I’m also on your CommandFusion thread.
I believe that there is nothing stopping you/us from doing some prototype UI work against the actual SmartThings Cloud API, to give proof-of-concept that a custom UI can be integrated.
Start with something simple: Like a dimmer slider on a web page.
?
…CP.
@CosmicPuppy
Thanks for the explanation. What sort of role do you have on the team for someone without any programming skills? 
As I have a fair bit of spare time on my hands I do have time for testing, reporting and giving feedback though.
O.T. I am very happy that the Notification of new activity seems to be working now (for the past week give or take).
Hey @CosmicPuppy I’ll work on a couple of mock ups!
Thanks, Alex!
Until further notice, we can keep this thread open with UI ideas and experiments.
The “Projects” section of this Build website is really confusing to me.
But there is also a github that’s been started, which might make sense…
http://build.smartthings.com/forums/topic/github-org/#post-5056
…CP.
@tgauchat – First, requests for a web UI certainly have not been ignored. For better or worse (a distinction that rests squarely in the eye of the beholder), we decided on a mobile-first strategy, and we’re currently resource-committed executing against that strategy. Will a web UI happen eventually? Likely. Will it happen very soon? Less likely.
That said, we’re committed to remaining an open platform, and as you and I have discussed on other Build threads and on the IRC channel, the SmartApp Web Services mechanism would allow you to build a web UI that can receive events from and send commands to any of the devices that a given user wishes to authorize through the OAuth2 provider flow. It’s the same method that the forthcoming IFTTT channel uses - the user is redirected to our OAuth2 provider page, they sign in, they select the devices that they want your service to be able to talk to, and a token exchange happens giving your service access to just those devices. And as you already know, the documentation for that is incomplete, but I’m more than happy to support you through the process.
Thanks,
-d
Understood and appreciated, Dan!
I’m looking forward to exploring / experimenting.
But the possibility (and risk) of effort without profit potential is ongoing. (As elaborated in previous posts, but I’ll discuss with you, offline.)
Here’s a highly relevant (but short) article from Electronic House magazine.
“Integrated Control vs. Multiple Apps for Home Automation
Is an app-controlled house good or bad?”
http://www.electronichouse.com/article/integrated_control_vs._multiple_apps_for_home_automation/
It illustrates a “public good” concern that, in some ways, underlies my desires to develop a custom front-end. There are other relevant motivations, but this encapsulates a few.
I have some affinity and concurrence with the commenter “Vincent” from Total Control Remotes, after the end of the article.
Posted by Vincent - Total Control Remotes on 08/13/13 at 12:22 PM It is our opinion that it is much more preferable to have one app or an integrated app instead of numerous apps to control a device or service in a home. However, it is more important to select a proper control system that allows jumping from inside a control app to a third party app, then back again. Many companies like Bitwise Controls are doing this now and many others are following. In the event that the client prefers and app over an integrated app for whatever reason, it is great that we can make is as seamless and easy as possible to transition.
I welcome discussion – it is good to see viewpoints in other forums on this as well.
…CP.
Thanks for the heads up of the article.
I just want a stable android app with landscape so I can put it in a window on the left if a large plasma and run blue iris s/w with a dozen cameras in a window on the right side. Really, I’m so easy to please.
Android can’t run multiple Apps in windows on one screen (though Windows 8 / Surface can…).
Has anyone written a windowing environment for Android?
@urman - any progress on getting device names on the tiles? Is it really that difficult? I’m not a programmer so that’s not a dig, its just a legitimate question.
@solardave1 nothing in particular as of yet. iOS and Android share developers here so their main focus is app parity. It’s important to get Android up to speed before new features are added platform-wise