Wireless Hacks

Hack 13 Remote Control OS X with a Sony Ericsson Phone

Use your phone as a remote control for presentations or iTunes, or for about anything you can script with AppleScript.

The Salling Clicker is one of the niftiest applications for Bluetooth that I've seen. It effectively turns a Sony Ericsson mobile phone into a full color, programmable remote for OS X. You can launch apps, control presentations, and even use it as a general purpose mouse. It works with many Sony Ericsson phones, including the T39m, R520m, T68, T68i, and T610. It is available online on VersionTracker, or directly from http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/.

The app will install itself as a new control panel and automatically launch. Click on the tiny phone in the menu bar (Figure 2-1), select Open Salling Clicker Preferences... and click Select Device. Make sure Bluetooth is enabled in OS X and that your phone is on and somewhere near your computer.

Figure 2-1. The Clicker's menu bar icon.

Select your phone from the list and save the changes. You can now use your phone to steer OS X as well as to publish custom menus to the phone itself. Under the Phone Menu tab, you can create custom menus of whatever you like and publish them to your phone. Control OS X by navigating these menus on the phone and selecting what you want to do, such as launch an app or skip to the next track in iTunes. Some phones (like T68/T68i) will even allow you to use the phone as a mouse, making it possible to control any application. Just select System Mouse mode, and you can use the tiny stick on the phone as a pointer.

Since Bluetooth's range is limited to 30 feet or less, it is possible to signal Clicker to take action when your phone moves in and out of range. You can control this functionality by looking under the Proximity Sensor tab (Figure 2-2). For example, you might want Clicker to pause iTunes and turn on the screensaver whenever you leave your machine. The interface is very simple: just drag the actions you want it to perform into the relevant boxes, and away you go.

Figure 2-2. You can assign any action you like to the Proximity Sensor.

If the built-in actions don't do everything you need, you can always create your own. The actions are just AppleScript snippets, so anything that you can do with AppleScript can be triggered with the phone. You can edit existing actions or create your own under the Action Editor tab (Figure 2-3) in the Clicker control panel.

Figure 2-3. If the built-in actions aren't functional enough for you, write your own.

Clicker comes with handy actions for remotely controlling slideshows in PowerPoint or Keynote, but since it can simulate any keystroke, it can be used with just about any application. It is particularly handy when making presentations, since you are virtually guaranteed to have your phone with you (and it is likely to be charged). I bought an infrared USB remote control ages ago specifically for this purpose, but many times I don't have it with me, and when I do, there is no guarantee that the batteries are charged, since I don't use it very often. On the other hand, my phone is always with me, and I charge it just about every night. In my opinion, any application that takes advantage of my own habits and laziness is worth investigating.

Most people think of voice or data applications when they think of Bluetooth, but Clicker is a clever app that transcends the traditional "cable replacement" idea. If you own a Sony Ericsson phone and use OS X, you will probably find all sorts of novel uses for this software. Particularly since it is easy to use and is fully scriptable, Clicker is an application that just screams "hack me!"