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TUAW Tip: Veency remote controls your iPhone from your Mac
Reader Kevin C. sent us a tip the other day -- he recently got a Bose SoundDock II, which is a nice little speaker dock, as a Christmas gift, and he wants to know: with his iPhone sitting all the way across the room, is there any way he can control the iPhone from his Mac? Obviously there are lots of ways to control your Mac with your iPhone, from Apple's official Remote app to multiple VNC programs on the App Store. But in this case, we want to go the other way: control your iPhone's iPod app with a Mac. Turns out there isn't a way to do it -- unless you jailbreak your iPhone. Using Veency, a jailbreak app that Erica covered about a year or so ago, you can head into your iPhone from your Mac and do anything you want, from changing tracks in iTunes to even sending text messages. Here's an older how-to on getting it working. Unfortunately, other than that (according to our research -- commenters feel free to jump in, of course), you're out of luck -- Apple is fine with sending commands from the iPhone to the Mac, but not the other way around. Maybe Bose needs to come up with a way for you to stream music over Bluetooth to their speakers so you can keep your iPhone with you. Update: Our commenters come through as always: Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil will supposedly send audio from your Mac out to your iPhone, and while I haven't tried it myself, we're told that the Bose dock will then play that audio for you. So instead of playing sound on your iPhone, you can just send it music from the Mac and control things that way. And Jeff points out that Belkin makes a Bluetooth dongle, so you can stream music that way as well (and just carry your iPhone with you). So there's a few solutions to try.
Microsoft Research patents controller-free computer input via EMG muscle sensors
We've seen plenty of far-fetched EMG-based input methods, like the concentration-demanding, head-based NeuroSky controller, but Microsoft Research is asking for a patent that involves much simpler gestures -- and might actually make a bit of sense. As demonstrated in the video after the break, Microsoft's connecting EMG sensors to arm muscles and then detecting finger gestures based on the muscle movement picked up by those sensors. It does away for the need of a pesky camera (or Power Glove) to read complicated hand gestures, and can even sense modified versions of the gestures to be performed while your hands are full. Microsoft's developing a wireless EMG sensor module that could be placed all over the body, and while like all Microsoft Research projects this seems pretty far from market, there's a small, optimistic part of us that could see some of the benefits here for controlling mobile devices. And boy do we love controlling mobile devices.
Battery-less remote gets power from button presses, aims for production in 2011
You know what you'll be doing in 2011? Everything that you've ever wanted, that's what, 'cause the world as we know will unquestionably end in 2012. Amazingly enough, one of those bucket list items that you'll be able to achieve is to change the channel on your tele without ever slipping a battery into your remote. A prototype clicker was recently shown over in Japan utilizing technologies from NEC and Soundpower; essentially, the remote turns the small vibrations from button presses into power, which it then uses to beam out signals to the nearby set. If all goes well, the two hope to have battery-less remotes shipping with televisions in just two years -- a proposition that surely exasperate the likes of Duracell and Energizer (and enraptures us to no end).
Walky robot understands iPhone gestures, football fanaticism (video)
Hey there sailor, we imagine you've been doing your fair share of button mashing what with a certain new bit of software out and about, but how would you like a whole new control paradigm? Taking up Steve Jobs' war on buttons, a group of grad students at Japan's Keio University have put together a comprehensive robot control interface that relies solely on finger swipes, taps, and presses. By employing the iPhone's built-in accelerometer and multitouch screen, the robot can replicate a humanistic walking motion, perform sidesteps and, when called upon, kick a football with gusto and presumed passion. Your destination is just past the break, where the video demo awaits. [Via HDBlog.it]
The Apple tablet that wasn't
TechCrunch has posted pictures of what they're calling an "unlaunched Apple tablet." In 1990, as the story goes, Apple was supposedly working on a pen-based touchscreen tablet called the Pen Mac that was actually extremely small for the time -- just about an inch thick, with a screen the same size as a Mac Portable. They were bringing a few different companies in on the deal, and apparently it worked well -- ran a full Mac OS, used a pen to control or let you plug in a mouse and keyboard, and there was even a smaller version called the PenLite (bulky by today's standards, but remember that this is 20 years ago now). So why weren't we all using tablet computers 20 years ago? TechCrunch blames John Sculley, who apparently thought the tablet idea was out, and the PDA idea was in, and we ended up with the Newton instead. I won't second guess him -- while it's easy to think that anything could have beaten the Newton, would the current Apple touchscreen tablet craze even be here if it weren't for the iPhone? And isn't Apple's smartphone just a hop, skip and a jump from their original PDA?
