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[Soul_Rvr911]

Hello!

For the past few weeks I've been working on a remote application for BlackBerry 10. I'm tentatively calling it "Eos", and I'm hoping to release it to BlackBerry World some time in the next few weeks.

I'm going to post a series of screenshots, and some descriptions.

Image #1 shows the first screen after the app is loaded (once a server has been configured).
Image #2 shows the filtering functionality available on all Browsing (grid-based) pages.
Image #3 shows the DropDown leading visual. On any of the main pages (music, images, videos), you can pull down on the grid to show this dropdown, which allows you to change the grouping.
Image #4 is of an artist page, shown in horizontal. Notice that when landscape, the grid contains 5 items instead of the 3 it shows in portrait. This rotation happens automatically.
Image #5 shows the list of tracks in an album. The action bar provides "Play All", "Add All As Next", and "Add All" (to end) actions. Or, you can select a subset of these items and perform the same actions.

[JimH]

Congratulations and thanks!

[Soul_Rvr911]

More screenshots:

#6: The application menu, which is available from every page by swiping down from the top bezel.
#7-1: The Playing Now page, in portrait
#7-2: Playing Now page, in landscape
#8: the current playlist, which is a separate segment on the Playing Now page
#9: the actions available from the current playlist view. "Toggle Display" issues the "Toggle Display Mode" media core center command, which is used to toggle videos that aren't playing full screen (esp from Theater view)

[Soul_Rvr911]

More pictures! Last set:

#10: The Zones page, which allows you to set the active playback zone and adjust the volume for each zone via the slider.
#11: The Settings page, which allows you to manage your saved servers and choose the currently active server.  You can also hit the Power action on the bar and issue shut down or Wake-on-LAN requests to your server.
#12: The Edit Server page. Also the "advanced" way of adding a new server.
#13: The Edit Server page, switched to the Wake-on-LAN segment that allows you to edit/set the MAC of the server, or look it up based on the IP address.
#14: The Tab list, which allows you to choose between Audio, Images, Video, Playlists, and Search. (The library server I'm connected to doesn't have any images or videos, so those items won't appear).
#15: The Search page

[Soul_Rvr911]

Feature list:

• Uses MCWS services. Works all the way back to MC15
• "Smart" requesting - while playing it only makes requests for current playback info every 90 seconds, or 120 seconds when idle. This is just to be sure that it stays relatively current if the playback state changes external to the app. It still updates almost immediately after track changes while playing.
• Ability to update content ratings using the stars on the Playing Now page (if authentication is enabled).
• Full playback control (Play, Pause, Stop, Next, and Previous) from the Playing Now page
• Ability to modify the current playlist: adding new files as next to play, or to the end of the playlist, and remove files from the Playlist segment of Playing Now
• A Search page that shows icons for all of the results
• Ability to filter items locally on every grid page
• Setup Wizard to walk you through server setup by entering an access key
• Full support for the Q10, when it gets released
• It's fast! I've only used it on my wifi, but it works very well. Although that's just my opinion...

Planned features (although I make no promises on timelines; this is a hobby for me!):

• Play to device - both music and video. I know BB10 supports a wide variety of video formats, and I'm hoping to support as many as possible.
• Better support for servers that require authentication. Currently connectivity is flaky when authentication is enabled, but I'm not sure why. It's rock solid when auth is disabled.
• Full playlist editing support, at least of the current playlist. Editing other playlists will probably come shortly after - it looks like the same web service interface.

That's all I can think of right now. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them! To be honest, the current landscape view for Playing Now isn't my favorite. Not sure how I'm going to improve it.

Thanks!

[JimH]

You might make an announcement of what you've done on the MC18 board and link it to this thread.  I'll lock the announcement so that the discussion is all on this board.  Thanks again.

[Matt]

It looks really sharp!

[shrike645]

This looks great. I've been using the gizmo app that was created for the playbook on my Z10 but this looks much better.

[Rick_RT]

Thank you.  This looks fantastic!

I'm due to upgrade my ageing BlackBerry to a Z10 soon and will be sure to get this.

[MGD_King]

AWESOME!!!! Need a beta tester?  I'd be more than happy to help you test it out on a 4G network.

And I like you're taste in tunes!!!

