Shion Online

Shion 3.0β5 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. EZServe network controller support is not present in this release. It will arrive in the next beta release.

4. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

Changes

This update extends the “Favorites” option to the Shion menu that sits by the clock and other status indicators. Using this menu, you can manipulate your favorite devices, snapshots, and triggers without the need to open and navigate through the Console window.

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

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0β4 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.EZServe network controller support is not present in this release.

4. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

Changes

This update adds a new “Favorites” option that allows you to designate favorite devices, snapshots, and triggers. The selected items appear in a new “Favorites” section in the topmost item browser.

This release also adds initial support for the SmartLinc 2414N networked INSTEON controller.

Some major caveats for this specific controller:

• While it may be used to send commands to X10 and INSTEON devices, it can only receive status updates from INSTEON lamp and appliance modules. The thermostat and any sensor devices are unsupported, and will likely remain so given the fundamental limitations of an HTTP-based controller.
• While it should be able to receive status updates for X10 appliance modules, I had no success achieving this. Consequently, it will only send commands to X10 devices.
• Status updating is much slower. Changes in a device may not be picked up for several minutes.
• Because of this controller’s limitations, I strongly encourage users seeking a networked alternative to acquire SimpleHomeNet’s EZSrve controller. The EZSrve controller uses a true 2-way communication channel and is free of the SmartLinc’s basic limitations. The EZSrve is not currently supported in this version of Shion, but will be shortly. (It was supported in Shion 2, and I simply haven’t ported the code yet.)

For users with the SmartLinc controller, I encourage you to give this release a try and send me your feedback. This is not a controller that I use regularly, so I need more help from the community verifying that its driver code is solid. If you’re using this controller and have some additional feature requests, please let me know. While the controller does not support monitoring thermostat and sensor devices at the moment, there may be a way to get some very basic support if there’s user interest.

Also, special credit goes to Scott Newman, who was instrumental in helping me achieve what limited status updates we have. Prior to his encouragement, I didn’t think that any status updates would be possible.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0β3 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, GPS, and camera devices have not yet been implemented.

3. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

4. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

This release fixes a variety of user interface bugs and related issues.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion Touch 1.0β3 is now available.

This is the first public release of Shion Touch.

If you are a Shion Touch beta tester and have submitted your iOS device ID (here’s how to find it) to touch-beta@shiononline.com, feel free to download and install this beta app.

Installation instructions:

1. Download Shion_Touch_1.0b3.ipa. Drag this file to your iTunes library.

2. Download Shion_Touch.mobileProvision. Drag this file to your iTunes library. (This is apparently not needed with recent iOS developments.)

3. If you have not already done so, create a free beta testing account.

4. In Shion.app, enter your account information in the “Online” section of the preferences.

5. Install Shion Touch to your iOS device. On first run, the app will prompt you to enter your account information.

6. Have fun!

If you have not submitted your iOS UDID and are interested in beta testing this app, please send your device ID to mailto:touch-beta@shiononline.com and we’ll update the appropriate files. Note that due to Apple’s limitation on public iOS beta testing, we may not be able to accomodate all requests.

Since this workflow is still under development and probably still contains issues, please report any problems in the comments below.

Shion 3.0β2 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, GPS, and camera devices have not yet been implemented.

3. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

4. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

This release adds support for the updated Shion Online infrastructure and new iOS mobile app.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0β1 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, GPS, and camera devices have not yet been implemented.

3. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

4. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

This release introduces the following improvements:

1. A variety of bug fixes & user interface improvements.

2. Improved AppleScript support and additional properties (sunrise & sunset).

This release has been tested with the PowerLinc 2414U, PowerLinc 2412U/S, CM11A, and CM15A controllers.

Shion 3.0α7 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

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

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

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

3. The menu items leading to Shion web pages remain incomplete, pending the completion of the new Shion website.

4. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

5. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

7. (Shion 2 Users) You will need to reenter your devices, as the migration code is not yet complete.

This release introduces the following improvements:

1. A variety of bug fixes & user interface improvements.

2. Support for mobile devices running the Shion Touch application.

3. Support for built-in cameras (e.g. iSight) for use as an image logging device.

This alpha release is not intended for production use and is mainly intended to solicit feedback on the direction of the product. This release has been tested with the PowerLinc 2414U, PowerLinc 2412U/S, CM11A, and CM15A controllers.

Shion 3.0α6 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

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

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

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

3. The menu items leading to Shion web pages remain incomplete, pending the completion of the new Shion website.

4. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

5. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

7. (Shion 2 Users) You will need to reenter your devices, as the migration code is not yet complete.

This release introduces the following improvements:

1. Improved main pane UI. Snapshots and triggers are now visible in the history views. Furthermore, you can now click devices in the history view to navigate to the actual device.

2. The Events window has been fleshed out to allow filtering per device, trigger, and snapshot.

3. Bug fixes in the Shion framework to address broken thermostat functionality..

This alpha release is not intended for production use and is mainly intended to solicit feedback on the direction of the product. This release has been tested with the PowerLinc 2414U, PowerLinc 2412U/S, CM11A, and CM15A controllers.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0α5 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is an early alpha release for Shion 3. This software is still very much under construction and has some very rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remains unimplemented.

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

3. The menu items leading to Shion web pages remain incomplete, pending the completion of the new Shion website.

4. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

5. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

7. (Shion 2 Users) You will need to reenter your devices, as the migration code is not yet complete.

This release introduces the following improvements:

1. Better support for CM11A & CM15A X10 controllers. In particular, Shion’s CM15A support should be much more robust. (There is an issue sending DIM commands from that controller – a fix is in the works.)

2. The Events window has been integrated into the main Console window. This section will become better fleshed out in the next couple of releases.

3. Support for triggers in Shion Touch.

Note to testers: A lot of effort has been spent improving the performance of the CM15A & CM11A controllers. Please post a comment or send feedback if you continue to experience problems with these devices.

This alpha release is not intended for production use and is mainly intended to solicit feedback on the direction of the product. This release has been tested with the PowerLinc 2414U, PowerLinc 2412U/S, CM11A, and CM15A controllers.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.

Shion 3.0α4 is now available.

Please read the following release notes carefully.

This is an early alpha release for Shion 3. This software is still very much under construction and has some very rough edges. In no particular order, some of the current major issues:

1. The RemoteBuddy interface remain unimplemented.

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

3. The menu items leading to Shion web pages remain incomplete, pending the completion of the new Shion website.

4. Networked controller support (SmartLinc, EZServe) is not present in this release.

5. Sprinkler support is currently missing.

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

7. (Shion 2 Users) You will need to reenter your devices, as the migration code is not yet complete.

This release introduces the following improvements:

1. Better support for PowerLinc 2414U & CM15A controllers.

2. Improved Shion Framework for hardware device communication.

3. Temperature trigger support. (e.g. “Execute snapshot “All off” when temperature drops below 70 degrees.”)

4. Improved Shion XMPP dialog support. (Requires Shion Online account.)

Note to testers: A lot of effort has been spent improving the performance of the CM15A and PowerLinc 2414U controllers. Please post a comment or send feedback if you continue to experience problems with these devices.

This alpha release is not intended for production use and is mainly intended to solicit feedback on the direction of the product. This release has been tested with the PowerLinc 2414U, PowerLinc 2412U/S, CM11A, and CM15A controllers.

Please submit any feedback in the comments below.