Macro Limit in V6

[randy h]

I just updated to V6 from V4. I have more than 100 Macros. Ultra is warning me that 100 is the limit. Is there a way I can change that limit?

[dtomcat]

only way to up the limit is to upgrade to the next higher version. Ultra to pro I believe.

[randy h]

Thanks, dtomcat for the response.

Wow, that is really disheartening. I have been working with version 4 for years. I have over a 120 macros and my hands are now tied? I think I may have made a mistake paying for an upgrade to current version for LESS product.

I realize that there are other improvements, but this macro limit just seems cruel. I have been in communication with Hal Support discussing this upgrade and was never warned of a macro limit.

Holy cow, i was really on the fence about this upgrade to v6 to begin with. I wish I had known about this limit. Man, I feel sick.

[randy h]

I just opened a ticket with Helpdesk for clarification. Surely this is some kind of misunderstanding. I hope so.

randy h

[randy h]

I got my response back from HelpDesk. It's certainly true. As it turns out, there were even lower limits in my version 4 Hal2000, but they weren't enforced.

I had no idea these limits even existed. Now that I see them, (and they are not just macro limits) I don't really understand why they would even be in place for Ultra. I could see it for Basic, but Ultra is right below dealer.

I am currently at 127 Macros. Tech support was kind enough to point out that I can interchange Scene and Macro usage for a total of 200. But I don't want to invest my time and money to only hit count limits in the future as I expand my system.

I was a heavy user of Hal2000 and this forum before 2010. After that I kind of just let my Hal2000 ride along on its current settings. My XP machine that runs Hal is barely staying alive so I decided to upgrade to Version 6 Ultra, just so I could move to a Win8/10 PC.

But now, with these limits, I am just going to request a refund on my upgrade (still on 30 day trial, the license Manager won't run on my XP system), and let my Hal2000 and all the years of work I had on the system, go by the way side.

Hal2000 was really great for a long time. And I was kind of looking forward to getting to know the forum folks again. Too bad I can't justify continuing with it. I guess others felt the same way and that explains why this board is not as lively as it was back in 2010.

[dtomcat]

Yes.... this caught me by surprise as well and I upgraded to pro. This wasn't bad for me as I was thinking of upgrading anyhow since I like to write my own code to run along side HAL. I actually still run my system on windows xp. thinking of upgrading OS's... but i'm scared to disturb a working system! :)

[Wirenut]

I too had this happen when I moved to Hal Ultra V6...... I was a little torqued. I just built a new house and haven't implemented automation yet, but I may move to another system. It will be from the ground up new.

It has got pretty quiet around here.

Wirenut

[randy h]

dtomcat, man for sure, I was trying to be proactive . I too had a working system that was cruising along fine, but my xp system is so old its a hit or miss on if its even going to see my video card on a reboot, lol.

Wirenut. Yeah, I am looking around at alternatives. One thing that is great about Hal is that the interface is very intuitive. If you understand the concept of "If-->then" its very easy for a non programmer like myself to accomplish a lot of fairly complex actions. I really love Hal, I just have a bad taste in my mouth now.

And I have to blame myself as much as Automated Living. Gotta read the fine print. But its not like I am trying to automate a factory, just my house. The limits are too small for the price points.

[richland007]

I am right at the point of spending the $150 for the upgrade....I don't have 100 macros by long shot and I really used to like this product but I am comparing this to others and their abilities and I wonder if I should do it.....but what's mostly stopping me is the silence of this forum it is deafening at times...I used to look forward to checking it every other day for news and inspiration but there is nothing lately
Denis

[dtomcat]

I still check it just about every day. I'll answer any question I see that I feel I can reliably answer! :)

[TimShriver]

but what's mostly stopping me is the silence of this forum it is deafening at times...I used to look forward to checking it every other day for news and inspiration but there is nothing lately

What I suspect has happened in regard to forum activity is a couple of things. We have launched this new HAL website earlier this year with the addition of our Help Desk. Where once users used to post question on this site, they now create a help desk tickets... We handle on average 43 support calls a day, 81 Help Desk tickets and 37 support emails. I'm not sure if it is a trend or what, but we have seen an increase in direct support requests versus a community request via the forum.

I've also noticed a number of automation technology companies don't even have a forum. I'm sorry if the number of HAL users that want to actively participate on a community forum upsets you. I've also noticed a shift in the customer profile over the last two years. In the early days of HAL (late 80's and early 90's) I would describe most of our customers as not just DIYers, but users that were more like hobbyist and enthusiast. The majority of our customers today, use home automation but don't want to play with home automation... If that makes sense ~ They just want home automation without getting their hands dirty or having to tinker.

One last observation is that there are different types of forum members as well. Some that are regulars, some that pop on when they have an issue or question once in a blue moon and still others that start out as regulars but become silent once they have their system running the way they want and on auto-pilot. It's certainly different today than just a few years ago of the hobbyist/enthusiast and while they were the early adopters of home automation, there is definitely a new breed of customer today driving the industry.

Tim

[andyp1]

Tim,
Thanks for the explanation as to why the board is so much quitter than it use to be. I was wondering about this myself.
I have a new date for my membership to the board, but I have been with Hal since 2008.
There was a lot more activity back then, I understand what you are saying about the clientele that Hal is getting now.
Thanks for the explanation.


Andy

[TimShriver]

Hi Andy,

We are actually working on putting in place a policy that would reward both long time Message Board (MB) users and relatively new MB users that are actively posting at some level each year something related to home automation and in accordance with the message board rules. So we have come up with two possible ways to qualify for discounts on software updates or software upgrades.
http://www.automatedliving.com/files/docs/Discounts.png
Here are a couple of scenarios. If a MB user over the prior year posted at least 24 times, has been a registered HAL customer for 2 years and has at least 100 posts, they would be eligible for 10% discount. Another way to achieve that same 10% discount would simply require having posted 48 times in the prior year.

To achieve higher discounts another scenario would be a MB user who over the prior year posted at least 24 times, has been a registered HAL customer for 5 years and has at least 200 posts, they would be eligible for 20% discount. Another way to achieve that same 20% discount would simply require having posted 96 times in the prior year with no tie to how long they have been a HAL customer.

The longer the activity or the more frequent the post, the larger the discount they would recognize. This policy is timely as we are about to cross into the next year! We hope this encourages board activity that is both constructive and helpful to the HAL MB community and rewards both long time customers and active users/members.

Please let me know you thoughts before the end of the year!

Best Regards,

Tim

[dtomcat]

Tim,
Sounds nice.... My only criticism would be, that it may promote people posting non sense just to meet quotas. Will there be something in place to counter this? More moderators? There has seem to be a lack in moderator presence as well lately

Other than that... Sounds like a good plan to bring life back into the forum

-Rob

[Tyler]

Hi dtomcat a.k.a Rob,

I along other HAL staff will work to insure that posts are in accordance with the message board rules.
http://www.automatedliving.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2#post2

If messages are being posted that are obviously being done in an effort to increase a post count, those posts will be excluded from any tally towards qualifying for discounts.

This program doesn't mean the message board will be flowing with activity. It just means HAL is trying to incentivize and reward active members.

Sincerely,

Tyler
HAL Technical Support

[TimShriver]

In addition to what Tyler mentioned, I would like to also find out if there are advanced MB users that would like to have moderator permissions. If so, please Private Message me.

Thank you,

Tim