Blog

iTunes 11

2012-12-01T15:03:15Z

I've started to test iTunes 11 with Remote Buddy right after Apple released the update last Thursday. While most basic commands continue to work fine, more complex tasks unfortunately don't. So far, I've identified these issues in iTunes 11:

Scripting support for shuffle and song repeat is broken (via Doug Adams)
The play command behaves differently. In previous versions, you could simply tell iTunes to start playback of a track in a playlist and iTunes would play this track - and then the rest of the playlist. In iTunes 11, it will only play a single track.
The reveal command behaves differently based on whether or not the user opts to show the sidebar. Also, iTunes 11 will loose a selection made this way when you show and hide the sidebar.
The Remote Speakers are now managed in a popup. This popup is not locatable via UI scripting: the popup provides the iTunes window as its parent, the iTunes window, however, doesn't provide the popup as its child.
Since the sidebar is now optional, using its shared library entries to build a connection to a remote iTunes library requires the sidebar to be visible. At the same time, iTunes doesn't provide any status information as to whether the sidebar is currently visible or not.

The impact, especially of point 2, on using Remote Buddy's built-in music library browser to access and play your content has been pretty deep.

Luckily, I found ways to work around most issues. An updated iTunes Behaviour for Remote Buddy 1.22.1 is now available via the built-in Online Updater. What remains broken due to bugs in iTunes is shuffle, repeat and controlling remote speakers. I hope to implement work arounds for these in a future release.

[Update 2012-12-18] A new compatibility update for iTunes 11.0.1 is now available via the Online Updater.

Mountain Lion Compatibility Update II: Sony(r) PS3 BD Remote workaround

2012-08-24T17:19:58Z

If you've been affected by Bluetooth® issues under Mountain Lion in conjunction with your Sony® PS3 BD Remote, please check out this FAQ that provides a workaround that worked very well in our tests on a number of different machines.

Mountain Lion Compatibility Update

2012-08-09T13:31:20Z

Remote Buddy 1.21.1 is now available. It fixes all addressable issues that have come to my attention to date:

Remote Buddy relauching endlessly
Remote Buddy menu making a short appearance when switching Spaces.
Wii™ Remote connection issues

The only issue I couldn't address is Mountain Lion's incompatibility with the Sony® PS3 BD Remote. Since this appears to be a bug in the OS X® Bluetooth® stack itself, this will need to be addressed by Apple® with an update to OS X®.

An update to Remote Buddy Express is currently "Waiting For Review" by Apple.

Enjoy the update!

Mountain Lion Bluetooth Blues

2012-07-25T14:42:01Z

Apple® apparently has put a lot of work into the Bluetooth® stack of OS X Lion as part of the adoption of Bluetooth® 4.0. Unwanted side effects of this included a bug where OS X® would request a non-existant PIN when you try to connect your Sony® PS3 BD Remote.

The Bluetooth® stack of OS X®Mountain Lion® has also been updated with the new release. Unfortunately, these changes have lead to more issues with the Bluetooth® devices supported by Remote Buddy.

First, Remote Buddy's driver for the Wii™ Remote, which has worked fine throughout 4 major OS X® releases (all the way since OS X® Tiger!) no longer works. The good news here is that this issue can most likely be worked around by a complete rewrite of the driver. I don't want to commit to a final statement on this before the re-implementation is complete and the entire suite of tests have been passed by it, though. Should any more issues turn up, I'll file bugs with Apple® and try to work with them to get them fixed.

Second, the Sony® PS3 BD Remote now seems to be incompatible with OS X® Mountain Lion in general. The Sony® PS3 BD Remote is a normal Bluetooth® HID device that you used to be able to pair with a freshly installed, pristine copy of OS X® using the standard OS X Bluetooth® Assistant. In my tests, this is no longer the case in Mountain Lion. The PIN dialog was presented to me by OS X® Mountain Lion even during initial pairing.

The unwanted PIN dialog presented by OS X® actually already has quite some history. It first turned up in OS X® 10.7.1 on Macs with new Bluetooth® 4.0 chipset. It started to turn up on all Macs starting with OS X® 10.7.2. Apple® fixed the bug in OS X® 10.7.3 and everything was "just working" as before. In OS X® 10.7.4 the bug partially reoccured, but you could work around it by using the OS X® Bluetooth Assistant and selecting "No PIN required." when you got the chance to. Now, in OS X® 10.8 even that doesn't seem to be possible anymore.

