Win Phone 7 - Meteor Remote Control for 7MC out

Experiences and questions about WMC on your iPhone, Droid, WP7, and more.
dduk

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#21

Post by dduk » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:06 pm

adventful wrote:Does your HTPC have an active internet connection? I just noticed a problem where if you don't have an active internet connection, or are otherwise unable to access the zune catalog (for example, http://catalog.zune.net/v1.2/music/artist?q=Opeth) then you would see exactly what you describe - getting the number of items very quickly, and then fetching the actual music data taking a long time. The zip files you sent through to support don't contain the logs I need to look at - I'm specifically after "C:\Users\<insert user name here>\AppData\Local\LandDolphin\Meteor\log.txt" for the user that you're running Media Center from and connecting to with your phone. From the contents of that zip it looks like it's from a user that hasn't actually run Media Center with Meteor installed. Does that sound right?

On the other problem, I think I have that fixed - I think it's caused by having a Windows 7 Library with a library type of "General Items". If you do, you can work around the problem by changing the library type (right click properties, change the "Optimize this library for:" value to anything but "General Items") or you can just wait until the next Meteor server release (probably this weekend). If that's not the problem, then I'm back to square 1 :)
Advent,

Thanks for your continued support in this matter. I can confirm that the machine can access the URL in your post above. Apologies for the mis-log, I was grabbing it from my RDP account, rather than the one that runs Media Centre.

I noticed earlier that my WMP library on that machine had become corrupt. I've fixed that, got all the items back in the library, uninstalled and reinstalled Meteor and the problem remains. I've emailed what I believe is the correct log.

With regards to my other issue, I'm delighted to report that your library fix worked. I've since been able to connect my phone to that media centre and exactly the same behaviour with the music library is exhibited. Would a log from that machine be helpful too?

Thanks again for your assistance.

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STC

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#22

Post by STC » Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:49 pm

It is most excellent that we have support from the Meteor crew on this forum for an MC widget.
Thanks!
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thenoumenon

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#23

Post by thenoumenon » Fri Jun 10, 2011 5:54 am

Crispy wrote:Cheers, I'll take another look in the App. I did notice the blue rectangle, yeah it needs a little re-design shame it blocks the large type.
It was the hold and drag search feature I couldn't find.

I hope a keyboard and remote features will be added it's really useful to type '30' and press Ok to skip to 30 minutes in a video for example or type something into Macrotube's search bar.
I think that the pulldown panel needs a tweak to make it a bit more initially discoverable, but I'm pretty happy with how it performs once you know what it's supposed to do. The height I think is fine, but the width might be on the large size. We wanted the tab to be big enough to just throw a quick gesture at it without worrying about losing your spot in the underlying UI. We don't want a user to have to be super precise to navigate, rather be able to just use broad movements and gestures to get to things easily. I'm still not really sure how to fit a text input-type interface into Meteor without it throwing off the balance of the app. There are some other apps that do have text inputs and they're generally implemented as individual pages or as specific hub sections and I don't like that sort of thing at all. I also feel like if you're having huge amounts of trouble finding things using meteor, then we have to do more work to make sure stuff is easier to get to. I heard somewhere that Mango would let developers leverage the search hardware key which I think is the ideal solution for that sort of thing rather than implementing your own thing. Then again, we haven't made a start on a Mango version of Meteor just yet.

It's not the easiest thing to fit absolutely everything into such a tight environment, especially if you care with how it looks and how it performs. I've seen plenty of solutions to this sort of problem and most of them end up being on the clunky side, or try to fit too much stuff into it and end up cluttered, to the point where it's just overly confusing.

One of the main goals with Meteor was to not only provide rich functionality, but also make it an experience that was completely tailored to the environment. So, we made a few decisions to leave out a lot of the "remote" features that people have been asking about (in fact, I was actually against the up/down/left/right/back/enter stuff that's in the pulldown panel at first) and focus solely on creating an experience that felt like a natural extension to the platform, which is a reason why it follows a lot of the conventions found in the Zune player on your phone. We wanted it to be a remote control, but we didn't want it to be a "virtual remote control buttons on a touchscreen"; I think that's the way we differentiate ourselves from so many other apps out there.