Drama Mamas: Don't let others control your fun
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with the Drama Mamas. Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are real-life mamas and experienced WoW players -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your server. We're taking your questions at DramaMamas (at) WoW (dot) com. The great thing about playing massively multiplayer games is all of the wonderful people you get to meet and hang out with, no matter your respective locations. And the bad thing is all of the inconsiderate people who forget that you're a real person with other things to do than be his/her playmate on his/her schedule. This week, we talk about taking control of your fun.
PSP hack allows for DualShock 2 control
Has your PSP's weary nubbin got you feeling down in the dumps? A new day -- nay, a better day approaches. A French console modder by the name of Flasheur managed to hook a DualShock 2 up to his PSP, allowing for the use of the controller's more responsive (and elevated) analog stick. It'd be a great solution for the handheld's non-ideal control interface -- if only it were a bit more portable, and easier for non-modding experts to attach.Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen such a mod -- last year, someone managed to hook an original DualShock up to sony's portable console. However, this mod uses a DualShock 2, which is obviously far superior, because ... it has a "2" on the end of its name, we guess.Check out the painfully long video demo of the mod after the jump.[Via Engadget]
Inside iPhone 3.0: Enhanced controls for podcast & audiobook playback
It's on the master list of 3.0 features, but we've been sent enough tips and suggestions about it to conclude that the advanced podcast/audiobook controls came as a pleasant surprise for lots of iPhone and iPod touch owners who upgraded. In the 3.0 version, from the playback display for a podcast, tapping the screen brings up a set of expert controls: a button to email a link to the podcast's page on iTunes; a 30-second "What's that, now?" instant rewind button; and a playback speed control to give you 1/2 speed, normal or 2x "FedEx mode" playback. The scrubber bar itself has been given a charge, even though it doesn't look any different until you tap it; it displays the relative playback position within the episode being played. Dragging horizontally gives you high-speed scrubbing (previously known as "just plain old scrubbing"), but if you keep your finger on the screen and drag down, your scrub rate lowers step by step through half-speed, quarter-speed and 'fine scrubbing.' This detail control makes it a lot easier to cue up a particular spot in a long show or book chapter. I've started to enjoy listening to some of my longer subscriptions in 2x mode, especially when I have a fixed amount of time to listen to the podcast but I still want to cover as much of it as I can. Even shorter news-centric podcasts can sometimes benefit from a speed boost. If any of you try out the 2x mode on an audiobook, do let us know how it works for you. Surprisingly, I find myself using the 'email this' button quite a lot, especially to let friends and family know about some of my favorite shows. I imagine they'll be getting tired of that pretty soon.
Video: Microsoft's Future really does make your computer a big-ass table
The problem with most so-called "homes of the future" is that they come off looking like a theme-park vision of the space age (read: the 1970s). The Microsoft Home, however, manages to piece together a realistic vision of our homes on a 5 to 10 year horizon -- a timeline just long enough to allow the nascent technologies of today to go mainstream. As such, it's no surprise to find dwellers interacting with the environment through gestures and voice to control interactive cooking surfaces in the kitchen and the digital wall paper in the kids' room. More prophetic perhaps, the promise that "one day your computer will be a big-ass table" appears to be coming true in the dining room. Take the tour in video form after the break.
