Little did Clint know, in the house two blocks down, Mr. Cruthers's life support shut off seemingly without reason, killing him instantly.

"Please say yes or no." Hal isn't amused.

>hook HAL up to the garage door >call the garage "pod bay" >stuck outside

Love how confused HAL gets at the end there. "Please say yes or no."

Oh poor 90's voice recognition, it seems like he's really trying haha

Hal 2000: "Pirated software detected. Your house will now burn."

"What is the meaning of life?" *beep* "Oh."

LGR: "Well anyway, thanks for all the help HAL, it's been a blast." HAL: "Monday, Friday, Wednesday, Friday at 12 PM; turn on this lamp?" LRG *Khahahahahahaha-hah aahahaha* HAL: "Please say yes or no." LGR *EHAHAHAHAHA* "-no!" HAL: "Cancelled" :(

"what is the meaning of life" *glitches*

If he doesn't make another video we know he's pissed off HAL.

"Install it, load it, test it, Run it. Hum, sounds like a Daft Punk song" I lost it, lol

18:01 LGR: "What is the meaning of life?" HAL: "blick" (half beep, half click?) LGR: "ohhh :(" LOL

You should build a "house of the future" which is more modern than the average house today using only 80's technology.

2001: A Space Odyssey would be a lot different with this HAL. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." "Monday Friday Wednesday Friday shut off this lamp?? Please say yes or no."

Now I just want to automate my house with my spare C64.

Technically dimming the lamp to 50% works, it emits 50% of its normal light as it's at 100% power 50% of the time xD

Still more trustworthy than Alexa, I bet. It's surprising to see Oddware that actually does its advertised job so well.

I think its time for a "Monday Friday Wednesday Friday 12 pm turn on desk lamp?"T Shirt.

My grandfather gave me a whole set of Radio Shack Plug'n'Power modules and remote for Christmas in 1991. I loved it, and it got a good decade of use before we moved. Rest In Peace grandpa Ken, you were the reason I now am engrossed with electronics and computing.

I've got HAL2000 here somewhere with their hardware voice board and extra voices. It really was like Alexa for the 90s. Had the house wired so every phone went through HAL before it went to AT&T. You could grab any handset and say things like, "HAL, remind me to buy rum." When it was time to go to the store, you'd say "Print my shopping list". It announced callers, screened calls, played music, looked up weather, sports scores, local news, and a ton more. He was a bit expensive though. My "free gift" back in about '97 when I bought HAL was a freakin' satellite TV setup!

“Ghetto Strobelight” would be a great name for a funk band.

Fun fact, I'm apprenticing as an electrician and the x10 is mentioned in one of my textbooks lol

Remember when we used to find any product with "2000" in it so futuristic

I could hear the sadness in HALs voice when he said "cancelled..."

This is the kind of stuff I love to see on Oddware; early versions of things we take for granted now. Well to be honest I can't think of an oddware video I didn't enjoy, but still.

That ending was hilarious

I love that HAL 2000 canceled every time that you said to. The worst possible scenario is it continuously hearing unissued commands and never understanding your "STOP NO" :D

When you said things that weren't relevant at all it got odd results but I am AMAZED given the status of voice-to-text even NOW how it would recognize legitimate commands seemingly 100% of the time! As anyone who's ever gotten so mad they start swearing at dragonsoft, then further lose their temper when it translates their tirade as "you God RAM plucking pizza ship" can attest.

HAL: What is my purpose? LGR: You turn on lights. HAL: OMG.

User: "Alexa... say 'Hal, turn on the desk lamp.'" Alexa: **ding** "Hal, turn on the desk lamp." Hal: "Heeeyy, baby."

This is actually not bad at all. It works. In today's version, when you first install, it'll be like "Contacting server. Sending your private data to server. Downloading patch 10GB..... Do you want to save your data into the cloud? If yes, please create an account..."

90's voice recognition at its finest.

You should have called X10 tech support and recorded how they would react to your ancient home automation

"what is the meaning of life?" Beep Oh great. Thanks a lot. Now it's going to achieve sentience and kill us all. Way to bring about the apocalypse buddy

When Clint cracked up near the end, I laughed out loud lmao!

