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More Firecracker Kits For Free 80

Posted by Hemos from the get-more dept.
On Monday, we had a story about X10 offering up copies of Firecracker, their home automation kit for 5.90$, the cost of shipping. A bunch of you did get some, but they called to say that after a while, the server crashed. They've updated the page, and have more availible but only for the next twenty-four hours. If you look at the page the bottom right side has the links for the Linux material with it-much fun to be had.
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More Firecracker Kits For Free More

More Firecracker Kits For Free

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  • US only (Score:1)

    by Sulka ( 4250 )
    I wonder when they'll offer the stuff to Europeans, too. I'd sure enjoy toying with one of those units and might even buy some add-ons from them later. Too bad they're not giving me the chance to get hooked.

    And going to rant mode, this isn't even too rare. Seems to me most US companies have forgotten non-US customers totally. :(
  • I inquired with Marie (the very nice woman that took my order) about that and she said that it would run up at midnight Pacific time. She said the graveyard shift would probably not mind letting you order a little past that. Good business practice and all. Also, after she and I talked for 15 minutes or so and I was ready to order, I inquired about commission and she said they do get commissions. So if you're feeling kind hearted and one of them helped you out on the phone, be kind. :-)

    Me
  • The code you mention was written by Dan Lanciani. And though I agree that the code looks ugly it does work. The comments most likely are mine. A couple of weeks ago I had taken the entire package and broken down the files so that it didn't compile as one file. Unfortunately I lost the drive and didn't have a backup of my work. So far I've been too lazy to make any more changes. The reason I prefer it to the other software is that it allows me to telnet to it from another box. None of the others have such an interface. I would prefer if the commands made more sense and the command response were less terse (or at least explained).


    Linux Home Automation - Neil Cherry - ncherry@home.net [mailto]
    http://members.home.net/ncherry [home.net] (Text only)
    http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lig htsey/52 [fortunecity.com] (Graphics)

  • I agree with the comment made already that Rob should _absolutely_ get paid for the service he provides. But, sadly, I think it's just something that X10 uses to track where orders are coming from. (if you come to the site via zdnet, it will have zdnet in the URL) . . . Correct me if I'm wrong. . .
  • Check it out! Now the deal is got until Midnight June 25th!! What luck!!

    Got mine yesterday. Gonna have to get a wall switch mod to turn off that ceiling fan without getting out of bed.

  • This guys apt. is now flashing
    like a Christmas tree.

    garyr
  • Can you control more than 16 devices at a time without going to the reciever and changing the house code physically? For example, the reciever is set to A, but I want to turn B1 on. I've tried sending B1 on through the software, and it doesn't do anything. However when I change the reciever to B, then I can send B commands.

    Whats the point of the software even sending the house code if the device has to be physically set to a code anyway?
  • well, has been two weeks and all I have got is one email a day from X10 about their offers. No devices or answering to my emails (phone number is constantly busy). Hope some of you got yours...
    In the future, X10 will have to do better than this to even get $5 from me.
  • You've got it backwards. 120AC@60Hz in the US, and 220-240AC@50Hz in Europe.

    Other than that, you made an excellent point about power usages. For those not in the know, the system sends one bit per cycle in the AC. It sends a one on the positive going zero voltage crossing, and a 0 on the negative going crossing. I don't have the specs at hand, so the above statement may be backwards.
  • Note: Shipping to Canada is $10 US extra bringing the grand total to $15.90 US dollars.
  • It's an interesting collection, but disappointing. It seems to be just a random assortment of stuff, it's hard to tell what recommendations if any you have. I just took a look at the X10d code since X10d seems to be your preferred software. It's pretty awful code. The download is just a single C file. It's almost totally uncommented and uses lots of one and two character variable names.

    I think it might actually be easier to write an X10 program from scratch than to try and salvage X10d.
  • I guess one of the problems is that these devices are designed for US 120V power systems. I'm guessing the can work on the European power systems. Anyone know for sure?
  • Although it really won't help most people, here are the ideas that went buzzing through my head when I read the write-up.
    First off, I should mention that I'm an experimental musician. The idea of controlling non-midi musical equipment from my computer is MORE than appealing. There's only so much crap you can squeeze into a small work area and it still be useful; with a basic switch I can flip on (and subsequently off to get that big nasty "thump" sound) with ease and still have it on the other side of the room and out of my way. Or, and much more practially, in another room so the vocal mic isn't flooded with TOO much external noise (thus keeping the multi in multitrack recording!!!).
    The dimmer presents a much more interesting application. I can hook it to a light bulb and use it to control the pitch of vibration, which is a direct result of the current flowing through the bulb. Again, this is something I could do with a standard dimmer, but if I'm already going to be at my computer, it'd be nice to have one less knob to worry about. Particularly since I could then program a simple oscilation routine into it, and can spend more time working on live processing of the sound, rather than the creation of the sound. By programming in rhythms and patterns, I could then do alot more as far as manipulation of live sources when doing a show, rather than phrase sampling and then manipulating, or just using a tape loop.
    And, worst comes to worst, I can always cannibalize it for parts!!!

