Duffusmonkey
New Member
New to the forums:
I tend to get obsessed when something doesn't exist that I think should. I am not a morning person so I was going to buy a gentle awake sunrise alarm clock that slowly turns on a light that gradually increases in brightness for a half hour before my alarm is set. I was surprised to see that most of the ones on the market were expensive ($100) and usually had mixed reviews for poor user interface or poor quality. Next I looked for a simple light timer that had a gradual fade in. The only ones I could find were for expensive LED Aquarium lights. My mind just can't grapple with the fact That I can't just buy a $50 alarm clock with an outlet in the back to use with any light I choose.
I then decided that there just HAD to be a PC program that would do this. i found alarm clock programs that turned on the screen, played MP3's and videos but nothing that gradually brightened the screen.
I downloaded a few programs and I decided to make a video of the screen gradually brightening but have never edited video on the PC so I needed to learn how.` I kept thinking that I was wasting my time that a program like this had to exist but I couldn't find one.
Then I decided to just bite the bullet and get a home automation starter kit and one dimmer switch to use a nice floor lamp to do the same thing. Everything I find seems to have reviews saying its great and other reviews saying its complete garbage.
So its time for me to do some serious research so that I don't have to trust other people's opinion. Right now I am considering a Insteon Starter kit just to make my sunrise alarm. The Vera 3 also seems like it would do the job with a lot of possibilities for expansion. My future plan is to be able to go to bed, pick up my Android phone and make sure to lock all the locks, turn off all the lights, make sure the garage door is closed and maybe turn on some music that turns my wife on.
I tend to get obsessed when something doesn't exist that I think should. I am not a morning person so I was going to buy a gentle awake sunrise alarm clock that slowly turns on a light that gradually increases in brightness for a half hour before my alarm is set. I was surprised to see that most of the ones on the market were expensive ($100) and usually had mixed reviews for poor user interface or poor quality. Next I looked for a simple light timer that had a gradual fade in. The only ones I could find were for expensive LED Aquarium lights. My mind just can't grapple with the fact That I can't just buy a $50 alarm clock with an outlet in the back to use with any light I choose.
I then decided that there just HAD to be a PC program that would do this. i found alarm clock programs that turned on the screen, played MP3's and videos but nothing that gradually brightened the screen.
I downloaded a few programs and I decided to make a video of the screen gradually brightening but have never edited video on the PC so I needed to learn how.` I kept thinking that I was wasting my time that a program like this had to exist but I couldn't find one.
Then I decided to just bite the bullet and get a home automation starter kit and one dimmer switch to use a nice floor lamp to do the same thing. Everything I find seems to have reviews saying its great and other reviews saying its complete garbage.
So its time for me to do some serious research so that I don't have to trust other people's opinion. Right now I am considering a Insteon Starter kit just to make my sunrise alarm. The Vera 3 also seems like it would do the job with a lot of possibilities for expansion. My future plan is to be able to go to bed, pick up my Android phone and make sure to lock all the locks, turn off all the lights, make sure the garage door is closed and maybe turn on some music that turns my wife on.
