1Keyboard for Lion - One Keyboard to rule them all!!

[eyalw]

Hi, I just wanna share with you a cool application I wrote for Lion, its called 1Keyboard.

Screenshots & download link here:
http://www.eyalw.com/1keyboard

With 1Keyboard, you can wirelessly connect to all your bluetooth enabled devices, and use your Mac’s keyboard to type on all of them. 1Keyboard to rule them all!

Features

• Simple keyboard shortcuts let you quickly switch between target devices
• Add new devices by simply pairing them up with your computer.
• Experimental: Share your mouse too with your connected computer devices!
• A sleek menu bar utility displays paired devices and their status
• Unique names & icons give each of your different devices its own persona

Benefits

• Text much faster on your iPhone
• Write & edit long document on your iPad
• Control your 2nd computer (desktop/laptop) with the same mouse & keyboard
• Remote control your iPod’s speakers volume, change tracks
• Save money on buying multiple pricy wireless keyboards to connect to each device
• Avoid cluttering up your work space with numerous keyboards

What type of devices are supported?

• Apple devices: iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, Apple TV G2 (soon)
• Generic mobile devices like Android phones/tablets
• Generic operating systems like Windows / Linux
• Smart TV platforms like Google TV / Boxee / XBMC
• Game consoles like XBox, PlayStation

[iVikD]

This seems like a very clever and interesting idea, I'll try it out :]

[iVikD]

Hmm it worked on my iPhone 4 for about a few seconds. Now it connects, the iPhone picks it up as a bluetooth keyboard, but it doesn't receive the typing done on my MBP's keyboard. Actually, the laptop keeps receiving the keystrokes even though it has the iPhone popup in the middle of the screen.
I'd love to send you a log or something to help you out, but I'm afraid I don't know how to do that...

[eyalw]

I just uploaded a new version, try it. Tell me if this happens again.
If it does, try selecting the Desktop, and then selecting your device again. and see if it helps.

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Also, did u follow the instructions about enabling the Accessibility devices ?

[eyalw]

It seems the keyboard capture code gets timeout after some time...
maybe this was the problem. I again uploaded a new version, tell me if it now works

[iVikD]

Originally Posted by eyalw

It seems the keyboard capture code gets timeout after some time...
maybe this was the problem. I again uploaded a new version, tell me if it now works

Alright, I´ll download it in a while, as I´m not home right now. I´ll post feedback right here when I´ve used it.

[eyalw]

I'd love to get some feedback from anyone... what do you think?
Is it handy? Would you use it? Is it working well for you?

[iVikD]

It seems to be working nicely now.
The only thing I've noticed is that the phone can't be more than a foot away or else it'll start having issues. I'm not sure if this is a flaw in your code or just normal bluetooth range.
Other than that, it's pretty smooth. I can see myself using it from time to time with an iPad or with a second computer/display.

[iVikD]

Hello, it's me again. Haven't found any other issues though :] Loving switching devices using keyboard shortcuts. Also, I think there should be a way to use the send button on iPhone (like on Whatsapp or sms), because pressing enter while typing just enters a line break. It's a bit of a bother to type out a message to someone and then have to click send on the phone, instead of just pressing something on the keyboard like command + enter.

[eyalw]

I agree, but this is something that Apple should implement. I have no power here. if they allow keyboard Alt+enter or whatever to press "send", then bluetooth keyboards, and 1KB, will be able to use that.

but their physical keyboard support is not so great..

[iVikD]

Originally Posted by eyalw

I agree, but this is something that Apple should implement. I have no power here. if they allow keyboard Alt+enter or whatever to press "send", then bluetooth keyboards, and 1KB, will be able to use that.

but their physical keyboard support is not so great..

That's too bad... Sometimes the most basic things get overlooked... Anyway, great work on this app :]

[accessoriesguy]

that is so cool, i'm going to get a bunch of bluetooth devices that have the same online game and then go on and play a match online against multiple versions of myself at the same time to see who would win.

[eyalw]

Originally Posted by ivikd

that's too bad... Sometimes the most basic things get overlooked... Anyway, great work on this app :]

thanks!!!

[iVikD]

Hi again! No idea if you're still working on this or not... Anyway, here's some input :]
The F# keys don't seem to be carried over when paired to a device. I know at least apple devices accept F1 and F2 as brightness as well as F7-F12 for playback and eject to hide/show the on screen keyboard.
Also, I've noticed the program skips a keystroke every now and then when typing. It's not a connectivity issue, as this happens even when I'm using the built-in keyboard with its MBP and 1keyboard is on.

Hope this helps eager to see this app grow.

[goodgnus]

Good lord is this a great app. The install/setup process needs a bit of work though. I went through the setup steps shown on screen, but it still did nothing. It took me a while to understand what in the heck "Desktop" was for. Once I realized that means my Mac, and that by switching in the menu to iPhone swapped the keyboard, it made sense. I assumed the menu was just for configuring devices. I renamed Desktop to "Mac Keyboard" and I renamed the other device to "iPhone Keyboard" to make it obvious.

Also, it took me a while to realize that selecting one or the other in the menu is another way to swap which device (Mac or iPhone) receives the keyboard input.

The app is GREAT!!! With a little work on the documentation, it will be amazing. And, frankly, once that's done, this should be in the Mac App Store.

Seriously... anyone who has an iPhone is nuts to NOT download this. It's excellent.

[goodgnus]

A few more thoughts. Again, this is a frigging EXCELLENT app.

In the menu under "Configure" it isn't clear at all that "Type" just chooses the icon. I assume that's all it does. If, instead of Type, that item were labelled "Icon" it would make so much more sense. I'm not sure what "Address" does. I'd love to have a Mac Mini icon added

Also, when switching back to my Mac keyboard, the icon disappears so fast that I don't see it. It would help to have the icon on screen for a moment. Click the volume keys for an example of what a better fade would look like.

I LOVE that the iPhone icon stays on my Mac screen when I switch the keyboard from my Mac to my iPhone. That visual reminder is SO useful. Love it!

Seriously... I'll say it again... this is a great app.

[Narpstar]

Sensational! Thanks so much for this. This is exactly what I was looking for, and it works perfectly. Quite slick and well implemented.

The only issue I experienced was in trying "Keyboard & Mouse", which admittedly says is in Beta. But my mouse disappeared from the screen Mac screen and I only got it back after turning Bluetooth off on my phone. Meanwhile it seemed to have no effect on my phone.

Thanks again! Brilliant app!

[doccho]

I like this app. It is great as we all know.

BTW, (I think it's b/c of Mountain Lion,) 1keyboard does not remember devices. Whenever I launch this app, I have to configure my iPhone and iPad again.

Any thoughts on this problem?