My Take On The Boxee App

So here’s my take on the Boxee remote app. For those of you that don’t know, Boxee is an open source media center app. I’m fact, it’s THE media center app out there to use if you have a media center. I guess for those of you who don’t know what a media center is, a media center is a computer that is used to serve up media… and mostly all media centers are done through TVs, like mine. I snapped a pic of mine.

So Boxee is the most popular media center app. There’s the Windows application called “Media Center”, which is a media center program. And I happen to have the latest version of it with Windows 7 (still not released yet), and if your not getting cable, satilite, fios or digital tv into your house, then there’s no reason to use Windows’ Media Center, but instead, use Boxee and Hulu desktop (a seperate “media center” type program, used strickly for Hulu). All of my entertainment, my “tv”, comes from the net and I don’t pay for any TV services in my house.

So back to the point of the Boxee remote app. What this is, is a free app that turns your iPhone into a remote control for Boxee. It works via your wifi connection and requires ZERO setup. I’m for real, all you gotta’ do load up Boxee, load up the Boxee app (making sure your iPhone and PC / MAC is connected to your wifi). That’s all. It’s really simple.

The app itself is great. I LOVE the gesture mode. It functions really well. I don’t think iPhones should be used for something like a remote, but if you don’t have one and are usin’ Boxee, this app’s bad ass.

It’s really responsive and just plan works. If you have Boxee, even if you have a remote, I recommend getting it… it can also be a great way to mess with somebody who’s watchin’ something on Boxee. In fact, considering it works over wifi, you can actually control it from another room or from outside and mess with the person watchin’ it. It’s pretty funny, especially if you don’t tell them you have the app.

Peace, J

Control Your Music While Locked

Well I learned somethin’ new. Did you know that you can control the iPod of your iPhone while it’s still locked? No, I don’t mean through the headphones or through a remote or some other hardware. I mean directly from the screen itself.

I discovered it by accident. I was chillin’ in bed one afternoon, readin’ an ebook (Gibralter Stars). I wasn’t feelin’ too hot, that’s why I was in bed… and eventually I decided to go to sleep with the Neocell laying next to me. I woke up ‘cuz the Neocell made a beeping noice and spoke to me “I have downloaded new email for you…” (somethin’ I created just for the Neocell). I went to hit the home button, to wake it up, but because I was tired, I hit the home button too many times and this is how I discovered it. At first I thought it was a glitch.

Try it out for your self. Play some music or don’t play any music at all, turn your iPhone (or iPod touch) off and turn it on so that you see the locked screen. When you do, hit the home button twice quickly and bam… your now able to control your iPod while your iPhone is still locked.

Pretty tight, huh?

Peace, J

Pandora’s Been Rockin’ It

You know I’ve been usin’ Pandora a lot lately. And although it can take a long time to start up or can bug out if you need to change songs ‘n’ crap via Edge, it’s been workin’ out nicely. I’ve been listenin’ to it a crap load when I’m out drivin’ or if I take a walk somewhere.

I’ve been impressed with it’s constant great quality and reliability over Edge. I’ll leave it docked in the Lexus, playing through the sound system and I sometimes forget I’m playing muisc over the Internet… music over the Internet anywhere you go… it’s a crazy concept.

Peace, J