I can add some comments here. I used to use Homeseer and HAI, and their serial/polled interface is a big problem, or it was for me. I'm not sure what is worse, the interface to HAI, or the fact that Homeseer doesn't care enough to even fix it. This was the main reason I switched AWAY from HomeSeer.
So now I use CQC and HAI. The driver for HAI from CQC works great (tcp/ip over Ethernet), and it sounds like the pieces of what you want to do with automation are in CQC. But some warnings there. Voice is not working as it should on Windows 7, so hopefully that will be fixed soon. Also, as you mentioned CQC is not easy to learn, and documentation for such an extensive product is sparce. This seems a constant problem with small companies in that documentation is an after though. CQC is also not a product you can just jump into and have running in a short time like HomeSeer. There are some videos to watch but that just goes so far.
When I left HomeSeer, I can tell you it definitely wasn't a "pro" product, although I know they DO have a "pro" version. Quality control and testing of new versions needed work. CQC does a better job at keeping everything working across updates, but as I said, its not a simple plug-and-play product.
There are a few up-and-coming products so they may be worth looking at. I also agree with you that HAI is missing a big opportunity by not making their products better and more flexible. They pretty much are take-it-or-leave-it, although they have been SLOWLY improving. They need to inject some good innovation into their software products.
So now I use CQC and HAI. The driver for HAI from CQC works great (tcp/ip over Ethernet), and it sounds like the pieces of what you want to do with automation are in CQC. But some warnings there. Voice is not working as it should on Windows 7, so hopefully that will be fixed soon. Also, as you mentioned CQC is not easy to learn, and documentation for such an extensive product is sparce. This seems a constant problem with small companies in that documentation is an after though. CQC is also not a product you can just jump into and have running in a short time like HomeSeer. There are some videos to watch but that just goes so far.
When I left HomeSeer, I can tell you it definitely wasn't a "pro" product, although I know they DO have a "pro" version. Quality control and testing of new versions needed work. CQC does a better job at keeping everything working across updates, but as I said, its not a simple plug-and-play product.
There are a few up-and-coming products so they may be worth looking at. I also agree with you that HAI is missing a big opportunity by not making their products better and more flexible. They pretty much are take-it-or-leave-it, although they have been SLOWLY improving. They need to inject some good innovation into their software products.