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Control Your Mac With Bluetooth Phone
reidconti writes "Ever wanted to control your Mac remotely? Now you can, with the Sony Ericsson Clicker by Jonas Salling. Play MP3s or DVDs, command Keynote and PowerPoint presentations, all from your Sony Ericsson Bluetooth phone. Nifty proximity mode lets you pause your music when you leave the room and automatically resume when you re-enter." It uses AppleScript, to control whatever AppleScript can control.
Bravo, if this works, it looks like Bluetooth might finally turn the corner to become more than just a way to have a wireless headset...
On a serious note it's saved me having to buy a remote from Keyspan.
You may think me a tired, old, cynic. I'd have to disagree about the tired bit.
Seems like Ericsson now provides all those cool features that made having a Newton so exciting. Reminds me of the software that turned a Newt into a remote control for Sony CD Players and a couple of other things.
its cool that bluetooth has the flexibility and integrates easily between different supporting hardwares. but one must admit that if you want to enjoy it all you dont want separate gizmos in your pocket that do one or two things, thats where a palm makes a comeback cause you can just "configure" it to connect/administer this or that other device via bluetooth technology. to facilitate all that it would be nice if all supporting hardware and applications would connect via a moro common application layer to support such required flexibility, otherwise you are going to end up with your ear set in your shirt pocket, your palm in your jacket pocket to control your pc or stereo or even an application running on either or etc etc... dum controllers strikes again (ok palm is not such a dum device as the headset...)
..... Ive quit sex, drugs and rocknroll but not lieing
Well, then I suggest you head over to Apple and give some feedback on this one.
This is really a geek tool. I love it .. especially the proximity sensor. You can actually program your Mac to execute a task via Applescript when you leave the BT radius, or re-enter it.
We need longer battery life now. Bluetooth is a real drain on your cell phone (or your Palm for that matter).
"We lost years of work"
"Any idea how it happened?"
"Yeah, we were hacked by a cell phone".
Great idea, but was it really thought through all the way?
CODITO, ERGO SUM: I Code, therefore I am.
I can't seem to get the plug in to work, it doesn't appear in System Preferences no matter which PreferencePanes folder I choose to put it in.
Tried pretty much everything.
Anyone have any ideas on how to get it to work, or anyone with similar problems... looks very cool, would like to get it working!
-Nex
This sig has been deprecated.
Is there any chance this could work with other bluetooth-equipped mobiles?
I like the idea of integrating gadgets into the computer environment.
Now that someone has opened the door, I'd like to see more of this. Technically, Mac OSX already supports talking commands to the computer ("Speech" application)
So using a bluetooth headset, you should be able to produce the same result. Turn down volume when leaving the room and controlling the computer by executing applescripts.
-DVD player - get back into the menu -Start up the screensaver (for when you leave the range) (make sure screensaver is turned off or two of them will run)
-Telling you when you are in or out of range (so you know how far you can go).This application is so great. The possibilities are endless. -
Boom Shanka
Just tried the app on a T68i. It's a bit buggy right now, but I just love the possibilities it creates. My computer now launches my email app when I come in and quit it when I leave, and I'm only starting to get ideas. I'm going to explore all the Applescript possibilities. I just hope the final version of this app is not too expensive, or that someone develops a free alternative.
I don't have much to add.
The program is truly awesome in it's usefulness and geek-chic factor, but don't forget that it's time-(limited/crippled), ie. it's good to the end of February, which gives you a mere week!
There's no indication of how much it'll be to buy at the moment, but hopefully not too much. I'd not want to spend more than £10-£20 on this, as a techy it's of limited 'real' use.
Here's hoping the author will issue another time-limited release...
ooooooh! What does this button do? - DeeDee, Dexters Lab.
