Filed under: Software, Beta Beat
Bowtie: iTunes controller with style
I like the idea of iTunes controllers, but a lot of the apps I try are too CPU intensive or just plain feature-bloated, so I just live with some AppleScripts set to hotkeys. I discovered Bowtie a little while ago, though, and it's a perfect fit for my needs. It's tiny, unobtrusive and its look (and even functionality) is extremely customizable. It provides system-wide hotkeys for skip forward, skip back and play/pause. Depending on the theme you have loaded, the interface can provide cover art and song info, star rating controls and clickable buttons for basic playback control.
If have some web design knowledge, Bowtie can be themed with a little CSS and Javascript. There is a starter pack available at MacThemes (several themes from the pack are pictured above); the download is in the first post of a running thread from which tips and tricks for customization can be gleaned.
Bowtie has been out as a beta for a while, and I'm uncertain what its current development status is. I really haven't run into any show-stopping bugs, though, which is impressive for such an early beta. Of course, it's a fairly simple machine with a focus on doing a few things well and looking great in the process. What's not to love?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bassir said 12:05PM on 12-07-2008
What do we use iTunes controllers for if we have keys on the keyboard for just controlling iTunes.
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Brett Terpstra said 12:16PM on 12-07-2008
Valid question, and it's largely a matter of personal taste. In my case, I use multiple keyboards with my MacBook Pro, and the ones which aren't Apple-specific generally *don't* have dedicated keys (that work without special mapping, anyway). Second, even when I use Apple keyboards, I have the F-keys mapped as F-keys without the modifier, requiring an awkward "fn" key hold and I can't usually do it without looking at the keyboard. Mapping the ff/rw/play-pause to combos I can hit with a modifier or two and the j-k-l keys allows me to control iTunes without thinking twice, or moving my hands while I'm working on something else.
robogobo said 3:26PM on 12-07-2008
bassir, some people also use iTunes controllers over the network to let another machine do all the processing and sorting. This is especially handy if you have multiple older machines in your house and you want a central music server to do the often heavy lifting iTunes requires, as well as keeping only one music library in the house. I'm not sure if Bowtie has this capability, but I'm quite satisfied with YouControl and iPhone Remote to handle network iTunes control, so I'm not going to bother to find out.
dandaman said 4:57PM on 12-07-2008
my late '06 macbook doesn't have those keys
I've been using sizzling keys for a while, but it feels like an open source program - powerful (well, for an itunes controller at least) but a bit on the fugly side. I'm still using sizzling keys for it's original purpose, hotkeying itunes, but I'm disabling the floater and trying this out for a bit.
All it needs are shuffle/repeat controls on the windows.
Adam said 12:23PM on 12-07-2008
I've been using Sizzling Keys to do this for years... It has become one of the first things I install on new machines.
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ipodrulz said 1:18PM on 12-07-2008
same here. but it's a very ugly app. So I'm hoping Bowtie fits my needs.
Cono said 12:46PM on 12-07-2008
It's not only the control. Bowtie with the correct themes is a gorgeous way to view your music. Many themes use simply beautiful animations to transition to the next song, or displaying the information. You can also use keystrokes, yes... but its the superior graphical interface of Bowtie that makes it special. Oh yeah, and its FREE.
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Naxalite said 12:46PM on 12-07-2008
I've been using this since beta. There is a big bug; if you quit iTunes while bowtie is open, it crashes.
That issue aside, it rocks. I would note however, that the real attraction is last.fm log in and a desktop visual of the artwork, replacing cover sutra, an app that costs money, with a less cpu intensive, imminently skin-able free application.
Also of note is that the default hot keys are identical with the default iTunes hot key controls in quicksilver.
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Brett Terpstra said 12:53PM on 12-07-2008
Sorry, I did forget to mention the last.fm integration. I don't have a full appreciation for it, yet, as the last.fm plugins/external apps I've tried are just too clunky and I've never gotten into it. Bowtie has actually inspired me to start using my last.fm account, though, because the integration is so unobtrusive and lightweight.
Jordan said 1:51PM on 12-07-2008
This seems to only be an issue for you, iTunes quits fine for me...
Jason Martin said 2:53PM on 12-07-2008
Also a note: with the default theme, you can move it completely behind the menubar. If you let go of the mouse button, then it's stuck behind the menubar, and you can't get it back unless you delete the settings file from your ~/Library/Preferences/ folder.
Shunnabunich said 1:29PM on 12-07-2008
I wouldn't call it "unobtrusive" when it requires you to have its icon sitting in your dock while it's open. If they realize they're supposed to give us the option of a menu bar icon and implement it in a future version, I'd love to keep using Bowtie. I just don't want to add clutter to my dock for the sake of an app which, by its very nature, is supposed to sit discreetly in the background.
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Laurent said 1:34PM on 12-07-2008
A menubar option, along with a search function, are already implemented in the second beta, which should hit the public very soon ;-)
pritthish said 1:38PM on 12-07-2008
its already a feature in Beta 2 (which should be released soon)
Chris said 1:49PM on 12-07-2008
Beta 2? But I thought...."Bowtie has been out as a beta for a while"
dandaman said 4:59PM on 12-07-2008
@ chris:
I thought the same thing, at first. The app isn't out of beta, it is out but still in beta.
dandaman said 5:01PM on 12-07-2008
Sorry to double reply, but shuffle/repeat would be nice in beta 2 as well
Shunnabunich said 5:10PM on 12-07-2008
That's great to hear, Laurent. I apologize if I seemed snide in my previous comment. I really do like Bowtie otherwise, especially with its skinnability (the MacThemes forums seem to be practically frothing with the things). I'll admit that with Quicksilver already running all the time, I may not need it for its hotkeys, but there are times when I either feel like showing off or just want to be able to see what's playing without Exposéing every few minutes. :)
Stretch said 1:54PM on 12-07-2008
I've been using it since the beta was announced and released. I find it much better than Coversutra. I've found one bug but most users probably won't see it. If you delete a song while playing, or after it just played, Bowtie will hang up for a little bit.
@Bassir, I have hotkeys because I mapped on of the buttons on my Logitech VX Rev to skip the track.
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huth.sebastian said 1:47PM on 12-07-2008
Great, because the menubar icon is the only thing it's missing, another thing that would be nice is if it could always stay on desktop level, even if you show the desktop via spaces, because sometimes I can't see what song is playing right away, and even though I know what it is I like seeing it, in coversutra I used to just hide all windows, but Bowtie disappears.
That and the menubar is pretty much all it's missing to be a lightweight but functional iTunes controller. Great job!
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