I first noticed that issue in Mountain Lion pre-releases, but was hopeful that Apple® would address it in the final GM at the latest, seeing as I've filed bugs on the different incarnations of the same issue over and over again. Unfortunately, a bugfix didn't make it in time.

Taking the status quo into account, my recommendation therefore is not to upgrade to Mountain Lion if you depend on Bluetooth® support in Remote Buddy.

Which, of course, brings up the question: what's the outlook?

I'm already actively working on a new driver for the Wii™ Remote. And I'll try a few more things to get in touch with Apple® and provide them with anything they need to identify and resolve the show-stopping PIN request bug.

I'll update you through this blog as well as through Remote Buddy's list of supported hardware when I have any news to share.

Please don't individually ask about estimates about when a fix may be available. I have no information to any progress made or work that's done at Apple® - and even if I would be provided with it, it would most likely be covered by a non-disclosure agreement that I need to honor.

I'm sorry for the inconveniences the Bluetooth® issues cause. Please be assured these issues are very inconvenient to me, too.

Thanks for your patience with both Apple® and me until both issues can get resolved.

Getting ready for Gatekeeper - and other news

2012-05-02T16:56:42Z

The sun is shining here in Germany. It's not too hot, not too cold - really just right. Time to go outside and enjoy the weather? Nah! I've been too busy working on updates for you :-). Namely Remote Buddy 1.21, Candelair 1.10 and Remote Control Diagnostics 1.2.1.

Now ready for Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper

Remote Buddy, Candelair and Remote Control Diagnostics now are all codesigned with IOSPIRIT's Developer ID. This makes them all ready for the Gatekeeper security feature of OS X® Mountain Lion, which is expected to be released this summer.

Remote Buddy 1.21: control Lightroom 4, MPlayerX and Roxio Video Player with your remote

Remote Buddy can now also control Lightroom 4, MPlayerX and Roxio Video Player. Also, support was added for additional eHome/MCE receivers. Find the complete release notes here.

Remote Buddy Express 1.21: still pending approval

Version 1.21 updates for both Remote Buddy versions are essentially finished since April 20th. The original plan was to release both versions the same day. Unfortunately, the review and approval process for Remote Buddy Express 1.21 seems to take longer than usual. While I expect Apple to approve the update in the next couple of days, I really didn't want to hold back the regular Remote Buddy update any longer.

[Update May 18th, 2012] Remote Buddy Express 1.21 has now been approved by Apple and is now available via the Mac App Store.

Update frenzy at IOSPIRIT

2012-01-18T13:26:36Z

Today, you can download brand new versions of almost all IOSPIRIT products: Remote Buddy 1.20, Remote Buddy Express 1.20, Candelair 1.9 and Remote Control Diagnostics 1.2.

Remote Buddy 1.20: control Rdio, Soundcloud, Chrome, QVIVO Player with your remote

The latest release adds support for controlling the aforementioned applications. It also includes Candelair 1.9 (read on for details) and a long list of other minor and major improvements and bugfixes in almost all areas. The Express version also receives an update.

Candelair 1.9: iMac® 2011 compatibility, new Apple® IR emulation, end-of-life for the legacy compatibility mode

A few users of iMac® 2011 models reported issues when putting their Mac® through a sleep/wake cycle under OS X® Lion: the Apple® Remote sometimes no longer was available after that. This issue was particularly hard to address because I couldn't reproduce it. Thanks to the help of affected users, though, I could identify and address the issue. Candelair 1.9 addressed the issue on the systems of all users involved.

The Apple® IR emulation (also known as "Virtual Remote" in Remote Buddy) also received a major update and now exactly mimics the original Apple® IR Receiver on systems running a 64 Bit kernel as well. This re-establishes full compatibility with applications whose Apple® Remote code still depends on undocumented driver internals.

