I have to second ryanjones' post. Give Alan and the Meedio gang a break. Seriously; if the shoes were on the other foot, and the same questions were being asked of ScottBot in such a rude and presumptive manner, I think you guys would be offended too.
Now, let's get to this: You say that before now, you had never heard of myHTPC or Meedio. I, as well as a large chunk of myHTPC's 11,000+ forum members, had never heard of Housebot until this website was launched. I would assume that the large user base, FREE publicity (myHTPC has been featured in several magazines and websites) and potential for income were the reasons Housebot was incorporated into Meedio; not for some grand scheme to screw anyone.
We've had this discussion a million times on the myHTPC site, and while it sucks to have to pay for something that was once free, I don't think they'll be hiding the FREE versions from download. If you don't want to pay for Housebot, there's still a free version, right? After all, these people are simply trying to find a way to make a living doing something they love; you really can't fault them for that.
Seriously, I know you guys are adjusting to the new stuff, but please realize that as Meedio is new to you, so is Housebot to us. I, for one, look forward to the potential of BOTH programs and I wish their coders and communities the best!
Housebot/Meedio Integration
Last edited by Cassius on Tue Aug 03, 2004 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Cassius wrote:... a rude and presumptive manner ...
You mean a bit like the way HouseBot was pulled from under existing user's feet with virtually no notice. :)
Sure "it sucks to have to pay for something that was once free" but that's not the point. I don't think any existing users would ever have minded paying for HouseBot and (depending on the price) probably won't mind paying for it now ... just as long as it continues to be HouseBot, not some media oriented hybrid.
... and as far as "I don't think they'll be hiding the FREE versions from download. If you don't want to pay for Housebot, there's still a free version, right?" is concerned ... WRONG!
There is no freeware version. Meedio will offer free (what we can only guess to be) a rebranded version of the freeware HouseBot to existing users who were registered on the old HouseBot forums prior to the program being acquired. There will be no generally available freeware version from Meedio and since the old HouseBot website was closed, nothing at all has been made available for download .... free or otherwise. With the exception of a few rapidly disappearing mirror sites where you may still find HouseBot 2.15 (without any of the additional plugins), if you (having not been an existing user) want HouseBot you will have to pay for it ... when it eventually is made available.
Considering that "We've had this discussion a million times on the myHTPC site" it's a shame nothing was learned. The whole acquisition and transition of HouseBot has been handled incredibly badly and has only served to upset and alienate a lot of people.
Andy
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yaccri
- HouseBot Special Member
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Fellow HouseBot users,
It sounds like some of you feel cheated. I don't share that view. Scott is an extraordinary person and has every right to do whatever he wants with HouseBot.
I have mixed feelings about the aquisition. On the one hand, the HouseBot users are not an intimate community anymore. No more 'on the spot' fixes and changes. Every change will go under scrutiny and will take much longer. Requests will be processed only after evaluation.
On the other hand, a group of developers can do more than one person (though they would have to try hard for that). I haven't tried the meedio software yet, but I guess that *some* level of integration between the two products is a good idea.
Accept the aquisition. There is nothing you can do about it. however, it is important that the user community will sound its opinion. This *may* affect the future of housebot in the positive way.
I just hope that the support level will not drop drastically. At least, Scott is around.
I suggest that you give these guys a rest, and let them prove what they state - that the aquisition will result in a better product. Let's hope so and help by giving constructive remarks.
Yoram
It sounds like some of you feel cheated. I don't share that view. Scott is an extraordinary person and has every right to do whatever he wants with HouseBot.
I have mixed feelings about the aquisition. On the one hand, the HouseBot users are not an intimate community anymore. No more 'on the spot' fixes and changes. Every change will go under scrutiny and will take much longer. Requests will be processed only after evaluation.
On the other hand, a group of developers can do more than one person (though they would have to try hard for that). I haven't tried the meedio software yet, but I guess that *some* level of integration between the two products is a good idea.
Accept the aquisition. There is nothing you can do about it. however, it is important that the user community will sound its opinion. This *may* affect the future of housebot in the positive way.
I just hope that the support level will not drop drastically. At least, Scott is around.
I suggest that you give these guys a rest, and let them prove what they state - that the aquisition will result in a better product. Let's hope so and help by giving constructive remarks.
