Presentation Remote for linux?
 

Can anybody suggest a good presentation remote that works well with Linux? I'm using Ubuntu 8.10 with Open Office Impress.

My needs?

-I need an RF remote with a 50-100 ft range.
-I NEED it to page forward, and page back.
-I NEED it to be reliable.
-It must not turn off automatically or loose sync for periods of less than 45 minutes.
-I do not need mouse control or laser pointer.
-It would be nice If it had programable buttons (macros) but that's not nessicary.

The programable buttons would be so that I could play a qued-up video in VLC on another virtual desktop then switch back. ie one button for <ctrl><alt><right> one for <ctrl><alt><left> and one for the space bar (which pauses and un-pauses VLC)

If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it. I suspect that all presentation remotes are universal and would work with Linux, but I've never used one before, so I don't know.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

Have you tried BlueMaemo? It might satisfy your needs without you needing to buy a remote.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

I don't think that'll be any good. I tried it with my phone, and it tested great, but it fell down once the room was full of people and/or bluetooth enabled phones. I just don't think BT has the signal strength for my application, and I can't handle the embarrassment of another public failure. :p

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

How far were you? o.O I've done presentations with my laptop booted into Vista + n800 using Bluemaemo and it worked just fine (bad graph depiction below)
--------------------------------- PROJECTOR SCREEN
LAPTOP ---------------ME
(distance)
------------------------------ REST OF MY CLASS

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

I was about 20 feet away. The whole setup is in our church. the projector is in the front of the room (not that that matters), the computer is in the back of the room, and my family and I sit in the middle. The bluetooth adapter was mounted about 6 feet high on a wooden dowel at the end of a usb extension cable. I also used a piece of aluminum flashing to make the antenna directional. My phone is a sony-erricsson w580i, and I had it out, not in a pocket.

I have several theories as to why it didn't work, but none of them really matter. I may try again with the n810 and a different BT adapter, but just for kicks, and not during our main worship service. I'm convinced that an RF solution is the best fit for our situation, for several reasons. Not the least of which is usability in my absence.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

have you thought about the bluray controller for the Playstation3?

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

p.s. at our church we bought a wireless controller from Brando. it worked fine except the batteries it came with were dead. it's small and thin enough to fit into a PCMCIA slot, so you can't lose it.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

But is it designed to be put in the PCMCIA slot? I wouldn't shove anything in there that wasn't supposed to be there. - Also leaves the question of Linux compatibility?

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

Do you see any other Brando remotes of similar size?
http://usb.brando.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00428
http://usb.brando.com/prod_img/zoom/...14700_05_L.jpg

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

It's a desktop, so I'd prefer it to be a usb devise. I bought one that I'm testing now, but the results are not very pleasing. I'll add some details later today when I have some more time.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

Sorry about that. I bought a Satechi SP400 smart-pointer. Every button does actually function properly, but not always on the first press. I don't know if it's because the thing sleeps or that the signal is not so great or what, but whatever is going on it's not OK for my use case. It tested ok to about 50 feet with no one in the room, but when it counted, I was only about 25-30 feet away, and it just wasn't getting it done. I did try it with new batteries, but that didn't help either. If I had a use for a remote where timing was not critical I might keep it, but presenting lyrics to singing people is kinda time sensitive. Another negative thing about it (that didn't actually affect me) was that you could not click with a mouse button while moving the mouse pointer, so no dragging files into folders, etc. I will say that it had a nice feel, and it seemed like a solid build. But at almost $50 I have no use for it, so it's going back.

I'm open to suggestions again if anybody has 'em. I think I'll give bluemaemo a try, at least until I find a permanent solution.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

LinuxEventually: Hey, thanks! I've been looking for something like that! :D BTW, does that fit into a PCMCIA slot, ExpressCard, or both kinds of slots? Or does it take a special slot?

EDIT: Nevermind. It's called RTFP. *groan*

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

I have a presenter thingy from Targus. I tried it with Open Office on Ubuntu and it worked fine without installing anything.

Targus wireless presenter

It may not have the range that you're looking for though. I don't really have a good way to test that.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

This is a bit late of a response since I forgot about this thread, but how big was the church? I believe Bluetooth works by bouncing the signal around if the devices aren't in the immediate vicinity. I know that because my bluetooth headphones when I used it outside would sometimes futz out when the n800 + bluetooth receiver were in my pocket or backpack.

Re: Presentation Remote for linux?
 

It's not late at all, I still haven't found a good remote. I contacted the Satechi people, and they sent me another one. It was worse. I'm sending them both back, and starting over. It's a slow process, as I only get to do one test a week. :S

I don't know the dimensions of the church off the top of my head. I'll check this weekend.