Hi Avboden, I'm the guy who designed that whole touchscreen (hw, sw, fonts, html+pdf-like markup, menuing system) as a kid a couple years out of college. I left the startup before they got into production, so have never seen a full system in action... very cool to see your vid! Looks like we both live in INLAND NW area. If so, might there be a way to come by and see it sometime?
That's incredible! Glad you found the video. Will probably have to pass on the visit though, it's my Parents house and i'm not sure they'd be comfortable with that. I can ask though. Given your username I'm assuming Spokane....I can tell you there were at least 4 or 5 installations in this area, all by the architect Jon Sayler. As far as I can tell though this is the only currently surviving one.
OMG! I am gonna ask is this POSSIBLY the Borland Turbo Pascal 5.5 Graphic Unit (BGI) system? The line drawing, the colours and even timeframe look about right for the Borland Graphics Interface. I did a heck of a lot of stuff myself in oil and gas deviated well modelling and specialized interactive industrial machine menu systems using that Turbo Pascal BGI system. V
Ah! Great video. The way back machine... when I was a kid, my parents agreed to the demo install for this system in the area by a company called Unity in our house built in 1987. Everything was wired.... external doors, windows, garage doors, interior doors, ceiling fans and lights. The floor plan feature was really great. The system was cool as hell but the initial releases of the software were quite buggy. For example, the HVAC controls got stuck on HEAT in the middle of the night during the summer and we couldn't manually override at the thermostats. We had to open windows and trip the breaker for the heat pumps. It was toasty in the house those evenings. The controlled lights would randomly turn on and wouldn't turn off until we rebooted the system. The security system glass breaks and interior door sensors would cause false alarms. This last one was most likely a hardware issue with wiring, the devices and/or the fact that the interior doors were solid wood and would shrink and expand. The installer dude was a flake as well... he was nice to me and tried to teach me stuff he was doing but my parents were NOT fond of him. He tried, but he installed some strange, useless stuff.... controllable humidistats on the air handlers for the heat pumps but there was NO humidifier in the HVAC system. Panic buttons which were not wired and didn't seem to work but he said they were wireless.... they never did anything, and as a kid, I was a punk and pushed the buttons plenty of times! ;) You could dial into the system via modem (2400 baud, 8-N-1 baby!!) remotely to see what was going on. We ended up having it removed after about a year due to all the hassle, repeat service calls and visits. It's a good story but cool to see this after all these years! Thanks! My 11 year old wasn't too impressed as he sees Home Assistant every day. :)
But the million dollar question remains, how was everything hooked up to this touch screen and how was the touch screen updated with new software?Anyway it's amezing being 35 years forward in time.
@@Avboden imagine that with low voltage wiring in every space in the house with LIFI, and light fixture led. easy to control and lot less hassle in construction and permit.
That's so funny we had this exact same system in our house growing up. I remember we had to keep the sides clean because the touch sensors wouldn't work when dirty. The coolest thing about the system was in the alarm system. You could get the system to detect if a room had someone in it by heat sensitivity and also motion. Our system died when our house got struck by lightning, frying every electrical thing in our house.
Hey dude really love the video! I’m a complete nerd and love old tech. Can you tell me more about the system? Does it have a serial or parallel port? Does your parents still have the manual, if so can you upload it online? There is just not enough information about this online. I actually have plans of getting on installed into my first house.
Adrian Ospina Unfortunately not. I too wish it was still available! However, someone who is good with assembly language, or C, could probably make one identical to this, without too much difficulty (perhaps as part of a sideline fun project at home). This video really contains all the information about how the menus work on that 1985 system... along with all the visual-info needed to recreate the simple, yet elegantly beautiful green-monochromatic artistic aesthetic look/feel of the 1970's and 1980's computers. I kid you not: sometimes I REALLY miss the old monochrome monitors of my 1980's childhood... as well has missing the beauty of 8 bit graphics, and 8 bit sound effects. There's something magically/appealingly retro about it (almost like how cartoon-comic-book-art work can make some feel..). Essentially, I think an old iPad, or laptop screen could be into the wall, along with all new modern censors throughout the house, wired to the screen/console. And then of course you would just need to handcraft an embedded program/software to look/feel precisely like this. It would probably be relatively "easy" to do, although a bit time consuming, probably taking a few weeks, or few months of part time hobby effort at night.