This BT setup works flawlessly in my tests. Make the T68i (in my case) discoverable iTunes starts to play (as per my setting). Turn BT off on T68i and iTunes stops; also during DVD playing the BT device worked like any old remote, however, the T68i is color, screen is bright and the blue light flashing like mad were just things to note (not gripes just notables) :)... The concept rocks, where can we go next and how can I help???
No Palm version. It's frustrating.
Now I can live out my boxing fantasy by telling the Sony Ericsson Clicker to play the Rocky theme song whenever i enter the room!
Erin Go Bragh!
The PowerPoint control requires "Visual Basic for Applications" to be installed. If you haven't got it, PowerPoint will tell you. In this case, run the Office X installer and select only the "Visual Basic for Applications" option from inside the "Tools" dropdown - then finish the installation process. If you've already applied the Office 10.1.2 patch, you will need to patch it again. PowerPoint kept crashing on me when I tried to start the slide show from my phone until I re-applied the patch. This is a truly awesome application.
Is that a quote from "In the beginning..."?
http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Cli cker/index.html
I was going to post about this, but wanted to wait until the actual website was up...
dear God.. i guess i have to face the facts... i've become a KARMA WHORE!
oh well, it could be worse.. i could be a California asembly person.. and spend other people's money like a CRACK WHORE.
guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.
This app is so revolutionary that those who are unfortunate enough to not own a SonyEricsson T68i may not be able to understand what they are missing. See this streaming video (.Mac) :
. ht ml
http://homepage.mac.com/rtouris/iMovieTheater38
However, the author encoded with 3ivx, you need to download the codec at
http://www.3ivx.com/download/index.html
T68i's are free with rebates from amazon.com
I'm currently testing a piece of freeware that does all of this except the proximity stuff, but also has the ability to move the cursor.
All-
:-)
Does anyone make a very small Bluetooth keychain type device? I really like the "Proximity Sensor" mode... but I don't want to need a Sony/Ecicson phone to use it...
Something like a keyless entry keychain, but with Bluetooth... someone must make one, right?!?
Later,
-Affe
I have proximity locking and unlocking both running beautifully here. 10-12 second delay for either. Big wow factor around the office.
Range on my T68i is way more than 30 feet. Maybe the author will add a range slider on the proximity tab. For unlocking you need something like Extra Suites http://www.kanzu.com/ ($10) or your prefered OSAX that can generate keystrokes. This allows you to enter text via AppleScript as if from the KB and thus unlock the screen. The 'type string' and 'type key' commands are part of Extra Suites.
To lock the screen use this as your action.set previousState to do shell script "defaults -currentHost read com.apple.screensaver askForPassword "
do shell script "defaults -currentHost write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword 1"
tell application "ScreenSaverEngine" to run
do shell script "defaults -currentHost write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword " & previousState
This will not permanently alter the preference you have set in your screen effects panel.
To unlock the screen you can use the following script. NOTE! This requires entering your user PW as plain text into the script. Use this method with caution. A person who gets access to your box could, with the appropriate tools, extract your PW from the preference pane plist and then get access to your box!
Oh, I guess they'd already have that huh? ; )
tell application "Extra Suites"
type key "enter"
delay 1
type string "YourUserPasswordGoesHere"
delay 1
type key "enter"
end tell
Hoping this helps someone wow their boss into mac lust.
Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation
Perhaps other people have better range than I do. But this seems like one of those solutions in search of a problem. That or else it is akin to the theming software or Konfabulator which is just to show off to geeks and nerds while people who use their computer to *do* things couldn't care less.
Just one man's impression.
Secondly, you will need the GUI interface scripting beta, downloadable from Apple at http://www.apple.com/applescript/GUI/. Be sure to follow all of the directions of the readme when installing.
Thirdly, the coordinates for the "click at" command are probably specific to my computer (PBTi), so you will need to set these yourself. (I did it using the UI element inspector downloadable from Apple at the link above. Start it. Start the screensaver. Hit Apple-F10. It will be in the red text in the UI element inspector.)