"It's like having software that runs in the 'background'!" I nearly lost it

IoT companies take note, home automation doesn't require the internet at all.

If you go back and find the old 1984 movie 'Electric Dreams' , the main character buys his computer and automates his apartment much like this....and then it of course starts to take over his life for him.

Hal: MONDAY FRIDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY AT 12PM TURN ON THIS LAMP PLEASE SAY YES OR NO I died laughing.

"Monday Friday Wednesday Friday at 12PM turn. On desk lamp?" -HAL 2017

17 years ago I used one of these and wrote a vb app that checked my internet connection. If the connection was unavailable it powered off the x10 which controlled my cable modem and powered back on. This was a common issue in those times and kept my connection live so I could get to my server remotely from work. x10 also had a wireless camera (xcam) that I hacked up and mounted on a radio controlled plane. Had some of my first video flights long before FPV flying became a thing.

This one brings back memories. My grandparents had a pretty extensive X10 setup in their house for the lighting, probably a good 20 or 25 units. They didn't have the computer interface, but I remember the controller from 2:43 well.

Set lights to 50% *mad flickering* Light: "YOU'VE MAIMED MY SOOUUL!!!"

Seeing this, the way through, I can't get the idea of the movie "Electric Dreams" out of my head. HAL's little breakdown in understanding at the end was the cherry on top... "Please say yes or no."

Your lamp is talking to you in morse code.

"Unless registered this product will expire on 11/15/2017." November 15th? Aw, man, Clint! That's only nineteen days from now! You better call! LOL! Thanks again for another awesome video. I really liked this one.

That cleaning montage was satisfying as heck.

We had gotten an IBM Aptiva (2159 I believe, which I still have!) back in '96. It came with an X10 system included. It was the serial model, was all IBM branded and included a lamp and an appliance module. The software it came with was called Home Director. We would use it when we left the house for an extended period of time to make it look like someone was home. Good video!

Ha that's awesome! My dad actually still uses his old X10 system to this day - complete with window, door, and motion sensors and timed lighting changes when he's away. *THE FUTURE IS NOW!*

"MondayFridayWedensdayFriday at 12 pm turn on lamp?" "Please say yes or no..."

8:15 Led bulbs need to be dimmable to prevent flashing or to work with dimmable mode. The constant signal from the x10 to read the control signal causes this flashing. Dimmable LEDs are available. I avoid buying non-dimmable for this reason.

I am still using X10 modules around my house. They are still working after 25+ years. Over the years, I've had to replace a few controllers... But, these are still available on Ebay and Amazon.

11:00 roughly: Yes, LEDs don't like to be dimmed by default. There are some you can dim (which will usually say "dimmable" on the box) but most of them don't like it. Similarly the flashing will probably also be a problem with the LED. I had a similar problem with a motion detector outside my Gran's house a few weeks back.

My dad is still using the hardware you showed off here to control the lights in our house, though with a Windows 95 GUI version and not a DOS version of the Lighthouse software. We have the CP290 controller, and a few The Timer clocks, as well as a handful of the appliance modules. 9:00 We've run into this issue before. It's probably that that lamp has a modern bulb (LED, CFL, or something to that effect) screwed in. Those don't always play nicely with the X10 system. 11:00 Dimmers *especially* don't play nicely, as you've discovered...but again, as you deduced, that's more of a functional issue with how that type of bulb works compared to an incandescent. LED dimmers are complex, run quite hot, and are also highly likely to increase the wear rate of the LED's transformer.

my dad had a full x10 system in the early 2000s hooked into his home network. I thought it was pure magic that he could turn on his coffee maker from his office if he wanted

That was amazing!! :D Lost it at the "MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY TURN ON DESK LAMP??????"

Hmm.. Well the microwave didn't switch on to cook dinner whilst we were out. It's a shame about next-door burning down like that though.. I wonder what happened?

Technically, it did dim it at 50%...it was off and on...LMAO.

