Guest post by Blake Watson.

I've tried a lot of remote apps, but for me, HippoRemote gets the nod. Once you go through a surprisingly painless setup process, HippoRemote will connect to your computer and hand the reins over to you. Your iPhone is now a fully-featured multi-touch trackpad. Tap the keyboard button at the top of the screen and HippoRemote will provide you with a standard iPhone keyboard with some extra features attached. Explore further, and you will see that HippoRemote turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into an advanced media browser that lets you interact with some of the coolest media programs on your Mac, including the built in stuff like iTunes and Front Row as well as third party apps like Boxee and Hulu Desktop. Let's walk through some of HippoRemote's features. HippoRemote comes in a few different flavors, so we'll be looking at HippoRemote Pro.

The Keyboard

The keyboard behavior of HippoRemote is arguably the best available on a remote app. Most standard iPhone keyboard behavior is present. For example, spacing after a period or a comma will change the keyboard from the punctuation layout back to the alphabet layout. Tapping the shift key once will keep it activated until you tap a letter, then it is deactivated. If you want CAPSLOCK then double tap the shift key to activate it, then tap it once when your done. These behaviors are the Apple standard, but many remote apps do not use them because of the way characters are sent to the computer. I find that these behaviors are important because they increase typing efficiency.

In addition to replicating iPhone's standard keyboard behaviors, HippoRemote takes advantage of iPhone's built-in ability to predict what you are writing. HippoRemote displays what you are typing in a text field on the phone at the same time that it is sending it to your computer. If you misspell a word, you can tap on it to see substitutes and HippoRemote will make the correction on your computer automatically. HippoRemote also displays a list of the last few strings you've typed. Touching one will re-type that string.

Besides standard keyboard layouts, HippoRemote provides arrow keys and modifier keys (command, option, etc.) as well as the full range of function keys.

HippoRemote adds one feature that I haven't seen in other remote apps: it has support for TextExpander Touch. TextExpander Touch allows you to create snippets of text that can be automatically triggered by specified shortcodes (eg, "fn" could expand to your full name). You don't need TextExpander on your Mac for these to work, as TextExpander Touch expands the snippets before they're sent to the computer.

The keyboard supports vertical and horizontal orientations. And in the Basic or Lite versions of HippoRemote, the keyboard and the trackpad can be displayed at the same time.

Multi-touch trackpad

The multi-touch trackpad features left and right mouse buttons as well as the ability to use tapping, two-finger scrolling and other gestures. If you are like me, and have trouble using more than one finger, you will appreciate HippoRemote's unique scroll button. By moving your finger from the bottom of the screen to the middle, you activate a scrolling knob that allows you to scroll by moving your finger in a clockwise or counter-clockwise motion. That means you can use one finger to scroll without the need to look down.

Like the keyboard, the trackpad supports vertical and horizontal orientations.

Profiles for Remote Control Panels

HippoRemote Pro can change its interface based on what application you are using. For example, I am currently in the Mac OS profile. At the bottom of the trackpad area, there are several buttons that allow me to do things like trigger Spotlight and Expose or run macros that control volume, press eject, open Dashboard and other functions. Switching to the iTunes profile provides a control panel for manipulating playback. Switching to the Pandora profile allows you to control the Pandora web app. There are dozens of profiles installed with HippoRemote and more can be added from inside the app itself. If you are technically inclined, there are instructions for making your very own profiles.

Extras

On top of all these great features, HippoRemote includes a native web browser and Twitter client. You can even open links from HippoRemote's Twitter client directly in your Mac's web browser.

Different Versions

HippoRemote comes in three flavors: HippoRemote Lite (free, ad-supported), HippoRemote Basic ($1.99USD), and HippoRemote Pro ($4.99USD). Unfortunately, it's a bit confusing as to what features are found in which versions. For the purpose of this review, I used the Pro version. If you are looking to replace a keyboard, I recommend getting the Pro version. At about five bucks, you'll be getting all of HippoRemote's features at a fairly inexpensive price compared to most assistive technology software. However, if having the trackpad and keyboard display simultaneously would be useful for you then you will want to grab the basic version.

If you need to know about a specific feature and you can't find it on the HippoRemote website, feel free to contact the developer. He actually has an interest in making HippoRemote even better for people with disabilities and will value any feedback you provide. That being said, you can always send me an email too.

Alternative Apps

Here are some other apps that are similar to HippoRemote. Depending on your needs, one of these might work better for you. I have these apps installed on my iPhone. Although I am not planning to review them at the time of this writing, you can email me if you have questions about them.

Rowmote Pro, $4.99USD, by Evan Schoenberg

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, can simulate the Apple Remote Control including support for dozens of applications.

TouchPad, $4.99USD, by Edovia, Inc.

Designed for iPhone and iPad, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, great user interface, Windows compatible, media remote.

Touchpad Elite, $0.99USD, by iTeleport LLC

Good keyboard behavior, can type locally and then send a paragraph at once, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote.

Air Mouse Pro, $1.99USD, by R.P.A. Tech, INC

Optional accelerometer-based "air" mouse activated by physically moving the iPhone/etc in the air, good keyboard behavior, can display keyboard and trackpad simultaneously, Windows compatible, media remote, separate iPad compatible app.

