Any other GUI for HS3??

[Moskus]

That's what interns are for.

Adding flair we don't need?

[Pete]

So far Touch Designer hasn't run more than five minutes for me without crashing. On it's own brand new Windows 7 install.

Odd that you are having issues.

Here running HS Touch designer on a Wintel server VM (thinned out) which I use Ubuntu 14.04 to get to. I am using most current version of Designer but have downgraded Windows clients to V.32/V36 now on mostly embedded XP (but W7e and W10 thin) is in the mix.

Historically I did run HSDesigner on my desktop (wintel) in the home office and never did have an issue with it.

Try for a bit shutting off the external stuff and see if that helps with your HS designer issues.

[waynehead99]

What is it with the bashing of the HS UI these days?!?

I don't use HS to look at the UI and appreciate it like a piece of precious, modern art. I use HS to automate my home and my life. And for that, HS works wonders. It's more efficient to set up, and to use.

Yes, we get it. It's not the prettiest compared to the glossy, shiny UIs that have become the norm after The Horror (also known as the iPhone) was launched.

In my opinion, if you have a smart home, and you STILL keep reaching for your phone to do various tasks, then you are doing something wrong. "Home automation" is nothing without the "automation" part, and HomeSeer makes it easier to really make a "smart home" worthy of its name.

I'm NOT saying things couldn't be better. But I hope that the team is spending their time doing something useful, like adding functionality or fixing bugs, than adding lens flares to buttons or fading sun sets to the web page gradients.

I agree with you on this. People get hung up on how things look because the concern is control vs automation. I would never have my wife in the system this way, and hell she only interacts with HSTouch just to turn on the music. Everything else is automated that we don't need to control it, hence the web UI is of no concern or value.

Personally, I never used it, but I like the HS2 interface better as it looks simple. I just need to get in, do my coding or adding a device and get out.

HomeSeer's UI is it's "business card" to non-users. When I espouse the merits of HomeSeer over say... SmartThings, people inevitably want to see the UI. And everytime they see it, the reaction is the same. "Ewww".

Think of it this way. Mac OSX is a close cousin to BSD. BSD is very functional and powerful, but you would never recommend it to your neighbor, mom, or aunt. Apple took BSD, and added the glitz and polish and the bells and whistles, and you get OSX.. something anybody can use and yearn for.

IMHO, HomeSeer is missing out on a huge market here.

I see your point, and maybe HS is losing some market because it's not as pretty as a 100 dollar device that doesn't work for automation. But you get what you paid for and those systems it's clear that the money went to the UI and not the meat.

They will eventually learn quickly as I did, that those systems are lacking and more geared towards control over actual automation, and they will see the reviews of Homeseer and purchase a proper application.

Luckily, my friends that are getting into this are skipping the painful first step and going straight to HS and loving it.

[TomTom]

True and die hard hobbyist may not care about UI, but sadly in the world of software business or any other consumer oriented business it does matter. So far others haven't caught up to HST on the automation part, but if history is any guide, "they" are not far behind.
I've spent hours/days on designer and made pretty good screen and the screens were easy to use. Wife and friend loved them! Then I had an hstouch update and several things quit working"arrgh". This happened twice. First time I got most of it back up. The second time, I never had time to go back redo those screens( some things there were no solutions for). So to save my marriage and preserve my family time I'm most likely going with imperihome. I still will use hstouch on some devices without complicated functions so they aren't prone to being "updated out".


Sent from my iPhone

[cheeryfool]

True and die hard hobbyist may not care about UI, but sadly in the world of software business or any other consumer oriented business it does matter. So far others haven't caught up to HST on the automation part, but if history is any guide, "they" are not far behind.
I've spent hours/days on designer and made pretty good screen and the screens were easy to use. Wife and friend loved them! Then I had an hstouch update and several things quit working"arrgh". This happened twice. First time I got most of it back up. The second time, I never had time to go back redo those screens( some things there were no solutions for). So to save my marriage and preserve my family time I'm most likely going with imperihome. I still will use hstouch on some devices without complicated functions so they aren't prone to being "updated out".


Sent from my iPhone

My wife said Imperihome is the best part of any of the years of my time wasted on HA

Though she does love some of the automation pieces too

[sparkman]

I think the GUI is important to newcomers. A lot of people start their HA journey doing remote control, rather than automation and a nice GUI helps sell the product. Over time, they start focusing more on automation and less on remote control and the GUI becomes less important. Right now there seems to be a lot of emphasis on voice control, which to me is still remote control and not automation.

Cheers
Al

[outbackrob]

SORRY!

Didn't mean to cause a ruckus! ...but I have to agree. It takes a LOT of work to get everything to work together. ....but you can, and that's what keeps me going. I WISH the UI was better (or easier to use) but I am not going to jump ship. I DO believe it hampers sales. It just looks too daunting and time consuming. ....and it is. HS is still in the hobbyist stage, I guess. That's OK. The folks who are still super enthusiastic will bring all sorts of new ideas for the rest of us to try. That's still fun. Mature products don't have as much of that. Perhaps this means that HS will be around for a LONG LONG time.... ????

Rob

[mystic860]

Imperihome = Fast and Easy setup, (Thanks to Spuds hard work)
HSTouch = Hard and Slow setup but very powerful.