Almost all of them around the country have been scrapped by now. We found a few extra screens in storage from an original install company once and used them for parts. Dunno if you'd ever find a complete system other than in a house that hasn't torn it out yet.
@@Avboden Is there a way for me to get in contact with this install company to find an old screen. Even the screen would be nice to have. I’d really like to get my hands on one.
dennisdevries34 Indeed, I would say this system and it's embedded program (probably hand crafted directly in Assembly Language) is truly a work of art, without exaggeration.
@@VelocityWave For the touchscreen (the part I did the hw & sw) it was C, actually, except for a couple of the graphic-drawing methods I wrote by hand due to performance or memory requirements. No OS per se, it's all custom code.
Whooaah we do need to go back to 1985 because then we are back to the future. Whose tout that the space age existed at the time, i alway's believed that this was nothing more then fantansy, but what's out, these system may can control your mind.
you said X11 outlets, I've heard of x10, but can you explain x11 was that a slip ? I thought x10 was a much newer company / technology. just curious. thanks in advance, I hope you see this.
+Avboden sorry I didn't catch that, but I really appreciate you getting back to me, I had no idea X10 was around so early on. Great system, i'm really impressed at how well it works, and I love the fact that the GUI includes a layout of the actual house. If I can bother you with another question, I assume each HVAC trunk is controlled with a damper, but can each individual room issue a call for heat? (if so it's more advance than most modern systems)
@@BrianStreetUnity I'm replying seven years late, tee hee, but yes, each controlled zone had a thermistor attached to a metal disc glued to the top of a small container (think single-serving creamer) which was mounted in an interior wall. That sensor called for a motorized damper to send more or less conditioned air into that zone. The routine incorporated a bypass damper so there was some load control on the air handler. Fun stuff.
some time (many times recently) i have the strong feeling the world is turning backwards in some fields! i know alot of systems from 2015 .. cant even do 10% of this. and this one probably last another 20 years .. and not breaks down 10 minutes after its out of warranty!
Other Commands > Incinerator > Cremation Mode > Enable
Hi Avboden, I'm the guy who designed that whole touchscreen (hw, sw, fonts, html+pdf-like markup, menuing system) as a kid a couple years out of college. I left the startup before they got into production, so have never seen a full system in action... very cool to see your vid! Looks like we both live in INLAND NW area. If so, might there be a way to come by and see it sometime?
That's incredible! Glad you found the video. Will probably have to pass on the visit though, it's my Parents house and i'm not sure they'd be comfortable with that. I can ask though. Given your username I'm assuming Spokane....I can tell you there were at least 4 or 5 installations in this area, all by the architect Jon Sayler. As far as I can tell though this is the only currently surviving one.
what time frame was that? i see 1985 in the title here, a 1990 copyright on various screens in the video (assuming later sofware updates)
OMG! I am gonna ask is this POSSIBLY the Borland Turbo Pascal 5.5 Graphic Unit (BGI) system? The line drawing, the colours and even timeframe look about right for the Borland Graphics Interface. I did a heck of a lot of stuff myself in oil and gas deviated well modelling and specialized interactive industrial machine menu systems using that Turbo Pascal BGI system.
V
fallout 4 is that you?
This thing is more responsive and quicker to action than most modern systems, in home and in cars. Wild. I love this aesthetic.
Still working too!
So awesome.
I'd have this installed NOW but I totally love 80s UIs
This is totally amazing. It looks like it still functions perfectly too. Awesome.
As a fan of the "grid" aesthetic this is so fucking cash my god holy shit
Ah! Great video. The way back machine... when I was a kid, my parents agreed to the demo install for this system in the area by a company called Unity in our house built in 1987. Everything was wired.... external doors, windows, garage doors, interior doors, ceiling fans and lights. The floor plan feature was really great.
