My Maxwell Minute A Blog by Max Peterson

DIY Home Entertainment System Remote

I love DIY projects, they make me go.  This weekend I was thirsty for a new project, and now I shall share it with you.

The entertainment system in the basement consists of a projector, an Xbox 360, my pro sound system, and a computer.  Everything works nicely, except the computer which is somewhat annoying.  You see I don't have a wireless keyboard, and I'm not really into the idea of spending near $100 on a wireless keyboard right now.  I do have a wireless mouse... but even that is annoying to work with on the couch surface or the wooden coffee table without a mouse pad.

So today I decided to make it more accessible and less cluttered/annoying.

I downloaded the Air Mouse App on my iPod Touch which only cost $1.99.  It allows me to control the cursor on the computer from my iPod by using it like a trackpad, or even a regular mouse!  It uses the accelerometer to sense when you move the iPod just like you would a normal mouse, and makes the cursor move.  Of course the requires a wireless network, but I would assume that you have that. (and it better have a clever SSID too!)  Sure, there are free Apps that give you this functionality.  But none of the free apps also allow you to use the keyboard also!  It even has a scroll wheel!

So now I have a $1.99 wireless keyboard and mouse that conveniently is with me at all times.  But that's not the end of the list of features for Air Mouse!  It also has controls for media players such as iTunes, VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player, and Media Center, browsing controls for Safari, IE and Firefox, and it allows you to define a set of custom function keys.  These features are especially great for this use because with the computer I am usually using a web browser, iTunes or VLC.

Air Mouse Trackpad with keyboard overlay.

Air Mouse Trackpad with media controller. (Keyboard minimized)

Air Mouse Trackpad landscape mode.

You're probably wondering how this all works with the computer and such over the network.  Well don't worry, I'll explain that now.  All you need to do is browse to www.mobileairmouse.com and download the free AirMouse Server application.  Once you have that installed, you just need to click on the gears in the upper left hand corner on your iPod touch (^look above!) and it will automatically detect the computer with the server software on it.  Click on that computer, and you're ready to go!  You can use Air Mouse with as many computers as you want, you just need to download the server software on each computer you plan on using Air Mouse on.

Okay, so maybe now you're thinking, "Cool Max, I've got this wireless mouse, keyboard, media controller and web browsing controller in my hand.  But I still can't turn the computer on remotely."  That's true.  Air Mouse does not have any functionality to allow you to turn on a computer.  But something else does!

Using Wake On Lan (WOL) technology, we can turn the computer on with an iPod Touch or iPhone!  If your motherboard and BIOS support WOL, then all you need to do is enable it in your BIOS.  Most computers these days are compatible with WOL, especially if they have Ethernet prts built into the motherboard.  The computer I'm using it on was made in year 2000, and has this capability.

So once you've enabled WOL in your BIOS, all you need is the application on your Apple product.  There were many to choose from, but I decided to go with "iNet WOL."  I liked it because it allowed you to search for computers rather than typing in MAC addresses manually.  This one only cost $.99, too.  Now I know you might be thinking, "Man, I just spent $1.99 on Air Mouse and now you're telling me to spend another $.99 on this!?"  Hey.  Money isn't happiness, and it's only $2.98 for some pretty cool functionality.  And that's nothing compared to what you paid to get your iPod Touch or iPhone.

Now that you've spent your life savings and gotten the App, you're ready to add the computer and turn it on.  Go ahead and click the "+" icon in the upper right hand corner, and then click "Search for network devices".  Choose your computer, and click the button called "Add Devices".  Now go back to the home screen, and you're ready to go.  As soon as you press the button with your computer's name on it, it should fire up!  Mine seriously takes less than half a second to respond, it seems instantaneous.

Well, that's it!  After some time and money we've got more cool uses for the iPod Touch and iPhone.  I know I will find this useful and I hope you do too!  Maybe it will cause you to hook a computer up to your new 1080p television set in your living room?
Whatever you do, have fun!
Max