Even though I paid for the designer, I just don't have the time to put into the difficult to use buggy program. So I jumped right back to Imperihome (used when I was with Vera) when spud got everything working.

I couldn't give Spud my money fast enough.. :-)

Could not have said it better myself, Spud is awesome for doing this!

-K

[rick23]

My day job is with a certain Fortune 10 company enabling digital experiences through client applications and online experiences interacting with hardware. In all of these efforts, as much emphasis, time, and funding is spent on the user experience (Ux) as there is with the functional implementation. Actually, it's the Ux usually requiring the most time and cost. Usability testing in the lab can prove very insightful providing immediate feedback to the design team from real world users and potential customers.

There are always two or three very different types of skillsets/development teams/agencies involved. These are firmware, client app/web functionality, and then the Ux design teams. While all of these skills are important, there isn't a huge amount of overlap between them. One can't do the others job at a product development level.

While some in the tech crowd may not appreciate the fine details of user experience and design, it is what sets the first impression, sells to the mainstream, and ultimately sets products apart. A product with all of the bells and whistles but with a painful user experience reminiscent of those existing in the early 90's isn't going to be competitive for long. It's not the "best" technical product that usually wins, it's the one which gains mainstream market share.

I'm new to HS3 - just started using it. The UI is an immediate turn off. While I can appreciate all of the hard work and functionality which does exist, much of the experience of using this product is degraded by the poor UI.

Here's to hoping HS gets the user experience design help needed to give this product a full makeover.

[waynehead99]

I think some fail to realize (including myself) that HS is a small company and doesn't have the R&D or development resources that other bigger companies have. Yes I get frustrated with things in the UI (lots of clicking to do simple tasks), but it does work.

HS had been around a long time and probably will continue to be around for a while.

The way the market is changing though, they will have some work ahead of them to stay in the lead.

[mikaluch]

I think those of us that have worked in tech fields for a long time recognize things that others may not. Our businesses are brutally cutthroat. It is not just a matter of pretty screens. It is a matter of large enough sales to continue to develop, to have funds for interns, and to defend your turf.

Read some of the stories about what Micro$oft, Oracle, and some of the other big boys did to small businesses on their rise to the top. Imagine receiving certified mail informing you that you are infringing on 57 Google/Amazon/Samsung, name your giant, patents. You review the claims and they are ridiculous - how could anyone patent that? A meeting is scheduled and someone from HomeSeer shows up and to their surprise so do 20 lawyers and sycophants from the other side. You can cease and desist using that code, you can sell all of your technology to us for $peanuts, or you can do battle in court against an army of lawyers. Kobayashi Maru.

[claude]

So, as far I can see, we are now talking about " It is not just a matter of pretty screens. It is a matter of large enough sales to continue to develop, to have funds for interns, and to defend your turf."

I'm sorry, this is where I get off the train. I've posted on this before. HS is, until now, the leader in home automation, as numerous reviews have confirmed. So where are the foundations of "enough sales to continue to develop" ?

My analysis is that HS has found 10 years ago a niche in the 'automation' arena, and I stress the "automation" criteria, as opposed to the late up-comers of the UI field. And I'm good with that.

HS is the 'dumb' back end of automation and doing it fairly well. Sure HS could develop a client UI, and I would agree this would augment HS's dominance.

And, again here's where I get off the wagon. HS has tremendous difficulty scaling to the market. And you know what - maybe the owners don't even want to scale up, and that's fine, and obviously they wouldn't advertise such a limited vision.

This vision of "we just want to ride the wave, forget about the vision" explains a lot of the situations I've experienced with HS: how many times, after several user posts that basically corner a defect, have you seen SH finally say "yep, now we see it, and we'll look into how we can fix this", without a strong commitment to resolve, or at the very least acknowledging "we made an error".

What strikes me is how many times a new HS release comes out and how many issues arise: any full fledged growing company would implement a more robust 'test plan'. This exposes, IMO, how slim the HS development and support organization is. And that worries me. My previous posts on this issue remain unanswered, and this to me is a lack of transparency with HS's client base.

If HS doesn't negate a user affirmation, then, by default, it acknowledges it.

If I'm wrong HS, post back! Get off the fence...

To be clear: I'm committed to HS and see it's value, but I hate their attitude

[scooter]

What is it with the bashing of the HS UI these days?!?

I don't use HS to look at the UI and appreciate it like a piece of precious, modern art. I use HS to automate my home and my life. And for that, HS works wonders. It's more efficient to set up, and to use.

Yes, we get it. It's not the prettiest compared to the glossy, shiny UIs that have become the norm after The Horror (also known as the iPhone) was launched.

In my opinion, if you have a smart home, and you STILL keep reaching for your phone to do various tasks, then you are doing something wrong. "Home automation" is nothing without the "automation" part, and HomeSeer makes it easier to really make a "smart home" worthy of its name.

I'm NOT saying things couldn't be better. But I hope that the team is spending their time doing something useful, like adding functionality or fixing bugs, than adding lens flares to buttons or fading sun sets to the web page gradients.

I agree. I started with HomeSeer 6 months ago, new to HA. It was intimidating at first but I figured it out. It has issues but it works. I have done 3 different projects (all Android, 2 phones and a tablet) with it and could not be more pleased with the results.
I actually can not imagine how a smallish company like HomeSeer pulled off such a complex system that works as well as it does.

Scott

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