[Arcturus]

You probably hate hearing this but please port this to android.

Thousands of posts on here for a improved android version by people who would gladly pay for it even.

If you can't well thats you call but if you get the time please knock one off for us

[Soul_Rvr911]

You probably hate hearing this but please port this to android.

Thousands of posts on here for a improved android version by people who would gladly pay for it even.

If you can't well thats you call but if you get the time please knock one off for us

Sorry Arcturus, porting Eos to Android isn't likely.

The BB10 platform supports Android apps but not vice-versa. Since Eos is a native BB10 application, it would require building the app again from scratch using the Android NDK. Not only do I not have time, I've never written an Android app before!

Perhaps you should consider switching to BlackBerry 10...? 

[randycw]

I am really excited about this app.  I have had my Z10 for two weeks now and really love it.  And now I can completely ditch Andriod once this app is out!

Hope to see it out soon.  Thanks for your work/effort.

[Soul_Rvr911]

I'll be submitting eos to BlackBerry World this evening. Since it still has to go through standard approval procedures it won't be available to purchase for a bit, but I'll be sure to update the forums when I have a BBWorld link to share! The product page will also have additional screenshots.

Much has changed in the last few weeks. The app is rock solid, and I've added a number of features:

• Device playback!
  -This works for all media types - videos, music, and images. Audio advances automatically between tracks as expected, however videos and images do not. You can still build a playlist with these media types, but you must manually switch between items, either from the playlist or the next/previous buttons.
  -Conversion is supported for audio, but for some reason none of the video conversion options seemed to work, so I disabled that option. Luckily, these didn't seem necessary - BlackBerry 10 natively supports a wide variety of codecs, so all of my videos streamed to the device without issue, including my 720p MKVs!
• Theater View remote!
  -It isn't the prettiest, but it is functional. Provides standard Up/Down/Left/Right arrows, an Enter button, and some additional list navigation helpers: To Top (Home), Page Up, Page Down, and To Bottom (End).
• Authentication has been fixed. Turns out one of the biggest problems was with my code, but there's still some minor flakiness where "Authencation Required" responses aren't handled correctly by the platform. I only encountered issues when I was deliberately trying to create them, by toggling authentication from both the server and eos while attempting to browse my library.
• Shuffle and Repeat, for both Device and Remote playback.
• Display Mode switching
  -Available from both the Theater View remote and the Playing Now page
  -Allows switching JRiver's current Display mode to any of the available modes - Standard, Mini, Display, Theater, or Cover

The app will be posted for $6.99. I compared my app with JRemote for iOS when considering pricing. I don't have an iDevice so I couldn't download JRemote, but I took a look at the feature list and screenshots on the website. JRemote has also been around for a while, so I consider it a more mature product, and therefore more expensive. Based on that comparison, $6.99 seemed like a reasonable price point.

I'm still actively working on it, and I'm hoping to add more features in the future! And of course I'll investigate any bug reports. Upgrades will be free, but I may adjust the price upwards in the future - so buy ASAP! 

Cheers!

-Lenny

[shrike645]

This app is pretty sweet. I love my Z10 and this app just makes it better. Lenny has done a good job of fixing bugs fast while still adding more features.

[Arcturus]

@Soul_Rvr911

No problem. I am sure in the near future I should be able to pick up a BB for next to nothing

[Soul_Rvr911]

Good news - after the long wait, eos is now available for sale in BlackBerry World!

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/27534944/

I decided to lower the price to $4.99. I'm not in this to make money; eos remains my pet project - I use it regularly, and it was a lot of fun for me to create! I hope that everyone finds it as useful as I do!

Cheers!

-Lenny

[MGD_King]

Good news - after the long wait, eos is now available for sale in BlackBerry World!

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/27534944/

I decided to lower the price to $4.99. I'm not in this to make money; eos remains my pet project - I use it regularly, and it was a lot of fun for me to create! I hope that everyone finds it as useful as I do!

Cheers!

-Lenny

Congratulations!! Great app!! Makes my Z10 the best device I've ever used now!

[Soul_Rvr911]

Thanks to everyone who has purchased eos! I hope it's been serving you well.

I'd like to use this thread to discuss any problems you've encountered, as well as any suggestions you may have. What do you like about eos, and what would you change?

