Jas Manghera Blog

I was reading The Green Button and came across this post by Jessica Zahn (Program Manager at Microsoft):

Hey folks -

We're now accepting applications to be beta testers for the next release of Media Center! http://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=23

A couple of notes: I don't accept bribes, nor can I make promises that particular people will be chosen. We only have so many spots, and we need a diverse group of testers from across the US and from supported countries. You'll only be contacted if you're chosen, and we will choose people by May 31.

Very cool, now if you'll excuse me I have to go sign up and figure out a way to bribe Jess. ;-)

The latest version of mControl version 2 (aka V2) is currently in alpha testing and is undergoing several enhancements to it's macro automation. Macros are a set of actions that run when certain user-defined conditions are met .

For those of you with a previous license for mControl V1.X the upgrade to V2 is completely free, and alpha versions are available in the Embedded Automation forums located here.

I won't get into the details of the alpha program just that it is open to registered members of the Embedded Automation forum, and support will likewise be limited to the support forum whilst the application remains in alpha testing.

Now that all the disclaimers are out of the way, let's take a closer look at the new changes for mControl. Actions remain unchanged the biggest change comes in the definition of triggers. Previously triggers were each tied to a single condition that was either true or false.

Example: A night light [the macro], that turns on a Lamp [the action] when a motion detector is tripped [the trigger].

The trigger above is itself the condition for which the macro holds true. Since there is a direct 1-to-1 correlation between the trigger and the condition, this macro would execute even during the day - not quite the night light behaviour we want. V2 improves upon this by allowing each trigger to be comprised of multiple conditions. To better visualize these differences between V1 and V2 here is a diagram:

With the new restructuring, triggers can now be comprised of one or more conditions. But wait even with these changes mControl doesn't have a time-range condition right? Wrong - here is a list of new conditions also available in V2:

• DEVICE STATUS - is true when the status of a device is at a specified value
• TIME RANGE - is true during a user defined time range
• RECURRING - unique condition that checks at specific intervals (typically used in combination with another condition)

Fantastic, I'm now armed with several new conditions and perhaps the most important - the TIME-RANGE condition. Going back to the night light example I can make the following modifications:

A night light [the macro], that turns on a Lamp [the action] when motion-detected [the trigger] is true.

The motion-detected trigger is comprised of 2 conditions: Motion Sensor is tripped and the current time falls within the specified time range.

In order for a macro to execute, atleast one trigger must be satisfied (true). If any one of the associated conditions are false the trigger will not be satisfied.

Hope this gave you a quick overview of the new macro features available in mControl V2. I've just barely scratched the surface there are many possiblities that are now available with the new enhanced macro support.

Who are you?

I am Jas Manghera, just another software developer. In my spare time (the little time that I do have) I tend to gravitate towards gadgets, cellphones, PCs, etc. My hobbies are all over the map from technology and gaming to even a little construction work (long story ...). I am also a senior developer on the open-source Media Browser project.

From 2005 to 2008 I worked for the mHome team at Embedded Automation chiefly focused on the award winning mControl home automation product. I am currently a technical software developer based in London, UK.


Why the blog?

At first I got caught up in the whole web 2.0 thing without actually considering what my blog would be used for. I now use the blog mostly to document what I've worked on technically and provide an outlet/reference for myself that I can look back on later. I guess it could be useful to others ... or it just might not make any sense at all ...

Welcome to the latest re-launch of the Jas (Manghera) Blog. There have been several versions of this blog in the past (RIP) but now with a new year, new resolutions, and a renewed committment to blogging lets see if I can keep this one alive.

Ok so now that I've 'psyched' myself what exactly will this blog cover?
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Good question.

At first I was thinking of creating another "computer/technology" blog but there are so many out there in cyberspace and I doubt I would have the time to offer something truely unique. Nor do I feel I would have the patience to offer content of the larger blogs out there. So in a round-a-bout way what I'm trying to say is this blog will fill up with content that peaks my interests when I'm not busy. Doesn't sound too promising... oh well there is always version 'eleventy'.