UPB Support in XTension is now officially in private beta. I spent a year working in the internals of XTension so that it could support any number or combination of input/output devices and that work is finally starting to show some fruit. I've added a bunch of digital I/O and several new wireless protocols since then, but this will be the first (but not the last) new load control protocol. UPB is not the cheapest of the ways out there to control things, but it might be the most reliable and usable. It's nothing new, it's been around a long time and there are several companies making units that speak it, not just one. Frankly I don't think that the much maligned X10 protocol is as bad as people make out, but it does have issues. The thing is that we know what those issues are and we have the tools to find them and fix them, as much work as that is sometimes. With new protocols often the tools and knowledge isn't out there yet to keep it working. UPB doesn't have this problem at all. The behavior of the protocol and devices is well known and well understood. So much so that installers and builders can actually put in place a system and walk away knowing that the home owners will be able to keep it working. This installed base is one thing that makes it exciting for us. A small niche of those people will be ready for some automation beyond what they can get with only the modules themselves or the alarm panel scripting that many of them use and we will be able to fill that.If you're interested in UPB support in XTension check out the wiki article with notes on the progress so far here UPB Beta for XTension and contact me via email to join in the beta testing.