<question is at the end if you want to skip the boring bit>

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My SoundBridge has been acting up increasingly lately (muffled sound, static noises...). Also, since iTunes 7 decided to be not-too-compatible as a music server (compared to version 6 which was working great with the SoundBridge) I am forced to use Firefly and that things is horrible (errors in bitstream causing the client to seem "stuck"--very nosily!) and all sorts of pauses and delays. So it was time for a change, but as I am planning to buy an Athem D2 soon (a self-gift to celebrate 2 years without smoking!) I am trying to avoid buying too much "other stuff".

So, I remembered that I had something an Apple AirPort lying around (bought by mistake and I had forgotten to return it!). Got it to work fairly quickly. My music is all on network drives (in mirror configuration). I managed to somehow get iTunes on my laptop to use the music on the network drives by importing the desktop's music library.

Well... that didn't work too well as I ended up needing 2 network connections for my laptop (one to the AirPort and the other to sub-network containing the network drives). But the worse part was that my laptop is not very yound and has only 256M of RAM. iTunes was horribly sluggish and forget about album art!

I gave up that option faced with the "facts" of the moment: need a 1000$ new tablet laptop to save buying a 400$ SqueezeBox Duet! I remembered, with a deep sigh, having tried in the past to setup Remote Desktop between the two, attempts that all failed miserably.... until figured Yesterday that it only works if I use a password protected user on the server side! That was simple enough!

SO, now I have <latop>-[RD over Wi-Fi]-<desktop>-[LAN]-<network drives>-[LAN]-<air port>-[Analog RCA]-<receiver>. Works great! The remote control (laptop) is a tad on the big and heavy side! So 2 computers and 2 wireless gateways suffice to replace a simple box!
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QUESTION: Now I would like to do something as silly as having access to "pause" without having to open the lid of the laptop. As I have a RF-based (extensible with remote IR emitters) Harmony 890, I was wondering if there are some generic IR/RF receivers that can be connected to a PC with software allowing to map/define commands that I could then program into the remote and do the PC bit to send the appropriate commands selected. The only things I have found are Keyspan iTuneview which are self-contained systems and do not really match what I want.

I have a IR-serial adapter, but it did not come with any software (other than the software used to record the IR from a remote control) that I got from http://www.smarthome.com. That might be one place to start.

I'm confused by your comment about needing two networks--you should be able to just use one! Even if you have two wifi routers (the Airport and whatever the other is) you should be able to set them up as one network.

Thanks. That's the type of info I was looking for.

As for the network, the missing details are that for some reason I cannot access the network drives from my laptop (requires special drivers that don't work on "XP home edition") so I need shared files (which implies same subnet) and then the AirPort is not exactly the most flexible gateway on the market (it cannot act as a bridge). As I have only one port left on the 5-port switch in my living room, only one of the AirPort or the laptop can be cabled.

But why not make the Airport the same network as the other wifi network?

I haven't used the Express, but the Extreme (and earlier models) most certainly can be used a bridge; they just don't necessarily call it that.

The Wi-Fi side is assumed to be a different subnet than the WWAN side. The Extreme is a full-featured gateway. The Express is meant to be used in travel or as network extender with other Apple base-station (i.e. it would work if my other router were an Extreme access point).

Ah... yes, you can't use the express to extend the range (as Apple puts it), but you can use it as a wireless client on your existing network. The manual's unclear on how to do this, but it does appear to be possible. There's also something in the FAQ saying that you can use it as an ethernet to wifi bridge, and here's the article on how to do it.

Thanks. I've been working in that field for YEARS now and I would never have tought of that one! It is soooo intuitive!

In any case, the Remote Desktop approach is actually better for me, but this is very nice to know.

Heh... I'm just stubborn. Glad it's working for you. Hope you find the IR transceiver.

I lost track of all that's happening above as I read it quickly and it looks like you have a solution so I won't re-read. However, despite not completely figuring out what your doing, I did manage to retain my sense of hatred for itunes.

Geeze, can't you guys keep this techno mumbo jumbo in the Technical forum?

So if you close your iTunes, it could be considered a hate crime?

Ah, the ol' knee jerk reaction...

Heh heh, Actually, I don't use iTunes. However it is on my ome PC because my wife won a Nano in a draw at work. It has given me no end of grief ever since I loaded it. I had to disable just about every automatic feature it has so it would stop trying to sync with my zen, cause double entries in my Squeezecenter, and stop trying to take over my PC in general.

I like to make fun of Apple stuff but really I like a lot of what they do. iTunes is a great music manager if you are an Ipod only person but it sure doesn't play nice with strangers.