I'll be releasing an updated version sometime in the next couple of weeks. It contains a few minor changes:

• Ability to double tap on a disabled volume slider to enable it. This allows you to "force" a volume change from eos. (Note that this will not work to enable the slider for the Device zone; if you're doing Device playback you can use the phone's volume buttons!)
• Duration and progress displays now properly display hours - so you'll see 1:15:09 instead of 75:09.
• Added volume percentage display to the Zones page.

Cheers!

-L

[shrike645]

Hey Lenny

Was thinking last night, how about a sleep timer.

Hal

[Soul_Rvr911]

Just a quick note that I've just submitted version 1.2 for approval to BlackBerry World, with the changes I mentioned in my previous post:

• Ability to double tap on a disabled volume slider to enable it. This allows you to "force" a volume change from eos. (Note that this will not work to enable the slider for the Device zone; if you're doing Device playback you can use the phone's volume buttons!)
• Duration and progress displays now properly display hours - so you'll see 1:15:09 instead of 75:09.
• Added volume percentage display to the Zones page.

This update should be available in the next 48 hours.

I'd also like to note that I've spoken to Hal offline about his Sleep timer idea, and it's definitely something I'll be implementing in the near future. I've also received some feedback about how track lists are displayed, and I was hoping I could "ask the audience" for opinions.

Right now, if you view the list of tracks for an album you'll see the same album art repeated for each track in the album. This seems a bit of a waste; the album art would be better placed in the title bar at the top of the page next to the album name, since it's the same for each track. Unfortunately, until BB10.2 is released, the TitleBar control doesn't support "custom" layouts (for example, including an image). When 10.2 is released, however, I'll be sure to take advantage of this new capability.

Once the cover art is moved, it has been suggested that I include the track number alongside the song name when viewing a list of tracks. I must admit that I'd thought about doing this before, but the problem I noticed was inconsistency. This doesn't really impact the track list for an individual album - the track # is readily available in the MC response, and the track number's meaning there is clear. But when viewing the tracks in a playlist - or when viewing the current Playing Now playlist - displaying the track number doesn't seem to make sense. In these cases, it would make more sense to show the position of the track in the playlist as opposed to the album's track number. (In fact, in the Playing Now playlist, the album track #is not readily available information - only the track's position in the playlist is.) My concern was that this inconsistency could be confusing - in different lists you'd see different numbers next to the track name.

What does everyone else think? Is this acceptable, or should I leave these lists alone?

Cheers!

-L

[MGD_King]

Unfortuntely, until BB10.2 is released....

BB10.2? I'm still waiting for Verizon Wireless to release 10.1! 

What does everyone else think? Is this acceptable, or should I leave these lists alone?

I like this idea. Any way you could provide a mock-up screen shot to help others get a better idea?

[Soul_Rvr911]

I like this idea. Any way you could provide a mock-up screen shot to help others get a better idea?

Sorry for the delay, I've been hard at work tinkering with eos! I've implemented the changes I was referring to, and I think they've turned out really well. I've attached some screenshots. IMG_2 shows the track listing for an album, where you'll notice two new things: 1) the track number is now displayed before the track title, and 2) the cover art is now displayed in the TitleBar. Tapping on the image will show a larger version of the cover art (400x400, the largest "thumbnail" size MC returns; IMG_8). Tapping anywhere* when the cover art is zoomed will close the zoomed view. (*anywhere except the TitleBar and the Status bar.)

In the Playing Now playlist view (IMG_3), the number displayed is best thought of as the "Sequence" column in MC's Playing Now view. This is the number of the track in the current playlist. All Playlists now show this sequence number. Playlists will still display cover art per row, and will not display an image in the TitleBar. (See attached IMG_9.)

Note that Search results will not display any number - in this view, the number is just clutter and doesn't seem to provide much use.

I've also taken the liberty of changing the location of the Grouping dropdown. Its old location (pulling down from the start of the list) was pretty obscure. You can now access it by tapping the TitleBar, which will expand into a scrollable list allowing you to choose a value. See IMG_6.