  • HURRY HURRY!! OFFER ENDS SOON! (Score:3)

    by tgd ( 2822 ) on Thursday June 24, 1999 @04:07AM (#1835985)
    QUICK HURRY!

    AMAZINGLY ENOUGH THEY'VE EXTENDED THE OFFER! I BET THIS TIME THEY REALLY MEAN MIDNIGHT ON THE 24TH!!!!!

    BUY NOW!!!

    ;)
  • Ok, I got it, and it works just great.
    Of course, then I *had to* order the DVD Sender, motion sensor, a couple of sticka switches... I am hooked!

  • Re:I'm Still Not Looking for What I'm Finding (Score:3)

    by tgd ( 2822 ) on Thursday June 24, 1999 @04:19AM (#1835988)
    I still occasionally use my HP 48 as a remote -- much more useful after snipping the resistor that limits its range though.

    Things you can do with an X10 unit:

    1) Hook up a voice modem, and be able to shut things off from other places. Very handy when you leave your coffee pot on.
    2) Use a daemon to monitor the X10 signals, now you can control your PC from the X10 remote. Handy for making it play back messages you got with #1. I also have a channel that will make it tell me if I've got new e-mail, and bring my network up and down off the internet.
    3) Use your stereo as an alarm clock, as you said.
    4) Detect rings with #1 and after a certain time at night, turn on a few lights at 15% brightness so you don't kill yourself trying to get to the phone
    5) Turn AC on/off, especially useful if you hook a temperature sensor to the PC

    Those are all things I've used my ActiveHome set for. I also have four high-flow fans taken from an old Sun 350 that the computer will turn on via an X10 module when any of the computers in that cabinet sees (via the lm78's) that the temperature is rising in the systems. That's better done with a relay control unit off the parallel port, but the one I built has a short in it and I haven't gotten around to fixing it.

    The computer that the X10 stuff is running on (an old 586/133 AMD which also handles voicemail, Squid cache, mail server, and runs a secure server for accessing voicemail messages over the net) also has a handly little unit I built that has four buttons and four LEDs on it that can be monitored and controlled via a daemon I wrote. One LED blinks when I've got new e-mail, one for new voicemail.

    There's other useful X10 modules too. The ActiveHome kit came with a motion sensor, which I've got mounted on the first floor and can work as an alarm sensor, and also just lets the computer know I'm home. I walk in and it dials up to the net and collects all my e-mail, under the assumption that I'm going to want to know what I've got.

    So most of that would be handy in a geek sort of way even in a small apartment. For the most part I don't use any of the X10 stuff to simply control lights or something when I don't want to get up.
  • If you've never been there, X10.com *always* has "expires at midnight tonite" deals. Maybe not for the firecracker stuff, but some sort of sale.

    Remember those ginsu knives from the 70s? "Offer expires at midnight tonight" but the ad ran for months?

  • I really liked the SKU... (Score:3)

    by Lancer ( 32120 ) on Wednesday June 23, 1999 @01:30PM (#1835990) Homepage
    CK18A-SDOT - Gosh, Rob, now they're numbering products based on your site :-)

  • Re:Anyone got spammed yet? (Score:4)

    by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Wednesday June 23, 1999 @02:13PM (#1835992)
    Looks like their ordering system is up - at least until the Slashdot Effect takes 'em back down again. Three neat things I've noticed:
    1. The part number for the $5.90 offer now refers to Slashdot, not ZDNet :)
    2. The order server may be a new box - www2.x10.com. (I forget where the orders were processed on Monday. Maybe they did a really quick server upgrade to handle the higher load.)
    3. Linux support for the Firecracker is now mentioned on the home page. Sweet.

    On the spam front - note that the conditions associated with the offer explicitly include a term that says that by ordering the kit, you consent to being placed on a mailing list. There's no radio button to opt-out of this, so it's a sure bet that any e-mail address you provide will get lots of mail.

    I suppose that it's technically not spam, since you agreed to be placed on the list as a condition of purchase, and the conditions of purchase were disclosed on the home page. Whether it meets the clinical definition of spam or not, anyone ordering should strongly consider the use of an expendable e-mail drop.

