MAY 6, 2007 - NUREMBERG, GERMANY

IOSPIRIT GmbH starts into May by releasing the second release candidate (RC2) of Remote Buddy to the general public with a true firework of new features. The most important news in this release:

  • Fullblown, virtual onscreen keyboard and Mousespot presentation tool

    Owners of a compatible remote control can now enjoy a fullblown, freely scaleable, virtual keyboard. The virtual mouse - existant in Remote Buddy since the first Preview - has also been further improved and can now - using the new Mousespot feature - gently highlight the position of the mousecursor. With Remote Buddy, media center owners can unplug their mouse and keyboard and use their remote control as a replacement instead.

  • Emulation of a virtual Apple® Remote

    This, for the first time, makes it possible to use programs (like, f.ex. iAlertU) that usually require the built-in IR receiver of newer models on older Macintosh® computers. With any supported remote control.

  • Usage and different configuration of multiple Apple® Remotes with Macs with an internal receiver, usage of otherwise unavailable hardware features of internal receivers and compatibility to OS 10.4.9 thanks to a kernel extension of its own

    Remote Buddy's drivers for the internal Apple® Remote IR receivers have been rewritten from scratch. Thanks to an exclusive kernel extension, it is now possible to fully use all hardware features. The usage, authorization and different configuration of multiple Apple® Remotes is now possible just as well as shorter reaction times, full compatibility to OS 10.4.9 and play and menu button presses of arbitrary length (previously limited to 0 seconds). An example for one possibility to use the new support for multiple Apple® Remotes: when using two Apple® Remotes, you can now configure the first to exclusively control iTunes® and the second for usage with everything else.

  • Support for the IR mousemode of the Wii™ Remote with just one infrared light source (a world premiere), new energy saving options, support for waking the computer with connected Wii™ remotes

  • Support for now more than 70 applications and system functions

    Among the 17 new entries are Democracy Player, Joost™, Lightroom® and SlingPlayer. Of course, users continue to be able to control, among other things, supported webbrowsers, audio & video, presentation and media management apps as well as games and control over parameters like screen brightness, resolution, refresh rate and volume with their remote control.

  • Reworked iTunes® Behaviour including support for the Cover Flow® display mode

  • The mapping of buttons is now completely unlimited.

  • Further speed improvements, allowing the use of Remote Buddy on many G3 models

Two new demo videos are available on the Remote Buddy website, giving you a first overview of what is possible with this product. A complete and detailed list of changes is available at http://www.iospirit.com/remotebuddy/releasenotes/ .

Using Release Candidate 2, users can fully control any Mac® using an Apple® Remote, Keyspan™ Express, Keyspan™ DMR, Keyspan™ RF Remote for Front Row, Griffin AirClick USB, Wii™ Remote, SiK™ Rex™, a number of Bluetooth enabled mobile phones or a keyboard. At Mac® Expo in Paris, Remote Buddy has received the MacGeneration Award 2006 in the category "Best use of Apple® Technologies" for its innovative use of the latest technologies.

  • About Remote Buddy

    Remote Buddy is a software, that takes the usability of remote controls beyond a handful of applications to a level where the entire system can be controled. Applications and system functions are directly supported by so called Behaviours. They are automatically selected depending on the current status of the system and map their functions to the buttons of the remote accordingly.

    A press on the menu button opens the Remote Buddy menu. The menu allows the manual selection of another behaviour as well as the virtual mouse and keyboard, browsing the filesystem, opening recently opened documents, adjusting volume and ratings, quitting and starting applications, the display of information on recorded programs, TV channels, cover art and the current mapping of the remote control's buttons. The menu structure is freely configurable and can be varied in an unlimited number of profiles, between which the user can choose depending on the current usage scenario and its special requirements.

    The mapping of the buttons is freely configurable on a global and per Behaviour basis. Using the included Behaviour Construction Kit, support for additional applications can usually be added in a couple of minutes and existing Behaviours be extended with self-defined actions. Special care has been taken in the design of the Behaviour Construction Kit, so it is easily usable, including for those without any programming knowledge. Developers, that want to integrate direct support for Remote Buddy into their applications, can download the free Remote Buddy SDK, which contains a number of Xcode example projects.

    You can find a compact overview with demo videos and many screenshots at the Remote Buddy website at: http://www.iospirit.com/remotebuddy/ .

  • Availability

    Remote Buddy 1.0 RC2 is immediately available for Mac OS® X 10.4 ("Tiger") and higher as a Universal Binary at an introductory price of 9,99 € (approximately 13.60 US dollars). The price will presumably be raised to 19,99 € (approximately 27.20 US dollars) later. The prices are final prices and already include 19% VAT for customers inside the EU. On the hardware side, a Mac® with keyboard or a remote control supported by Remote Buddy is mandatory. A list of supported hardware is available at http://www.iospirit.com/remotebuddy/supportedremotecontrols/. Remote Buddy does not include any of the controlled applications. They have to be purchased and/or installed seperately. A trial version can be downloaded at http://www.iospirit.com/remotebuddy/ . There are no functional limitations during the 60 day trial period. Remote Buddy is localized in English and German.

  • About IOSPIRIT GmbH

    The IOSPIRIT GmbH has been founded in 2004 by Felix Schwarz with the aim of developing high-quality software for the Mac® - low-priced, so everybody can enjoy it.

    A special focus during development lies on the latest technologies in MacOS® X, their innovative use, own innovations and industry novelties - far away from outworn paths.

    At the same time the IOSPIRIT GmbH is its own distributor. The platform used therefore is an internal development - tailored to the needs of the market - and therefore allows efficient and fast processing of incoming orders and queries.

    The IOSPIRIT GmbH is based in Nuremberg, Germany.

    For more information, please contact:

    IOSPIRIT GmbH, Felix Schwarz, CEO
    Phone: +49 911 3677423
    Email: Contact

    A presskit with screenshots and logos is available here:

    http://www.iospirit.com/presskit/

  • Legal notice

    IOSPIRIT GmbH and Remote Buddy are neither affiliated with nor endorsed or sponsored by Apple®, Nintendo®, Keyspan™, Griffin or any other, previously named company.

    Apple, Aqua, Carbon, Cocoa, iBook, iMac, iPod, iTunes, iLife, PowerMac, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Velocity Engine, ColorSync, QuickTime, Keynote, Exposé, GarageBand, Xcode, Quartz, Power Mac, PowerBook, MacBook, Keychain, iCal, Cocoa, Carbon, Bonjour, AirPort, AirPort Extreme are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. eMac, Finder, iPhoto, Safari, SuperDrive, Aperture, Cover Flow, Spotlight, Objective-C, AirPort Express, Apple TV, Tiger and Panther are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Wii™ is a trademark of Nintendo Co., Ltd. Nintendo® is a registered trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. KEYSPAN is a trademark of InnoSys Inc. Joost is a trademark of Baaima N.V. PowerPC™ and the PowerPC logo™ are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation. Adobe, Reader, the Adobe logo, Lightroom and Acrobat are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other products, services, companies and publications are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

 
Next post
Previous post
Sign up for email updates

Receive news, updates and offers regarding our products. Unsubscribe at any time. Please see our privacy policy for more information.