Of course, depending on undocumented driver internals is never a good idea. Which maybe was best illustrated with the release of OS X® 10.4.9, again with 10.5 - and again with 10.6.2. All of these releases changed driver internals. All applications depending on them broke. Each time with consequences ranging from Apple® Remote support not working in just the applications in question to rendering the Apple® Remote unusable systemwide. Previous versions of Candelair provided a Legacy Compatibility mode that allowed applications depending on OS X® 10.5 driver internals to continue to work under OS X® 10.6.2 and beyond. It was meant to give application developers additional time to switch to driver and OS version independent code like the HIDRemote class. A change that should require a developer less than half an hour of work - including testing. Many developers used this opportunity. Others didn't - and probably never will.

To further simplify and streamline Candelair, version 1.9 therefore removes the Legacy Compatibility mode. If this is a problem for one of the apps you're using, please get in touch with their respective developer. Adopting the HIDRemote class is easy.

Remote Control Diagnostics 1.2

Recognition and correct handling of the new Apple IR driver as well as minor visual tweaks best describe the changes in this new version of Remote Control Diagnostics.

Great deals from IOSPIRIT

2011-12-15T14:06:00Z

The end of the year is approaching fast and christmas is just around the corner. A great time for great deals - including these from IOSPIRIT:

Spacious: save 50% - only $2.99* until the end of the year

Switch between OS X® Lion spaces and fullscreen apps with every mouse: via the Spacious Navigator at your display's borders - or directly with many mice wheel.

We're putting our innovative, brand-new space switching app for OS X® Lion on a 50% sale until 1st of January 2012. Purchase now!

Spacious

US $5.99 *

Go to App Store

Remote Buddy Premium Edition: save 33% - currently only 19.99 Euro **

The Premium Edition of Remote Buddy includes a CD with exclusive tutorial videos (in German), a Remote Buddy license - and a free upgrade to version 2.0 of Remote Buddy when it appears. The suggested retail price for the Premium Edition is 29.99 Euro, but German retailer Gravis currently offers it for just 19.99 Euro. That's the same price as the regular download version. What an incredible value!

Premium Edition

29.99 Euro **

Go to Gravis Webstore

* Price quoted in US$ excludes sales tax or VAT as applies. Check the Mac App Store for quotes in local currencies.

** Price quoted in Euro, includes 19% VAT. Offer only valid while supply lasts.

It's not hard to make a difference

2011-12-15T14:03:40Z

Past year's news often were about huge, billion dollar programmes to stabilize the economy, the banks, the markets, the Euro .. you name it! With such huge sums still taking a dominant place in this world's news on a regular basis, it's easy to forget that even very small amounts can make a huge impact when given to the right organization.

To me, one such organization is Doctors Without Borders, an international medical humanitarian organization that is committed to bringing medical care to people in crisis regardless of their race, religion or political affiliation. Not few people owe their life to the donations that made their work possible. Here's just one example from their website: $35 can purchase enough vaccine to inoculate 35 people against measles. A fairly common desease for which - in some countries - the mortality rates are still as high as 28% (source: Wikipedia).

If you are looking for something truly special to spend money on this christmas: make a donation to Doctors Without Borders. Make a difference.

Spacious 1.0: fast switching between OS X Lion spaces, fullscreen apps with every mouse

2011-11-15T10:00:00Z

IOSPIRIT is proud to announce the immediate availability of its latest creation: Spacious 1.0.

What is Spacious?

Spacious allows switching between OS X Lion spaces and fullscreen apps with every mouse. Via the Spacious Navigator that's shown when the mouse cursor is moved to the display borders. Or directly with many mice wheel.

Watch the demo video at the Spacious website to see it in action.

Why Spacious?

Imagine you're using an ordinary mouse with OS X Lion and you want to switch between spaces. You'll need to move your hand over to the keyboard, locate and press the right key combination - and move back to your mouse. If you need to switch often, chances are you'll soon find this highly annoying and a constant source of interruption in your workflow.

Spacious offers smart solutions to this and other space-related challenges.

