CONTROL YOUR LAPTOP WITH YOUR PHONE, PLAY MUSIC, VIDEOS DIRECTLY FROM YOUR LAPTOP, DESKTOP ETC CONTROL YOUR LAPTOP WITH YOUR PHONE, PLAY MUSIC, VIDEOS DIRECTLY FROM YOUR LAPTOP, DESKTOP ETC
Scale up your Android media center with Gmote Android apps
One of the major reasons why people usually buy smartphones is so that they are able to play their favorite music and videos. However, this usually comes with some limitations, mainly with regard to storage space. For many people, most of their music and video files are usually stored in their PCs, while just a selected number of files are stored in their smartphones. This thus means that they cannot access their music files, and they have to keep deleting some of the files in order to make room for new files. This is a great inconvenience for smartphone users; the good news is that someone saw this and decided to come up with a simple hack that enables one to stream their music from their PC to their smartphones by using Wi-Fi. There is an Android app called app called Gmote that makes accessing this future a breeze.
Installing the Gmote Android app
Simply search for “Gmote” in the Play store and install the app. During installation, you’ll notice that the only permission that Gmote requests is Network communication. So many apps ask for every permission under the sun—why does a flashlight app need access to your contacts?—so it’s nice to see an app that only requests the sole permission that it actually needs in order to do its job.
As you can see, the Gmote Android app asks for very little.
Installing Gmote Server
On the PC you want to control, go to http://www.gmote.org/server and download the appropriate Gmote Server program for your OS. If you plan on using Gmote frequently, you should check the box to “Automatically Run When Computer Starts.” Gmote Server is very light on resources, typically using a mere 700K of memory on a Windows 7 laptop.
You will likely need to allow access for javaw.exe in your Windows Firewall configuration. You should get a prompt for this after installing and launching Gmote Server.
Configuring Gmote Server
After starting up the server, you should see the Gmote server icon in the notification area of your Windows taskbar—it looks like a widescreen TV with a remote in front of it. If you right-click this icon you can access the Gmote Server Settings and Help menus.
The “Change password” feature in the Settings menu allows you to set an optional password for Gmote Server. If someone else on your network uses Gmote and attempts to connect to your Gmote server, he won’t be able to, unless he knows the password.
The “Change media paths” feature is used to specify where Gmote should look for your media files, allowing for easy media selection and playback from Android when using the “Browse” feature. The Gmote team recommends that you set up paths to the directories that store your media. If you have trouble accessing a particular media path, or it’s not showing up in Gmote on Android, you may need to move your media to a simpler, shorter file path, such as C:\vid.
Using Gmote
After clicking the button labeled “I have installed the Server. Start Gmote!” on the initial Android app splash screen, you’ll see a screen with media control button options for stop, skip back, play, skip forward, pause, mute, volume down and volume up. You’ll also notice options for “Browse” at the top left and a “power” button on the top right. This is used to shut down and exit the Gmote Server player on the PC.
After you try clicking one of the Android app features, Gmote should prompt you to connect to a server.
Gmote Touchpad
Gmote Touchpad is the feature I use most. This turns your Android device into a touchpad or mouse that can be used to control your PC. I use this all the time when I have my laptop hooked up to to the living room HDTV—perfect for finding and playing video files stored on the PC, all from the comfort of my couch.
At the top left of the Touchpad screen, you’ll see a keyboard and a mouse icon. The keyboard button pulls up your Android software keyboard, allowing you to enter text, which is then transmitted to the remote PC. This is very useful for entering a URL in a browser’s address bar, among other conveniences.
Here’s where you fine-tune how your Android device performs as a touchscreen mouse.
The mouse icon functions as a left-click and hold feature, allowing you to drag items or select areas on the PC screen. On the right, you’ll notice a vertical line. Moving your finger up and down to the right of that line provides a scroll function. Alternatively, you can also use two fingers on the main Touchpad area for scrolling.
By default, Gmote has advertisements turned on, but thankfully you can turn them off for free in the Touchpad menu options. This is also where you turn on the Right Edge Scroll feature, if desired.
Need more clarification?, send a mail to Adegboye.adebo712@gmail.com.
Scale up your Android media center with Gmote Android apps
One of the major reasons why people usually buy smartphones is so that they are able to play their favorite music and videos. However, this usually comes with some limitations, mainly with regard to storage space. For many people, most of their music and video files are usually stored in their PCs, while just a selected number of files are stored in their smartphones. This thus means that they cannot access their music files, and they have to keep deleting some of the files in order to make room for new files. This is a great inconvenience for smartphone users; the good news is that someone saw this and decided to come up with a simple hack that enables one to stream their music from their PC to their smartphones by using Wi-Fi. There is an Android app called app called Gmote that makes accessing this future a breeze.
Installing the Gmote Android app
Simply search for “Gmote” in the Play store and install the app. During installation, you’ll notice that the only permission that Gmote requests is Network communication. So many apps ask for every permission under the sun—why does a flashlight app need access to your contacts?—so it’s nice to see an app that only requests the sole permission that it actually needs in order to do its job.
As you can see, the Gmote Android app asks for very little.
Installing Gmote Server
On the PC you want to control, go to http://www.gmote.org/server and download the appropriate Gmote Server program for your OS. If you plan on using Gmote frequently, you should check the box to “Automatically Run When Computer Starts.” Gmote Server is very light on resources, typically using a mere 700K of memory on a Windows 7 laptop.
You will likely need to allow access for javaw.exe in your Windows Firewall configuration. You should get a prompt for this after installing and launching Gmote Server.
Configuring Gmote Server
After starting up the server, you should see the Gmote server icon in the notification area of your Windows taskbar—it looks like a widescreen TV with a remote in front of it. If you right-click this icon you can access the Gmote Server Settings and Help menus.
The “Change password” feature in the Settings menu allows you to set an optional password for Gmote Server. If someone else on your network uses Gmote and attempts to connect to your Gmote server, he won’t be able to, unless he knows the password.
The “Change media paths” feature is used to specify where Gmote should look for your media files, allowing for easy media selection and playback from Android when using the “Browse” feature. The Gmote team recommends that you set up paths to the directories that store your media. If you have trouble accessing a particular media path, or it’s not showing up in Gmote on Android, you may need to move your media to a simpler, shorter file path, such as C:\vid.
Using Gmote
After clicking the button labeled “I have installed the Server. Start Gmote!” on the initial Android app splash screen, you’ll see a screen with media control button options for stop, skip back, play, skip forward, pause, mute, volume down and volume up. You’ll also notice options for “Browse” at the top left and a “power” button on the top right. This is used to shut down and exit the Gmote Server player on the PC.
After you try clicking one of the Android app features, Gmote should prompt you to connect to a server.
Gmote Touchpad
Gmote Touchpad is the feature I use most. This turns your Android device into a touchpad or mouse that can be used to control your PC. I use this all the time when I have my laptop hooked up to to the living room HDTV—perfect for finding and playing video files stored on the PC, all from the comfort of my couch.
At the top left of the Touchpad screen, you’ll see a keyboard and a mouse icon. The keyboard button pulls up your Android software keyboard, allowing you to enter text, which is then transmitted to the remote PC. This is very useful for entering a URL in a browser’s address bar, among other conveniences.
Here’s where you fine-tune how your Android device performs as a touchscreen mouse.
The mouse icon functions as a left-click and hold feature, allowing you to drag items or select areas on the PC screen. On the right, you’ll notice a vertical line. Moving your finger up and down to the right of that line provides a scroll function. Alternatively, you can also use two fingers on the main Touchpad area for scrolling.
By default, Gmote has advertisements turned on, but thankfully you can turn them off for free in the Touchpad menu options. This is also where you turn on the Right Edge Scroll feature, if desired.
Need more clarification?, send a mail to Adegboye.adebo712@gmail.com.
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