Finally, you need this text: For whatever reason, this generates an error in Applescript, but it still works. Go figure. Set this to a new action and then to act when you come into range.
Boom Shanka
That's why I use duct tape for all my serial connections. Lets see someone hack me now!
---- The real Slashdot is still here. You just have to browse at -1 to read the comments.
very interesting demonstration of this nifty utility in use
t ml
:)
http://homepage.mac.com/rtouris/iMovieTheater38.h
This is the first truly cool thing I've seen with BlueTooth
---
Live Long & Prosper \\//_
CYA STUX =`B^) 'da Captain,
Jedi & Last *-fytr
My computer may be five feet away... but in a different room from the one I want to listen to iTunes in.
Now all I need is a T68i instead of this 6310i!
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something" - Plato
I always thought it the other way around....
four nine eighteen twenty-7 thirty-nine forty-7 fiftyeight sixty-nine seventy-9 eighty-8 one-hundred-and-nine one-twenty
Oh, I guess they'd already have that huh? ; )
Not really. The entry for the screen saver looks like:The password is not stored there or in the plist.
t'nera semordnilap
No need to use click at, just use:
keystroke return
Though I did need a 3 second delay between the password loop for it to work properly.
Much better than my original solution! Boom the screensaver dies! No password required!
The following script is similar but handles multiple instances of screensaver running.
try
set ssInstances to do shell script "top -l1 | grep ScreenSave"
on error number 1
set ssInstances to {}
end try
set AppleScript's text item delimiters to return
set ssInstances to (text items of ssInstances) as list
repeat with thisInstance in ssInstances
try
do shell script " kill " & word 1 of thisInstance
end try
end repeat
Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation
I was thinking of the plist for the ericsson Clicker app. ~Library:Preferences:com.salling.SonyEricssonClick er.plist
i ng>
i ng>
It stores the scripts as plain text...
*dict>
*key>AppleScript*/key>
*string>do shell script "kill `ps axww | awk '/ScreenSaverEngine/ {print $1}' | head`"*/string>
*key>GUID*/key>
*string>7A69A305-48BC-11D7-9839-000393A38870*/str
*key>Title*/key>
*string>unlock screen*/string>
*key>Type*/key>
*string>AppleScriptAction*/string>
*/dict>
*dict>
*key>AppleScript*/key>
*string>set previousState to do shell script "defaults -currentHost read com.apple.screensaver askForPassword "
do shell script "defaults -currentHost write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword 1"
tell application "ScreenSaverEngine" to run
do shell script "defaults -currentHost write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword " & previousState
*/string>
*key>GUID*/key>
*string>7D9669C8-48D2-11D7-9839-000393A38870*/str
*key>Title*/key>
*string>lock screen*/string>
*key>Type*/key>
*string>AppleScriptAction*/string>
*/dict>
*/BLOCKQUOTE>
Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation
That is something I did not try. Keystroke return just highlighted the bullets of the password, and nothing else. I will try the delay 3. Thanks.
Boom Shanka
Has anyone tried hooking this into the Speech preferences or [insert your favorite ASR software here]?
"Computer, get new mail"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Dave..."
For some reason I can't get auto-redetect to work. Not just with the Clicker application, but anything. I have my phone and my iBook paired and both are set to discoverable, yet for some reason I always have to re-initiate contact between the two when I come back into BT range.
I noticed a note on the Clicker application that says that not all BT adapters support auto-redetect. However, I am using the standard DLink USB adapter.
Any ideas what might be going on?
Have you seen my stapler?
No one is going to read a post this late, but for what it's worth:
I was having trouble getting autoredetect to work, but a few things helped out. First, go to the bluetooth serial connections utility and uncheck the iSync port. Second, do not put the computer to sleep. On my iBook, auto-redetect would work as long as the computer was not put to sleep (screensaver mode works fine). If the computer goes to sleep, it appears that the connection cannot be re-established until the computer has been restarted.
Have you seen my stapler?