Interest for full-blown iTunes controller?

[Sharkk717]

Hello! Just wondering what the interest would be for a Palm iTunes controller... you start up iTunes and run a small utility on your PC ("SharkTunes Desktop") and then use some Palm app ("SharkTunes") to control iTunes from anywhere in your house. This could complement AirTunes, or (what i'd use it for) just be used as a way to quickly and easily adjust song, volume, iPod stuff without rushing to your computer.

The features would be (i'm using the iTunes COM Interface, so I can only support what's in Apple's SDK):
-Play/Pause, Forward/Back, Volume, Mute, etc...
-iPod Update/Eject
-Possible EQ/Shuffle/party mix/other misc... that i have to look into

anyway, just wanted to see the interest level of such an app?

regards, sharky

[jjesusfreak01]

Neat, now if I only used ITunes.

[billegal]

If I only used a PC. What about a Mac version?

Can you use platform neutral TCP/IP to pass the controlling values? That way any server can process the values or the desktop version can be a Java program for cross-platform operation.

[Sharkk717]

jjf- as a matter of interest, what do you use? lol

billegal- hmm... the COM sdk isn't compatible w/ Java from what i can tell. the palm part will be sending 4 character control codes over TCP/IP (like "play" for play, "ffwd" for next, etc...) so anyone could write a Mac-based interpreter for that (vice versa, anyone could write a PocketPC, Symbian, Java, etc... client that sent the same 4 character codes and would be compatible with the desktop utility). it would be possible to write this in Perl or JavaScript, but it would be difficult to set up for most users, while a normal program is straightforward. When the PC version is done i can always publish the source code.

regards, sharky

[iDean]

Aw shucks, figures :( a Mac App. doesnt get Mac support :'(

Pwease Sharky :D Pwease! :o

That would be sooo nice to have such a great app available to us :D c'mon we gave you iTunes, howa bout ya share the love :p :D

[Sharkk717]

i don't have a mac :(. if you save up and get me the cheapest mac mini i'll start looking into AppleScript and Cocoa lol. alternatively, we could find a resident mac programmer and i could email w/ them on the potential for porting the VB code.

last option: i write the whole thing in a web language like JavaScript or Perl (most likely perl) and then it can be used by any OS. unfortunately, this is much more difficult to implement and i would have no idea how to pass the character codes to the browser via a palm.

any ideas, please post them! regards, sharky

[Sharkk717]

hey! bad news for the mac guys :( just did a bit of research and it turns out that the iTunes SDK is only for windows. you can do the same stuff w/ built in AppleScript (but i'm not sure how easy local network communication is in applescript). if anyone has any applescript experience please tell us about it!

regards, sharky

[Sharkk717]

ok, here's my decision (please tell me what you think!):

i'm going to write the whole thing. i hope to make the most powerful iTunes controller available for any system. at the end, it will hopefully include details screens for tracks, playlist info, EQ presets, pretty much anything you could do sitting at your computer. i will write the desktop client in VB6 and will publish a list of keywords for anyone who wants to write a client. i personally will write a client for Palm, and eventually one for PocketPC. During and after i've finished writing the desktop version for Windows, i will do whatever i can to find an alternative for mac/linux. If you have any ideas please tell me!

regards, sharky

[mr_gkyc]

Hi,

I bought an AirPort Express over Christmas and love it except for the lack of a remote control. My TH55 would be a great control with Wifi.

Heck, I'll go so far as to offer myself as a beta tester.

George

[Kitten]

Sharky,

I wouldn't worry about using it on Linux. I'm pretty sure you can't run iTunes (easily) on Linux. I've heard of some people running the Windows iTunes through Wine, put it's really slow.

Macs are of course different. What language are you planning to write it in for Windows?

[Sharkk717]

hey kitten,

right, what was i thinking? no linux support for a desktop version (however a linux client would be awesome!)

re: language: i'm using visual basic all the way through on this one (VB6 for PC, HB++ for Palm, eVB for PocketPC). i could've used C# or C++, but i decided that to make it easy and portable i'd use VB. C,or any other language, servers/clients are TOTALLY possible (the syntax is different of course). If anyone can program in an IDE for Mac that has the following capabilities: 1) network awareness/communication (something similar to Window's WinSock), 2) iTunes integration (very easy thru AppleScript... built into the OS)

regards, sharky

[OcellNuri]

Sounds awesome!

[Sharkk717]

coding is done, so i'll take it into beta tomorrow. please email me if you'd be interested in testing (you must have a WiFI-enabled palm, a wireless network, and a Windows PC w/ itunes v4.7). email address: sharkboy717 <at> aol <dot> com (i know, it's an aol address lol. i'll start using my gmail... eventually ;D)

regards, sharky

[snark]

There is already a way to control a Mac, including iTunes, from a Palm. It's using Apache and PHP. Check this thread (http://forum.palmattitude.org/viewtopic.php?t=18575) out on PalmAtittude (it's in French, use an online translator if needed). The download link is on the 2nd page or here: palmac_controle.zip (http://forum.palmattitude.org/download.php?id=5015)

http://forum.palmattitude.org/files/thumbs/t_palmac_controle.jpg

[jjesusfreak01]

There is already a way to control a Mac, including iTunes, from a Palm. It's using Apache and PHP. Check this thread (http://forum.palmattitude.org/viewtopic.php?t=18575) out on PalmAtittude (it's in French, use an online translator if needed). The download link is on the 2nd page or here: palmac_controle.zip (http://forum.palmattitude.org/download.php?id=5015)

http://forum.palmattitude.org/files/thumbs/t_palmac_controle.jpg
Good for Mac users.

