Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

wii nerd

I’m more than a year behind the power curve on this one, but I found out today that the Wii Remote uses Bluetooth to talk to the game console. Up until now, I’d assumed that the Wiimote transmitted data to the Wii solely via the infrared bar that sits atop the television. (Upon further reading, I learned that the Wii relies on infrared signals mainly for actions that require precision, like navigating a menu.)

So, of course, my first thought was, “I wonder if I can control my Bluetooth-enabled MacBook Pro with my Wiimote!” A Google search or two later, I found Darwin Remote, a little app that allows the Mac to recognize signals from the Wiimote. Thus far, the software allows the Wiimote to behave like the little Apple remote control that ships with newer Macs. Via the Wiimote, I was able to use Front Row to play music, photos and videos from my library. I also tried to use the Wiimote in place of my mouse, trying to control the cursor via the Wii. While it’s possible to do, I actually found it very difficult.

In all, there was nothing earth-shatteringly new about the experience, but it was still nerdy-fun.

The basic button commands:

• Home: Activate the Front Row menu, or, within Front Row, to go backwards a menu
• B: In menu mode, select an item. In playback mode, this button also toggles the play / pause actions
• Left Arrow or Plus (+): In playback mode, advance to the next song, photo or video
• Right Arrow or Minus (-): In playback mode, go back to the previous song, photo or video
• Up Arrow: In menu mode, move up a list. In playback mode, increase the volume
• Down Arrow: In menu mode, move down a list. In playback mode, decrease the volume