CMU researchers control microbots with mini magnets
Pardon the alliteration, but we're excited about the proposition here. For years -- millenniums, even -- scientists have been trying to figure out how to manipulate minuscule devices with magnets, and at long last, we've got a breakthrough in the field. Metin Sitti, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, is credited with creating a new control technique that could allow microscopic machines to "one day deliver drugs directly to a sickly cell or a tumor." Essentially, the diminutive bots glide across a glass surface covered with a grid of metal electrodes, and you're just a click away (it's the Read link, just so you know) from seeing a live demonstration on how they can be used to "anchor one or more microbots while allowing others to continue to move freely around the surface." Good times.
SLAP Widgets add movable, tactile controls to your surface computer
Looking to have the best of both worlds in terms of virtual and physical interfacing, Media Computing Group's developed the Silicon Illuminated Active Peripherals (SLAP) which, as the name suggests, consists of tangible widgets that can be placed anywhere on a surface computer and used for context-specific controls. Examples used are an Optimus-esque keyboard, a slider similar to those found on audio boards, and a knob for video editing. It's a clever approach, sure, but here's hoping future implementations will be able to include a sharper, higher resolution screen. Kindly direct yourself to the links below for video demonstration.[Via Core77]Read - Project websiteRead - Video presentation
Sway releases a free version
If you haven't yet tried Sway, the game from Illusion Labs and ReadyFireAim, now's the perfect time to do so. They've released a free version of the game that limits you to three levels and just two characters, but it's enough to try out the really unique control scheme. Back when I first posted about the game, I hadn't tried it yet, but it's now been on my iPhone for about a month, and it's excellent. Each of your thumbs is a "hand" on your characters (i.e., to grab something with your left hand, in game, you just touch your thumb to the left side of the screen), and then once you've grabbed something, you can swipe that thumb back and forth to sway the character around. It gets pretty complex, but practice makes perfect, and a few stages in, you'll be swinging from grip to grip with the greatest of ease.The full version still costs $4.99, and if you enjoy the free version, I highly recommend it: there are many more characters that you can pick up and choose from, and the stages actually get really tough, as there's a lot of precise swinging that you'll have to do to explore the whole area and find everything there is to find. Sway might be a sleeper hit for the iPhone -- it took me a little while to figure it all out, but once I did, I found a control scheme that's delightfully original. If you haven't tried it out yet, definitely take advantage of the free version.
Brauswitch gives you eyebrow control, that Karate Kid look
Forget controlling things with your mind, hands or feet -- how's about your completely underutilized eyebrows? Without any real output in mind, one Robert Carlsen designed the Brauswtich to give wearers the ability to control any number of things with just an eyebrow raise. Fully endorsed by The Rock, this apparatus contains a digital switch that can be activated when an eyebrow movement forces the tiny slit shut. Details behind the magic have yet to be revealed, but you can bet you'll see these infiltrating the likes of Spencer's Gifts, Hot Topic and Loose Lucy's when it's good and ready. Naturally, a demo video is after the break.[Via MAKE]
Unify4Life's BlackBerry products demoed at CES
A duo of products on display from Unify4Life shows us just how much less productive we could be on our 'Berrys if we had 'em on us. The AV|Shadow and Garage|Shadow connect over Bluetooth and let you control a bevy of AV devices and your garage door, respectively. The demo we saw had the app controlling a PS3 and allowed use of the BlackBerry's keyboard and trackball to input text and move around, and it seemed to work pretty well. The Blackberry app itself looked pretty customizable and the UI was nicely done. Check out the gallery to see the photos of our demo with the PS3, but strangely they couldn't bring in a garage door to show us that product -- but we'll just have to take their word for it.%Gallery-41509%
Analog Devices HDMI transmitter integrates CEC controller
This may not seem like much, but from an industry prospective, it has the potential to be huge. Analog Devices has just whipped up the industry's first Deep Color HDMI transmitter "to integrate a CEC (consumer electronic control) controller and buffer for high-definition audio / video devices." The Advantiv ADV7510 keeps all of the essentials on a single chip, removing the need for a separate CEC controller. The end result? A certification process that's much shorter, enabling manufacturers to get Blu-ray players, DVD players, receivers, etc. out to market faster. The best part is that said chip is available as we speak in production quantities, so we fully expect deck makers to hop on this and erase one more excuse from their delay board.
i.TV app brings Netflix queue management to iPhone / iPod touch
Talk about being on a hot streak. Netflix has been the talk of the town here lately, hiring a new guy to concentrate on digital distribution, nixing HD DVD rentals for good and showing up on your iPod touch / iPhone. You heard right -- thanks to a new third-party application from i.TV, users can now manage their Netflix queue right from their handheld. In the app, users can see detailed content information, ratings, cast credits and recommendations, and you can even sign up for access or link to an existing account. Oh, and did we mention it's free to download? Because it is.
