Announcing RSS feed

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  • JonS
    Automated Home Guru
    • Dec 2007
    • 202

    Announcing RSS feed

    At the moment I wake up to a report on inside and outside temp to get me read for the cycle to work and convince me it is worth getting into the bathroom. I like the idea of getting the daily forecast too and SWMBO wants share price updates announced lunchtime and close.
    The information is available via RSS, but how could I get this into a format to announce?
    TIA
    Jon
    JonS
  • Gumby
    Moderator
    • May 2004
    • 437

    #2
    Cortex feature request I think ... this is similar to the "data extractor" I have suggested on the wishlist - some means to extract data from arbitrary text. But perhaps processing RSS feeds would be sufficient given their ubiquity. The difficulty is working out a clean method to define which bits of the feed you want.
    ----------------------
    www.gumbrell.com

    Comment

    • Gumby
      Moderator
      • May 2004
      • 437

      #3
      Even nicer would be the ability to extract data and *use* it - eg sunrise times or local outside temps - so not just a Text-To-Speech feature.
      ----------------------
      www.gumbrell.com

      Comment

      • chris_j_hunter
        Automated Home Legend
        • Dec 2007
        • 1713

        #4
        >nicer would be the ability to extract data ...

        and not only numbers & text, but pictures, too - such as Yahoo! Finance share-price graphs, and Met.Office radar- & pressure-maps - so can see the trends !
        Our self-build - going further with HA...

        Comment

        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          >pictures ...

          which means, I guess, for display on the new LCD units ... and other displays
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

          Comment

          • Karam
            Automated Home Legend
            • Mar 2005
            • 863

            #6
            Originally posted by Gumby View Post
            Even nicer would be the ability to extract data and *use* it - eg sunrise times or local outside temps - so not just a Text-To-Speech feature.
            I've seen a couple of mentions in the past of desire for sunrise times. Would not an outside light level sensor (and temperature sensor for outside temperature) be enough?

            Sunrise/sunset times are obviously not accurate indicators of light levels so a sensor is preferable say for lighting, but is there a situation which prefers the calculated time?

            I suppose for the data extractor applications a means for the API to allow input into the Cortex object structure would probably be the way to go so people can write their own extractors for whatever purpose.

            Comment

            • Gumby
              Moderator
              • May 2004
              • 437

              #7
              Well, my example of sunrise times was, of course, for people who haven't recently installed an outside sensor :-)

              I think web based ones would be good enough for triggering curtain closures, for example. Another example might be parsing out the local weather forecast so that you get reminded to take an umbrella when you open the front door.

              Probably it's already possible through the API ... so perhaps that is the first answer to JonS. But may be it's also a feature request for people who don't program...
              ----------------------
              www.gumbrell.com

              Comment

              • Kevin
                Moderator
                • Jan 2004
                • 558

                #8
                I think sunset and sunrise times would be a useful addition , even though I have an outside light level sensor. In some other controllers I've also seen 'dusk' and 'dawn' as well as the sunset/sunrise which presumably relates to how quickly the sun rises and sets based on location. On holiday near the equator I noticed it t goes from day to night in just a few minutes.

                The reason I think sunrise and sunset are useful, assuming you have sunset+n minutes, sunset-n minute type constructs as well . is that you can setup certain scheduled events to happen in sequence and with a defined time between them.

                Also even with a light sensor the condition 'n minutes before sunset' isn't achievable and you possibly have to surround any sunset detection from a light sensor with the expected times anyway to avoid false triggers from dark clouds etc.

                Quite what you might be controlling that might be needed to trigger at sunrise/sunset but not by a very dark period mid day might be questionable - but perhaps a full moon might upset a dusk to dawn operation.

                K

                Comment

                • JonS
                  Automated Home Guru
                  • Dec 2007
                  • 202

                  #9
                  I think this desire for weather updates will prompt me to look at the Cortex API and dust off some programming, was hoping someone had got there first ;-). Just having the temp annouced is a great help as with a well insulated house it is difficult to judge how warm it is outside until the door is opened.