Yoram
Andy,
I think you need ot calm down a bit about this. If you already have the software and you were registered to Housbot before July 27th, what have you lost? You still have the software you desire right? I wish I had heard of Housebot before it was aquired by Meedio. I would have loved this as it fits all my needs. Although I was able to easily find the free version on the internet and download it within a minute or so of searching for it. I think the setup for Housebot is rather complicated and would have enjoyed using what I'm sure was a great website and support forum to figure it out. Here's the thing though. I want to have Housebot control my home theater as much as I want it to control things in my house, and without meedio I don't think it would be able to do as good a job. I'm still going to play around with Housebot to see what it does, although I think without access to the plugins I won't get very far with it. I'll gladly pay for the new version when it comes out for Meedio. In fact by buying it I think I'm doing more to support Scott than I am Pablo. I think anyone that puts this much time into software deserves to get some reward. Also having followed Myhtpc and meedio for so long I know that Pablo would never do anything to Housebot that would upset you or the rest of the community. Please just let it go. This is ludicrous to be upset about. You still have your software, for free I might add, and now you have the option to get an improved version later. (If you decide it's something that interests you) If you don't give a rats ass about meedio, don't use it. Just because the two programs are now owned by the same company doesn't mean you have to buy them both. Let's try to get the two user groups to work together and make these programs great, not spend more time trying to pick apart how meedio is "evil" and stealing your software. Cheers!
I think you need ot calm down a bit about this. If you already have the software and you were registered to Housbot before July 27th, what have you lost? You still have the software you desire right? I wish I had heard of Housebot before it was aquired by Meedio. I would have loved this as it fits all my needs. Although I was able to easily find the free version on the internet and download it within a minute or so of searching for it. I think the setup for Housebot is rather complicated and would have enjoyed using what I'm sure was a great website and support forum to figure it out. Here's the thing though. I want to have Housebot control my home theater as much as I want it to control things in my house, and without meedio I don't think it would be able to do as good a job. I'm still going to play around with Housebot to see what it does, although I think without access to the plugins I won't get very far with it. I'll gladly pay for the new version when it comes out for Meedio. In fact by buying it I think I'm doing more to support Scott than I am Pablo. I think anyone that puts this much time into software deserves to get some reward. Also having followed Myhtpc and meedio for so long I know that Pablo would never do anything to Housebot that would upset you or the rest of the community. Please just let it go. This is ludicrous to be upset about. You still have your software, for free I might add, and now you have the option to get an improved version later. (If you decide it's something that interests you) If you don't give a rats ass about meedio, don't use it. Just because the two programs are now owned by the same company doesn't mean you have to buy them both. Let's try to get the two user groups to work together and make these programs great, not spend more time trying to pick apart how meedio is "evil" and stealing your software. Cheers!
After reading this thread through, I felt that I needed to put my $.02 into the pot, so take it as that, the thoughts of a myHTPC/Meedio user anxiously awaiting housebot.
Ever since I built my HTPC, I had visions of a totally integrated home. I wanted everything, TiVo, movie library, touchscreen, HDTV, light, HVAC, voice control - everything. I found myHTPC after searching a few days, and dove in. One thing that immediately struck me about the way myHTPC was designed was that it was completely program independant. I could use whatever player I wanted, add in any program, feed it information from any source, and if I felt inclined, make a plugin that did what I want.
This point is important because I feel it displays the driving ideology of Pablo and his team. They don't want to play favorites, they WANT people to use the programs they love, not force them into a nice little niche that they own. The only reason Meedio comes with a built-in player is so that their once enthusiast-only program is easy to setup for non-technofiles. The only reason all its plugins are more integrated into its system now than before are to add functionality, but they didn't sacrifice flexibility either.
The first week I had Meedio, I set it up exactly like I had myHTPC, used the same programs, scripts, plugins, everything, and it worked. Then I started exploring all the new ins-and-outs of their new creation, and found an amazing amount of new posibilities. Because of this, I realized Meedio Inc's dedication to its community, and I hope when Meedio HouseBot gets released (what seems like very soon), the housebot community sees what I have seen.
Sorry for the long-winded story, but the point is that while HouseBot has become a commercial product, just as myHTPC has, I don't see Meedio Inc changing it for change's sake. They WILL make it both the best stand-alone home automation server available, and the most tightly integrated home experience anyone has seen.