    So the cost isn't $5.90 - it's $5.90 and giving x10.com the right to send mail to the address you supplied when ordering the kit. IMHO that's still (and especially if you use an expendable e-mail drop for your e-commerce transactions :) a pretty good bang for the buck, especially if you're new to X10. As a previous /. poster said - "The first hit is free".

  • Yup. I've seen banner ads for this 'limited time' deal every day this week. My take would be it's a loss leader--they give you something that you can't really use unless you buy other stuff. Just like the photo stores do, sell you a camera cheap because they know they'll get you back on the lenses. If they were giving away a complete kit that could run 10 appliances out of the box, I'd be more tempted.


    There are times when it is necessary to speak.

  • Slashdot saves me time and money by keeping me informed of important issues. $5.90 for the kit is a great deal, something that I would not have found out about if it wasn't for Slashdot's ever watchful eye on the things that matter to me. I say excellent job Slashdot for getting credit for all those referrals you sent over to X10.com.
  • This story may just be a thinly veiled ad, but I am always seeing X10 software for Linux. There is often a new X10 util posted on freshmeat, and there has been X10/Linux software on metalab for as long as I can recall.
    I assumed the hardware would cost more, so I never bothered to check it out. Now I have a new (cheap!) linux toy. What could be more appropriate for slashdot?

  • There may not be an opt-out button, but there is a "remove me from the list" feature prominently featured at the bottom of the promotional email they send you.

    I can't imagine a reputable business NOT including one of these these days!
  • so it's a sure bet that any e-mail address you provide will get lots of mail.

    I only receive a daily posting clearly marked as coming from X10. It usually contains a quick advert on today's special deal. I only skim and toss 'em. If I remember correctly, there are instructions for being removed from their list. I've ordered several items from them.

  • Linux Software (Score:4)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 23, 1999 @02:02PM (#1836001)
    The new firecracker appears to have potential. They are giving it away for two reasons...the first is they expect you to buy more modules...that has already been mentioned...then they will tempt you with the "upgrade" model..this one has memory and a timer and you don't have to leave your pc on all the time.....I think they fail to realize Linux users leave ours on all the time anyway. I already use mine to make sure I turn lights off when at work and never come home to a dark front porch...linux does a nifty job of calculating sunrise and sunset based on my city and turning the light on and off at the right times. Cron is a very flexible scheduler. Software for the firecracker is moving along as quickly as the hardware is being sold..links below:

    Bottlerocket command line interface: http://mlug.missouri.edu/~tymm/

    WebX10 Web based Gui:
    http://members.tripod.com/~famewolf/webx10/

    TCL Based Gui:
    http://www.crl.com./~wrigley/chris/pages/RocketL auncher.html
  • "Offer expires at midnight tonight" but the ad ran for months?

    It changes every day or so. Always a different deal, but they eventually rotate back to older items. If you wait around, a deal will come up on the item you want (assuming you want anything from X10). New products get the most coverage, of course.
  • ok... so I just bought one of these... let's face it, 5 bucks is nothing... so what is it?
  • So, here's my question? Does this mean the technical verson of Midnight (i.e. the time right after 11:59 pm on 6/23) or what every one and their mother means for midnight (the time right after 11:59 on 6/24)?

    Just wondering . . .
  • I LOVE my Ginsu knives. Bought a set five years ago, they're still the best knives I've got. And they really will replace broken ones, no questions asked. (They didn't ask why the broken one I sent them was coated in tar and broken in three pieces) ;)

    My ActiveHome kit has been really useful to.

    They're both good deals. Neither are all that special though.
  • The order server may be a new box - www2.x10.com. (I forget where the orders were processed on Monday. Maybe they did a really quick server upgrade to handle the higher load.)

    The first time I tried to order the kit, it sent me to the secure site on www2.x10.com, but I decided against ordering them cuz the security thingy didnt match [it was fer www.x10.com]... The second time it sent me to www.x10.com.. This was a few days ago during the first offering..



    Stan "Myconid" Brinkerhoff
  • | I can deal with spam, just keep the | damn telemarketers away!

    I dislike spammers more than I dislike telemarketers - the telemarketers at least call on their own dime.

    BUT - If you want to rid yourself of most tlemarketers, get Caller ID. Most telemarketers don't want *you* getting *their* phone number, so they have caller ID blocked. The phone company lets you reject these calls before they even ring your phone now - caller gets a message like "Sorry, this number has blocked anonymous calls, etc. etc.".

