Premise Premise and Mac
- Thread starter nov0798
- Start date
Motorola Premise
123
Senior Member
If you need a native Mac-based Home Automation program, have a look at Indigo.
It is possible to control Premise from a Mac using a browser. Premise's MiniBrowser or XBrowser modules will let you control most (but not all) things using any browser on any platform. However, you cannot use AutomationBrowser (Premise's primary browser interface) with anything other than Internet Explorer because it uses an ActiveX plugin. So Mac + Safari + XBrowser = Yes!
As confirmed by Terry, you cannot run Premise Server natively on a Mac because it is a Windows Service. Nor can you run Premise Builder because it is a Windows Application. However, they can run in a virtualized Windows machine.
It is possible to control Premise from a Mac using a browser. Premise's MiniBrowser or XBrowser modules will let you control most (but not all) things using any browser on any platform. However, you cannot use AutomationBrowser (Premise's primary browser interface) with anything other than Internet Explorer because it uses an ActiveX plugin. So Mac + Safari + XBrowser = Yes!
As confirmed by Terry, you cannot run Premise Server natively on a Mac because it is a Windows Service. Nor can you run Premise Builder because it is a Windows Application. However, they can run in a virtualized Windows machine.
Yes, it will work, but there is a small trick to installing it. I've used it for 6 months under vista premium 32 bit. It also works under windows 7 (which I've used it under for almost a month), but you have to use the same method. It really just requires two extra steps to get it to install.
Follow the link in this thread to the original thread on installing Premise under Vista: http://www.cocoontech.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14835
If you are going to go through the expense of buying a mac, I would recommend trying the windows 7 family pack for $149; it comes with three retail upgrade licenses and works great IMHO. The new media center allows advanced PVR recording and now freely supports cablecards so you can record HD HBO (even records in a near lossless audio format called dolby digital plus) etc... The picture quality of media center amazed me over that of my cable box too. You can also get your HD local stations with a $49 card too. FYI: I was even able to upgrade from an OEM version of Vista I bought for $75 and from an x64 student version of XP I got for $24. There's also a new update to a tool called MCEBuddy which can automatically strip the commercials from your recordings.
If you are already a mac fan though, I can understand that too. However, if you don't have a mac yet, don't listen to the Apple commercials, Windows 7 is a huge improvement and does provide features like Media Center that a mac doesn't come with
Follow the link in this thread to the original thread on installing Premise under Vista: http://www.cocoontech.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14835
If you are going to go through the expense of buying a mac, I would recommend trying the windows 7 family pack for $149; it comes with three retail upgrade licenses and works great IMHO. The new media center allows advanced PVR recording and now freely supports cablecards so you can record HD HBO (even records in a near lossless audio format called dolby digital plus) etc... The picture quality of media center amazed me over that of my cable box too. You can also get your HD local stations with a $49 card too. FYI: I was even able to upgrade from an OEM version of Vista I bought for $75 and from an x64 student version of XP I got for $24. There's also a new update to a tool called MCEBuddy which can automatically strip the commercials from your recordings.
If you are already a mac fan though, I can understand that too. However, if you don't have a mac yet, don't listen to the Apple commercials, Windows 7 is a huge improvement and does provide features like Media Center that a mac doesn't come with
roussell
Active Member
I went all Mac about a year ago, with one exception - an embedded XP machine (HP T5720) that runs the automation software (not Premise). I would guess that Premise would also run well on that style hardware, its nice because I use it for nothing other than automation and it uses very little power (about 12 watts). If you can stay with XP on whatever platform, my personal opinion is that you will be better off than trying Vista or Win7 unless you need something specific that one of those will give you that XP doesn't.
Terry
Terry
If all you use the PC for is home automation, I wouldn't spend the money to upgrade from XP. You would gain no new functionality over XP if you only use it for a home automation server. I've been thinking about making a small xp box like you are talking about just for home automation. It's a great idea. I believe I'd keep things simple and use XP SP1 if I ever build a standalone PC and I'd even use one of the new SSD drives for their fast read times.
The reason I started out using Premise in Vista was that I already run media center so that PC was already running 24/7. In addition, last year I was new to home automation and didn't want to spend a lot until I knew I would like it. That being said, my wife does complain when I want to stop/start the Premise service because I have to go the TV to do that. Everything else I do remotely using builder. Also, it's always better to stay with the OS the software was designed for. For example, if you use Premise on Vista or Windows 7, Rob's speach tool doesn't work; however, 123 posted a new version that does.
The reason I started out using Premise in Vista was that I already run media center so that PC was already running 24/7. In addition, last year I was new to home automation and didn't want to spend a lot until I knew I would like it. That being said, my wife does complain when I want to stop/start the Premise service because I have to go the TV to do that. Everything else I do remotely using builder. Also, it's always better to stay with the OS the software was designed for. For example, if you use Premise on Vista or Windows 7, Rob's speach tool doesn't work; however, 123 posted a new version that does.
Thanksfor the reply. The only reason I currently have Vista loaded is because my Xp install went south. Anyway, I tried reloading the software onto the hard drive with a fresh install, but continually have a problem with the display after it reboots(looks like a jumbled mess)??? Anyway I already had a drive with Vista Ultimate installed that I got for free from a Microsoft survey thing. I have reformatted the drive now by writing 0's to the entire disk, so Im gonna try to reinstall tonight. The strange thing is that I have reinstalled this same OS dozens of times on the same machine, and have never had a problem with it until now. I would like to stay with XP, but if I cant get it to reinstall, then I guess Ill buy a new version, or repurchase the XP.
Thanks again for the replies.
Thanks again for the replies.
NOPE, never blue screened, just went south. The memory is fine, have run all tests etc. I thing that the hard drive was wacky and not letting the files write properly for some reason, and I dont thing the built in formatter was working properly, so I downloaded Western Digitals program which will run diagnostics on the srive, and write 0's to all sectors, esentially returning the disk to its original state. we will see if this works when I get home tonight.
