Remote Control   (Advanced Edition)

AT LAST! No more running up to the computer (or depending on an assistant) to select, start and stop the music when you're teaching a dance! Now, with a shirt-pocket sized remote control you can select dances from your playlist, start and stop the music,  turn the cues on and off, adjust the cue volume, the music volume, and even the dance speed. And because the remote communicates using radio waves instead of infrared light, it doesn't matter if there are dancers between you and the computer.

If you are cueing from the stage, your assistant can use the remote to flash messages ("More music, please" or "Cues down, please") on the computer screen instead of waving his or her arms from across the hall.

In order to do that, you'll need to buy two components from X-10.com.  One is the model HR12A Palm Pad remote control transmitter (http://www.x10.com/products/x10_hr12a.htm) (about $20) and the other is the receiver.  You'll need either the model MR26A (with a serial connection to your computer) for about $30) (http://www.x10.com/products/x10_mr26a.htm) -OR- the model CM19A (with a USB connection for about $50) (http://www.x10.com/products/x10_cm19a.htm).  The CM19A is recommended, especially since your laptop probably doesn't have a serial port.

The transmitter goes with you out onto the dance floor, and the receiver plugs into a serial port on your computer. There it receives the commands you send from the remote and passes them to DanceMaster, which does whatever you're asking for.