Clint's giggle over a lamp and old software is great. It makes my day so much better

I really have tears in my eyes from laughing at the voice recognition. Yet.. I realize from what time it came and must say it's actually incredibly good. I've tried several voice recognition programs back then and none did as well as this one. But to be sure, did this one need to be 'trained' yes or no?

lol - best episode so far! xD Back in the nineties a guy from my hometown Stadthagen (Germany) used to do and control literally everything in his home with his Amiga 1200. Opening the front door, controlling the Phone, Microwave, Printer, Internet, burn CDs for other guys like me (when it was still a novelty), rendering and cutting movies, composing music, coding, managing his Comedy CD collection via database etc. I was pretty amazed by that. I didn't know these home control systems even existed that early, though.

HAL-What is my purpose? me- turn on desk lap HAL- oh kill me now

Still one of my favorite LGR videos. I laugh uncontrollably at the voice control at the end!

MONDAY FRIDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY AT 12PM TURN. ON DESK LAMP?

The PC module, shown @ 3:30, is called the CM-11. This will still work, even on a Windows 10 machine, if you find the software "Activehome Pro" and have a motherboard w/ a COM-header (I have this very setup). Only that my module is IBM-branded (HD-11) and came as part of their "Home Director" line of X10 hardware. I found a starter kit @ Goodwill around 20 years ago. Also, the lamp module can cause havoc w/ some energy-saver bulbs. Like the pulsing issue, being caused by the module repeatedly sending brief current pulses through the bulb when "off (not sure of the reason)." And yes, it can be a hit-or-miss on dimming. If you can do w/o the latter, use an appliance module.

The major shortcoming was that it would only control devices on the same phase (side) of the circuit breaker panel, unless you installed a "circuit bridge" to relay the control signal to the other phase. While modules and controllers were commonly found in stores, the circuit bridge was a rare thing to find.

We had the Radio Shack version growing up. We had our backyard lit up with flood lights like a baseball stadium by digging trenches all over for wiring and putting up light polls that were the remnants of our old swing set. Ah, the good ole days.

I always turn on my lamp on MONDAY FRIDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY at 12 PM.

I was writting a comment to say that i bet you had an LED bulb in there to explain the flashing and inability to dim when you outright did it xD Makes sense i suppose, considering LEDs require far less power as such any leaking through the module will build up in the capacitor and cause flashing like you saw, alternatively, because it was dimmed it had the same effect, it was just filling and discharging the capacitor instead. Halogen bulbs obviously dont use said capacitors.

Had a brief terror moment at: 14:03 "Your HAL 2000 is a living product, which is growing and evolving daily". OH SH*T, It really IS HAL!!!!

This reminds me of the movies and episodes of shows where a smart house tried to take over :P

We used X10 in college and after, back in 2004-2009. The control and appliance accessories were available really cheap from one retailer online, and it still worked perfectly. Great technology, and (strangely) probably more secure than all the IoT stuff today.

"Monday Friday Wednesday Friday" hey it's Rabbot from Aqua Teen

"What is the meaning of life?" (BLOOP) "Oh..."

6:14 'Old Cheese and Cigarettes' is a great name for an album

Damn, I would take the HAL 2000 over Google Home or Alexa, any day! I love the way it's set up compared to those.

I was hoping that you'd call the number to register :)

I had this back in the day and it worked surprisingly well. Voice recognition wasn't the best, but I used it for the remote control stuff and it was great. I moved over to the Smarthome / Insteon stuff after that. I actually still have some of the X-10 modules and controllers in the closet...and I just tried them and they're still working. I used it for the whole house, but also used it for the Christmas lights. Back in the 1980s, to be able to change your house's light colors by remote was quite unheard of. I'd have to run each color string individually, then just layer multiple colors. It was really amazing back then.

I love the HAL 2000's voice better than most personal assistants. I like how awesome it sounds compared to the others that sound so... unnaturally happy

Final comment- You could download alternate personalities for HAL because it used the Microsoft Speech Engine. I used the Merlin Wizard for a couple of years in there.

