First off, I am not a CI. I know I am posting in the CI forum, but I think that since I am mainly speaking to your higher-end product line, this topic belongs in this forum, not in the other one.
While I appreciate the interesting stuff I can do with the MX-3000, I am starting to get frustrated by the limitations as well. Only boolean variables? No dynamic animations? Only if-then logic? With only slightly higher amounts of ram and a bit of programming, one could easily do a flash or silverlight-based remote with some sort of IR hardware API (or hell, while I'm wishing, you could do it in Java, C, etc) that would allow for true flexibility.
While I understand that a certain level of ease of use is required as most CI's are NOT programmers and don't really care to be, I am curious if URC will ever move beyond their current style of programming to allow for an ACTUAL programming environment? At this point, to do some of the stuff I REALLY want to do, I am forced to go down the route Bracken Baker did and start reading the binary file format so I can write code to generate RCC files (BTW Bracken, you are a god among men for figuring that out... it is taking me forever). It could be so much easier with a more robust programming environment.
I know you guys don't really cater to the DIY enthusiast per se, but I think that with new products like the iphone becoming more and more common, end users are beginning to expect more from their touchscreen products. They are going to start looking at their MX-3000 (with, at best, dinky animated GIF graphics in 256 colors) and thinking how dated it looks. I encourage you to go and find the best programmed MX-3000 you can find (and I have to admit, I have seen some pretty slick stuff, some of you folks can do amazing things with what you have available). Now hold it up to an iphone. Doesn't really compare, eh? Now granted, the UI for the iphone was designed by some of the best minds in the business. What irks me is that, with the current tools provided, I can't even make an MX-3000 look close. Until a more flexible development method is offered, I think the MX-3000 is going to continue to look dated.
If you want my opinion, the first place to look is the iphone. The current application development for iphone is based on AJAX/HTML. Combine that with an IR/RF interaction API and you have something special. Entry level CI's could use some variant of Frontpage or dreamweaver style WYSIWYG editor for basic layouts and functionality. Higher level CI's and dedicated remote programmers (get used to that idea, folks) could tweak higher end stuff with AJAX and CSS-based layouts. Ease of use, but also the ability to do much more. Think about it....
So, URC, what if anything can we expect for a new direction in programming? I hope for the sake of all of your customers (and here, I mean CI's and authorized dealers) that you have something new in mind. Because if you are planning to stick with the status quo, you may start to lose customers.
