james.wilson

the xm6 manual is in the downloads section. Id advise checking there

The cost is a critical point. But with the flood of cheap mobiles with decentish screens there must be a way of using them? The phone id expect to be integrated into the control panel, and this would be used (as already is in some panels) for 2 way comms with the engineer, the arc etc. Id want the voice to be available when doing udl somehow. Need bluetooth only if bluetooth is going to be used as an interface point. I dont think it has the range for us. If panels had wifi or ethernet then an adhoc wifi link would be more beneficial for small stuff and if there is a router could be infrastructure mode. IMO using wifi, pstn and gprs for comms would be a good mix. SD slot not needed IMO would prefer to be able to upload images to the panel software. That way of you have mutliple keypads it would be easier. Depending on the OS of the keypad (phone os android etc) then it might allow 'apps' and an exisiting development environment. That way anything could be integrated, but i think early days a cctv app and a means to get video (or ipcams) on the keypad and through the ip web i/f of the panel would be fine. re using keypads as wall mounted picture displays, it would need an sd card somewhere to hold these but id also like the option of logging into facebook and picasa etc and showing pictures from there. No point in loading pictures from everywhere. Android as a keypad OS might be a good idea. Especially with google tv, android phone handsets, chrome laptops etc. Would allow an easier integration path for the manufacturer. Imagine getting your security system up on your google tv and it communicationg via IP picking up alarm info, logs, cctv images, access control etc. From a HA point of view i personally want the HOME CONTROL PANEL to run my heating and lighting etc. Then it can learn my usual lighting habits. Then it can easily replay them when its set. Problem as i see it, if our industry doesnt do it then another will. Id also advice the comms is modular, ie if i want zigbee i buy a zigbee portal. If i want c bus i buy a c-bus portal, if i want cctv i buy that etc etc.

facebook is just one thing, im mainly meaning integration with the web and web services. If the framework exisited to make little plugins for these things then it would be possible for them to written outside of the manufacturer.

cant say i disagree but isnt that progress, ie change or die. Id also say that if we (the security sector) dont embrace this then someone else will and they will be the security provider. No-one is better placed than us to offer this package. Granted we are not there yet, but we dont have compliant product so we cant. As has been seen by the consumer appliance manufactures just with wifi as an example. The N std was ratified but they were all making gear to its draft. We wouldnt dream of doing that for the right reasons, but we need to wake up IMO and see the future. We have made some progress, UDL, wireless etc, but compared to other sectors we are so behind the times its shocking.

I was having a conversation yesterday, about the future of the security industry etc. It seems IMO we have become a little stuck in our ways to the point of being massivly behind the times. We (well i do) moan that we were once seen as a skilled and specialist industry and this isnt really the case anymore. ie what was the last revolutionary product we had. id say that fogging is coming more to the fore, but this isnt really new more an evolution of an existing idea. Where are we going? is it into integration and automation or is that just a dream that the DIY automation manufactures will control via amazon, or something apple will release? I personally feel the future is with more interconnection, ie i want to use my phone to be able to see at a glace what is happening, if i so wanted hook it into my twitter feed and my facebook status. Who will make the first social networking aware product? I dont mean send that my alarm is now disamed and im down the pub, but why cant it collect my emails for me, my friend requests so i can sort them easily. We have internet enabled fridges for gods sake, why are we so behind the times. Why cant we use IP and WIFI anfd Bluetooth and Zigbee for interconnections, they are good enough for the rest of the world..... but not us? Are we that special? I remember a member on here once said that we could offer advertising supported systems using these new (at the time) touch screen keypads, like google and iphone apps that are free with advertising. He may have been 5 years ahead of his peers, including me as i though he was mad. I would say he was spot on, the mobile phone market has proved the model. Many people are prepared to take a free or subsadised product as long as they can make that choice, why not So to recap i Have an android smartphone, that can show me the weather at home, the weather at work, i can get live cctv images from any place i choose (assuming i have a compatible dvr), i can update tsi, twitter and facebook, i can take a HD video of my little girl playing. Hell i can even talk to people on it. But what about my expensive professionally installed security system..... what can i actually do with that. I can..... wait for it...... turn it on....... and i can even turn it off. Wow I want info, i want integration, i want it to run my security lighting, interface with my heating system, tell me my gas is running low in the lpg tank. That i havnt armed the garage, the front door isnt locked and my internet enabled fridge has a compressor fault. But sadly ill just part set it for tonight as thats about its lot.

Id recommend apc ups's

if you dont need an onsite service maybe you could send it away for repair?

is that what your going to do?