I just submitted the Gladys Assistant application on Google Home in « production » release!
My contact told me that apparently Google will be in « code-freeze » from September 19th to October 10th, so it’s a bit of a rush, it has to pass before then.
I’m crossing my fingers very tightly for this first release to be accepted by Google, but I can’t guarantee anything, they have to review my certification request, the results of the unit tests, etc… Apparently they even do real tests, but on the other hand I can’t see them doing a little Gladys installation (to be honest, I’m not even sure they understood what Gladys is ^^)
The Google Home / and soon Alexa integrations are very particular in their operation.
These are integrations that have a set of constraints given by Google and Amazon to work:
First, it’s pure cloud (when you talk to Google Home, the voice is sent to Google’s servers), and they require their partners to be pure cloud.
On the Google side, to be a partner and integrate with Google Home, you need a Google Developer account + configure the « Actions on Google » panel with everything that comes with it: OAuth 2.0, Webhooks, etc. On the Amazon side, you need an AWS account, and configure a bunch of things (IAM, Lambda, Alexa for Developer, etc.). See doc for example: Steps to Build a Smart Home Skill | Alexa Skills Kit
Then, to create a Google Home / Alexa integration, you need a server that is accessible on the internet, available continuously, valid SSL certificate, etc. Because they contact you on a webhook (and in the case of Amazon, you have to host the code in a Lambda on AWS – it’s mandatory)
Finally, I had to pass a fairly stringent certification, validate a battery of automated tests, fill out certification files, discuss for several weeks with Google teams for it to finally go live on their « store ».
You will have understood, this is not an integration like the others which can be done purely locally and which can be configured very simply in the UI.
If we want a user to configure this on their own, why not: but it will not be at all user-friendly, it will be for a developer audience, and the configuration time will be in hours.
By comparison, with the competition (Home Assistant/Jeedom), they offer these integrations in their cloud package (similar to Gladys Plus: Nabu Casa for HA / Service pack for Jeedom). It is also possible to set this up yourself, but it is not at all highlighted and I have the impression that few people do it, because the constraints are enormous (seriously, who has an AWS account / configures IAM / Lambda except a professional developer?).
In Gladys, I think we will have the same operation: If someone wants to develop a Google Home/Alexa integration outside of Gladys Plus, why not, after all it will not be highlighted because it is the opposite of the project’s philosophy: it will be a purely for devs thing with very advanced knowledge.
After I’m curious, what bothers you about Gladys Plus? Is the price too high for you?
(If you tell me: « I don’t control it’s in the cloud », then I don’t understand anything, Google Home is in the cloud anyway, Gladys Plus or not).
The Gladys Plus offer can also evolve for those who just want Google Home or Alexa, I’m not closed to rethinking the offer and offering different packages if it’s a recurring demand, after the current price seems quite honest compared to the quantities of services offered.
I add value for people who support the project, that seems normal to me. It’s only thanks to them that Gladys 4 exists.
Clearly disagree, I made only one video on Gladys Plus, and 90% of the other videos on the channel talk purely about Gladys. Similarly for twitter/facebook posts and developments. The multi-dashboard? The sensor value curves? The recent improvements to scenes? It’s all Gladys.
You’re a bit harsh.
If you want to know everything, for the moment Gladys is very far from being profitable and yes I try to bring value to this product to take this product even further (the monthly revenue of Gladys Plus is public: Gladys Assistant en chiffre | Gladys Assistant).
Because there’s nothing magical, for almost 3 years I’ve invested a lot of time and money so that this project is profitable and sustainable in the long term, and the financial profitability of the project is vital so that I can continue this investment.
I think few people realize the amounts invested on my side. After I am aware that it is a complex product that will not be profitable overnight, but it is vital that the project is profitable in the medium term.
And contrary to what many might think, no, I mean no open-source project has no revenue strategy, there are significant costs in any project and you have to finance yourself one way or another, nothing is free.
Some examples:
Mozilla: Funded by ads via their partnership with Google.
Home Assistant: Funded mainly by their Nabu Casa package and recently by their hardware box.
Jeedom: Funded by plugins, by their service pack and their boxes.
Wordpress: Funded by their turnkey hosting plan
Ghost: Funded by their turnkey hosting plan
I can continue, the list is very long. In any case, the very short list is the list of open-source projects that have no source of revenue: there are none, or then the project does not work.
In the case of Gladys, for me the Gladys Plus offer makes sense because it is a financing that is in line with the values of the project and which is win/win for the user:
It’s not advertising, nor the resale of data. Gladys Plus is end-to-end encrypted for remote access, because precisely the users’ data don’t interest me.
I have not taken external investment, which would have allowed to do fake free mode « look at free access to Google Home » => funded by an investor, then as soon as the number of users is significant we make it paid: it’s the strategy of many « VC funded » startups, and we see the result today: how many companies collapse / change their business model completely / put ads everywhere / popups for payment everywhere, and users end up with nothing or a crappy product. I don’t want that in Gladys.
Users subscribe to Gladys Plus if the value I bring is sufficient in the package, which pushes me to develop a quality service: it’s win/win.
Sorry for the long post, but I think it’s important to educate people about the true cost of things. We have been fed with all free for the last 10 years, but it’s an illusion
Absolutely none of the two, I didn’t find myself during my first attempts with the Gladys gateway from the time of Gladys 3. So I was wondering what was the real interest of the guys for Gplus.
I’m starting to see the interest precisely through these integrations ;-).
So that was absolutely not my intention, I didn’t want to offend you.
What I wanted to say is that I saw much more progress and communication from your side on Gplus than on Gladys itself.
For example, Google, Alexa, seem to be advancing at a great speed, but integrations requested (correction on zwave, raspy, sonos, TV API) seem to be lagging.
So yes, I know the devs do the integration and it’s not necessarily your subjects and that your priority remains the core and Gplus but why not take up subjects abandoned by the devs from time to time? but once again, it’s not a reproach, I know that time is money and that this money is becoming rarer and rarer
I’ll wait for the final version of this integration to take the plunge on Gplus again?
Have you thought about an email to remind former contributors like me who left?
Once again, sorry if I offended you, that was not my intention
Remote control is complete control of Gladys (it’s the same UI as local Gladys, whereas in v3, due to technical limitations of v3 it was a different, very limited frontend)
Automatic backups every 24 hours
The open API
And indeed the new integrations that are coming (Google Home, Alexa, etc..)
No problem, I wasn’t sure about the intention of the post, and if you ask the question you’re not the only one to think that, so I took the opportunity to give a complete answer
On this point, I think you are confusing several things:
On the one hand, Gladys Assistant is an open-source project under Apache 2.0 license. Anyone can develop an integration on a voluntary basis. I do my best to motivate the community, I answer on GitHub, on the forum, I regularly have one-on-one calls with anyone who wants if someone is stuck, I try to be the « orchestrator » of this community.
However, these contributors I cannot force to develop, everyone has different life projects, children arrive, a job, and Gladys is often a side-project that comes after all that in the evenings and weekends.
In general, developers on the forum only create integrations for the hardware they have themselves. One should not believe that these devs are charitable associations, they develop primarily for their personal interest, and if they have the time they share their work with the community.
Gladys Plus is a company, and I have a responsibility towards Gladys Plus customers. I respect a certain quality of service, and I listen to their requests to keep this customer base.
Now to get back to the integrations and my personal time allocation.
In v4 it’s like in v3, I personally try to invest my time and expertise in what could have the most impact on the project: the core of Gladys.
For example, this summer, I worked on different subjects:
The multi-dashboard (a rather big piece)
The aggregation of sensor values on curves on the dashboard (a rather titanic work that took up a good part of the summer, much more than the Google Home integration in terms of development time)
For me, these are fundamental subjects that are very important, and if I don’t get to them, no one will work on them. These are subjects that are complex in terms of UI, and complex in terms of data processing.
As these developments are measured in weeks of development, knowing that I am part-time on Gladys, so the development is spread over several months.
Because developing an integration is not a one-time development, it’s continuous maintenance.
When an integration is developed by an external dev, usually the dev takes care of the maintenance of the service and is a bit the « referent » of the service. It’s a model that works, and the integration is stable and sustainable over time because there is someone who knows the code and who uses the integration on a daily basis.
If I had developed these integrations myself, I would be the only one to know the code, and I would have to maintain the service (add new devices, debug the different problems that arise/do updates).
Given that if I have to take care of:
The community and all the communication around it (YouTube videos, blog posts, site maintenance, etc..)
Core development
Management & development around Gladys Plus
All this on a part-time basis (2.5 days/week), I realistically don’t have the time to get into these integrations.
Finally, I think it’s always better when it’s a dev who really uses the peripheral who does an integration, because he understands the need better.
For example, I went several days to @hamtaro’s in Niort to use all the Xiaomi gear he has, and develop the first Xiaomi service in Gladys v4 in order to « initiate » the development of v4 service and show a first service to the community.
The problem is that I was only a few days at his place, and as I coded the service, there was no « referent » (in theory, it’s me the referent: except that I don’t have the devices!)
So since then, I haven’t been able to touch the integration.. I did look on the forum for a replacement, I didn’t find anyone to maintain the integration (Fortunately since then there is Zigbee2mqtt).
To conclude, for me the approach « one integration = one referent who really uses the gear at home » is the right one, and I think I have more impact on long-term subjects like the core.
Top, it’s coming in the coming weeks
Why not, I sent an email last week to a selection of former contributors, and otherwise I’ll talk about it in the newsletter I send (about 3000 subscribers).
Quick update on the release of this Google Home integration.
So far, 12 people have activated Google Home via Gladys Plus.
We’re discussing in a private message on the forum with these members to fix all the little bugs here and there, and to make sure it’s super easy to set up, even for a beginner.
We’ve found a few little things, but nothing major and so far everyone agrees that it works well and is fast
I’ll keep you posted on the next steps. As soon as I have the guarantee that it works well for all members of the private alpha, we’ll move on to a global release!
After 2 weeks of testing, I think the major bugs have been fixed. Some users still have minor issues, but nothing that would block a release for everyone
So I published a tutorial to start the Google Home integration and leave the alpha!
Read it here:
I’m closing this topic to relieve the pressure since the feature is developed.
) that Gladys Plus is becoming more and more mandatory.
