Database Info

TP as HID Keyboard

Is there an application for the TP which allows for the device to be used as a HID over Bluetooth to control a desktop PC?

there are programs that let you control your desktop PC in various ways, but nothing specific for TP or the keyboard

Wow great idea, that would be nifty on my CarPC! I'm always looking for a smaller keyboard to fit there...
Can't be that hard, I'm sure someone can do that, with all the specialists we have here in this wonderful community

"can't be that hard"?
How did you come to this conclusion?
Educated guess? Or just guess?

Well it would need to modify a little bit the bluetooth stack and emulate a HID keyboard, I guess.
Tonight I'm the Jeremy Clarkson of the day, with his most famous quote: "how hard can it be?!" when obviously it is very hard to do...
So I absolutely don't mean it is an easy thing to do, but I'm sure some experts in XDA-Dev are skilled enough to do it.
Hey, a man can dream, right?

Another option is to use a program like VNC to pilot your pc from the your raphael.
Used to do it with my old ppc (Toshiba e830). This works only if the computer you want to control is also in the same network (connected either through LAN cable or wifi).

Yes, I'm aware of a number of remote control solutions, but they all require an application to be run on the PC to be controlled. I'm really looking for a solutions which is purely based on HID. Like the Sony Ericsson remote control feature on the new phones. Great for presentations and Media Player. Any ideas?

Not exactly what you were talking about but...
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
About the size of a lighter, and you can use it for you phone as well. (Picture attaching your phone to the TV in the back. Using your bluetooth to open a program on it. Then typing away on the scren with this "futuristic keyboard from the stars!!".... or something like that.)

that must be one of the most useless gadgets ever created
huge initial "wow" factor, but that is all

Useless? I don't know... over priced, and unnecessary maybe, but a portable full sized keyboard doesn't seem useless to me.

Have you tried it?
I have. Very stupid to tap a plain table, since you cannot feel anything (even the separation of the buttons) you make 60% mistakes.
Also, it is not even portable! You need a large flat surface to put it and to let it throw its beam.
(and one more thing to recharge)
I stand by my original wording.

nethopper said:
Yes, I'm aware of a number of remote control solutions, but they all require an application to be run on the PC to be controlled. I'm really looking for a solutions which is purely based on HID. Like the Sony Ericsson remote control feature on the new phones. Great for presentations and Media Player. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, HID implementation in Windows also includes programs and services that start with your windows. So if you have to install only 1 program to make it run I don't think it is a big deal.
It's 3 years I use my main computer this way. As I have a projector and don't want to start it every time I installed VNC server in my main computer (freeware) and VNC client in both my laptop and PPC, and it works pretty well (especially with Vista on my laptop, it runs pretty smooth).

@NLS:
Hmm, well from that description I will have to agree with you and add useless to my definition of the product as well.
@nethopper:
Yeah if you were looking for remote solutions I would suggest Logmein.com (the free version because I am cheap). If you want something that purely converts your phones keyboard into a computer keyboard... I found ( http://en.handybyte.com/cat/system-utilities/communications/blueremote/ ) for palm devices, this ( http://en.handybyte.com/cat/system-utilities/enhancements/ppc-tablet-remote-control-suite/ ) for ppc but over TCP/IP instead of bluetooth, and a patent showing that someone *Microsoft* is working/has worked on the idea ( http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2008/0120448.html ) so the search continues

@FlippyTK: I'm aware of the VNC solution, but I'm really looking for something as slim and elegant as the software on the SE phones. There are situations where you don't want or can't install anything on the host PC.
@NetApex: Thanks, for the links. The MS patent is strange, how could they file something as obvious as this? There must be prior art... But the patent might be the reason why such a software does not exist. I guess everybody is afraid of the MS lawyers...
I'll keep searching, please let us know if you have the solution...

I'm not sure a pure HID solution is possible. If the Raphael keyboard is indeed a HID-capable device, then the phone itself is its host. Since you would have to go through the host (in this case, WM) to access the bluetooth stack, the most direct solution is a software "pass-through" program.
[edited]
The SE solution is using bluetooth HID emulation, so I will take a look into that.
For now, the TCP/IP solution shouldn't be a problem: you can setup a bluetooth PAN for TCP/IP connectivity.
For reference, one software that is closest to what you have in mind is Synergy, a similar host/client pass-through program that allows you to use one keyboard/mouse on multiple networked computers (without using hardware KVM switch, etc). It's only Windows/Mac/Unix, no PPC client, but maybe it will help point you in the right direction.

