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Author Topic: Amazon Echo Compatibility  (Read 27842 times)

timlight10

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Amazon Echo Compatibility
« on: November 29, 2015, 09:27:29 AM »

The new Amazon Echo (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X4WHP5E) includes compatibility
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with select Belkin WeMo, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Insteon, and Wink connected devices to control lights and switches with your voice

I wonder if there will be X10 compatibility?
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Tuicemen

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2015, 12:51:34 PM »

Since it will connect to smartphones, if you have a X10 app that will handle voice then it already does.
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dave w

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2015, 10:56:59 PM »

I wonder if there will be X10 compatibility?
rofl
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HA Dave

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2015, 11:07:36 PM »

We need one of our in-house code writers to write a program that will allow a Z-stick to accept z-wave signals and then re-interpret that signal (if needed) to X10 on the new CM15a. (OR... take a X10 signal and resent it as a z-wave).

Then.... we integrate z-wave with X10... and use Echo with X10.

I think maybe... this could be done with homezix ............. not that the HomeZIX free download can be found anywhere.
« Last Edit: November 30, 2015, 11:31:40 PM by HA Dave »
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dhouston

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2015, 05:28:49 AM »

... not that the HomeZIX free download can be found anywhere.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=HomeZIX&pc=MOZI&form=MOZCON

Apparently, it has (had?) voice control in a separate package...
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-x10/thread.cgi?4415

I'm surprised that I've never before heard of it. The home page appears dead.
http://www.automationvista.com
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 05:40:18 AM by dhouston »
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HA Dave

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2015, 11:48:45 PM »

... not that the HomeZIX free download can be found anywhere.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=HomeZIX&pc=MOZI&form=MOZCON

I'm surprised that I've never before heard of it. The home page appears dead.
http://www.automationvista.com

Good find! I seems it lived only around the 2006-2007 era. The download is a trial software. I might be impossible to find a "key".
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dhouston

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2015, 05:33:56 AM »

Good find! I seems it lived only around the 2006-2007 era. The download is a trial software. I might be impossible to find a "key".

You might ask on the Remote Central or Cocoon Tech fora. There may be some users or someone who remembers more about it.
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yancy

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2015, 06:44:15 AM »

Another option to integrate all different protocols and control systems.  OpenHAB - http://www.openhab.org/

I've been using iHouse with my X10 deployment and since it's developer has stopped supporting this several years ago I've been looking for the next option.  I use a Z-Stick with iHouse along with my X10, but am now starting to build my own sensors and actuators using Arduino's.  OpenHAB fully supports Arduino's as well.
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dhouston

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2015, 07:01:15 AM »

OpenHAB is Java based. Java has long been regarded as the most insecure of all programming languages and I will not allow it on any of my computers. It's the only software I dislike more than AHP.  >*<

https://www.bing.com/search?q=java+security+issues&qs=AS&pq=java+security&sk=AS2&sc=8-13&sp=3&cvid=3ADE0D1744DF48EDB6F2EFB998116983&FORM=QBRE&ghc=1

The Department of Homeland Security recommends removing/disabling Java.
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HA Dave

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2015, 08:37:38 AM »

I wonder if this device would allow a redirect of a z-wave or INSTEON commands.
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dhouston

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2015, 09:10:23 AM »

I wonder if this device would allow a redirect of a z-wave or INSTEON commands.

I'd be leery regarding Z-Wave as it's proprietary and, IIRC, pricey ($1500 SDK). It's not clear that this gadget speaks Z-Wave. And it requires this additional hardware just to do what it claims regarding ZigBee, Insteon & X10.
http://home-automation.smarthome.com/search?p=Q&asug=&w=ZBPLM+

I think you would be locking yourself in to a limited system.

I did a brief web search on Arduino & Z-wave without turning up anything that looked viable.

I looked into Z-Wave when it was introduced but the high price for the SDK and the esoteric modulation technique convinced me that amateurs & hobbyists need not apply. It doesn't seem to have changed.