[Sharkk717]

beta 1: lots of good stuff. there's a userguide if you want to get an idea of what i was thinking lol. also, all the communication process is documented there. please tell me what you think!

download: http://www.ludustech.com/ipod/SharkTunes.zip

regards, sharky

[Sharkk717]

beta 2: volume, bug fixes, portrait-mode hires+ support

download: http://www.ludustech.com/ipod/SharkTunes.zip

regards, sharky

[oz-nom]

For the Mac, Salling Clicker works well for controlling a range of apps (iTunes, iPhoto, DVD player, Powerpoint, plus a whole lot more) from your Palm. I'm posting from my palm, so can't check the URL. Will post it later if anyone is interested.

Cheers,
Tim

[ppconvert]

Hey sharky,
Just wanted to thank you for this fantastic app! I have my iTunes music fed to my entire house via ceiling speakers and until now I've been unable to find a way to wirelessly control iTunes along with feedback as to what track is playing. Who would have thought....a home automation system with media server that cost me several thousand and a free app can do something it can't. Thanks again!

[JAmerican]

I don't use iTunes. I use Windows Media Player to play and dBpowerAMB Music Converter to convert.

JAmerican

[all_smylz]

Is it possilbe to run SharkTunes through a VPN with a TH-55. Then I could use I-Tunes when I am out and about in town or at work?

[jjesusfreak01]

Is it possilbe to run SharkTunes through a VPN with a TH-55. Then I could use I-Tunes when I am out and about in town or at work?
This app is just a controller for iTunes on your computer. Streaming your audio over the internet is a completely different issue.

[Sharkk717]

as jjf says, it would be entirely possible to control your iTunes from work (through port-forwarding, etc...) but streaming the audio to you at work would be another matter entirely.

regards, sharky

[all_smylz]

Yeah,

after toying with SharkTunes I realized it was just a controller. I have a couple of questions. First, as a controller I am getting some errors I will list them in another post. Second, is it possible to play Itunes on my pda. I don't want to download them and store them on a card. I want to be able to access the Itunes shared music on my wireless network.

Is this possible?

[all_smylz]

Okay here are the errors,

When my TH-55 connects, I am able to see what the PC is sending to my clie. However on the clie side, it keeps saying, "Getting data, please wait..." After a while an error message pops up on the clie saying, "Error 28: String too long." Do you have any idea what is going on Shark-ster

[ungottable]

oz-nom: do you have that link?

-ungottable

[Sharkk717]

hey all-smylz! yeah, the client downloads your song names as a semi-colon separated value. what's happening is that either you have LOTS of songs in your library, or songs with VERY long names lol. i'll contemplate a work-around :D

regards, sharky

[all_smylz]

Yeah,

I have a lot of songs and some songs with long names. Thanks for your work and by the way what do you think about playing itunes networked music on a palm device.

[Sharkk717]

streaming music isn't a new thing... i know PocketTunes has built-in support in the deluxe version. it's not something that i've really ever considered doing and it would almost certainly involve decoding aac's or ripping the sound directly from your sound card (i'm not up on Apple's legal situation, but i'd definitely have to immerse myself before doing either of those things) and then undeciphering that on the Palm. Sounds like lots of work, and too much work for the audience (i'm doubtful that 15 people here at 1src use SharkTunes lol... to say the least it hasn't been one of my more popular endeavors)

regards, sharky

[oz-nom]

oz-nom: do you have that link?

-ungottable

Yep, here it is: Salling Clicker
http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/

I use it as a remote control when watching DVD's on my Mac! I have used for controlling iTunes, but generally I'm sitting right at the keyboard when I'm using iTunes, so there's not much need...

Cheers,
Tim

[ungottable]

thanks for the link! :D

-ungottable

[Richie C]

Excellent piece of software, makes my life a whole lot easier (or should that be cooler, I don't know ;) ).

Anyway could you make the server a bit more robust if it lost the connection to the handheld?

Cheers,


Rich

[ppconvert]

Hey sharky,
Wanted to let you know I am still a loyal sharktunes user...still the best way to control my iTunes when playing music throughout my house. Also, I've recently added a Treo 650 to my Palm arsenal and of course it doesn't have wifi capability so sharktunes is a no-go. Would it be possible at all to convert the software to use a bluetooth connection for the same purpose? I realize bluetooth wouldn't allow me to stray too far from my PC anyway but I'd love to use sharktunes on the Treo. :D

[ungottable]

Ohh... I second that!! :D

-ungottable

[destroyer]

Hi there,

the link for Sharktunes is no longer working. Is it available elsewhere? I'm quite interested in trying it!

[jmc12787]

I'm looking for it too!

[Sharkk717]

hey! http://www.ludustech.com/download.php?file=http://www.ludustech.com/files/SharkTunes.zip