I found the following article which gives a nice overview of remote control solutions:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/cms/blogs/3/remote_media_controllers_for_windows_mob
The software from Jerom does a nice job (http://www.jaylee.org/RemoteControl/) and I used it on my Prophet for some time. It requires for a small program to be installed on the host and it is easy to set up. But I had it hang a few times (typically in the middle of a management presentation) and therefore I abandoned it. The SE solution I had before was absolutely reliable and that's why I look for something similar for WM.
In principle, the solution is simple: Implement a HID device driver and pass key/touches to it. I did some programming for WM devices but I never tackled the bluetooth stack... there is a significant hurdle - otherwise someone else would have done this app already. ;-)

that would be cool
using the phone to open an app that is named "operate as bluetooth keyboard" and clicking start to take control of a home theater PC using teh TV as your monitor and the desktop media PC as the CPU and just using your phone as nothing more than a keyboard would be pretty slick.

golympio said:
Wow great idea, that would be nifty on my CarPC! I'm always looking for a smaller keyboard to fit there...
Can't be that hard, I'm sure someone can do that, with all the specialists we have here in this wonderful community
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are so much interested in a small portable keyboard, why dont you try diNovo Mini from logitech http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboards/&cl=roeu,en
Quite cool. I use it for my Media Center!

Cyber-mate said:
If you are so much interested in a small portable keyboard, why dont you try diNovo Mini from logitech http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboards/&cl=roeu,en
Quite cool. I use it for my Media Center!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is cool, but also pricey

UP!!!!!

Remote desktop software

Hey guys, Does anyone know if there's any decent FREE apps for the android that i can use for remote assistance? i work in IT and this would be very useful to me but im not willing to fork out cash just yet.
I know you can use VNC but this means installing software on client machines and setting that software upm which is no use to me.
thanks in advance guys

I have tried most and there are no good free RDC clients. (I started to write one myself but it was not very fun so I abandoned it.)
I would suggest biting the bullet and buying xtralogic's Remote Desktop client. At $19.95 it is the most expensive option but the controls on it are the best IMHO.
If you want cheaper ($7.98) there is Remote RDP by Walter Yongtao Wang but i find the controls are not as intuitive.
I know you said you do not want to fork out cash yet but the reality is if you want a good RDC client then for now you are going to have to pay for it. In the grand scheme of things $20 is a minor investment for the aggravation saved.

PhoneMyPC is the best one I've tried and I've played with almost all of them. Multitouch zooming makes it closest to what logmein ignition is on the iPhone. I think until logmein comes out with an Android app, it's the best bet even though it costs a few dollars.

yeah , i also use PhoneMyPC , works great , no problems

I have to agree. PhoneMyPC is extremely (surprizingly) fast and worked better than the RDP or VNC solutions from my testing.
I was very skeptical that it could perform well, but... call me a believer now.

Thanks for the answers guys, I'll try PhoneMyPc out first.
One more question, I would also like to Wake computers via LAN, Do these software's have the ability to send the "magic" WOL packets to wake a system up?
This is another feature i would find extremely useful.

Clearly my brain was not working last night. I misread what you were asking for. PhoneMyPC is nice but requires a client install.
If your goal is end client support and you do not want to require them to install an application you might consider UltraVNC single click for the client ( http://www.uvnc.com/addons/singleclick.html )+ a VNC viewer on android. While it will not perform as well as PhoneMyPC it has the benefit of being a zero foot print solution and works well in situations where the client may not want/be able to install applications on their system. I keep a build on my website and if a situation pops up that requires me to access the end user's machine have them download and run it.
Your request for WOL is a bit confusing though, which implies you are not going for end user support. What are you looking for:
- a solution to connect to your personal machine running in the same subnet as your phone
- a solution to connect to your personal machine from wherever you may be at
- a solution to connect to remote end users machines with a pre-installed application
- a solution to connect to remote end users machines without a pre-installed application
- something else.
WOL can be triggered remotely (with preparation) but regardless requires the machine to be set up properly and that you know the MAC address in advance, not likely in a remote end user scenario.

Does anyone know where can I get the PhoneMyPC installation file for the phone? I couldn't find any download link on their site.

On the market. search for "phonemypc". It is a commercial app (9.99 USD) so that is pretty much your only way to get it.

Trust me on this one, go with Remote Desktop Client from xtralogic.. I've been using it for nearly a year.. its the best RDP you will find, no client install needed.