It's not clear to me exactly what your endgame is. If you want to integrate Z-Wave, Insteon and X10 I think Mi Casa Verde allows that but I'm not clear which of their Z-Wave controllers will work with the Insteon 2413U PLM (used for Insteon & X10). And that's assuming the 2413U still supports X10. I bought the much more affordable Insteon SDK when it was introduced but their frequent redesigns pushed my off switch.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2015, 11:33:07 AM by dhouston »
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dave w

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2015, 08:10:35 PM »

We need one of our in-house code writers to write a program that will allow a Z-stick to accept z-wave signals and then re-interpret that signal (if needed) to X10 on the new CM15a. (OR... take a X10 signal and resent it as a z-wave).
Not sure if this will help, but Homeseer will do this. It talks Insteon,  Z-Wave,  X10 with appropriate interfaces.

http://www.homeseer.com/compatible-products.html
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toasterking

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2015, 04:26:36 PM »

OpenHAB is Java based. Java has long been regarded as the most insecure of all programming languages and I will not allow it on any of my computers.
[...]
The Department of Homeland Security recommends removing/disabling Java.
The Department of Homeland Security recommends not using Java in a web browser and disabling the Java Web Plugin.  If they recommend uninstalling the runtime too, I suspect that is for users who don't know how to disable the web plugin without removing the software or don't know how to practice good general security habits when trying standalone applications, which is not limited to Java.  All of the news stories and discussion I have seen about the security dangers of Java has been specifically related to its use in a web browser.  There is a difference between running a few standalone applications with it and giving it access to everything your web browser has access to.

For running standalone desktop applications, it's as secure as most any other runtime environment that desktop applications run in if not more so due to its sandboxing.  Java is also the most popular language for development of server-side applications and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.

I haven't used OpenHAB, but it looks like the server (a standalone application) runs in Java.  So it implements an HTTP server in Java code but doesn't directly install into or integrate with a web browser by doing that.  The client connects to the Java-based server with a web browser, but I don't see anything on their pages about it requiring the Java Web Plugin on the client side.  The only note I see about the client browser is that it is designed for Webkit-based browsers.  If Java is not required in the client browser, the warning from Homeland Security does not apply.

I only say this to say that Java security concerns should not be something that scares people away from trying this application.  By all means, disable the Java browser integration and the Java Web Plugin.  If the software doesn't work at that point, then you can call it a security risk.   :)

BTW, I have no business interest in Java or applications/services/companies that use it!
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dhouston

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2015, 06:06:27 PM »

For running standalone desktop applications, it's as secure as most any other runtime environment that desktop applications run in if not more so due to its sandboxing.  Java is also the most popular language for development of server-side applications and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.

Perhaps things have improved but I used to subscribe to security reports from CERT running out of CMU and their monthly reports frequently cited Java security issues.
http://www.cert.org/

A quick web search seems to indicate it's the same old same old...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/11/us-java-security-idUSBRE90A0S320130111
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Java was responsible for 50 percent of all cyber attacks last year in which hackers broke into computers by exploiting software bugs, according Kaspersky. That was followed by Adobe Reader, which was involved in 28 percent of all incidents. Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer were involved in about 3 percent of incidents, according to the survey

http://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-and-threats/java-security-warnings-cut-through-the-confusion/d/d-id/1108258
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Notably, a recent study of the Blackhole crimeware kit found that Java bugs were being used to exploit systems in 77% of all successful attacks...
Despite mounting criticism of its handling of Java in the face of regular zero-day vulnerabilities and in-the-wild exploits, Oracle officials haven't sharpened their game.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/09/security-of-java-takes-a-dangerous-turn-for-the-worse-experts-say/
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The most visible sign of deterioration is in-the-wild attacks exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities in Java version 6, Christopher Budd, threat communications manager at antivirus provider Trend Micro, wrote in a blog post published Tuesday. The version, which Oracle stopped supporting in February, is still used by about half of the Java user base, he said. Malware developers have responded by reverse engineering security patches issued for Java 7 and using the insights to craft exploits for the older version. Because Java 6 is no longer supported, those same flaws will never be fixed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Java
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...a history of security vulnerabilities in the primary Java VM implementation HotSpot.

YMMV and I also have zero interest in Java.  ::)
« Last Edit: December 03, 2015, 07:49:26 PM by dhouston »
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HA Dave

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Re: Amazon Echo Compatibility
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2015, 06:24:20 PM »

Not sure if this will help, but Homeseer will do this. It talks Insteon,  Z-Wave,  X10 with appropriate interfaces.

http://www.homeseer.com/compatible-products.html


Yeah. Pricey but it works.
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