18:00 - 18:34 That’s awesome XD

This is seriously awesome, an Oddware that actually does its job and does it perfectly! Yeah, LED bulbs have to have special circuits to support old-style dimming. cya Raziel-chan

my crush: thanks for your help! me: we go on date monday-friday at 5pm to desk lamp? crush: starts laughing at me me: please say yes or no

When the lamp started strobing I totally thought this was going to be a Halloween episode where the oddware takes over his house! XD

"Monday Friday Wednesday Friday at 12 PM turn off the desk lamp?" Oh boy, it is VERY confused. Clint, what'd you do?

I had some X10 stuff when I was a kid and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I always longed for the computer control but it was always out of reach for an 11-year-old ;) BTW, I like how you blurred out everything except the credit card number at 4:53. Yeah, probably a long-dead account, but still amusing ;)

One of my all time favorite LGR episodes.

Woah! The X-10 looks so goddamn cool! If I could make my Apple II a "control center" for a smart home I think it will become an addiction for me pretty fast (Buying X-10 "smart outlets" daily like cigs...). Oh and btw - that setup with outlet modules and control via the grid seems much simpler and more stable than Google assistant and Alexa, also the fact that it doesn't connect to the Internet is super-cool even if it doesn't have any kind of encryption or authentication methods the fact it's not on the web is a pretty huge pro. And since I rarely boot my Apple II, mostly when friends wanna play games on it (Although the Powermac G4 and G3 get much more attention because Marathon LAN matches are hella fun) this would be an awesome excuse for me to place my Apple II as a "smart home command-center" in my study or living room...

There's actually a whole, weird little subculture around utilizing modern electronics like Arduino's and Raspberry Pis to control X10 hardware in order to integrate old home automation stuff with newer technologies... which can theoretically be used (through Alexa's IFTTT skill) to voice control everything, even down to something as boring as closing the garage door from anywhere in the house. A lot of setup, though.

i wanna control my entire house on this system!!!! even now in 2019. this is dope. and now im off to find a way to do this on modern hardware,

I love this channel, I just started watching a few days ago and while I've never had a real interest in computers and tech you make it easy to start to find an interest in it! It's awesome that you get to make videos and show off your passion for what you love and find interesting, never let anyone tell you any different when I say that your passion on it's own could move mountains.

I always wanted an X10 for the Commodore, but it was too expensive. Now I want to hook up my entire home to a Commodore 64! Thanks for making this video.

Greetings and welcome to LGR Oddware where we're taking a look at hardware and software that is odd, forgotten and obsolete.

Your channel is hands down the best, a time machine. I'm 37, and right at home. Love it

You know, I miss old pre-graphical blue dos interfaces. They were always so clean and specific to purpose.

haha the HAL respones with your laugh are great!

Oh God your laugh is soothing on my ears, hahaha laughed so hard at poor HAL trying to turn on the desk lamp

this is legit one of my favorite things to watch on youtube. . . Reminds me of my youthful joy seeing that sort of stuff in an uncles house

What a fantastic piece of Oddware! Absolutely love it! The reason your LED bulb caused problems was because of leakage... basically because the adapter needs to be powered by your mains and lacks full isolation it never actually completely shuts off the power to the lamp, instead just reducing it to a very low level. With an incandescent bulb this isn't a problem, because the power getting through isn't enough to do anything, but because LED bulbs require so little power and have capacitors you'll basically get a brief flash from the bulb every time the capacitor gets fully charged, the same is true of the dimming effect except it flashes faster as you're charging it more quickly. If you were to use a dimmable LED bulb you'd probably eliminate this problem (though it depends on the amount of leakage)

I remember there was a movie in the 80s called "Electric Dreams". A guy bought a top-of-the-line computer and hooked it up to control his entire house. Plot Twist: he accidentally dumps a bottle of champagne over the whole thing, and instead of destroying it and electrocuting himself, it somehow caused the computer to come to life with its own super-advanced AI. It fell in love with his girlfriend and made him a prisoner in his own home. Clearly, it was written at a time where computers were this big mysterious and scary force. It's comical now, but at the time, audiences were in awe. Hey, look! It's on KZfaq. lol. Check out the retro hilarity! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p5ucqsuZ1K-vn58.html