The system was cool as hell but the initial releases of the software were quite buggy. For example, the HVAC controls got stuck on HEAT in the middle of the night during the summer and we couldn't manually override at the thermostats. We had to open windows and trip the breaker for the heat pumps. It was toasty in the house those evenings. The controlled lights would randomly turn on and wouldn't turn off until we rebooted the system. The security system glass breaks and interior door sensors would cause false alarms. This last one was most likely a hardware issue with wiring, the devices and/or the fact that the interior doors were solid wood and would shrink and expand.
The installer dude was a flake as well... he was nice to me and tried to teach me stuff he was doing but my parents were NOT fond of him. He tried, but he installed some strange, useless stuff.... controllable humidistats on the air handlers for the heat pumps but there was NO humidifier in the HVAC system. Panic buttons which were not wired and didn't seem to work but he said they were wireless.... they never did anything, and as a kid, I was a punk and pushed the buttons plenty of times! ;)
You could dial into the system via modem (2400 baud, 8-N-1 baby!!) remotely to see what was going on. We ended up having it removed after about a year due to all the hassle, repeat service calls and visits.
It's a good story but cool to see this after all these years! Thanks! My 11 year old wasn't too impressed as he sees Home Assistant every day. :)
That is absolutely the most awesome interface I've ever seen! Beautiful system!
But the million dollar question remains, how was everything hooked up to this touch screen and how was the touch screen updated with new software?Anyway it's amezing being 35 years forward in time.
+Johneymute supergd it's hooked to central server and panel is hooked to server not to all that stuff
any idea how much this retailed at when it was purchased
?
PinEyedBaby between 5-10grand depending on the system
@@Avboden imagine that with low voltage wiring in every space in the house with LIFI, and light fixture led. easy to control and lot less hassle in construction and permit.
Any way to connect a smartphone as an input device?
That's so funny we had this exact same system in our house growing up. I remember we had to keep the sides clean because the touch sensors wouldn't work when dirty. The coolest thing about the system was in the alarm system. You could get the system to detect if a room had someone in it by heat sensitivity and also motion. Our system died when our house got struck by lightning, frying every electrical thing in our house.
Holy fuck this is awesome. Has such a fallout pitboy feel to it.
smokeyjo123e They should of called it a Pitboy then.
Luke Irvine The first thing I thought of was Alien.
KlingonCaptain I Feel that vibe too now that ya mention it.
DId you make the floorplan, hwo did that created ?
didn't ellen ripley use this on the nostromo?
At least this cant be hacked.
Hey dude really love the video! I’m a complete nerd and love old tech. Can you tell me more about the system? Does it have a serial or parallel port? Does your parents still have the manual, if so can you upload it online?
There is just not enough information about this online. I actually have plans of getting on installed into my first house.
does anyone know if this system is still available?
Adrian Ospina Unfortunately not. I too wish it was still available!
However, someone who is good with assembly language, or C, could probably make one identical to this, without too much difficulty (perhaps as part of a sideline fun project at home).
This video really contains all the information about how the menus work on that 1985 system... along with all the visual-info needed to recreate the simple, yet elegantly beautiful green-monochromatic artistic aesthetic look/feel of the 1970's and 1980's computers.
I kid you not: sometimes I REALLY miss the old monochrome monitors of my 1980's childhood... as well has missing the beauty of 8 bit graphics, and 8 bit sound effects. There's something magically/appealingly retro about it (almost like how cartoon-comic-book-art work can make some feel..).
Essentially, I think an old iPad, or laptop screen could be into the wall, along with all new modern censors throughout the house, wired to the screen/console.
And then of course you would just need to handcraft an embedded program/software to look/feel precisely like this. It would probably be relatively "easy" to do, although a bit time consuming, probably taking a few weeks, or few months of part time hobby effort at night.
Adrian Ospina They have a website: unitysystemshomemanager.com
www.ebay.com/itm/Unity-Systems-Inc-Home-Manager/332416466114?hash=item4d6590bcc2:g:2zsAAOSwfxJZ5qkQ theres one on sale now apparently
looks totally like Alien Isolation
This is so cool! thanks for sharing this video love 80s tech! What model alarm system is this unit connected to ?