                  Once the info is in Cortex I am not sure how much info could be put on an LCD screen (I guess depends on size) without it becoming cluttered.
                  Can the screens "do" graphics like a cloud, sun etc, or is it ascii art time?
                  JonS
                  JonS

                  Comment

                  • Paul_B
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Jul 2006
                    • 608

                    #10
                    Something like this?

                    WeatherTime-screen2.jpg

                    The Slimdevices Squeezebox 3 is already integrated into Cortex

                    Comment

                    • JonS
                      Automated Home Guru
                      • Dec 2007
                      • 202

                      #11
                      yep just like that but I thought the newer (logitek) Slim devices had lost of the screen on the appliance to be replaced with a smaller screen on a remote.
                      Have you a shot of the new screen?
                      JonS
                      JonS

                      Comment

                      • Karam
                        Automated Home Legend
                        • Mar 2005
                        • 863

                        #12
                        Sunset / Sunrise times

                        Kevin,

                        Yes I understand the point about sunset-n or sunrise-n minutes. But I think +n minutes should be doable based on light level unless there is something specific about the astronomical timing (rather than light level aspect) that is important.

                        Generally speaking I think you'll find the external sensor characteristics capture the sunset/sunrise transitions quite well and with good immunity to 'noise' - something you can see for yourself as you collect more data. Infact we have had the opposite request in the past and that is to provide a less saturated characteristic so that a dark cloudy day could be resolved in order to turn on lights and so we have adjusted it. Infact for internal sensors this is indeed much more the case which I personally find very useful since it means lighting can be automated when it gets dark in the room irresepective of sunrise or sunset.

                        Anyone think of some poignant application examples for the specific use of sunrise/sunset times? If its something that really is important than an approach might to be to try and incorporate the calculations into Cortex itself (obviously user has to provide geographical location).

                        Comment

                        • Karam
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Mar 2005
                          • 863

                          #13
                          Originally posted by JonS View Post
                          Once the info is in Cortex I am not sure how much info could be put on an LCD screen (I guess depends on size) without it becoming cluttered.
                          Can the screens "do" graphics like a cloud, sun etc, or is it ascii art time?
                          JonS
                          If you're talking about the DFP it is 128x64 pixels. In principle it would be possible to send an arbitrary rectangular shaped graphic of your choice to the display but, like most things in the integrated environment, you may have to consider what happens if other display data is being simultaneously sent from elsewhere

                          Comment

                          • JonS
                            Automated Home Guru
                            • Dec 2007
                            • 202

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Karam View Post
                            Kevin,

                            Anyone think of some poignant application examples for the specific use of sunrise/sunset times? If its something that really is important than an approach might to be to try and incorporate the calculations into Cortex itself (obviously user has to provide geographical location).
                            Solar gain: The orientation of a window and the time of day/year (position of the sun) dictates the solar gain the window offers to a room. While overcast days may not offer as much gain as a sunny day, the light level alone will not determine the gain, the postion of the sun in the sky will. Therefore to optimally control the heating in a room some awareness of the sun's position will ensure that the gain is used without the room becoming over-heated or over-cold at different times of day.

                            JonS
                            JonS

                            Comment

                            • Kevin
                              Moderator
                              • Jan 2004
                              • 558

                              #15
                              Originally posted by JonS View Post
                              I think this desire for weather updates will prompt me to look at the Cortex API and dust off some programming, was hoping someone had got there first ;-). Just having the temp annouced is a great help as with a well insulated house it is difficult to judge how warm it is outside until the door is opened.
                              This thread has a few interleaved topics - all interesting...

                              I'm not going to try and xAPtise everyone here but there are xAP applications already for localised weather, TV listings, RSS feeds, News - and noticing some CID issues elsewhere even callerID using the Meteor (in and out dialled numbers and call progress) etc . The xAP control object in Cortex now allows you to import these text values. I haven't investigated quite what you can do with it once inside Cortex yet but I will be looking at this - maybe that's a route ?

                              Kevin

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