Conclusion

If you can operate an iPhone or iPod Touch, you might find that typing with HippoRemote is faster and more efficient than typing with an onscreen keyboard. And as an added bonus, you get some powerful, easy-to-use controls for interacting with popular media applications. And if you happen to be a Windows user, you're in luck. HippoRemote is compatible with Windows and Linux as well as Mac OS X.

- Blake Watson

The TandemMaster Morse-2-USB interface is a fantastic device which converts morse code entered by two switches into keyboard presses and mouse movements. It gives the user complete control of a computer, as much as any regular keyboard/mouse user would have.

This video - featuring Tania Comb who created the TandemMaster - gives you a great idea of how the device can be used with any computer:

[embed width="640" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUwp-zXSH-k[/embed]

As you can see, Tania's not using any switch access software on the computer itself - just the Tandem Master.

Because what the computer "sees" connected to it isn't a pair of switches but just a standard keyboard and mouse, the TandemMaster is fully compatible with OS X as well as Windows and Linux computers. The advantage of using a device that uses no drivers or switch software is that you can use any standard computer - you could even go into an Internet cafe while on holidays, plug in the TandemMaster, and use their computers! On the other hand it means that the user misses out on the advantages of the more specific switch-user software like the switch controlled word prediction offered by SwitchXS paired with KeyStrokes. Like all setups, this will suit some people better than others.

The website for the TandemMaster has a lot of information, including technical information, about the use of the TandemMaster. You can also contact them for more information.

- Ricky Buchanan

Mage Software has released version 2.0 of their inkBook program which takes advantage of OS X's InkWell handwriting recognition technology to let you search, copy, and export notes handwritten with a tablet and stylus. We briefly mentioned inkBook in our recent article Turn Handwriting Into Text With InkWell but this 2.0 version is a major upgrade.

New features listed include a new interface in multi-page notebook style with customisable tabs allowing a freeform layout of notes, sketches and images. Targetted, context aware gestures such as "clear", "delete", "paste" and "join" are available. inkBook also lets you write with multiple "brushes": pencil, paint, highlighter, calligraphy pen, and to record and tag audio input.

inkBook is now a Universal Binary. It can be trialled free for 30 days before purchase, and costs US$40 to buy. Version 1.0 users can upgrade for US$20.

Website: inkBook 2

- Ricky Buchanan

In the Apple Pro Profiles section there's a great article about a group called the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk) who use MacBooks and a variety of unusual input techniques and devices to make computer music.

"We use the MacBook itself as an instrument," says Wang. "We tilt the notebook and use its built-in accelerometer to expressively control sound. We use the trackpad as a kind of violin bow. We use peripherals like USB game pads and even Nintendo Wii Remotes. Sometimes we modify code directly to generate sound and musical gestures. You can make some wild, diverse music with the MacBook."

The people involved with SLOrk are obviously musical and computer geeks, but the article shows the range of input devices that can be used for making music. As well as SLOrk there is a similar group from Princeton (PLOrk, of course!) and a mobile phone orchestra known as MoPhO.

Wang, who leads the SLOrk group, is also developing consumer level musical applications for the iPhone. His company, Smule, has developed an Ocarina application which is sensitive to breath (via the microphone), fingering (on the multi-touch screen), and movement of the iPhone itself. I can imagine how somebody this creative could do wonders for unusual input devices for people with assistive technology needs.

Website: Apple Profiles: SLOrk

- Ricky Buchanan

Did you know that Mac OS X comes with a built in handwriting recognition system known as InkWell. If you have a pen and tablet for input, you can use it right away with no set-up needed! It's known to be quirky and hasn't been updated for a while, but Apple recently advertised for a handwriting engineer so there's hope yet!

The only place I can find InkWell mentioned on the main Apple website is in the Accessibility section under Physical & Motor Skills assistance. InkWell only recognises separated hand printing, not handwriting where the letters are joined up, which limits its usefulness for writing long stretches of text. Most information I could find seemed to agree that it would be most appropriate as a secondary input source rather than for primary use.

If you're wondering what this looks like when it's being used, check out Antony's handwriting in action which includes a QuickTime movie demo of InkWell at work. The primary internet resource is the InkSpatter blog which is occasionally updated with irreverent but helpful information from an InkWell user. There are few enough posts on InkSpatter that you can probably read through them all, but these two struck me as most helpful for somebody just getting going:

• Inkwell Accuracy Tip: Take Time to Turbo Calibrate Word Spacing
• 3 Simple Tips to Tweak Your Tablet for Inkwell

In terms of software which takes best advantage of InkWell, the only piece I could find was this:

inkBook lets you use a tablet and InkWell handwriting recognition technology to write notes by hand. The notes remain visible as handwritten ink, but can be searched, copied to other applications, and exported to a text file.

Because InkWell hasn't recently been updated, there's not any "buzz" about it's use and not much updated information on the net. I think it's still a usable resource for people with certain disabilities though, especially those impairments which mean switching between input technologies is helpful.

- Ricky Buchanan

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