pulling teeth. But you are attempting to introduce a radically different product, dare I say a complete departure from all competitors, with the CastleOS Mini PC and CastleOS Hub. Whenever I hear the head of a company skirt around the issues or give half answers it instantly pegs my BS meter (perhaps unfairly but it is what it is). You have to be the evangelist for your product. You don't have the luxury of coming off as the PR guy who can't dazzle 'em with brilliance so he baffles 'em with Bull Sh**. I'm sorry if that sounds a little harsh but every time you dodge a question as you just did mine that is the impression I get. And I am sure that a large number of potential customers are lost because of this lack of openness.
You are selling a fantastic product and you've made amazing improvements over the past couple of years. Celebrate that and let us in on the secret also. Give us the information we would need to feel comfortable paying the premium price (compared to your competitors) for a really great product! As I said before, CastleOS is superior to all of the other consumer home automation systems on the market but so much of the information is hidden away several levels deep in the forums. Bring it to the front page, let us see what we're getting for our money and we'll be loyal customers for life. |
7/18/2015
Topic:
Cree Connected LED Bulb
Guava
|
The cree connected LED bulb is a zigbee device which is already supported by the Wink Hub, the Philips Hue Bridge, and I think the D-Link version of the Staples Connect Hub.
My question is which option would be better. In other words, what hardware would I have to buy in order to enable CastleOS Hub to support this Cree Bulb but also enable the widest range of other devices.
Is there a zigbee USB stick/USB dongle or hub that would work with these bulbs (and other zigbee devices of course) without needing a connection to the cloud? I would definitely prefer that. Amazon has a few but they don't look like actual finished products: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=zigbee+dongle&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Azigbee+dongle |
7/19/2015
Topic:
Amazon Echo
Guava
|
Add me to the list of people who want the Amazon Echo supported by CastleOS.
It would be great if the whole range of Echo capabilities would be integrated, if CastleOS can't already do this (it's late and I'm too tired to search the forums for the answer). Specifically of interest are calendar integration and voice-controlled alarms, timers, shopping lists, and to-do lists. "Add carrots to the shopping list," for example, and have that document updated not only on the CastleOS machine but also on my phone (so I don't have to connect to the cloud or some possibly insecure wifi network while I'm out shopping).
Really hope the Echo could be fully integrated and be a replacement for kinect. This could significantly reduce the total cost of implementing CastleOS. Instead of needing a several hundred dollar windows pc plus a $100 to $200 kinect in each room PLUS a pair of computer speakers, all one should need is an Echo in each room. Besides, Micro$oft has discontinued both the windows pc kinect and the xbox 360 kinect so that should be a sign to look for another option.
And since the Echo is both a 360 degree microphone array and a speaker one would be able to further reduce the number of items they need to buy in order to actually voice control your whole house (or at least the most important rooms in it).
It makes good business sense to support the Echo. |
8/21/2015
Topic:
Linux OS
Guava
|
unplugged wrote:
Awesome. I'll keep checking. I personally hate anything Windows. Hey Unplugged, Did you ever get your question about Linux support answered?
I would like to be able to have the CastleOS "server" software running on one Linux box and have several Kinects running off of Linux mini PCs.
Chris, is this possible? You said by the end of 2015 so you've got a few months left.
My favorite Linux is Ubuntu and Linux Mint. I hope you can support those. |
8/21/2015
Topic:
Kinect help
Guava
|
Stephen Bobowski wrote:
Michael Little wrote:
Chris Cicchitelli wrote:
https://www.castleos.com/forum/topic16-how-to-speak-to-castleos--kinect.aspx
Has there been any progress in creating a COMPLETE list of commands for CastleOS ? There are many undocumented commands that you have mentioned in other posts, but really Chris - this is tedious.
+1 for list of commands, i keep stumbling across them in the forum and by accident talking to my Kinect.
I'm holding off purchasing CastleOS and/or the CastleOS HUB due to these issues. It isn't just commands that are hidden 9 levels deep in the forums but also device support and instructions for installation and using devices. It is already hard enough to get a house full of devices setup to work with CastleOS but add on the need to constantly go through the forums for hours just to find a simple piece of info is just too user-unfriendly to expect the average person to do it.
Chris needs to hire someone to comb through these forums and compile all these things into a complete and up to date document. And this person needs to periodically go back through the forums to pick up additional info that would otherwise fall through the cracks.
Honestly, how difficult would it be to keep a spreadsheet or database open on Chris' desktop with all this information in it. Then when a user posts a solution to a problem or Chris adds a device (or updates support for it) he could easily add that info to the website. |
9/1/2015
Topic:
Linux OS
Guava
|
I would have hoped for some kind of an update from Chris or Chris on Linux support.
OpenKinect is a free library for Windows, Linux and OSX. Source code is available at http://openkinect.org/wiki/Main_Page There is detailed info at http://openkinect.org/wiki/Getting_Started#Please_read_this_before_you_start
I sure hope to see CastleOS and the Kinect sensors running on Linux by the end of the year because I'm getting rid of Windows on all my computers and switching to Ubuntu or Linux Mint.
from: https://github.com/OpenKinect/libfreenect "libfreenect is a userspace driver for the Microsoft Kinect. It runs on Linux, OSX, and Windows and supports - RGB and Depth Images
- Motors
- Accelerometer
- LED
- Audio"
edited by Guava on 9/1/2015 |