Anyway, I'm in the process of writing up a blog post about why we made certain decisions and how we ended up where we were (and why it took us over a year to get the first version of this app out), so it's probably best left there, but there's a small "behind the curtain" thing.

thenoumenon

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#24

Post by thenoumenon » Fri Jun 10, 2011 6:09 am

It seems that I'm wrong about developers getting access to the search button. That is a bit annoying :/

dduk

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#25

Post by dduk » Fri Jun 10, 2011 7:54 pm

dduk wrote:
adventful wrote:Does your HTPC have an active internet connection? I just noticed a problem where if you don't have an active internet connection, or are otherwise unable to access the zune catalog (for example, http://catalog.zune.net/v1.2/music/artist?q=Opeth) then you would see exactly what you describe - getting the number of items very quickly, and then fetching the actual music data taking a long time. The zip files you sent through to support don't contain the logs I need to look at - I'm specifically after "C:\Users\<insert user name here>\AppData\Local\LandDolphin\Meteor\log.txt" for the user that you're running Media Center from and connecting to with your phone. From the contents of that zip it looks like it's from a user that hasn't actually run Media Center with Meteor installed. Does that sound right?

On the other problem, I think I have that fixed - I think it's caused by having a Windows 7 Library with a library type of "General Items". If you do, you can work around the problem by changing the library type (right click properties, change the "Optimize this library for:" value to anything but "General Items") or you can just wait until the next Meteor server release (probably this weekend). If that's not the problem, then I'm back to square 1 :)
Advent,

Thanks for your continued support in this matter. I can confirm that the machine can access the URL in your post above. Apologies for the mis-log, I was grabbing it from my RDP account, rather than the one that runs Media Centre.

I noticed earlier that my WMP library on that machine had become corrupt. I've fixed that, got all the items back in the library, uninstalled and reinstalled Meteor and the problem remains. I've emailed what I believe is the correct log.

With regards to my other issue, I'm delighted to report that your library fix worked. I've since been able to connect my phone to that media centre and exactly the same behaviour with the music library is exhibited. Would a log from that machine be helpful too?

Thanks again for your assistance.
Advent,

I've just emailed another zip of both the MeteorHub and Meteor folders. Yesterday evening I performed a test whereby I disabled the screen lockout on the phone and kept it on the music artist page to see how long it would take to load up all of the artists. It got as far as the only two artists under the '#' category, plus the final three in the 'A' category. Again, all of the category headings were loaded in the correct places. I left this for at least 10 minutes.

I've uninstalled/reinstalled the hub and service a couple of times now. Is there anything else worth trying?

Thanks again for your assistance.

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StumpyBloke

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#26

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:20 pm

I want a W7 phone and I want one now! (stamps feet) - anyone got one to give for freeee??? :D
Rich

dduk

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#27

Post by dduk » Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:57 pm

StumpyBloke wrote:I want a W7 phone and I want one now! (stamps feet) - anyone got one to give for freeee??? :D
Rich, get one. It doesn't matter if you have to go without beer for a week, WP7 is really quite excellent. In fact, mine in conjunction with Meteor just sent a proud iPhone 4 into silence.

On the Meteor front, I'd like to publicly thank Advent for his technical support over the past couple of days. I'm delighted to report that with his help, all of the minor issues I was experiencing with Meteor have been resolved. I've been enjoying the app problem-free since this morning and it is quite superb.

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#28

Post by STC » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:05 pm

Hmm, [insert cogs whirring here]. Can the phone run without a sim card? It would be a fantastic remote for the fam! :D
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StumpyBloke

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#29

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:12 pm

I am soooooo tempted but what puts me off is it wont sync with Microsoft Outlook unless its going through Exchange... well done Microsoft on that complete fook-up!! Also, I beleive Nokia are releasing their range sometime in the near future which are better than the current range on Orange (I have to stick with Orange unfortunately)
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#30

Post by STC » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:20 pm

I run a domain and exchange for our businesses, so I get out of jail for free on that one...
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StumpyBloke

