iTunes controller

Today, rather than doing anything useful, I wrote an Araneida-based Web application to control a running instance of iTunes. Picture the scenario: our office server is an iTunes platform, serving up the tracks. But there are 4 of us! How do we all skip songs?¹

Well, up until today I was SSHed into the server, using some shell scripts to Applescript iTunes. That's no good for anyone not logged in as me, though; they can't talk to my running iTunes process.

However, by running this little app in a Lisp (tested with OpenMCL²; might work in others) on the server, we all get a sweet little Web interface.

Here is the Lisp file; you'll need Araneida itself, asdf-loadable. You'll also need these shell scripts in your path (or you can edit the Lisp file to call osascript directly). The license is the modified BSD license, I guess! I've also logged a project page.

¹ Yes, there are plenty of apps to do remote control of iTunes; I did this one specifically because I wanted multiple users, and because I've been using Araneida for another project — I was entirely right in thinking that it would only take me a couple of hours of work. Awesome.

² If I ever get fed up with the sluggishness of shell scripts calling Applescript, I'll use OpenMCL's Objective-C integration to hit iTunes direct…

Posted at 2005-02-02 15:14:16 by Richard • Link to iTunes controller
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New Highway Code

An updated Highway Code, more accurately reflecting the state of driving in the UK.

Drive extremely carefully when the roads are icy. Remember to nail the gas if you get stuck on an uphill slope. That'll fix it.

Posted at 2005-02-02 09:53:17 by Richard • Link to New Highway Code
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