It turns out that the custom TitleBar required for all of these changes was actually available in 10.1! Expect a new release in the next couple of weeks that will include these changes, as well as:

• the Sleep timer Hal suggested
• typing on the Theater View Remote page will send the key commands to MC. This was another user request I received recently. It's especially useful when searching YouTube. I've completed this feature already, but noticed that MC's Key web service doesn't support sending numbers. I'm not sure why...

Since all of these changes will require 10.1, the next version of eos - and likely, all subsequent versions - will no longer support 10.0. Sorry MGD_King! But this article should give you hope: http://crackberry.com/verizon-preparing-roll-out-os-10102050. With any luck, Verizon should (finally!!) roll out 10.1 before the next release of eos!

Cheers!

-L

[Soul_Rvr911]

The latest release of eos - v1.3.1 - was approved this morning, and should now be available in BlackBerry World!

You may also have noticed the (very short-lived) release of v1.3 that was available yesterday. It wasn't until after I submitted it for approval that I realized that filter functionality was missing! I completely overlooked it when I switched to the new title bar style. v1.3.1 corrects this defect.

As I mentioned in my last post, I moved the Grouping selector from a pull down menu at the beginning of the list, to the title bar. If you tap on the new chevron at the right end of the title bar it will expand to reveal the grouping options. The list is scrollable as well; MC18, by default, shows 7 possible options.

Enjoy!

-L

[MGD_King]

Since all of these changes will require 10.1, the next version of eos - and likely, all subsequent versions - will no longer support 10.0. Sorry MGD_King! But this article should give you hope: http://crackberry.com/verizon-preparing-roll-out-os-10102050. With any luck, Verizon should (finally!!) roll out 10.1 before the next release of eos!

It rolled out Friday finally! 10.1.0.2039!

[Soul_Rvr911]

It rolled out Friday finally! 10.1.0.2039!

Glad to hear it! I hope both the OS upgrade and your eos upgrade went smoothly.

Cheers!

-L

[MGD_King]

Glad to hear it! I hope both the OS upgrade and your eos upgrade went smoothly.

Cheers!

-L

Smooth as silk!  I like the changes to EOS! Track/sequence numbers are a nice addition!

[stevetrash]

Will this work with the Mac version?

[Soul_Rvr911]

Will this work with the Mac version?

I don't have a Mac so I can't say for certain. A quick search led me to the following post, which states that Media Network should now be functional: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=79101.0

If you can turn on Media Network and are able use WebGizmo, eos should work!

[JimH]

Mac and Windows versions of MC both support the same networking features.

[stevetrash]

Thanks for the info, I just bought eos and it works perfectly on my Z10 - even better than I expected.

I also just purchased JR MC for Mac.

What a great combo, so much better than iTunes!

[Soul_Rvr911]

Thanks for the info, I just bought eos and it works perfectly on my Z10 - even better than I expected.

I also just purchased JR MC for Mac.

What a great combo, so much better than iTunes!

Glad to hear stevetrash!

I just submitted a new version of eos to BlackBerry World. It should be available within 24 hours. Version 1.4 contains the following improvements:
-The Settings page now shows the application version number
-The Search page now contains a dropdown that allows for limiting the number of returned results
-Typing on any page that supports filtering automatically starts filtering (very useful for Q10s)
-Added Shortcuts to most ActionItems throughout the application

Bug fixes:
-Fixed a number of memory leaks
-Improved the efficiency of the filtering logic
-Reduced the number requests that the app makes when controlling remote playback
-Fixed focus behavior on library server configuration screens

I also received word today that eos has (finally!) received approval for Built for BlackBerry! I'm hoping this will be reflected in BlackBerry World sometime in the next 48 hours. From the official text (which should appear in the app's description soon):

This App has achieved the Built for BlackBerry™ designation. This means that it has been through a rigorous approval process at RIM and will deliver a quality BlackBerry® 10 experience.

Cheers!

[billfort]

This looks really interesting - does this app work with MC19?

[MGD_King]

This looks really interesting - does this app work with MC19?

Yes it does.

[Soul_Rvr911]

Hello everyone!

