Introducing CQC 5.0

[Dean Roddey]

We are coming up on our 5.0 release of CQC (www.charmedquark.com) and have begun working on some introductory videos. This is a first take on part one of that series. This one will be re-done again before it's formally posted, with all the lessons learned applied, but I wanted to post it because the meat of the subject is still there, the real one will just be more polished. 
5.0 is all about the UI you use to create your CQC-based automation solution. The old UI had been around for a long time and had grown crusty and quirky. This one is a from the ground up re-write, which makes the product vastly easier to use and understand, hopefully finally making it clear that CQC's reputation for complexity is both somewhat overblown and somewhat a consequence of a configuration UI that was working agin' it, not fer' it.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYIMmbdWOW0&feature=youtu.be
 
This one covers:

1. Installation
2. Device drivers (how CQC talks to devices)
3. Scheduled events (make CQC do something at scheduled times)
4. Triggered events (make CQC do something in response to something changing in one of the devices CQC has under control.)

 
Anyway, take a look and let us know what you think. As it says in the video, this is not to educate, it's to demonstrate, so it's a 10,00 Foot Level view of the product and how to use it. There will be subsequent videos that dig into the more technical details. And ultimately there will probably be three videos in this introductory series as well.
 

 

[LarrylLix]

Nice video, Well done demoing the system setup and basic startups.

For 90% of the ISY994 users out there this would be way too complicated with cryptic device names and commands to test operations.

Folders for devices would be nice to organise devices into smaller blocks.

A gui layer for setup and low level testing seems to be in order for the non-programmer / non-system type people. I would not have a problem getting around in CQC but as per above comment, so many would be just lost.

The system seems to have a lot of low level power to develop a complex HA system.

I did not see any conditional logic demonstrated using trigger and conditions to operate things. I would be sure you have variables for storage, calculations and saved lighting levels as well as grouping macros (scenes) of some kind. All of this may have been to advanced for the bottom end setup demos though.

 

[Dean Roddey]

Some the 'cryptic' bits weren't anything you need to understand, they were just there to allow for testing without real hardware. With a little more time, I could make it clearer, but as I said, this is not for education, it's for demonstration. You aren't expected to understand the product after watching these videos. You are only expected to have gotten an overview and have a basic idea of how you do fairly common tasks and to have a basic understanding of the overall concepts. There will be subsequent videos that will get more into the details.
 
There is definitely condition logic support, which I mentioned in the video but indicated that was for later. I could put a simple example in there I guess.

 

[fcwilt]

Hi,
 
I'm looking forward to the release of version 5.
 
Everything seems headed in the right direction.
 
Frederick

 

[IVB]

I think for those who haven't been doing CQC for years, the new editor & admin interface will be really cool. I'm personally fighting 12 years of prior experience, but after a week of playing with the beta i'm finding it to be much faster to build all new templates. And i'm even doing it by hand, none of this auto-generation stuff you crazy kids like to do.

 

[Dean Roddey]

Here is the 'Fluffy Marketing Remix' video, which (I hope) will be of the sort required to give new users a feel for what CQC is and what it does, without getting into any technical details. Let me know what you think:
 
[This is an updated version, much improved]
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQKu1lndLzM

 

[automatedux]

Dean, the Fluffy Remix is dope!  I have been shopping your product and looking at the longer videos.  It has been kind of hard to get a sense of all of your capabilities , but THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME.  The first thing I am doing after construction is buying CQC and beginning setup.  

 

[fcwilt]

Hi,
 
Things are looking better and better.
 
It looks like you have achieved the level of UI consistency that was missing in the older versions.
 
While I am waiting for the release before spending a lot of time with the new CQC it all looks very promising.
 
Frederick

 

[Dean Roddey]

Dean, the Fluffy Remix is dope!  I have been shopping your product and looking at the longer videos.  It has been kind of hard to get a sense of all of your capabilities , but THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME.  The first thing I am doing after construction is buying CQC and beginning setup.  

 
Wow, I figured Connor McGregor would have a couple BIG houses already At least I assume that's you in the picture there.

 

[automatedux]

Haha, thats cool you knew the reference.  I agree with Mr. Wilt above- the UI is looking much better.  

 

[Dean Roddey]

I'm a fan of women's MMA and Muy Thai. I don't follow the men very closely, though of course you couldn't really know anything about it and be unaware of the notorious one.

 

[pete_c]

Who is Connor McGregor?

 

[automatedux]

He's the Irish Mark Twain of modern MMA. 

 

[pete_c]

ahhh....
 
You will like CQC.....I have not watched the video and didn't understand the phrase Fluffy Remix is dope...that said (I am old)....Dean is an OK guy...
 
Automation here is a hobby that I enjoy....(well that and building one house many years ago was enjoyable too...learned a lot)
 
just a couple of Mark Twain quotes which have nothing to do with anything including automation and an old picture which also has nothing to do with automation....
 

 
Geeze different time different meanings...
 
....by hook or by crook...
 
Wiki saids is an English phrase meaning "by any means necessary", suggesting that any means possible should be taken to accomplishing the goal. The phrase is very old, first recorded in the Middle English text Controversial Tracts by John Wyclif in 1380 AD.

The origin of the phrase is obscure, with multiple different explanations and no evidence to support any particular one over the others. For example, a commonly repeated suggestion is that it comes from Hook Head in Wexford, Ireland and the nearby village of Crook, in Waterford, Ireland. Another is that it comes from the customs regulating which firewood local people could take from common land; they were allowed to take any branches that they could reach with a billhook or a shepherd's crook. The word crook has a shepherds crook, used to hook sheep, while hook may suggest a hook.
 
More pictures which have nothing to do with automation......Crook and flail...(1332–1323 BC)
 

 
.....straight and narrow...confusing wiki to MT...well relating to old and newer television show episode (outer limits)...
 
Opening TV show ...narration
In our relentless pursuit of career and worldly possessions, is it we who pay the highest price or is it...our children?

Closing TV show.... narration
It's said the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is with these same good intentions that we blindly place our trust in those with power, the architects of our future and all too often, the manipulators of our ultimate fate.View attachment 7822

 

[automatedux]

I enjoyed it, Pete, thank you.  The only thing I don't like about home automation and AV is that it is wrapped up in the "relentless pursuit of career and worldly possessions." The fact is I enjoy tinkering more than actually using the equipment.  
 
CQC's interface flexibility is something that I am excited about.