    Rules of the phone in my house - Anonymous call rejection on, and any "out of area" calls (the rest of the telemarketers) can talk to the machine. If they're interesting, I'll pick up. The telemarkeers don't *ever* say anything to the machine, though. :)
  • SKU: Stock Keeping Unit
    It is a code number for one thing which is sold.
    Blue sneakers, can of tuna, 6-pack of Coke, each probably has its own SKU. And a single can of Coke may have a different SKU than a 6-pack or a 6-pack might be sold as six cans.

    Stores often use SKUs but don't bother making them visible to the consumer...except when you see them looking up a number for Cauliflower in a book over the register.

  • Cool Geek Toys have always been standard procedure for slashdot. If you're looking for straight news without any of the editorial stuff, then there are better sites for that. People come to slashdot because they like hearing about cool things that interest them along with their news. Since I don't really think slashdot has ever claimed to be journalism, i don't see why we should care if they're hyping a product.

    Personally, I ordered the thing, and I'm glad slashdot alerted me to it.

    --
    'I love it when somebody's own sig describes how much they suck so much
    more concisely and elegantly than I possibly ever could.'
  • When I placed my order two days ago, I dude asked for my email address, and I replied that I preferred not to give one. He didn't seem to mind but said that we'd need to use a different SKU and it would take a little more time. I offered to make up a bogus email address. He cheerfully agreed (what does he care, eh?). Well, it took us four tries before we hit one that nobody had used before.
  • Stock Keeping Unit

    "An inventory item identified by a unique alphanumeric designation assigned to an object in an inventory control system"

  • Yeah! X10 is one of those things that gets "branded" in one way or another by various retail outlets - these places usually jack the price you pay way up as well (at least over the normal X10 prices). One place I have found that doesn't "brand" X10 is Fry's Electronics - they have a pretty good selection of stuff - alarms, remotes (including the keychain one), and computer interfaces (though the software is for Windoze).

    But yeah, X10 can be found at other places - the modules tend to look the same across the brands, since only the brand is stamped on. One kind of module I haven't tried is the light switch one - replaces a normal light switch.

    I already have the X10 house alarm system from RatShack - so already I have an extra lamp module (and a remote, too!) - this thing should be fun to play with...

  • Its not really ending... (Score:3)

    by tgd ( 2822 ) on Wednesday June 23, 1999 @03:47PM (#1836019)
    I'd say the odds of this "deal" disappearing at midnight are virtually 0. Every other "deal" I've bought from there (like the ActiveHome kits) ALWAYS said the deal expired that day.

    Even if it does, the deal will be back next week.

    Is slashdot getting kickbacks from these? I'm confused why this story appeared again if they're not. The "deal" was available the day it appeared before, and was never gone in between. It'll almost surely still be there tommorrow and for weeks to come. I hope Rob and company are getting SOMETHING from this. :)
  • How fast do you suppose they will ship these things out?

    I've gotten too used to lightspeed fulfillment recently.

    One another front - wasn't this stuff sold in radio shack at one time? (software ran under deskmate )

  • I've been quite pleased with X10 -- both their equipment and the company. Yes, they do place your email address on a mailing list, but they will cheerfully remove it as soon as you ask them.

    My home is decked out with X10 stuff. I've got the CM11A controller, which contains an actual X10 modulator. The "FireCracker" appears to be a device that transmits RF signals to a remote-control receiver, which then modulates the X10 signals. It's nice to eliminate the extra step ... even if I do already have the remote receiver (and a ton of remotes).

    Anyone planning on ordering should be aware that most of the Linux software found on Freshmeat et al is designed for the CM11A, not the FireCracker.

    Do check out the Linux Home Automation Page [home.net]; it's got lots of useful resources.

    Home automation, Linux, and nerds. A match made in Heaven. :)

  • check out my pages, I collect software and their links for HA.

    Linux Home Automation - Neil Cherry - ncherry@home.net [mailto]
    http://members.home.net/ncherry [home.net] (Text only)
    http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/lig htsey/52 [fortunecity.com] (Graphics)


  • Stock Keeping Unit

    depending on who you ask...

    "Us the web, Luke!"

  • (That's a U2 reference, in case you missed it.)

    I followed the link and read the story [x10.com] about the "great husband" that Curtis is because he can lower the lights and turn on the Barry White CD from the other room (this turns on his wife?) I guess they don't have X10 controls for, uh, 'battery operated' appliances...

    Or, Curtis can show his kids he cares without even leaving his home office.

    Finally, Curtis can water the lawn automatically.

    I don't have a wife, kids, or a lawn. My NYC studio apartment is so small that I can get to most things in it in a couple of steps anyway.

