🚀 go-pugleaf

I apologize for the crosspost. I don't believe that this message is
inappropriate in any of the groups I have posted it to. If you disagree,
please let me know via e-mail, and I will cancel, redirect, or trim as
appropriate. If you would like to suggest other groups where it may be
welcome, I'm open to that, too.

This is an idea for a program I would love to see. It started out as
something I would like to own, and is kind of evolving in my head into
something I would like to sell...this top part is the short version. More
details are under the divider.

There is nothing in the world, save for the collective basic decency of
the internet and Mac developer communities, to prevent someone who likes
this idea from running with it, and giving me neither a dime nor any
credit. Anyone who decides to do so may consider his conscience eased if
he just sends me a copy of the damn thing.

Bottom line: I want to use my Mac to control my VCR. I found a similar
device for DOS at the following URL:
{http://www.techmall.com/smarthome/4057.html}. That's basically what I
want for Mac, with one exception: the ad doesn't say whether the software
can store programs for timed operation. That is critical to me.

Does such an option exist for Mac? If not, is some intrepid programmer
interested in creating one? I can't offer much compensation, but the folks
who run the above URL, or someone else, may want to buy it...and I can
barter graphic design services (print, WWW, or whatever), for whatever
that's worth. I'd also love to be involved in the project in whatever
(admittedly limited) way I can--writing Docs, designing buttons and splash
screens, packaging and marketing support, etc.

That's the nutshell version. More detail follows, if you're interested.

==============================================================================

I recently got a job working from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Those hours are fine
with me, except that I completely miss prime-time television. Not that
that is such a great loss, but my waking away-from-work hours all coincide
with daytime or late-night television, which is worse.

I am perfectly happy with my VCR, except that it only supports 2 stored
programs. I can't afford a new one. As I was hunting around the 'net for
information on some sort of VCR Plus+ box that might suit my needs, I ran
across Home Automation Systems, Inc. (the URL listed near the top of this
message). They make for PC what I want for Mac, more or less.

Several models of One For All universal remotes, billed as "upgradeable,"
have a little 3-pin connector under the battery cover. These are the
remotes that Home Automation Systems uses in their products, so I know
that they can be controlled via a serial connection. I've already got one
of those. And I have a Mac II gathering dust. All I need is the software
and the cable, and with the pinouts, I could make a cable. Alas, I am not
a programmer.

I would imagine that there's a market for this, and it's a good use for
older Macs. A lot less work than Andy Ihnatko's Macquarium plans, too. One
For All has already done the work of wading through different
manufacturers' specs; all I need is a program that can talk to the remote.
The Home Automation page I mentioned above sells a One For All developer's
guide.

The Home Automation people have worked out a way for the All For One
remote to control a broad variety of household appliances--simply
providing a Mac front end to the remote will make all of that available to
Mac users. 

If the software can be written to make do with minimal system resources,
this could provide a use for all of the Mac Pluses, SEs, Classics, and
Portables out there. These machines have plenty of power to act as a
dedicated "smart house" server. 

As a commercial exercise, I see the program bundled with the cable and the
remote itself in the $75-100 range. I could even see a market for
preconfigured Pluses and SEs, set up to boot into the program instead of
the finder, as a $250 turnkey solution. 

Here are the specs, as I see 'em:

  * Programming at least a week in advance, preferrably infinite, through an 
    appointment calendar-like interface.

  * Real-time controls.

  * Suppport for older Macs--Plus and later. If it's System 7 only, that's 
    cool.

  * Uses <1MB RAM.

  * Snazzy user interface optional.

The following features would also be nice:

  * Accessible via Appletalk (to allow programming from another Mac or via 
    Remote Access)

  * Scriptable

  * Ability to "back up" the remote itself--when the batteries die, the remote 
    must be reprogrammed to recognize the devices, and that's a pain.

  * Multiple button sets (VCR, TV, cable converter, CD player, etc.)

  * User-definable button sets--leave off the "menu" buttons for VCRs without 
    onscreen programming, for example. Or the buttons for home automation could 
    be named by the user, so that the button for "living room lights" could 
    be labeled that way on screen, though it is still the "volume up" button on 
    the remote itself.

  * An interactive set-up procedure to walk the user through the process of 
    programming the remote.

Sorry about the length. Please e-mail if interested.

     --------------------------------------------------------
"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."
                  --S.Morganstern, The Princess Bride
     --------------------------------------------------------
 Andy Walton  *  atticus@mindspring.com  *  finger for e.e. cummings
      http://www.mindspring.com/~atticus/Waltonschauung.html