Remote Buddy 1.15

Remote Buddy is an application that provides you an interface which allows you to control almost anything on your Mac just using the remote control.

Besides the tools that allow you to emulate the keyboard and the mouse, the CD/DVD eject functionality, the termination of applications and much more, Remote Buddy can also control the applications directly. The program improves very much the standard behavior of the Macintosh remote controller.

I have to say that this application impressed me from the beginning. I always liked the freedom that's provided by a wireless remote controller. Apple has its credit here, since the latest Macs are shipped with a bundled remote controller that can be used in order to control iTunes, Front Row and other Apple applications. This program is not limited to the Apple remotes only, you can use other remotes too.

You can access anything with the support from this application by using only the remote controller. If you would like to move around and use your Mac at the same time, then this is the kind of application you would need.

Forget about the keyboard if you don't need it. And if you do need it, you can store into the application's preferences key sequences that you can execute every time you need this. The application has the support for virtual keyboard sequence replay. If that is not enough, then you can try activating the virtual cursor keys support. You can forget about the mouse too. Remote Buddy can emulate every pointing device and all its actions.

The support for multimedia applications is simply amazing. The best multimedia support that this application can give is for the applications that come bundle with Mac OS X. This kind of functionality can be extended from the Remote Buddy's 'Preferences' panel. For example, you can see iTunes doing things it never did before.

Behind this good looking interface that the application provides, there are a lot of settings that you can change. Basically, you can use your custom setup for almost anything. It is recommended to use the application's online documentation in order to discover new things about it. Another thing that I do recommend is to check the producer's website. It has a really nice Flash presentation of this application and you can find there things that could interest you.

Pluses: it extends the Mac's remote controller functionality, it has the support for Mac OS X bundle applications, it is very customizable, it gives you wireless freedom, you can use other remote controllers on your Mac with this application. The trial period is sixty days, but Remote Buddy convinced me in ten minutes.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: Considering the low price for an application like this, I believe it's worth every effort in order to get it.

version reviewed: 1.1