Updated 12-24-2004
Welcome to the HomeSeer HS2 discussion forum. In order to answer the many questions you no doubt have about HomeSeer HS2, here is an FAQ about this new software.
What is HomeSeer HS2?
HS2 is a port of HomeSeer to the Microsoft .NET architecture.
Why port HS to .NET?
The current HS was written using Microsoft's older visual studio 6 which is no longer being supported. The .NET architecture offers what Microsoft calls "Managed Code". The idea is that anything written in .NET will be much more reliable. The programming languages used by .NET all use the same ".NET Framework". The framework offers a consistent API into the operating system and isolates the application from the hardware. Frameworks for other OS's are currently in development and this will allow HS2 to be ported to other platforms such as Linux, in the future. The new environment offers HS the ability to use advanced features such as threading and .NET remoting.
What new features are in HS2?
There will be a limited number of visible new features in the initial release, but under the hood HS has changed substantially. The application is totally multithreaded. This means that every process that needs some amount of time, will run in its own thread. For example, when a script runs a new thread is created and the script is launched. The rest of the system is then free to process other tasks. HS has been broken up into a distributed architecture. The main application runs as a service on Win2K and XP and is accessed using any web browser. There is a minimal Windows UI so most interaction is done through the web interface. The web interface has been modified to be easier to use.
There are some new operational features. The biggest is a new way event actions are handled. You can now create your own order of event actions. For example, when an event triggers you can have it speak something, turn on a light, speak something else, send an IR command, turn off another light, etc. There is no limit to the number of actions and you can specify and you can order then any way you like.
How is voice recognition and text-to-speech handled?
The main service application is what we call the "scheduler". This service handles running all scheduled events, scripts, and interacting with the automation hardware. VR and TTS are handled with an external application. This application "called Speaker", is an exe than can run on any PC on your network. This application connects to the service app using .NET remoting (similar to DCOM). When an event needs to speak, it does so by sending the speech to the Speaker app. You can have as many Speaker apps as you like, and the apps can even be located on the Internet! HS can speak to all apps at once, or just to specific ones. Voice recognition works the same way. Each speaker app is a VR client, so VR and be handle at any number of PC's, all at the same time! This works over the Internet also.
How about scripting, will all my current scripts break?
No. However, .NET attempts to emulate a COM (ActiveX) interface as best as possible, but fails in a few areas. There are some script commands that will not work, so some scripts will need to be modified. We will create a document outlining what will not work and will create a new scripts library dedicated to HS 2. The changes to the event processing will cause any script that accesses events directly to not work properly.
How about applications that access the old HS ActiveX interface, will they work?
As above, some will, some may fail due to a few script commands not working.
Can I write scripts in vb.net or C#?
Yes! Scripts written in .NET are compiled and run as executables. Scripts can be complete applications and have access to all the same resources as a standard .net application.
Can I write a .NET application that can access HS2?
Yes. The same interface as HS 1 is available in HS2 as a .NET interface. The interface is available using .NET remoting. This means you can access HS from any computer on your local network, or over the Internet. No need to deal with DCOM! We will provide a sample application that will get you started. Its very easy!
Is HS2 100% .NET or does is use some COM stuff still?
HS2 is 100% .NET. This was the goal. One of the biggest issues with HS1 was with COM (ActiveX). Even Microsoft admits that COM has become unreliable, as it depends on the registry, which seems to always get messed up. This cause strange application behavoir. With HS2, there is no dependency on the registry. In fact, you can install HS2 by just copying the files to a new PC! No installer is actually needed. You do need to have the .NET framework installed however.
Will my plugins still work?
Yes. All current plugins should work. Since some script commands are not supported, there is a chance that a plugin might fail, but as we go through beta testing we will weed these out.
Can I write a plugin in .NET?
Absolutely! The current plugin API is available to .NET plugins without a dependency on COM. Plugins can now take advantage of all .NET has to offer like multiple threads. In fact, we have ported the CM11A support to a .NET plugin. All hardware support will be provided by plugins, the scheduler service will not include any built-in hardware support, but HS2 will support the same hardware as HS1.
How about ASP.NET, is that supported?
Yes! HS2 is 100% compatible with ASP.NET. Any ASP.NET web page (.aspx page) or web application should work. Creating web pages in .NET is much easier than the old ASP, and there are free tools available to assist.
Does the web server support SSL?
Yes! The HS2 web server includes support for SSL connections so you can now connect to your home securely.
Will HomeSeer Phone be converted to .NET also?
Yes, and this will be available in the initial release of HS2. There is no charge for updates to the .NET version of HomeSeer Phone if you already own it.
When will it be released?
Feb 2005. Beta testing will start in Jan and Alpha testing has already started.
Will this be a free upgrade?
No. There is so much work being done on this software, we cannot afford to make this a free upgrade. HS 1 will continue to be supported, but no new features will be added. The upgrade fee will be $89.95 for downloadable upgrades, and $99.95 for physical delivery. The new retail price for HomeSeer will be $199.95.
Should I wait until HS2 is released before I buy HomeSeer?
No. The total price you pay for the software will be same if you buy it now and upgrade, or buy HS2 later.
