Two small errors have slipped into the configuration file of version 0.9.0, preventing it from controlling Windows Media Center. Since it is a rather small update, as this is only the application definition file that is modified, I did not increase the version number.

So, if you downloaded the 0.9.0 version before this post was published and if you use Windows Media Center, you may want to download it again.

Yet another release of Bluetooth Remote Control for Windows Mobile.

This time, I've added two features that were requested for a long time, which are the ability to control application that I did not include out of the box, and the ability to use the device as a simple mouse and keyboard device.

About the first part, there is now a configuration file that allows the addition of new applications by defining each and every command that can be used on the mobile side, and their corresponding action. I intentionally did not comment the file, this is not meant to be modified by a standard user, but rather by an experienced user or developer that wants to control a custom application. The configuration file will hopefully be really simple to understand for a developer. So, if you understand how this file works, just feel free to add a new application, or update an existing if it does not fit your needs.

Now about the part with the keyboard and mouse. I added a new "application" which actually is not, which is basically a pass-through for mouse and keyboard actions. You'll be able to move your mouse and type in any key you want in the focused window. On my TyTN II, the key mapping is a bit funky when using the function key, but I'll try to fix that for a future release.

Both features are fairly stable, but I suspect minor issues to come up as users are using it. Feel free to comment !

Download version 0.9.0 at http://www.jaylee.org/remotecontrol.

Here is the change log :

• Fixed warning message when ActiveSync is not detected to install the mobile side program.
• Added application definition file.
• Added screen control application.
• Fixed Widcomm PC side support when transmitting large chunks of data.

There's been a lot of Buzz lately about a "Windows Workstation 2008", which actually does not quite exist, but that should. It is actually installing Windows Server 2008 and making it a workstation platform, by enabling every workstation component that is disabled by default.

From my point of view, Vista is definitely interesting, though it has too many services that are enabled by default and that do not make sense in every situation. For a computer savvy user, all this stuff is not really interesting, and Windows Server 2008 with its "do not enable unused components" policy, is quite interesting.

I decided to give it a shot by installing it as my main (and only) laptop OS, and quite frankly, I'm pleasantly surprised ! I do get the same user experience that I did have with Windows Vista with Aero, the nifty new features like the new start menu, and I seem to get a performance improvement over Vista. (Performance improvement is only a feeling; I don't have any numbers to show, though some did).

Everything works as expected, except for the bluetooth part, for which I do not seem to be the only one having problem with. The microsoft stack does not seem to install completely, as there are three "unknown devices" left : BTH\MS_RFCOMM, BTH\MS_BTHBRB and BTH\MS_BTHPAN. All three of them are core components of the bluetooth stack, and are obiously needed to get bluetooth related software working properly. The interesting part is that there are actually all the driver and metadata files required to install these devices, but for some reason, Win2008 does not want to use them. The driver files seem to be identical to the files Vista SP1, so this is one bit of a mystery to me. Added to that, this installation issue seems to be related to the KB940199 where the infcache.1 file could not be found. Screwing with that file did not help either...

So as a backup plan, I decided to fall back on the Widcomm/Broadcom Stack with this guide, which seems to work fine, at least for the part I'm interested in, Bluetooth Remote Control . I still don't understand the licensing policy on this software... You need the hardware to get that software to work, why bother having an licensing scheme over this, haven't you already paid for it buying the hardware ?

Anyway, if you're a tech savvy user, give Windows Server 2008 a try as your workstation OS, you might be surprised :)

Now, I'm going back to adding new features to Bluetooth Remote Control !

Some news around my little software utility...

• It's been awarded the best software in its category by the SmartPhone and PocketPC magazine.
• There's been a cool review on the Softonic web site. A lot of downloads in somewhat short period !
• An anonymous user was kind enough to make a video of himself using Bluetooth Remote Control with Windows Media Center ! Thanks, whoever you are :)

I don't have plans for a major release yet, but maybe I'll make an other small release to add some really minor enhancements.

Stay tuned :) And thanks for using Bluetooth Remote Control for Windows Mobile !

This is a minor release to fix a bug that slipped into the previous release. A blocker bug that prevented the software to run for new users... This is now fixed !

See here to download the fixed build.

This is my first Canadian based release :) This is also a minor release that addresses a few issues and adds some cheap features that have an important added value.

Download here.

I've changed some minor things like :

• Adding panning control to Winamp and the Windows Mixer
• Adding the ability to start the server minimized to tray
• Adding a Start with Windows option at install time and on the server side menu
• Adding the ability to keep the Backlight on for the Mobile Side when connected
• Adding new bindings for the Windows Media Center (Channel Up/Down, Zoom, The Green Button)
• Building using Windows Broadcom SDK 6.1.0.1501 and Windows CE SDK 1.7.1.5201
• Fixing mobile side crash when tapping on the screen in some situations
• Adding a more explicit message when the Bluetooth Stack is not supported on the Mobile Side.

I'm also considering a migration to Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5, but this means that I'll have to drop the support for WM 2003 based devices. VS2008 does not allow the compilation of .NET CF 1.0 projects, which bugs me a bit. So this release might be the last to support WM2003 devices. I don't have much of choice either... .NET 3.5 muses are quite appealing !

Have fun !

This time, I've added the support for the Broadcom (formerly Widcomm) stack on the Windows Mobile side.

This should add support for the Motorola Q9, which uses this particular stack.

On the stability and compatibility side, I've only tested on a version of the widcomm stack for the HTC Wizard, but only on WM6 and I don't know if it actually works on other devices :)

If it works for you, please let me know !

Download Bluetooth Remote Control 0.8.3 now !

If you ever want to install the Broadcom stack on WM6 for the HTC Wizard and you get a "Not enough driver memory", try changing the "StackMode" value from "0" to "1" in HKLM/Widcomm/BTConfig/General. It worked out for me :)

It seems that I forgot to update some scripts in my build process, and that the cab files were not updated in the last release.

So, I you downloaded version 0.8.2 and that the version of the software on your mobile device is not 0.8.2.17474 (See options / About...), then you should download it again to run the latest.

These things happen sometimes :)

This kind of a fix only release. I'm trying to fix the "MissingMethodException". This is a bit weird since the function I'm calling should always be here, as said in the SDK documentation... Some documentation or ISV glich, maybe.

I've also added a more visual bluetooth availability check. Now, if the background of the desktop server is in some kind of red color, then bluetooth is not available. Of course, nothing won't work until it becomes gray again.

On a side note, I'm trying some of the new features of Visual Studio 2008, like the multi-targeting of frameworks. Too bad they did not include the .NET Compact Framework 1.0. This is not good news for Bluetooth Remote Control, since I'm keeping .NET CF 1.0 to run on older devices like Smartphones with WM2003. I guess I'm going to have to drop support of these devices in future version.

Get the new release here : http://www.jaylee.org/remotecontrol