Subject: From: Date:

Re: [ecs] oops Bill Walters Wed, 9 Mar 2005 12:28:57 -0600

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Bruce,

Yes, I agree with you regarding ECS Legacy, I still love it and it does 
everything I need flawlessly.   I just recently acquired a RS-232 interface 
to my Jandy Aqualink pool/spa controller and haven't yet had time to 
integrate it to my system.  I've great confidence in being able to make it 
work to meet my needs and just as sure that the newer ECS would handle it 
fine, too...

Actually, the --ONLY-- reason I have for changing to the newer version of 
ECS is the ability (hopefully) to customize the web interface to something 
more approaching the highly visual interfaces of Crestron systems.... yes, 
the "back end" interfacing would still be 'techie' compared to Crestron but 
I'm only concerned about the displayabilit/usability for the end user.... 
My wife doesn't like, can't understand and just plain won't use the ECSL web 
interface.  She similarly won't use the R_Admin link to native ECSL screens, 
although I've tried desperately to make them understandable/logical for 
her....  Also, R_Admin at 5 screens/second seems to pump a lot of info thru 
my network but perhaps I've just not designed my home network adequately... 
Just hasn't been a factor as she has accepted/likes the old plain X-10 
keypads, with announcements/responses over the home intercom!  She doesn't 
like them sitting around the house however and would like one or two 
touchscreens (wall mounted, of course) instead...

The original web interface of ECSL is just so difficult to modify, it's 
light-years above my paygrade.  I've read success stories of others and 
tried to read/understand what they've done, but just can't seem for it to 
penetrate my thick skull..

I've started/stopped so many times with different user interfaces that just 
didn't pan out or don't make sense in my current house.....  Of course, 
moving twice in the last 5 years has really put a damper on all of it, 
too...   And I no longer need ECS to manage my TV's/VCR's - I'm a true TIVO 
convert and have 2 Directivo units on my home network - nothing like doing a 
little video extraction over the network, deleting commercials, and burning 
compilations to DVD!

Ah well, musings and ramblings, sorry to take so much bandwidth and say so 
little...

Bill 

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