Ever since I built my HTPC, I had visions of a totally integrated home. I wanted everything, TiVo, movie library, touchscreen, HDTV, light, HVAC, voice control - everything. I found myHTPC after searching a few days, and dove in. One thing that immediately struck me about the way myHTPC was designed was that it was completely program independant. I could use whatever player I wanted, add in any program, feed it information from any source, and if I felt inclined, make a plugin that did what I want.
This point is important because I feel it displays the driving ideology of Pablo and his team. They don't want to play favorites, they WANT people to use the programs they love, not force them into a nice little niche that they own. The only reason Meedio comes with a built-in player is so that their once enthusiast-only program is easy to setup for non-technofiles. The only reason all its plugins are more integrated into its system now than before are to add functionality, but they didn't sacrifice flexibility either.
The first week I had Meedio, I set it up exactly like I had myHTPC, used the same programs, scripts, plugins, everything, and it worked. Then I started exploring all the new ins-and-outs of their new creation, and found an amazing amount of new posibilities. Because of this, I realized Meedio Inc's dedication to its community, and I hope when Meedio HouseBot gets released (what seems like very soon), the housebot community sees what I have seen.
Sorry for the long-winded story, but the point is that while HouseBot has become a commercial product, just as myHTPC has, I don't see Meedio Inc changing it for change's sake. They WILL make it both the best stand-alone home automation server available, and the most tightly integrated home experience anyone has seen.
I've been quietly reading...
I must agree with AndyK that the "acquisition" was handled badly. The best thing I can say about that is that we're sorry; we had good intentions and we rushed a bit too much. That said, I would love for us to try to get over that and start looking towards the future.
The funny thing about HouseBot is that its internal architecture is a C++ version of Meedio's architecture. The first time I browsed through the code, I was laughing at the similarities. Scott and I think alike, there is no doubt about it in my mind. The point here is that although the two products serve different purposes, their architecture is very similar.
In terms of "ultimate goal", the two products compliment each other very well and have very obvious connection points. They can both benefit from features found in the other.
I don't like to think of HouseBot users and Meedio users. I don't like the us & them; it is a form of prejudice.
We're all here because we like the same things. We strive for some of the same goals. Neither application is a bloated do-it-all; they can both be slimmed down to meet every user's specific needs. If we take the best of each, we will all be able to do amazing things with and in our homes.
Here's a toast to the future!
uh..oh..I see AndyK coming in for a tackle.....:)
I must agree with AndyK that the "acquisition" was handled badly. The best thing I can say about that is that we're sorry; we had good intentions and we rushed a bit too much. That said, I would love for us to try to get over that and start looking towards the future.
The funny thing about HouseBot is that its internal architecture is a C++ version of Meedio's architecture. The first time I browsed through the code, I was laughing at the similarities. Scott and I think alike, there is no doubt about it in my mind. The point here is that although the two products serve different purposes, their architecture is very similar.
In terms of "ultimate goal", the two products compliment each other very well and have very obvious connection points. They can both benefit from features found in the other.
I don't like to think of HouseBot users and Meedio users. I don't like the us & them; it is a form of prejudice.
We're all here because we like the same things. We strive for some of the same goals. Neither application is a bloated do-it-all; they can both be slimmed down to meet every user's specific needs. If we take the best of each, we will all be able to do amazing things with and in our homes.
Here's a toast to the future!
uh..oh..I see AndyK coming in for a tackle.....:)
the Pablo
pablo wrote:uh..oh..I see AndyK coming in for a tackle.....:)
Hahaha .... no, not this time Pablo.
As I've said to Scott, I would like to see any integration of HouseBot and Meedio implemented by means of optionally installed components. That is, Meedio would be no different from any other HouseBot "device". If it wasn't required, users would not install it and it wouldn't impact on HouseBot in any way. Meedio would be something that could be used in HouseBot but need not be an integral part of it ... in the same way that a modem or a particular X-10 interface need not be installed if it isn't required.
I take your point about "HouseBot users and Meedio users" but at this point I still see the applications as separate and distinct even if the users are now one big happy family. :)
Good luck with it all. I hope we can see a download of HouseBot and the plugins made available sooner rather than later as I feel this will go a long way toward settling things down.
Andy