Welcome to the list!
We have had a huge influx of new members over the past few days, so I
hope we'll see some great ideas flowing. If you'd like to catch up on
the current discussions, please see our web site http://ha.ro.nu/ which
contains some summary documents and a complete archive of all the email
so far. Feel free to comment on anything you find there to the author,
the list or the webmaster (me).
So far, we have a pretty solid list of goals and the hazy outline of a
plan to achieve them, but we have steered away from too much technical
detail. We are trying to expand on the jobs which the finished system
ought to be able to do first so we can get a better feel for how complex
the system needs to be. I just hope it doesn't end up as tangled as CeBUS!
http://ha.ro.nu/discussion/applications.html is still rather basic, so
your thoughts and wishes would be welcome, even if they seem impractical.
At this early stage, who's to say what is practical and what isn't?
I don't suppose we'll ever stop adding new ideas and details, but it
gets harder later on unless we have thought of ways to leave room for
expansion.
We'll need to tackle the specification of some interfaces between
protocol layers soon. With the layers separated, we should be able to
save ourselves lots of work by just picking the best bits from existing
practice and gluing them together. It also lets people go off and
explore different ways of doing things without waiting for other parts
to be finalised.
As there are so many of us now (over 50 at the last count), it might
be a good idea for us to introduce ourselves. I'll start if you like:
I'm mostly a software man, but I also enjoy dabbling with electronics.
Almost all my programming is in C for Linux these days, but I sometimes
resort to assembler for the 68HC11. I'm just getting interested in
the PIC 16C84 and its smaller cousins. I'm OK at building stuff on
breadboard and stripboard but not very good at mechanical stuff and not
too confident playing with mains. I'm hoping that others can help me
with those parts so I can play with the software:-)
I have been dismayed by the primitive home automation equipment available
off the shelf in the UK, even for such simple jobs as switching lights
on and off. I've looked around at what's on offer eleswhere and been
similarly disappointed. It's either not reliable or powerful enough
for want I want (and I don't even think I want that much!), or far too
expensive or complicated (or both). I want something small, reliable and
cheap right now, but with good design behind it so I can expand it later.
Robin.
-- R.M.O'Leary <robin.at.acm.org> +44 7010 707044 PO Box 20, Swansea SA2 8YB, UK