Ryan, Debi, and Toren Cragun's Blog

We periodically watch videos from the internet on our TV.  I found a cool piece of software that is getting a lot of attention – Boxee.  It’s pretty slick, though not without it’s bugs (it is beta software and free, though, so I can’t complain).  In the spirit of true American laziness, once I realized Boxee would work on our computer connected to our TV I decided I wanted to try a remote to control Boxee.  I found a remote that says it works with Linux – the Streamzap PC Remote.  I ordered it from Amazon.com and once it arrived I faced the next issue: getting it to work with Linux.

The Streamzap ships with software for Windows, but no software for Linux.  Like most of Linux, support for the hardware is mostly built in or provided via open-source software packages. It isn’t the easiest thing in the world to set it up, so I’ve documented here how to do it so I have a future reference and for others (based on these instructions).

First, install the “lirc” package using the Synaptic Package Manager (or “sudo apt-get install lirc” in the terminal).

Once the install is complete, a window will pop up asking for the remote and some additional information.  Fill everything out, selecting the Streamzap PC Remote.

Once the install is complete, you can test to see if the remote is working by plugging it into a USB port, starting a terminal, and typing the following at the prompt:

irw

If the remote is working, when you push a button you should see an indicator in the terminal that the button was pushed.  If you see indicators, LIRC is communicating with your remote and your remote is communicating with your computer, like this:

Now, you need to tell LIRC which buttons should do what in which programs.  You can use a program to help generate the requisite scripts.  Install “mythbuntu-lirc-generator” from the Synaptic Package Manager (or “sudo apt-get install mythbuntu-lirc-generator” in the terminal).

Once installed, type “mythbuntu-lirc-generator” in the terminal and it will generate LIRC files for several programs.  It puts a “.lircrc” file in “/home/USER/”.  That file indicates that the generated scripts are installed in “/home/USER/.lirc”, which is a hidden folder in your user folder.  Here’s what the files says:

#Custom lircrc generated via mythbuntu-lirc-generator
#All application specific lircrc files are within ~/.lirc
include ~/.lirc/mythtv
include ~/.lirc/mplayer
include ~/.lirc/xine
include ~/.lirc/vlc
include ~/.lirc/xmame
include ~/.lirc/xmess
include ~/.lirc/totem
include ~/.lirc/elisa

You can modify these for the Streamzap Remote Control.  I modified one, totem, to give it added functionality.  My version is included in the zip file linked to below.

If you want to use the remote in Boxee, you have to install Boxee, then find the Boxee remote file in “/home/USER/.boxee/UserData”.  The file is called “Lircmap.xml”.  You need to add the following to the file:

<remote device=”Streamzap_PC_Remote”>
<pause>PAUSE</pause>
<stop>STOP</stop>
<forward>&gt;&gt;</forward>
<reverse>&lt;&lt;</reverse>
<left>LEFT</left>
<right>RIGHT</right>
<up>UP</up>
<down>DOWN</down>
<select>OK</select>
<pageplus>CH_UP</pageplus>
<pageminus>CH_DOWN</pageminus>
<back>EXIT</back>
<menu>MENU</menu>
<title>PLAY</title>
<info>More</info>
<skipplus>&gt;&gt;|</skipplus>
<skipminus>|&lt;&lt;</skipminus>
<display>Teletext</display>
<start>Home</start>
<record>RECORD</record>
<volumeplus>VOL_UP</volumeplus>
<volumeminus>VOL_DOWN</volumeminus>
<mute>MUTE</mute>
<power>POWER</power>
<myvideo>Videos</myvideo>
<mymusic>Music</mymusic>
<mypictures>Pictures</mypictures>
<mytv>TV</mytv>
<one>1</one>
<two>2</two>
<three>3</three>
<four>4</four>
<five>5</five>
<six>6</six>
<seven>7</seven>
<eight>8</eight>
<nine>9</nine>
<zero>0</zero>
<mytv>RED</mytv>
<mymusic>GREEN</mymusic>
<mypictures>YELLOW</mypictures>
<myvideo>BLUE</myvideo>
</remote>

If you want to just use my files, here they are.

There are more photos and videos coming, but I figured I’d update everyone (and simply make note) of his development.  Over the last couple of weeks Toren has started to play with toys when we put him on his play mat (no more shrieks of terror).  It’s pretty much limited to grabbing rings hanging from the play mat, but it’s a start and he is easily fascinated by the rings – playing with them for a good 30 to 45 minutes some times.

We’ve been working on getting Toren to roll over, which is his next big developmental milestone.  I never thought I’d be trying to teach my baby how to roll over, but that’s my entertainment these days (almost no more computer games).  I do have a question for the parents out there (help me out, people): Will he just roll over on his own at some point or do we need to keep putting him on his side and hoping he’ll figure it out?  He is at the point now that I can put him on his side and he’ll easily roll to his back.  He also can be mostly on his stomach and roll back to his back, but I’m not really considering this a true roll over as he isn’t completely on his stomach.  So, do we keep letting him have tummy time and he’ll just do this at some point or do we try to teach him?  (Yeah, ask me a sociology question, but this whole raising a baby thing has me baffled).  Oh, and the best rolls so far were yesterday.

This morning, while Debi was getting ready for her orientation (she’s starting her PhD program at USF) I was playing with Toren on our bed.  I think he giggled.  I can’t be certain, but it seemed like a giggle to me.  If it gets a bit more pronounced and occurs more frequently, I’ll be sure to capture it on film and post it.

Reaching another developmental milestone that is also likely tied to evolutionary adaptation, Toren started smiling at around 7 weeks. I didn’t find a great reference for this, but the suggestion is that, just as the parents are getting so sleep-deprived and annoyed with their child to the point that they regret their decision, their newborn starts smiling. Whether or not this is an evolutionary adaptation, it does seem to have the effect of giving parents a second wind. Here are some of Toren’s first attempts at smiles at about 7 weeks: