Where does the Mac community stand on a front end?

aychamo · 07-31-2008, 11:01 AM

Hey guys!

It's been a long time! I'm finally back in the United States, and I have a big vehicle that has a lot of room for a nice touchscreen monitor, and lots of room to install a Mac mini. So I'm kind of ready to get a damn carputer finally, and finally ready to be able to test it and see how it actually feels to use one.

I used to develop the AMP front end, but I gave up on it because of school, and because I was out of the country and did not have a car that I could test it in, nor did I have a touchscreen monitor. So it was difficult to keep up the work.

Anyway, I'm curious where we are at now. I see a bunch of new subforums for works in progress. Which one is the most complete? Which one are most people loving? I'm looking for one that is beautiful, has album art, and does music. Movies & photos are optional, and internet connectivity I don't really care about. One with XM radio connectivity would be great, but if I recall correctly XM radio discontinued the PC interface, and now you just have to stream it.

Thank you for any advice, etc

Aychamo

Bugbyte · 07-31-2008, 12:51 PM

Good to see you back!

Believe it or not, I mainly use AMP 2 with XM but we've never released it to anyone else. :-O

crimsonaudio · 07-31-2008, 01:07 PM

Ya know, I just use iTunes now. I have my Griffin programmed so that pushing and holding the wheel down engages the full screen visualizer and I leave that on 95% of the time...

mr2mac · 07-31-2008, 05:45 PM

Ive used roadrunner for a while, but I didn't like it. I have been using AMP for a long while now, with radio shark(not perfect but functional) and I use a Virtual Machine to run XP with my nav software.

I really like AMP, and much prefer it to roadrunner.

If I had any time to learn, i would have made some adjustments, but it works well.

TBH i haven't tried any other apps only because i don't like their looks, shallow I know.

Apple mac mini in action

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nick

aychamo · 07-31-2008, 10:07 PM

You guys that are using AMP for a long time, how does it hold up over time? I just downloaded a compiled version, and I'm running Leopard, etc. I noticed the scroll bar thing doesn't work correctly any more. I dont know if its some code change or just the new OS. I remember that was always a little weird anyway.

Bugbyte · 07-31-2008, 10:11 PM

I'm using Amp 2, (Kindling). It works great. We've added key commands to it so I drive the whole thing using a Griffin Powermate. Never have to touch the screen even once.

mr2mac · 08-01-2008, 04:45 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by aychamo

You guys that are using AMP for a long time, how does it hold up over time? I just downloaded a compiled version, and I'm running Leopard, etc. I noticed the scroll bar thing doesn't work correctly any more. I dont know if its some code change or just the new OS. I remember that was always a little weird anyway.

I think its held up pretty well, there are too many transitions, some short cuts are needed for plug ins etc.

And the scroll bar is weird, but functional.

nick

1999MockOne · 08-01-2008, 06:51 PM

Right now, iTunes is the most reliable Mac front end. It's been in constant development since its initial release in early 2001. In fact, it has become so popular that people are even starting to use it outside of their cars! I've heard of lots of people installing it on laptops and desktops alike. They even came out with a Windows version.

All the other Mac front ends have left me heartbroken when they die … typically a slow and painful death.

golfguy · 08-01-2008, 07:16 PM

I'm pretty partial to Neon BoomBox, even though it's a work in progress. NeonDev has worked very consistently on it and it's matured a great deal. I like the graphic design and the ability to change the color makes it easy to match to my dash color. I also like Front Row and I've built an Apple Remote into my console to use with it.

aychamo · 08-02-2008, 11:08 AM

Does FrontRow work with something like the Griffen powermate?

Bugbyte · 08-02-2008, 12:28 PM

Yes it does. However, later versions of the Powermate driver have inexplicably left out the ability to use the esc key. As a result, if you upgrade to the newer drivers, you need Proxis, which is a Griffin product (free) that gives you wider abilities, including esc.

aychamo · 08-02-2008, 04:55 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bugbyte

Yes it does. However, later versions of the Powermate driver have inexplicably left out the ability to use the esc key. As a result, if you upgrade to the newer drivers, you need Proxis, which is a Griffin product (free) that gives you wider abilities, including esc.

Could this be fixed by mapping the old escape key on the powermate, to, for example "$", and change the code in AMP2.0 to use "$" as the escape key?

1999MockOne · 08-02-2008, 05:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bugbyte

Yes it does. However, later versions of the Powermate driver have inexplicably left out the ability to use the esc key. As a result, if you upgrade to the newer drivers, you need Proxis, which is a Griffin product (free) that gives you wider abilities, including esc.

So, the older versions do support ESC? Do you what the most recent version number that has ESC enabled?

The one thing I dislike about FrontRow (vs. iTunes full-screen Cover Flow) is the small artwork size. Us old folk need bigger art in order to see it! I really like FrontRow's menu system.