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« on: March 19, 2009, 07:17:20 pm »
Thom, et al - i'm playing more with the system, and starting to get a feel for it..in my case, it's a linux learning curve too.
Anyway, I'll start a new post about UI (or ID an existing one).
Also, software is easier to change than humans.
Human patterns and existing conventions should be used whenever we can... as an outsider coming in, I'll put forth a few observations:
a. Noobs like me should get greeted, in a perfect world - the way I have been here. It's very helpful to know there's an online forum for questions, and furthermore, the forums aren't just for tech gods who look down on my lowly questions. What we're really creating here is improvements in people's lives... the wealthy who hire home automation experts might not care, they just hire someone to fix the problems - but for the masses, LMCE is close
b. I'd love to see (help with even, if anyone's in Los Angeles?) a "what next" video or stupid-simple wiki...say you installed LMCE - now what? What PVR to buy? What is an orbiter (I've figured it out...)? What do I need to control my stereo? A big-@ss "start here" I think will help more people not just install it, but make it part of their life.
c. Orbiters should default to a contextual layout. Any orbiter should control any device, but this is something i'll push for and am happy to help design context-specific orbiters. I'm guessing the main orbiters might be: Entertainment, Security (Entry/Exit)... perhaps bedroom (wake-up + sleep shutdown + security..?) + main default + kitchen specific if anyone tackles assisted cooking?
(note: this conversation moved to new post - plz reply there)
d. This could be presumptious for a rookie, but I think I saw a post that LMCE is home automation, not entertainment center...but I think I reject the assumption that this has to be the case - only because those two are not contradictory. It can be both and has the basics of such already (??). The music player for orbiter needs a lot of work, but