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#31

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:27 pm

Show off!! ;) :D
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#32

Post by STC » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:32 pm

Sounds great, until you are forced into the role of 'Mr. Spam Fighter' coz we have a bizillion email addys hanging off the thing.
I have things working okay, with a few different layers of defense.
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dduk

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#33

Post by dduk » Sun Jun 12, 2011 6:59 pm

StumpyBloke wrote:I am soooooo tempted but what puts me off is it wont sync with Microsoft Outlook unless its going through Exchange... well done Microsoft on that complete fook-up!! Also, I beleive Nokia are releasing their range sometime in the near future which are better than the current range on Orange (I have to stick with Orange unfortunately)
Are you sure that's the case, Rich? I use Exchange so I'm not sure, but a friend of mine uses gmail and hotmail with Outlook without issues... I think. As long as you're using imap instead of pop3, they should stay in sync.

+1 on the Nokias on the way. If they build anything like the concepts they threw out earlier in the year, I'll be ditching my HD7 for one in a heartbeat.

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#34

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:37 pm

Yes definitely the case if you use a pst file and connect using activesync or mobile device centre. It's a real PITA! Whether ms will address this god only knows.
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#35

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:39 pm

dduk wrote:
StumpyBloke wrote:I am soooooo tempted but what puts me off is it wont sync with Microsoft Outlook unless its going through Exchange... well done Microsoft on that complete fook-up!! Also, I beleive Nokia are releasing their range sometime in the near future which are better than the current range on Orange (I have to stick with Orange unfortunately)
+1 on the Nokias on the way. If they build anything like the concepts they threw out earlier in the year, I'll be ditching my HD7 for one in a heartbeat.
If the HD7 was available on Orange I would have had one already. Any idea when Nokia ones are out...still Christmas time?
Rich

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StumpyBloke

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#36

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:40 pm

stonethecrows wrote:Sounds great, until you are forced into the role of 'Mr. Spam Fighter' coz we have a bizillion email addys hanging off the thing.
I have things working okay, with a few different layers of defense.
Bet you love it really!!! ;)
Rich

dduk

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#37

Post by dduk » Sun Jun 12, 2011 7:53 pm

StumpyBloke wrote:
If the HD7 was available on Orange I would have had one already. Any idea when Nokia ones are out...still Christmas time?
So they say, there'll be delays though. In the mean time, have you considered hosted exchange? I use a canadian company and pay £5pm for mine.

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StumpyBloke

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#38

Post by StumpyBloke » Sun Jun 12, 2011 8:16 pm

Yes I have, been looking at google apps which will do the job apparently. I currently have an Htc touch hd which runs winmo 6. What I love and would miss is a free app that lists my upcoming appointments on the main screen. I haven't seen anything else that can do this and I am resigned to the fact that I won't get this again.
Rich

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#39

Post by milli260876 » Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:42 pm

StumpyBloke wrote:I am soooooo tempted but what puts me off is it wont sync with Microsoft Outlook unless its going through Exchange... well done Microsoft on that complete fook-up!! Also, I beleive Nokia are releasing their range sometime in the near future which are better than the current range on Orange (I have to stick with Orange unfortunately)
Windows live (formerly known as hotmail) is exchange now I do believe and you can integrate any other addresses into it...
A cheap(er) way to get wp7 is to get a touch hd2 hard spl it and flash wp7 works quite well and should put you on til Nokia
release a wp7 handset. Btw I flashed android back due to the lack of flash in wp7 refer to my avatar.... ;-)
Lee

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#40

Post by StumpyBloke » Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:18 pm

milli260876 wrote:
StumpyBloke wrote:I am soooooo tempted but what puts me off is it wont sync with Microsoft Outlook unless its going through Exchange... well done Microsoft on that complete fook-up!! Also, I beleive Nokia are releasing their range sometime in the near future which are better than the current range on Orange (I have to stick with Orange unfortunately)
Windows live (formerly known as hotmail) is exchange now I do believe and you can integrate any other addresses into it...
A cheap(er) way to get wp7 is to get a touch hd2 hard spl it and flash wp7 works quite well and should put you on til Nokia
release a wp7 handset. Btw I flashed android back due to the lack of flash in wp7 refer to my avatar.... ;-)
Thanks! :)
Rich

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