In the very near future I'll be submitting v1.5 of eos to BlackBerry World. Changelist:

1) If eos has been tiled, the active zone is remote (not device), and playback in that zone is stopped, eos will now make a request to the library server to check if playback has been started. This will keep eos up-to-date if, for example, you start playback directly from MC. To preserve battery life, eos will only make the request when the tile comes into view, and it will make this request no more than once a minute.
2) The fields on the search page have been moved into the title bar.
3) eos would crash if, during device playback, all tracks in the playlist after the currently playing track were removed.
4) eos could incorrectly report that device playback was "Stopped" even though it was still playing.
5) In some obscure cases, the remote playlist view on the Playing Now page could get out of sync.

Cheers!

-L

PS - In an effort to broaden my programming horizons, I've begun working on an Android version of eos. I have no ETA on when it will be available, but I know it won't be any time soon  ; this is my first Android app, and the platform is very different from what I'm used to with BB10. I'm initially focusing on controlling remote playback with plans to add device playback and other features incrementally, similarly to how I released eos for BB10. More news on this as it develops!

[Soul_Rvr911]

Hello again everyone!

It's been a while since my last update, but I wanted to let you know that I've been hard at work on eos. The Android app is still in its infancy and progress is slow, but that's mainly because I've been working on a major new feature for the BB10 app: playback of on-device media! More on that in a minute. I'll likely create a new thread for the Android version of eos soon, in order to solicit feedback on what I've got so far.

In the near future I'll be pushing v1.6 to BBWorld. This is a bug fix release that addresses a few minor issues I've discovered recently, mostly around updating the playing track info during remote zone playback.

The following release of eos will be v2.0, as it marks the inclusion of a major new feature. I've got a 64GB SD card in my device that's chock full of music, and while the native Music app's interface is sufficient, I much prefer the interface of eos (I may be a little biased in this regard ). So I set to work on modifying eos to support retrieving data from sources other than a MC server instance. The first (and currently, the only planned) new target is the media that has been indexed by the device.

A new toggle has been added to the top of the Settings page that will allow you to choose between Local and Remote libraries. When local playback is active, eos reads from the same database as the native media apps. Currently eos only supports browsing the local Audio files but I'll be adding Playlist support before release, with the intent of supporting Images and Videos some time after.

One of the biggest benefits eos' local playback that I've found is the "Now Playing" playlist. Personally, I never use playlists, but I like having the ability to enqueue another album to play before the current one ends. The BB10 Music app is more flexible in that it allows you to create and edit playlists, but you can't modify the playlist that it's currently playing from on the fly. Another feature eos has that the native app doesn't is the ability to modify the file's metadata tags. I've seen cases where albums incorrectly get tagged and grouped under the artist's name in the native app. Using eos, I've successfully been able to edit the album tag on those files (by using a no-op: adding and then removing a space char, for example), and after refreshing the list the album's grouping has been corrected!

To be honest, I've always considered device playback of Images and Video lower priority - especially Images. I don't watch many videos on my device, but I do frequently use eos to control the playback of videos on my remote library server. I'm not quite sure when I'll get around to supporting these types, because after this release I'd like to focus on the Android app again. I'm also not quite sure what options are available as far as grouping goes. I'll likely be limited by what fields the database contains, which would limit me to a similar interface as the native Images and Videos app. I don't keep videos on my device so I don't have much experience with that app, but I've never had a problem with the Images app.

As always, I welcome any and all feedback. And I hope that you guys are as excited for this new functionality as I am! 

Cheers!

-L

[Soul_Rvr911]

Just in time for the holidays, eos v2.0 has been submitted for approval!

The major new feature here is the ability to switch between Remote (JRiver) and Local (on-device) playback. If you've ever wished you could use eos' interface for playing music stored on your device, your wish has been granted! You can toggle between Remote and Local playback via a new button on the Settings page. Currently, only local music playback is supported.

There are a few features eos provides over the native Music app:

• instant resume: eos remembers the playback position when it's closed. When next launched, eos will be paused at that position.
• editing metadata tags
• quicker start time
• more familiar navigation, and easier access to Playing Now

The newest version should hopefully be available sometime in the next day or so. It takes advantage of some new features in 10.2, so it will only be available for devices running 10.2 or better.

As always, if you have any questions or experience any issues, don't hesitate to contact me. Happy holidays everyone!

-L

[randycw]

I have been using the Eos app on my Z10 for about 8 weeks now; before that I was using a sideloaded version of Gizmo.

