Although this isn't actually automation related, this seems the best place to post.
As many of you know, I am an HA enthusiast and touchscreen manufacturer. My family generally doesn't get excited about HA technology, or even touch screens for that matter. Well, I finally hit upon an idea that has got everyone excited. My wife and I have both used Google GMail for our email accounts (both business and personal), and have dabbled in the Google Calendar feature.
Google Calendars can be shared, that is, you can share the events of one users calendar with another. So I created a "family" GMail account, with a "family" calendar. This account is only used to consolidate other calendars, and display the consolidated calendar on the touch screens at our home. In a family of 5, three of us keep our own calendars (two of our children are not old enough yet for their own). Our calendars are then all shared together (with each other, and with the family calendar). We see school dates, holidays, work schedules, out of town trips, homework assignment due dates, etc. etc. etc. While my wife and I are at work, any changes we make to our calendars are instantly reflected on the family calendar at home. Likewise, when my oldest child makes changes to her schedule, such as for school events, we all see that too.
We have a 21" touch screen mounted in the wall by our front door. Its perfect for the calendar. At a glance, we can see the month's schedule, or drill down into different views, such as a 3 day events view, etc. It has instantly become the most useful tool we have at the house.
-Dwayne
As many of you know, I am an HA enthusiast and touchscreen manufacturer. My family generally doesn't get excited about HA technology, or even touch screens for that matter. Well, I finally hit upon an idea that has got everyone excited. My wife and I have both used Google GMail for our email accounts (both business and personal), and have dabbled in the Google Calendar feature.
Google Calendars can be shared, that is, you can share the events of one users calendar with another. So I created a "family" GMail account, with a "family" calendar. This account is only used to consolidate other calendars, and display the consolidated calendar on the touch screens at our home. In a family of 5, three of us keep our own calendars (two of our children are not old enough yet for their own). Our calendars are then all shared together (with each other, and with the family calendar). We see school dates, holidays, work schedules, out of town trips, homework assignment due dates, etc. etc. etc. While my wife and I are at work, any changes we make to our calendars are instantly reflected on the family calendar at home. Likewise, when my oldest child makes changes to her schedule, such as for school events, we all see that too.
We have a 21" touch screen mounted in the wall by our front door. Its perfect for the calendar. At a glance, we can see the month's schedule, or drill down into different views, such as a 3 day events view, etc. It has instantly become the most useful tool we have at the house.
-Dwayne