Welcome to the HomeSeer HS2 discussion forum. In order to answer the many questions you no doubt have about HomeSeer HS2, here is an FAQ about this new software.
What is HomeSeer HS2?
HS2 is a port of HomeSeer to the Microsoft .NET architecture.
Why port HS to .NET?
The current HS was written using Microsoft's older visual studio 6 which is no longer being supported. The .NET architecture offers what Microsoft calls "Managed Code". The idea is that anything written in .NET will be much more reliable. The programming languages used by .NET all use the same ".NET Framework". The framework offers a consistent API into the operating system and isolates the application from the hardware. Frameworks for other OS's are currently in development and this will allow HS2 to be ported to other platforms such as Linux, in the future. The new environment offers HS the ability to use advanced features such as threading and .NET remoting.
What new features are in HS2?
There will be a limited number of visible new features in the initial release, but under the hood HS has changed substantially. The application is totally multithreaded. This means that every process that needs some amount of time, will run in its own thread. For example, when a script runs a new thread is created and the script is launched. The rest of the system is then free to process other tasks. HS has been broken up into a distributed architecture. The main application runs as a service on Win2K and XP and is accessed using any web browser. There is a minimal Windows UI so most interaction is done through the web interface. The web interface has been modified to be easier to use.
There are some new operational features. The biggest is a new way event actions are handled. You can now create your own order of event actions. For example, when an event triggers you can have it speak something, turn on a light, speak something else, send an IR command, turn off another light, etc. There is no limit to the number of actions and you can specify and you can order then any way you like.
How is voice recognition and text-to-speech handled?
The main service application is what we call the "scheduler". This service handles running all scheduled events, scripts, and interacting with the automation hardware. VR and TTS are handled with an external application. This application "called Speaker", is an exe than can run on any PC on your network. This application connects to the service app using .NET remoting (similar to DCOM). When an event needs to speak, it does so by sending the speech to the Speaker app. You can have as many Speaker apps as you like, and the apps can even be located on the Internet! HS can speak to all apps at once, or just to specific ones. Voice recognition works the same way. Each speaker app is a VR client, so VR and be handle at any number of PC's, all at the same time! This works over the Internet also.
How about scripting, will all my current scripts break?
No. However, .NET attempts to emulate a COM (ActiveX) interface as best as possible, but fails in a few areas. There are some script commands that will not work, so some scripts will need to be modified. We will create a document outlining what will not work and will create a new scripts library dedicated to HS 2. The changes to the event processing will cause any script that accesses events directly to not work properly.
How about applications that access the old HS ActiveX interface, will they work?
As above, some will, some may fail due to a few script commands not working.
Can I write scripts in vb.net or C#?
Yes! Scripts written in .NET are compiled and run as executables. Scripts can be complete applications and have access to all the same resources as a standard .net application.
Can I write a .NET application that can access HS2?
Yes. The same interface as HS 1 is available in HS2 as a .NET interface. The interface is available using .NET remoting. This means you can access HS from any computer on your local network, or over the Internet. No need to deal with DCOM! We will provide a sample application that will get you started. Its very easy!
Is HS2 100% .NET or does is use some COM stuff still?
HS2 is 100% .NET. This was the goal. One of the biggest issues with HS1 was with COM (ActiveX). Even Microsoft admits that COM has become unreliable, as it depends on the registry, which seems to always get messed up. This cause strange application behavoir. With HS2, there is no dependency on the registry. In fact, you can install HS2 by just copying the files to a new PC! No installer is actually needed. You do need to have the .NET framework installed however.
Will my plugins still work?
Yes. All current plugins should work. Since some script commands are not supported, there is a chance that a plugin might fail, but as we go through beta testing we will weed these out.
Can I write a plugin in .NET?
Absolutely! The current plugin API is available to .NET plugins without a dependency on COM. Plugins can now take advantage of all .NET has to offer like multiple threads. In fact, we have ported the CM11A support to a .NET plugin. All hardware support will be provided by plugins, the scheduler service will not include any built-in hardware support, but HS2 will support the same hardware as HS1.
How about ASP.NET, is that supported?
Yes! HS2 is 100% compatible with ASP.NET. Any ASP.NET web page (.aspx page) or web application should work. Creating web pages in .NET is much easier than the old ASP, and there are free tools available to assist.
Does the web server support SSL?
Yes! The HS2 web server includes support for SSL connections so you can now connect to your home securely.
Will HomeSeer Phone be converted to .NET also?
Yes, and this will be available in the initial release of HS2. There is no charge for updates to the .NET version of HomeSeer Phone if you already own it.
When will it be released?
Feb 2005. Beta testing will start in Jan and Alpha testing has already started.
Will this be a free upgrade?
No. There is so much work being done on this software, we cannot afford to make this a free upgrade. HS 1 will continue to be supported, but no new features will be added. The upgrade fee will be $89.95 for downloadable upgrades, and $99.95 for physical delivery. The new retail price for HomeSeer will be $199.95.
Should I wait until HS2 is released before I buy HomeSeer?
No. The total price you pay for the software will be same if you buy it now and upgrade, or buy HS2 later.
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