IOSPIRIT GmbH is proud to announce the immediate availability of the latest version of its award-winning solution for remote controls under Mac OS® X. Using Remote Buddy Preview 8, users can fully control any Mac using an Apple Remote, Keyspan RF Remote for Front Row, Griffin AirClick USB, 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. To date, Mac users have downloaded Remote Buddy more than 40.000 times.
- New features in Preview 8
For the first time, Remote Buddy gives owners of Macs without inbuilt IR receiver (that is, almost all PowerPC Macs and the Mac Pro) the ability to use the Apple Remote with the most powerful and fastest growing solution for remote controls on their Mac. All that is needed on the hardware side for this (apart from the Apple Remote itself), is an external infrared receiver that complies to the eHome 2005 standard. These are usually available for under 30 Euro (or approx. 38 US$, incl. 16% VAT).
Remote Buddy makes adding support for the Apple Remote so simple it can be done by everyone within seconds: plug the IR receiver into your Mac's USB port, launch Remote Buddy and you're ready to go. No configuration or driver installation is required.
"We have been able to expand our repertoire of technologies by an abstraction layer for USB devices and an IR signal recognition engine in a very short time period and are looking into the future very optimisticly." said Felix Schwarz, CEO of IOSPIRIT GmbH. "Preview 8 has never been planned in that way. However, we were so enthused by the combination of the eHome 2005 IR receiver and Remote Buddy, that we immediately wanted to share the results of our development with everybody. Controlling an old iBook via the Apple Remote and turning it into a Media Center with Remote Buddy is just incredibly cool."
Another new feature worth mentioning is the new multiscreen support. It allows users to choose on which screen Remote Buddy should display its menu. Apart from that, a number of bugfixes have been included in this release.
A list of suppliers for the eHome 2005 hardware and compatibility information are available on the Remote Buddy website at http://www.iospirit.com/remotebuddy/supportedremotecontrols/ .
- 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 Preview 8 is immediately available for MacOS® X 10.4 ("Tiger") and higher as a Universal Binary at an introductory price of 9,99 € (approximately 12.70 US dollars). The price will presumably be raised to 19,99 € (approximately 25.40 US dollars) later. The prices are final prices and already include 16% 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: