Introducing pyKake

This is my first Maemo application, written in Python with GTK library for graphical user interface and Lirc to handle infrared. It is very simple and clear with main purpose to work as infrared remote control for DSLRs. It includes remote commands for Shutter and Bulb (on and off buttons). There is also + and - buttons, but I haven't yet find them other use than change pictures in picture view (but if it is possible to remotely use focus in camera, these are probably buttons to do it), still very handy if you have connect camera to TV and go through the picture show.

I got the basic idea for this application, when I tested Shutter (by Tom Waelti), from Maemo.org, it is nice small desktop widget to remote control shutter in DSLR, but I was still missing some options, most important thing of these was Bulb. So I decide that what a heck, I can do it by myself! So I read some manuals to catch the idea of maemo programming, and borrowed the idea of Lirc from Whaelti and started to code.

So now I have a basically working application, which I call pyKake (py is for python and Kake is a Finnish nickname for remote control). At the moment it only works with cameras from Olympus (basically it is only a virtual Olympus RM-1 remote), mainly because I own Olympus e-420 so I only can test it. In future I will add support for other remotes to (at least from Canon, Nikon and Pentax).  Program itself looks like this:

In next few versions, there will be support for multiple cameras, or at least I try to catch correct remote and camera combinations, so I need someone with a camera to test do it really work as it should. This also needs a menu structure (in current, there is no menus, only those buttons), to change settings (about and license dialogs) and also some fixes in outfit too. And because it need more testers in that moment, it will be installable deb package (hopefully into extras-testing repository).

Later, when I got the program run as it should (whit those new cameras) and Nokia releases PR1.2 update for Maemo, I will change the UI library from GTK to Qt (4.6 of course) to create more graphical view. I didn't use Qt at the beginning, because GTK is my old friend and I wanted to get this basic application in use ready stage as fast as I could, there is lot of time trimming it later.

So there is no installable software to test, but if you are brave and you know what you are doing, you can find more info how you can test it from here (It is forum thread I created for pyKake in Maemo Talk).