PhoneMyPC is the BEST!
Wait... we're biased ;-)
I suspect the user base here is savvy enough to know much of this, but a few details for anybody who's interested.
PhoneMyPC uses a technology similar to VNC, but it's custom and generally performs better. It is a bandwidth-limited approach to remoting, and we chose this because (a) we wanted something that made no compromises on visual quality (no missing desktop wallpapers, no changed settings, no missing themes), and we see the trend in available bandwidth going steadily up for the forseeable future. This makes PhoneMyPC a good option for remote video, for example, because it is optimized for pictoral data rather than vector data.
RDP, on the other hand, is optimized for vector data, so typically consumed less bandwidth than PhoneMyPC, but much more CPU resources. It also has the advantage that it is built in to all Professional and Server Windows versions.
The biggest difference between the two however is how they handle the network. With RDP you must know and configure your IP, and you must update it when it changes (or use a DynDNS type solution). You must also know how to configure your router and other security mechanisms for port forwarding.
PhoneMyPC just works, because it uses our servers as a connection point between your phone and PC(s). You don't need to know your IP, or worry if it changes, becuase the PC will actually tell the phone what it's IP is every time you connect. You can use port forwarding to get a better, direct connection, but it is not required for the software to work.
Finally, RDP is a long-lasting, well established (and more or less un-changing) technology; that is an advantage from some perspectives. But if you compare what users are saying PhoneMyPC is at least as good, and it's new, still growing, always getting better, and we're not even close to done yet. That too is an advantage from some perspectives.
SoftwareForMe.com
Makers of PhoneMyPC

I've bought all of them, and I could never get Phone My PC to connect. RDC by xtralogic, Remote VNC Pro Android VNC work great (used with TightVNC).
EDIT: Any suggestions Softwareforme? Also constant f/c's when connected via wifi on N1.

Home Automation (Insteon/X10)

Only saw one mention of this in these forums (ViewSonic in particular), but being a big fan of random acts of technology, I am totally into the home automation thing.
Been using X10 for a number of years with fairly good success but recently started building my Insteon house of power. Much more expensive but also much more powerful and reliable. Still getting it up and running, but wondering if anyone here has played with the Insteon SmartLinc Web Control on this thing. It was designed around the iPhone/Touch in particular, but any web-enabled device should work.
That being said, anyone here find apps that work well with this format to control home automation? The closest thing I can find is Conductor but you need to have the ISY-99 in order to use it.
I have read about some others, AutoHTN and HCA: Home Control Assistant most notably, but not really getting a good sense that those are the best avenues to tread down.
Perhaps the best breakdown I have found is at "The Android Authority" that I unfortunately cannot link to yet.

What hardware are you using? I have some X10, and Autom8 is compatible with the cm15a usb controller. Run the server on windows pc, and then software on android.
Link is autom8 dot clangen dot org

onezero1010101 said:
What hardware are you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have switched to pure Insteon components right now. As it stands I am running just the SmartLinc, but I foresee myself going the ISY-99 route in the future as I continually expand my system.
I have some X10, and Autom8 is compatible with the cm15a usb controller. Run the server on windows pc, and then software on android.
Link is autom8 dot clangen dot org
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will check that out. I have a certifiable butt-load of X-10 stuff, but I am hesitant to mix and match the two systems at this point as I have researched quite a bit and read about constant interference issues between the two interfaces.
I am really excited to start playing with this, as the potential to have a full size touch screen whole house remote with all the other things that it is capable of. I need to head over to the Insteon forums and see if anyone else is working on custom apps for Android related to this as well. A few mentions of things elsewhere on these boards, but nothing really mind blowing that I have found.

[Q] I/R apps for the GT6210 ?

Has anyone had success with an app for the GT6210 I/R that is teachable? The included Peel app is over the top - it can't learn I/R codes and wants a data connection ...
I'm somewhat familiar with irdroid and LIRC but would like to see something use the built-in hardware.

I don't think we're going to see anything until there are a lot more devices with built in blasters. I agree - peel is kind of a waste. I use an xbox with windows media center, and its inability to learn is depressing.
I'd love to see logitech sell a harmony app that would turn our tab into a harmony one, but I just don't think there are enough devices like ours to make the r&d worth it just yet.
All that is to say - I haven't found anything great either.

[Q] help choosing android phablet and bluetooth printer

my job involves invoicing customers and my employer is trying to implement an application called "sales force". we need to create an order and then be able to print an invoice using a non thermal, battery operated and bluetooth (or wifi) printer.
he and the i.t. guy seem to think that the only way for this to work is for us to have a mobile phone, windows surface and a bluetooth printer.
i'm convinced that we can eliminate the phone and surface using an android phablet that will interface with a bluetooth printer but i'm not up to date with the current equipment.
can anyone recommend a combo that works? i'm thinking about the htc one max or a samsung note as the phablet.
many thanks in advance to anyone that can shed some light on this matter.