I'd like to commend you on Eos.  IMO it is head and shoulders more useful than Gizmo!  I love being able to rate tracks.  Navigation is pretty easy -- although if you could figure it out, I'd like to see a volume slider added to the Playing Now screen.  I love the volume slider controls AND that I can manage the volume of each zone without actually having to switch to that zone first!

Just a fantastic job!!!!  Thank you.

Also, since I see you are beginning work on the Android version of Eos, I'd really like to encourage you to do this.  I have plans in the works to use tablets mounted on walls in my house that I'll use as zone controllers.  Since the BB Playbook operating system isn't getting BB10, I am leaning to android powered tablets.  I'd love to be able to put Eos onto each of those devices.

[Soul_Rvr911]

I have been using the Eos app on my Z10 for about 8 weeks now; before that I was using a sideloaded version of Gizmo.

I'd like to commend you on Eos.  IMO it is head and shoulders more useful than Gizmo!  I love being able to rate tracks.  Navigation is pretty easy -- although if you could figure it out, I'd like to see a volume slider added to the Playing Now screen.  I love the volume slider controls AND that I can manage the volume of each zone without actually having to switch to that zone first!

Just a fantastic job!!!!  Thank you.

Also, since I see you are beginning work on the Android version of Eos, I'd really like to encourage you to do this.  I have plans in the works to use tablets mounted on walls in my house that I'll use as zone controllers.  Since the BB Playbook operating system isn't getting BB10, I am leaning to android powered tablets.  I'd love to be able to put Eos onto each of those devices.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm always glad to hear it, especially when it's positive!

I agree that it would be nice to have a volume slider on the Playing Now page. I had thought about adding one originally, but couldn't think of a way to include it without using up precious screen real estate. I may have just had an epiphany, though: what if I added a little tab on the bottom left corner of the page that when tapped would slide out a volume slider? It would likely be placed in line with the ratings stars, and when expanded it would cover those stars. Tapping on the slider's tab again would close the volume "drawer". Do you think that would work? Or do you have any other suggestions regarding where I could place it? I'm all ears!

I have to admit that I put the Android version of eos on hold some time ago, so I could focus on local playback in the BB10 version. Now that that's finished, you're right - I should pick it up again. I've got a few other changes to make in the BB10 version first, but after another release or two I'll get back to it.

Cheers!

-L

[MGD_King]

I agree that it would be nice to have a volume slider on the Playing Now page. I had thought about adding one originally, but couldn't think of a way to include it without using up precious screen real estate.

My vote would be to replace the Rating Stars with a volume slider, and if possible, give the user the option on which one to display. I don't use the ratings so they're just eating up real estate to me.

[randycw]

I may have just had an epiphany, though: what if I added a little tab on the bottom left corner of the page that when tapped would slide out a volume slider? It would likely be placed in line with the ratings stars, and when expanded it would cover those stars. Tapping on the slider's tab again would close the volume "drawer". Do you think that would work? Or do you have any other suggestions regarding where I could place it? I'm all ears!

This!!

[randycw]

While I am wishing
1.  I'd like to be able to migrate a playlist from one zone to another.  For instance I have a playlist running in my garage, but am headed to the basement to do some chores.  I'd like to move what is playing in the garage to the basement.
2.  Along a similar vein.  It'd be nice to join a zone.  If my daughter is listening to something in her room that my wife can kind of here in the kitchen, I'd like the kitchen zone to be able to join my daughter's zone.


Lastly, if/when you are working on the android flavor, I'd ask that you consider making a widget for it as well.

[Soul_Rvr911]

While I am wishing
1.  I'd like to be able to migrate a playlist from one zone to another.  For instance I have a playlist running in my garage, but am headed to the basement to do some chores.  I'd like to move what is playing in the garage to the basement.
2.  Along a similar vein.  It'd be nice to join a zone.  If my daughter is listening to something in her room that my wife can kind of here in the kitchen, I'd like the kitchen zone to be able to join my daughter's zone.


Lastly, if/when you are working on the android flavor, I'd ask that you consider making a widget for it as well.

