The 'Ten Foot' products

I hate having to get up from my armchair to run a program on my media centre or restore a window so I can see what a program is doing! I want a web browser and that I can work with just my remote. I want to check my Emails without having to get my laptop out each time. I want to dowload films and programs from the Internet and show them on my TV - and I want to do it all with my remote. Why should I have to get up off my backside to move files and folders around and delete ones I no longer need?

What I need is a browser, a mail reader, a BitTorrent client and a set of utilities designed to run on my TV using just my remote.

So that's what I wrote.

I hope you find them useful.

The CITA Ten Foot products currently consist of six modules:

  1. Launcher - allows you to launch any of the Ten Foot products and any other programs you want to run. This is not an MCE add-in. The products will work with any Media Centre - or none at all.
  2. Browser - displays web pages full screen with the ability to zoom in for detail. Designed to be operated with a standard remote, the Browser includes many features designed to minimise data entry. You even get a cursor you can work with your remote.
  3. Mail Reader - tracks all your Email accounts and allows you to read Emails at any time. You can delete Emails you don't need; the rest will still be picked up by your normal mail reader. You can password protect sensitive Email accounts.
  4. BitTorrent client - downloads large files (and collections of files) from the Internet and stores them in the right directory ready for you to use them. For example, you can get films, TV programs and music that are published as BitTorrents. The client integrates with the Ten Foot Browser so clicking a link to a torrent starts the download automatically.
  5. File manager - allows you to work with files and folders. Great for organising your videos and giving your files meaningful names.
  6. Program manager - gives you options for minimising, restoring, maximising and closing windows from your armchair.

You can download them from here.

All the modules use clear, high-contrast text that automatically resizes to the size and resolution of your TV. Here are some screenshots.

The products come with online help, a user manual and a guide to tailoring and regionalising the products.

The latest version is Version 3.2, you can find out what has changed since version 3.1.

The products have been tested under Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. They work well with all the different versions of Media Center. They will also work equally well with other Windows-based media centres such as GB-PVR, Media Portal and XBMC.

Please be assured the products do not contain anything nasty. They are available as full products for free. There is no 'professional' version. No malware of any kind. The products have no tracking capabilities. There are no adverts.

If you find the products useful, then a donation will encourage me to continue developing and improving the products. In particular, I'd like to have a go at upgrading them to use WPF graphics - the same user interface tools used by the later versions of Media Center.

Enjoy!

Andy Henderson
Constructive IT Advice

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What I need is a browser, a mail reader, a BitTorrent client and a set of utilities designed to run on my TV using just my remote