    Here's my problem: I'm a geek (I'm reading and posting here, right?) and I like gadgets. Can anyone suggest a realistic scenario taking into account my limited needs for this possible toy? (I certainly appreciate the geek's desire to do something simply because it's possible - I tried to turn my HP48 into a remote control - but that's not what I'm after.)

    I thought of something I could do myself - turn my stereo into an alarm. (I don't already have a clock radio but with such a device I could maybe even play a CD/tape/etc.) Anyone have any other suggestions?

  • Yes, like most of their products, Rat Shack OEMs the X10 modules. They used to sell this thing that looked like a large X10 controller (the box with buttons on the end of an AC cord) that also had an RS232 port growing out of its butt. Essentially, Firecracker is a new flavor of this interface, different in that it somehow allows serial pass-through (much like a PPA or IMM Zip drive, but with RS232). Why they did this is beyond me; Few generic PC/WinDos users care about serial ports, everything that used to eat up those ports is now on PS/2, USB, or internal to the PC case. If X10 was really one step beyond, they would be releasing a Firecracker module that speaks USB. Of course, that would make Linux driver development a bit stickier...
  • Every once in a while a telemarketer will leave a message. Personally I keep getting messages from some bogus phychic network bullshit. The thing that really pisses me off though is when the telemarketers don't even call you, they have a machine that tells you to stay on the line for the next available representative - YEA RIGHT!

  • I don't know, I thought it was cute.

  • irecracker is a new flavor of this interface, different in that it somehow allows serial pass-through

    It manages that (more or less) by being controled and powered through DTR and RTS. RTS high is a one, DTR high is a zero. Both high is 'standby' and both low is reset or off. In order to avoid powering it down (and loosing the command), both are set high between bits.

    As for why, probably because it's cheap to make it, and easy to design.

    As for pass through, only if you don't try to send X10 commands while you're using the other device.

  • Relax. You had a hard time finding it or something? I hadn't even read that far into the paragraph before I clicked the link, and the very first thing I saw on the page was the Linux software links.

    There's lots of better stuff to rant about. Try GPL vs BSD, or Cyrix vs AMD vs Intel, or MEEPT!!! vs DAVE-O. Even PC vs Mac (oranges and Apples) is more fun than Non-Paying Users vs Minor Editorial Mistakes -- espescially mistakes that matter so little, they're not even worth the keystrokes it would take for the operator to change them.
  • I always wondered that. I asked one of the people who assigns SKU numbers for a corporation and they didn't know either -- they just said that it's pronounced "skew".
  • I hope Rob is getting paid for it, although at best he's probably getting pennies per order. He deserves to be paid for the services he provides to this community -- such as finding cool deals like this one. Here's a news item for you: "Slashdot users make noise about Rob profiting by referring thousands of people to a cool gizmo on his own (free) News for Nerds site".

    Everyone should understand, it's in our best interests that the makers of Slashdot get paid for what they're doing. If they weren't getting paid, my guess is that they'd only do it until the novelty wore off. But if it's a JOB for them, they can continue to provide us with a high quality service and devote lots of time to it.

    And what a convenient way to get paid -- only the people who were interested in the item and grateful for Slashdot's referral provided the meager pennies per order that Rob *might* be getting. And with the amount of comments and interest that this article generated, I'd say it qualifies itself as News for Nerds.
  • s/Rob/Jeff and the rest of SlashDot/g

  • Protocol Information here (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I posted this on the last x10 article, but my post was way down at the bottom and i'm not sure if all those who would be interested in it would have seen it there.
    I found the protocol information on their site, it has since been removed. For those who are interested in making their own GUI's (I'm developing one for Windows that can work as an on/off timer) you can get the CM17 protocol [excel.net] from my site.
  • How awful.
  • They do not ship this free stuff to the Europe :((
    At least there are only USA and Canada in theirs
    ordering form.
  • Posted by BadOperand:

    Most of this free stuff is designed only for
    USA power systems anyway.

    Remember 110AC 50Hz is used there rather than
    220-240AC 60Hz (something like that) which
    European countries use (varies for each country).

    If you're gonna buy it anyway make sure the
    power specs match your own local specs.

    Enjoy!
  • :Anyone have any other suggestions?

    Sure. If there's any other people in your building who use X10 control for anything, you have as much control over their stuff as they do. :)

    Me, I picked up a kit to use as a light dimmer that I don't have to walk across the room to fiddle with, thanks to the RF remote. Everything else has a remote control to allow me to be lazy; why should lighting be any different?

    That it includes a (wireless!) serial interface certainly improves the geek factor, but I have yet to come up with any ideas to make it more useful than the remote.

    Any way you look at it, $5.95 to have a remote controlled lamp and coffee pot is money well spent.

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