I've looked at JRiver's APIs, and I'm thinking zone linking might be the easiest way to handle both of your scenarios. MC supports zone linking, which according to http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/ZoneLink: "[a]nything you choose to play in either zone will now play in both". This definitely solves item 2. I've never used this feature myself, but I'll play around with it. After linking the zones, it might be as easy as stopping playback on the first zone to achieve item 1.

I was able to get the volume control "drawer" that we discussed implemented. And MGD_King, you'll be happy to hear that the drawer remains expanded for as long as you keep the Playing Now page opened (until you tap on the drawer's icon again to close it). The drawer covers the rating stars, so that space won't be wasted for you!

I noticed that in my own setup, this volume bar wasn't very useful: my HTPC is connected to my receiver via HDMI and uses bitstreaming, so changing the "Player" volume level has no effect. My receiver is DLNA compliant, however, and shows up as a zone within MC. Since I can control the receiver's volume through its zone, I added the ability to "soft link" zones within eos. This allows you to designate another zone as the "volume" zone for the current zone. This really only has an impact on the Playing Now page's new volume slider, but it does mean that in my scenario I can control my receiver's volume from the Playing Now page. I hope someone other than me finds this useful!

I'm hoping to release v2.1 sometime in the next week or two. v2.1 will include:

• Playing Now page's volume slider
• Support for linking zones: both "soft" volume links and MC links
• Ability to control the device's volume

In the meantime, you can expect v2.0.5 to be released in the next few days. It's a minor release that fixes a rare crash seen when switching between the local (i.e. - on device) library and remote libraries, and a few other minor bug fixes and performance improvements.

Cheers!

-L

[randycw]

I've looked at JRiver's APIs, and I'm thinking zone linking might be the easiest way to handle both of your scenarios. MC supports zone linking, which according to http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/ZoneLink: "[a]nything you choose to play in either zone will now play in both". This definitely solves item 2. I've never used this feature myself, but I'll play around with it. After linking the zones, it might be as easy as stopping playback on the first zone to achieve item 1.

Holy Smokes, you're quick!!  Thank you for working on this.

The volume slider should prove fantastic.   
And the zone linking will be just fine for doing what I was asking about for both points 1 and 2.

[MGD_King]

And MGD_King, you'll be happy to hear that the drawer remains expanded for as long as you keep the Playing Now page opened (until you tap on the drawer's icon again to close it). The drawer covers the rating stars, so that space won't be wasted for you!

Nice!!!

I'm hoping to release v2.1 sometime in the next week or two. v2.1 will include:

• Playing Now page's volume slider
• Support for linking zones: both "soft" volume links and MC links
• Ability to control the device's volume

Just got the 2.1.0.0 from BBW and the volume slider is awesome!! Great work!!! What do you have planned next?

And I'm amazed at how good FLAC files sound on these little speakers on the Z30!  

[randycw]

The volume slider/drawer on the Now Playing page is very well implemented.  Works great.
Also love the zone linking ability!

Thank you.

[Soul_Rvr911]

Nice!!! 8)Just got the 2.1.0.0 from BBW and the volume slider is awesome!! Great work!!! What do you have planned next?

Not sure what's next for the BB10 app. I don't have any new features planned, so it'll probably just be bug fixes as necessary.

I've been focused on the development of the Android version of eos, which has consumed most of my free time over the past week. It's coming along, albeit more slowly than I'd like. It's been a few years since I've written in Java, and I'm stumbling over learning a new framework (Android) coupled with rusty Java skills (darn you garbage collector!). But I do have basic navigation and list playback working, as well as the Playing Now page (minus the playing now playlist). I've been trying to get what is working as solid as I can before I move onto the next feature. (I can post screenshots of these if anyone's interested!)

I still feel as though I have a lot of work cut out for me, especially when I compare the feature list of the BB10 app against where I am now with Android. And to compound this, building an Android UI is considerably more involved than BB10: there are very few screen size and resolution combinations with BlackBerry, but that seems to be innumerable with Android. Right now I'm focused on phones (I'm using a Nexus 4 simulator, and I'm also running the app on my Z30), but I think tablets are probably the most common use case. Supporting these still seems so far off!

</rant> Well that's enough griping for one post. Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! If you have any other feature requests (BB10 or Android), feel free to send them my way. As I mentioned, I don't have anything else in the backlog right now, so I'm open to suggestion.

Cheers!

-L