Shion Online

I just sent the following note out to Shion beta testers.

The gist: I recently joined a Chicago startup working to help consumers find better electricity plans, monitor their power usage, and to become better power consumers. That work has gone extremely well, and the company will be sponsoring Shion for the indefinite future, which allows me to make the full set of Shion tools completely free to interested users, including the online service.

Read more to review the letter.

A new version of Shion Touch (1.0b8) is available for beta testers:

Shion Touch

Provisioning Profile

Drag these files into iTunes, sync your device, and you should be good to go for a long with with Shion Touch. If you’re using iOS 3 and receiving error messages, go to the general preferences in your device, find the provisioning item, and remove any expired provisioning profiles.

This release of Shion Touch includes updates for new beta testers.

Let me know if you experience any problems or other issues.

Shion 3.0β10 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is a beta release for Shion 3. This software is still under construction and has some rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

2. The Bluetooth and GPS devices have not yet been implemented.

3. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

4. Changes in the device configuration from the preferences panel (modem & controllers) require an application restart to take effect.

Changes

This release fixes a handful of issues (reenables PPC support) & adds support for iMeter Solo power meters. Add an iMeter Solo to your Shion setup using the Devices: Insteon: Power Meter Sensor under the Add (“+”) button in the lower-left. The iMeter Solo differs from the other Power Sensor (SynchroLinc) in that it provides the real-time power draw of a connected device instead of a binary On/Off status. In an upcoming release, I’ll be expanding support for real-time power meters by adding support for the TED 5000 series of devices.

Also, please submit any other feedback in the comments below.

A new version of Shion Touch (1.0b6) is available for beta testers:

Shion Touch

Provisioning Profile

Drag these files into iTunes, sync your device, and you should be good to go for a long with with Shion Touch. If you’re using iOS 3 and receiving error messages, go to the general preferences in your device, find the provisioning item, and remove any expired provisioning profiles.

This release of Shion Touch includes a variety of bug fixes and includes support for the TiVo DVR devices, and new power load sensors (Insteon SynchroLinc modules) added in recent builds of Shion.app.

Let me know if you experience any problems or other issues.

Shion 3.0β9 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is a beta release for Shion 3. This software is still under construction and has some rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

2. The Bluetooth, and GPS  have not yet been implemented.

3. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

4. Changes in the device configuration from the preferences panel (modem & controllers) require an application restart to take effect.

Changes

This release fixes a handful of issues & adds support for TiVo DVRs within Shion and Shion Touch.

To add a TiVo to Shion, add it from the “Add” button on the lower-left, select Device: Other: TiVo Digital Video Recorder. An add menu will appear and Shion will attempt to locate the device using Bonjour. If the address does not automatically appear, please manually enter the device’s IP address (this can be found in the TiVo setup screens). You will also need to locate your Media Access Key from your account settings on the TiVo website.

The Tivo interface only displays recordings on the device. I have an API for emulating a TiVo remote control, but have held off in including it in the interface as I work out an appropriate interface. If controlling your TiVo from Shion (or Shion Touch) would be a useful feature, please let me know in the comments below.

Also, please submit any other feedback in the comments below.

It’s been a hectic couple of months and a variety of uncertainties delayed public progress on Shion. Things have changed for me professionally in such a manner that brings Shion back to the forefront and development will resume shortly.  Part of my new professional life has significant benefits for new & current Shion users.

I’ve uploaded a new build of Shion Touch with a new provisioning profile that will extend the beta license (the expiration was Apple’s doing – not mine). Right-click and “Save As” the links below:

Shion Touch

Provisioning Profile

Drag these files into iTunes, sync your device, and you should be good to go for a long with with Shion Touch. Let me know if you experience any problems or other issues.

Shion 3.0β8 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is a beta release for Shion 3. This software is still under construction and has some rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

2. The DVR, Bluetooth, and GPS  have not yet been implemented.

3. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

4. Changes in the device configuration from the preferences panel (modem & controllers) require an application restart to take effect.

Changes

This release fixes a handful of memory leaks and other performance issues. Users should notice better performance across the board.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0β7 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is a beta release for Shion 3. This software is still under construction and has some rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

2. The DVR, Bluetooth, and GPS  have not yet been implemented.

3. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

4. Changes in the device configuration from the preferences panel (modem & controllers) require an application restart to take effect.

Changes

This release adds support for the new Insteon SynchroLinc load sensors as “Power Sensors” within Shion. It also includes a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0β6 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is a beta release for Shion 3. This software is still under construction and has some rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

2. The DVR, Bluetooth, and GPS  have not yet been implemented.

3. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

4. Changes in the device configuration from the preferences panel (modem & controllers) require an application restart to take effect.

Changes

This release adds initial support for the SimpleHomeNet EZSrve network controller and a new beta driver for the SmartLinc 2414N controller (details).

This release also includes a variety of minor bug fixes and UI enhancements.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.