Key Features

Switch to neighbouring spaces
The Spacious Navigator appears when you move your mouse to your display�s borders and keep moving. Click on the Navigator to switch to the next or previous space.
Quick app switching and quitting
Right-click on the Spacious Navigator to access recently used applications and Mission Control. Hover over an app's icon and a close button appears, allowing you to quit that app.
Mouse wheel switching
If your mouse wheel can scroll left and right (often possible by tilting it), you can turn on an option in Spacious and henceforth use it to switch to the next and previous space instead.

See Spacious in Action

See Spacious and its most important features in action in the "Introducing Spacious" video at the Spacious Website (http://www.iospirit.com/spacious/).

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

Spacious 1.0 is available at the Mac App Store at an introductory price of 5.99 US$ *. Spacious requires a Mac running Mac OS X Lion 10.7 or later.

About IOSPIRIT

IOSPIRIT was founded by Felix Schwarz in 2004 and is based in Roth (Bavaria, Germany). It focuses on the development of innovative software for Mac OS X and iOS.

IOSPIRIT is best known for Remote Buddy, the most powerful remote control solution for the Mac. An Express version of Remote Buddy is also available at the Mac App Store.

* Price quoted in US$ excludes sales tax or VAT as applies. Check the Mac App Store for quotes in local currencies. We reserve the right to set a different price (both higher and lower) at any time without advance notice.

Address: IOSPIRIT GmbH, Am Feldacker 4, 91154 Roth, Germany. Phone: +49 9171 827831. Fax: +49 9171 827832. Email: info@iospirit.com. Website: http://www.iospirit.com/. Trade register number and place of registration: HRB 21960, Amtsgericht N�rnberg. CEO: Felix Schwarz.

IOSPIRIT GmbH and Spacious are neither affiliated with nor endorsed or sponsored by Apple or any other, previously named company. Apple, OS X, Mac, Mac OS, Spaces are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Mission Control and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. All information is subject to change without notice. Please also visit http://www.iospirit.com/legal/ for information.

Introducing the AJAX Remote App for iPhone(tm) and iPod(r) Touch

2011-10-21T23:20:54Z

IOSPIRIT is proud to announce the immediate availability of the AJAX Remote App on the App Store.

The AJAX Remote App makes it easy to search and log in to available AJAX Remotes on the same Wi-Fi network. AJAX Remote is a web app served by the Remote Buddy and Remote Buddy Express Mac® applications (need to purchased separately).

Key Features

simplified AJAX Remote setup
browse and log in to AJAX Remotes
automatic launch of modules after log-in
automatic login to last used AJAX Remote at startup
saves your AJAX Remote password as part of your keychain

Requirements

A Mac® running Remote Buddy or Remote Buddy Express version 1.19 or later, with AJAX Remote enabled
Mac® and iPhone™/iPod® Touch need to be connected to the same, reliable Wi-Fi network allowing direct connections between its clients
iOS 4.2 or later

Updates to Remote Buddy and Remote Buddy Express

Also available today are updates to Remote Buddy 1.19 and Remote Buddy Express 1.19, adding support for the new app.

Blog

iTunes 11

Mountain Lion Compatibility Update II: Sony(r) PS3 BD Remote workaround

Mountain Lion Compatibility Update

Mountain Lion Bluetooth Blues

Getting ready for Gatekeeper - and other news

Now ready for Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper

Remote Buddy 1.21: control Lightroom 4, MPlayerX and Roxio Video Player with your remote

Remote Buddy Express 1.21: still pending approval

Update frenzy at IOSPIRIT

Remote Buddy 1.20: control Rdio, Soundcloud, Chrome, QVIVO Player with your remote

Candelair 1.9: iMac® 2011 compatibility, new Apple® IR emulation, end-of-life for the legacy compatibility mode

Remote Control Diagnostics 1.2

Great deals from IOSPIRIT

Spacious: save 50% - only $2.99* until the end of the year

Remote Buddy Premium Edition: save 33% - currently only 19.99 Euro **

It's not hard to make a difference

Spacious 1.0: fast switching between OS X Lion spaces, fullscreen apps with every mouse

What is Spacious?

Why Spacious?

Key Features

See Spacious in Action

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

About IOSPIRIT

Introducing the AJAX Remote App for iPhone(tm) and iPod(r) Touch

Key Features

Requirements

Updates to Remote Buddy and Remote Buddy Express

Screenshots