Minibar2k
Copyright (C) 2005-2006 - Jorrit Jongma
v0.50

Control Foobar2k from your PocketPC based PDA

What is it?
Minibar2k is a small application that runs on your PocketPC based PDA and lets you control Foobar2000. It's not perfect but it mostly works. Currently it supports all usual function like stop, play, etc. It also supports multiple playlists, searching, order control, queueing and all that stuff. The whole thing was built for and tested on a T-Mobile MDA Vario, which I believe is also known as a HTC Wizard, Qtek 9100 and i-mate K-JAM. Similar devices should work similar ;)

Disclaimer
This is my first project in .NET. This is my first project in .NET Compact Framework. This is my first project in C#. This is my first project in Visual Studio. This is my first project for the PDA. It won't be perfect. Note that v0.50 is the first public release as well ;)

Requirements
- Foobar2000 v0.9.1+
- foo_controlserver v0.9.0 beta1+
- .NET Compact Framework 2.0 on your PDA
- PocketPC based PDA/phone running Windows Mobile 2005 or 2003 SE
- Some sort of connection between your PDA and PC (USB, WiFi, GPRS, UMTS, Bluetooth, etc). If it can carry TCP/IP you can use it with Minibar2k.

Installation
Make sure you have the above requirements download and installed (if applicable), the requirements above here are linked to their respective download pages.

The first you have to do now is configure foo_controlserver. In Foobar, go to File -> Preferences -> Control Server. Under connection options, make sure you have "Server Enabled" checked, at least 2 clients, and the IP the your PDA will use under allowed (connection options are set correctly by default when you first install foo_controlserver).

Next up are the output options. In the fields box, put the following:
%codec%|%bitrate%|%_length_seconds%|%artist%|%album%|%tracknumber%|%title%|%filename%
Make sure the "UTF-8 Output/Input" box is checked (turned on) and you are using | (pipe) as base delimiter. Now press Save All, then Close, and then restart Foobar2000.

So now we have finally come to Minibar2k itself. You can find the download link below. Download the CAB file to your PC, then move it to your PDA (or download it with the PDA), and simply "run" the CAB file with File Explorer. This will install Minibar2k. When you first start it, make sure you go to Settings and configure the connection before doing a connect.

Usage
Well, I'm not going to write an entire user guide here, it's all pretty simple. There are some things you should take into consideration though.

First off, there is an issue with timeouts. As the .NETCF2 framework does not implement configurable timeouts on connections, if something goes wrong with your connection this can result in a few minutes waiting for you. This is why I would recommend you to assure yourself you have a connection before doing a connect from Minibar2k. For the same reason I advise turning off Minibar2k before connecting to a different network, cradling/uncradling, etc.

I have made it so that Minibar2k actually closes when you press the close button, so do not be worried it is still running in the background if you exit. It isn't.

Ofcourse, in good time, these issue will be fixed or worked around (probably).

In the beginning, it might not connected. You might need to tinker with your connection settings (try switching between Internet and Local Network in your PDA's connection settings).

I know, it's a lot of configuring and setting up, but hopefully you will enjoy it enough to spend these 10 minutes on it ;)

License
This software is provided "as is". No warranties!

The actual license type is "Public Domain", or if that cannot be used in your area, BSD.

Download
Minibar2k v0.50 for Windows Mobile 2005
Minibar2k v0.50 for Windows Mobile 2003 SE
Source code

Discussion, questions, etc
There is a topic on the Foobar2000 forums regarding this piece of software.

Source code
It's under "Downloads", ya dupe! :)

Screenshots



Thanks to "Nakebod" for providing the images

- EOF -