I've been using my Ocelot for 2 years now, and it has not missed a beat. I have it plugged into Homeseer running on a PC, and I use that to send email notifications when events happen, such as the smoke detectors going off, or motion inside the house after I have locked the house up. I use a email to SMS gateway service to make these alerts appear on my mobile.
However, the PC is not as reliable as the Ocelot. The most common problem is that Microsoft sends an update that makes the PC restart (so I hear the Windows shutdown and restart music all over the house at 3am, as the output from the audio card is amplified and reticulated throughout the house). But sometimes the Homeseer service does not restart and connect to the Ocelot.
I also don't really want to have the PC running 24/7. It gets very hot in summer in the cupboard or roof space where the computer is.
Is there any other method that people are using to send emails? I would prefer to have a dedicated device like the Ocelot that does not have an operating system as complex and Windows or MacOSX running on it.
Alternatively, if there was a way to perform a http get from the Ocelot, I could use a service that sends SMSs from a HTTP get with a URL like http://www.sendsms.com/number=01234567?Message=Hello%20World. I have access to one of these services from my VOIP provider.
#21593 - 01/24/1011:07 AMRe: Is there a better way to send email alerts than Homeseer?
[Re: autefrum]
Guy LavoieGuy Lavoie
Beyond All Hope
Registered: 12/21/02
Posts: 6401
Loc: Montreal, QC, Canada
If the most frequent problem is a PC reboot due to a Microsoft update, couldn't you just disable automatic updates? You could then do them manually at your convenience.
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