Where can I buy one of these second hand? This is a really cool piece of old tech.
Almost all of them around the country have been scrapped by now. We found a few extra screens in storage from an original install company once and used them for parts. Dunno if you'd ever find a complete system other than in a house that hasn't torn it out yet.
@@Avboden Is there a way for me to get in contact with this install company to find an old screen. Even the screen would be nice to have. I’d really like to get my hands on one.
Our tech would call up through his phone to our system and that he could make changes to certain stuff that system was light years ahead.
How do I download it
What the hell i saw a video exactly like this over 2 years ago and it wasn't as a photo, hmm you must not be the only one with one of these.
wat. this is cray for 1985. It didn't have to be reprogrammed after 2000?
im skeptical
We wrote our own code to bare hardware, no underlying Microsoft OS, so no, no Y2K issues.
@@jpspokane9174 hey JP. I'm trying to find some info on this system. If you're able to discuss your work, can you let me know? Thanks.
Looks like it is running on a HP 150. is it?
+Simon Claessen Nope. It's running on it's own custom system anchored by a toshiba 32bit processor
imgur.com/gallery/Jb6jW
This is some dream house shit up in here
Great UI, so retro
is it a shelter?
NICE, even now, 30 years later.
dennisdevries34 Indeed, I would say this system and it's embedded program (probably hand crafted directly in Assembly Language) is truly a work of art, without exaggeration.
@@VelocityWave For the touchscreen (the part I did the hw & sw) it was C, actually, except for a couple of the graphic-drawing methods I wrote by hand due to performance or memory requirements. No OS per se, it's all custom code.
Whooaah we do need to go back to 1985 because then we are back to the future.
Whose tout that the space age existed at the time, i alway's believed that this was nothing more then fantansy, but what's out, these system may can control your mind.
This looks so much like the automation systems on Alien: Isolation. Its uncanny.
anyone else hear that super high pitched noise?! ARGH
CRT-noise I guess
First screen: "Copyright 1990". 1985 huh?
flexor212000 Read the video description.
+flexor212000 Words are hard
you said X11 outlets, I've heard of x10, but can you explain x11 was that a slip ? I thought x10 was a much newer company / technology. just curious. thanks in advance, I hope you see this.
+Brian StreetUnity in the video description "-The outlets/switches are X10, not X11 as I mistakenly say in the video."
+Avboden sorry I didn't catch that, but I really appreciate you getting back to me, I had no idea X10 was around so early on. Great system, i'm really impressed at how well it works, and I love the fact that the GUI includes a layout of the actual house. If I can bother you with another question, I assume each HVAC trunk is controlled with a damper, but can each individual room issue a call for heat? (if so it's more advance than most modern systems)
@@BrianStreetUnity I'm replying seven years late, tee hee, but yes, each controlled zone had a thermistor attached to a metal disc glued to the top of a small container (think single-serving creamer) which was mounted in an interior wall. That sensor called for a motorized damper to send more or less conditioned air into that zone. The routine incorporated a bypass damper so there was some load control on the air handler. Fun stuff.
Then number in the video rings endlessly.
what is your job
some time (many times recently) i have the strong feeling the world is turning backwards in some fields!
i know alot of systems from 2015 .. cant even do 10% of this.
and this one probably last another 20 years .. and not breaks down 10 minutes after its out of warranty!
I work in industrial building automation, this is basically what we do lmao
That's awesome! But this should have been filmed on a VHS camera! :) Would be muuuuuch better!
You still live here??? You better!
yup
this shit is space age
Mr. Jetson? That you?
What's the monitor say about the version level?
It's over nine thousand!
....
**sees self out**
But seriously, this is so Nostromo. I want it!
This is fucking amazing.
Touchscreen.
unhackable smart home
Meh, the new Pipboy menus are too complicated. I don't like it. Plus Todd Howard sounds strange in this video.
Looks like something from fallout.
Fallout terminal
Like from Fallout
Cyberpunk as fuck.
cool as shit!
Robocop!
haha "home screen"
Steven Russell totally unintentional, but that's hilarious!
fallout 4 pip boy ......