Ferrari's Scuderia Spider 16M to integrate customized iPod touch
We've already seen one luxury car concept utilize an iPhone for displaying automotive information as well as managing the entertainment end of things, but the photo you see above isn't just conceptual. In fact, Ferrari will build 499 of its ultra-limited Scuderia Spider 16Ms, and for those who choose, it can be outfitted with an iPod touch dock right in the center of the dashboard. The 16GB touch will feature Ferrari themes, images and sounds, and of course, fortunate buyers can remove the PMP after having it parked in the garage. There's no word yet on how pricey the iPod touch upgrade is nor how expensive the whip itself will be, but the standard iteration of the car rings up at $277,000. You know, just so you have a frame of reference.[Via Engadget Spanish]
DOTS gloves let you use your iPhone even when it's cold
This is pretty brilliant in its own special way. Let's paint the scene -- you're wandering the cold streets of Chicago a few months from now, and you're wondering where the closest pizza place is. You whip out your iPhone to pull up the Google Maps application, but wait -- your hands are covered in gloves, and no matter how much you try to swipe the screen, you can't get it to register your swipes, much less hit those little keys on the keyboard. But it's too cold to take your gloves off -- what do you do?Solution: DOTS gloves. They've got little smooth plastic "dots" built into the fingertips so you can control a touchscreen even while your hands are kept warm. Like I said, genius in its own way. However, I haven't actually used them, so I can't say for sure they work the way we'd expect. While they specifically mention them working on the iPhone, I've had trouble in the past getting the iPhone to register materials other than my finger. Still, if you want to take their word for it, $15 is cheap for a good pair of knit gloves anyway. If you're in the market for a new pair this winter and know you won't want to have to take your gloves off just to work a touchscreen, seems like a good deal to me.[via Waxy]
Defensive pets a little more jumpy
A guildie of mine discovered this last night, and reader Theronis sent us a note today about it -- after patch 3.0.2, defensive pets act a little differently. Before the patch, they would only attack an enemy automatically if they attacked you first, which made things a little tough with casters -- pets in defensive mode wouldn't actually move to attack until the first spell actually hit you. But after the patch, pets are a little bit quicker: now, they'll move to attack as soon as you attack something, so you won't have to wait around until you get hit before your pet springs into action.However, this can be a drawback as well -- while Theronis says it's a good change and that his pets are smarter, my guildie had a problem: whenever he wanted to pull one mob out of a group, the pet would run in and pull them all. Anything you attack will get pounced on by your pet in defensive, and that might bring some unintended adds along for the ride.Personally, I always keep my pets in passive -- it only takes a split second to hit CTRL-1 to send them attacking, and I can much better control, both soloing and in instances, what my pet is up to at any given moment. It can hurt my DPS a bit if I'm not careful (since I'm a BM Hunter, my pet is a big part of my DPS, so if I forget to send him, that's a bigger loss), but the tradeoff is that I can be careful about pulling adds and I have control of my pet all the time. If the "smarter" defensive works great for you, good, but if you find your pet springing in a little too early, you might try switching back to passive and just staying there most of the time.
Robodance enables Wiimote control of your WowWee Rovio
Ah, Robodance -- how would we entertain ourselves without you? Just under a year ago, the software enabled robot lovers everywhere to control their i-SOBOT with an everyday Wiimote. Now, the same ability has been handed down for WowWee's Rovio. You heard right, the latest, baddest robotic sentry on the block can now be dictated with your Nintendo Wii controller, and you can even customize your own button assignments to suit your fancy. Hop on past the break for the demonstration vid.[Via Hacked Gadgets]
