I am just wondering. With the likes of CoRE, SmartRules, Stringify, etc will Smart Things ever bother improving their lack of a easy to implement logic system for controlling devices. Their SmartApps approach seemed like a good idea to me at first but now I just find it annoying and difficult to find the right app for the actions I need.
I like that solutions are being found but the problem is you can’t really rely on them because like “Rule Machine” they may go away at any time and leave you with a non-functioning system.
I really wish Smart Things would acquire one of these and just run with it.
The idea of code that is “vetted” and published seems a good way for ST to get some free engineering. But that requires ST to spend resources to do the necessary code reviews & publishing.
Instead, we have this free-for-all hodgepodge of SmartApps and Device Handlers to fill in the missing pieces. There are some very well engineered apps and DTHes out there, too! Thanks to the folks who have written, tested, and supported their efforts – even in the face of users who demand more from them all the time…
But there is also a lot of crap and old, abandoned code in the wild. That can not help keep the ST ecosystem running smoothly, IMHO!
Pros and Cons of open platforms. Makes the developers lazy and the “super” smart ones, willing to pick up the pieces, overworked and under appreciated.
There are a couple well…many…, standout free apps that could easily draw in a nice penny. Then there are some great apps that the creators do charge for.
Keep in mind, without these great people here in this community, things could be a lot more expensive if it was all up to ST…
I have also found that SmartThings plays a game of not adding device handlers or smart apps but then saying “We don’t support custom device handlers or custom smart apps”. So they have a win win and we lose. They let us code the device handlers and apps but when it comes time to support them they say no.
It wasn’t that way when I started but that is what it has become. Smart Things support used to look at my device handler code if there was an issue especially when changes to their api’s or backend platform were causing it. I think they should see us as more of a resource and respect the work we do a little more. At least that is how I feel having been around since before the Samsung merge.
It would be wonderful if that were the case. But it costs Samsung money to do so – and, as we all know, it’s all about the money!
The folks that publish here often get asked for more features, more support, more hand-holding. I give them a lot of credit, as it is a labor of love. Others have gotten fed up and simply dropped support – or even bolted, never to be heard from again, after their app/dth got too popular to continue to support on their own (as I’m sure you know)…