Firefox browser

Knightrider · May 03, 2009, 12:04:28 PM

Ok, lets get serious here. There is an activeX plug-in for firefox, but it was never fully tested and was designed for older versions. For all intents and purposes, the gateway for the myhouse online plug-in to AHP isn't all that good and most people have trouble getting logged on. It's a server issue on the X10 side.
The current/best work around to this is to scrap the myhouse thing and use logmein or real VNC. This is how I do it and logmein is great with FF.

steven r · May 03, 2009, 12:07:34 PM

Ok returning to the original question...

Quote from: crowntown on May 01, 2009, 09:43:13 PM
...How can I get Firefox to work with the MyHouse Online activeX?...

I don't think I was ever able to get MyHouse Online to work with Firefox. Even with IE it's not reliable because it relies on the X10 servers being up and running. Discussed elsewhere in length, many of us use the free features of logmein.com to access our x10 systems remotely.

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 12:12:00 PM

I've been using Logmein Hamachi (non web version standalone) and TightVNC for years now and that does give you some workaround, but it's still not as easy as just going to Myhouse Online, especially if you are using someone elses computer.

I see many complaints about logging into Myhouse but honestly I haven't had any problems. I get logged in within seconds and never get dropped. It actually works very well but unfortunately I have to use IE and ActiveX. I have several other web-enabled devices I'd love to be about to use Myhouse on but of course they don't support ActiveX. Very few applications depend on ActiveX nowadays and have gone to using javascript instead.

I'm using the latest 3.0.10 build of Firefox and don't want to revert to any older version.

Knightrider · May 03, 2009, 12:13:52 PM

I, too, ALWAYS use the latest FF and use the web based logmein.

Googling ActiveX for FireFox turns up several options.

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 12:17:19 PM

Is there a reason it seems everyone is using Logmein web instead of Logmein Hamachi? I've used Hamachi for years and Logmein ended up buying them out. Now Logmein offers a really nice free version of Hamachi. It's a standalone program but if you also use VNC, you only need to run Hamachi on the server side and then you can just VNC through the VPN IP.

The advantage to using Myhouse Online over remoting in is you don't have any lag to deal with. If I'm away from home using a wireless hotspot that only had a 1.5mbps connection, it can get awfully slow remoting in. Sometimes because of the locale, dialup is my only option. It's near impossible to remote in with that but you could probably do Myhouse Online ok.

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 12:19:42 PM

Quote from: Knightrider on May 03, 2009, 12:13:52 PM
I, too, ALWAYS use the latest FF and use the web based logmein.

Googling ActiveX for FireFox turns up several options.

Yup, looking at a few of those.

steven r · May 03, 2009, 12:25:50 PM

Quote from: crowntown on May 03, 2009, 12:17:19 PM
...The advantage to using Myhouse Online over remoting in is you don't have any lag to deal with...

Good point! Real time video feeds via Myhouse Online are better than viewing with logmein.com. Unfortunately I don't have any realistic hope of Myhouse Online ever being reliable for regular use even if one does use IE. The X10 servers remain the weakest link in the equation. No amount of whistles and bells at my end are going to change that.

Knightrider · May 03, 2009, 12:36:31 PM

Crowntown,
You come up with a good way to do this project, I'll crown you a hero in my book. Good luck with your quest!

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 12:42:24 PM

Quote from: steven r on May 03, 2009, 12:25:50 PM
Quote from: crowntown on May 03, 2009, 12:17:19 PM
...The advantage to using Myhouse Online over remoting in is you don't have any lag to deal with...
Good point! Real time video feeds via Myhouse Online are better than viewing with logmein.com. Unfortunately I don't have any realistic hope of Myhouse Online ever being reliable for regular use even if one does use IE. The X10 servers remain the weakest link in the equation. No amount of whistles and bells at my end are going to change that.

Well, I'm going to keep hoping that x10 address these issues someday.

I don't use AHP for video though I'm thinking about it for a secondary video cam system. I'm currently using an 8 channel DVR card and proprietary software for my video cams. All of my cams are wireless with most of them being 2.4ghz and a few 1.2ghz and 900mhz. I get sound, motion detect, ptz, etc.

I also have an Ademco Vista alarm panel with the phone module installed that has X10 capability, and have the X10 transformer on the way to start sending commands through my alarm panel and phone. I'd love to be able tie my HA, Alarm and Video all together and run it through AHP.

steven r · May 03, 2009, 12:51:04 PM

Quote from: crowntown on May 03, 2009, 12:42:24 PM
...I also have an Ademco Vista alarm panel with the phone module installed that has X10 capability, and have the X10 transformer on the way to start sending commands through my alarm panel and phone....

FYI and anyone else reading this:
Most, if not all, major alarm systems have an ability to trigger an external device that can be used to trigger a powerflash module for X10 interface. e.g. I have X10 flash my lights when an alarm is triggered.

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 01:04:54 PM

The Ademco Vista panels (and a few others) have an optional transformer (1361x10, old part#4300) that allows the panel to send X10 commands. Ademco also offers a phone module that in addition to adding voice to your panel, allows you to call home and arm/disarm/bypass, etc your panel. You can also execute x10 commands over the phone with this module. I haven't messed with it too much yet because I'm still waiting on my transformer to arrive.

I've worked at an alarm monitoring central station for 7 years where we have strived to stay on the cutting edge of monitoring technology. Hopefully some of that will come in handy trying to tie all this stuff together.

<edit reason - clarified Ademco+x10 application>

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 01:07:29 PM

crowntown · May 03, 2009, 06:01:37 PM

Some more information I discovered regarding this issue;

QuoteActiveX is the mechanism by which Internet Explorer (IE) loads other applications in the browser. Through ActiveX, IE loads Windows Media Player, Flash, Quicktime, and other applications that can read files embedded in web pages. ActiveX controls are activated when you click an item such as a .WMV file on a web page to download it for display in your Internet Explorer browser window.

* As a Microsoft product, ActiveX was specifically designed to work with Windows systems. ActiveX is not supported by Microsoft on other operating systems such as Mac or Linux.

Firefox and other browsers that work on multiple operating systems use the Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) system. NPAPI performs functions similar to those of ActiveX.

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Activex

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