Download Breakaway for Mac - Pause/resume iTunes with your headphones. MacUpdate Mac Audio Software Downloads

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Breakaway is a utility that will pause/resume iTunes for you whenever you unplug and/or plug in your headphones. You can now walk away from your computer for a moment without missing a beat of your favorite song, or disturbing anyone with your speakers coming on.

Optionally, you can enable mute button functionality, which makes your mute button act as a pause for iTunes. Need to take a call? Hit mute on your keyboard and talk all you need. As soon as you unmute, iTunes will resume once more.

Note: If you want to use Breakaway solely for mute button functionality, be sure to disable "Headphones mode"

Also, Breakaway now supports Growl notifications, so you can get the status of your jack without the trouble of using a menu item.

Watch the screencast

Version 1.75b:

[New] Now open source on SourceForge.net
[New] Now under GPL license
[New] Plugins added
[Change] Triggers replaced with Plugins
[Change] iTunes playpause calls now significantly faster
[Change] Preferences rearranged

DEVELOPER POLL

Q: How do you like the new interface?

It's great, don't change it

I don't like it, change it back

Honestly, I never really use the interface.

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BALTHAMOS There are a few problems with the localizations at the moment, but they are getting resolved as we speak. A small localization/UI release will be coming ASAP. Sorry for the inconvenience.
(Version 1.6)

DNELSON I downloaded Breakaway 1.5, but none of my unarchive utilities could unzip it. I got error messages saying that it could not be unzipped to due to a problem with the compression or something.
(Version 1.5)

Replies:

Mar 4 2008

MACUPDATE ADMIN Just now downloaded and unzipped the file with no issues. Problem appears to be at your end of things.
(Version 1.5)

Mar 4 2008

BALTHAMOS Perhaps the copy you got was corrupted in some way. Try re-downloading. If that doesn't work, download it from my website. If that doesn't work, email me and I'll help you through it.
(Version 1.5)

Mar 4 2008

DNELSON I tried all of the above except the email. I don't see how an emailed copy would work better, though. :/
(Version 1.5)

Mar 4 2008

MACUPDATE ADMIN No one else has reported any issues with this download and there've been, at this point in time, 243 downloads of this version today. Someone else would've reported trouble with the download, yet no one else has done so. The problem is almost certainly with your Mac.
(Version 1.5)

Mar 5 2008

DNELSON What do you think is wrong with it? Is this download Leopard only? Does it not support 10.4.11? Was it made by an application that 243 other people have that I don't? Maybe my copy of Stuffit Expander is corrupt, but that's impossible because I've used it about 100 other times before. Maybe it's for some reason only expandable on an Intel Mac. I have no idea! I don't have queer applications installed on my computer, and it's run perfectly fine ever time I've needed to use it, and EVERY ZIP I've tried to unzip in the past has succeeded. How do you possibly think that the problem is on my end? Is the Safari 3.1 beta choosing to corrupt this one file? WHAT?
(Version 1.5)

Mar 5 2008

MACUPDATE ADMIN "How do you possibly think that the problem is on my end?"

I have already told you why this appears to be the case: no one else has reported any issues with the download, surely if there was something wrong with the download, you'd NOT be the only one to report trouble. This is only common sense.

I've been at this job here at MacUpdate for eight years, and when there is a problem with a given downloaded file, it is invariably reported by more than one person. When it is not reported by more than one person, then the problem must be local to that person's machine.

Try restarting your Mac, running your system utilities, whatever.
(Version 1.5)

NEKO-CHAN this is great. one thing i love about my ipod nano is that it pauses if the headphones get unplugged. thanks to this app, that little detail carries over to my macbook. something like this should've came with leopard.
(Version 1.3)

Replies:

Apr 29 2008

COUGARBLUE Am I dreaming? Or does any 5G Video already have this feature? I find myself staying busying while listening to me iPod, which means frequent headphone yanks out of the socket. Every time it happens, my iPod goes into pause.

I'm the least cautious guy I know, I get and install every MacOS update immediately. However I am very picky when it comes to messing with iPod's operating system. Even at that I do re-installs often.

If you have the built-in feature, and it seems as if most iPods do, why mess with it's OS?
(Version 1.6)

BILLIFER I love Breakaway. For the price (i.e., free), it doesn't matter to me whether it pauses VLC or MPlayer. The developer would likely welcome help in coding these, as well, just guessing, even though the source code isn't available at the Breakaway web site.
(Version 1.0)

ALJUK This is a brilliant little App, and extremely useful. I love it.
(Version 1.0)

BALTHAMOS Just would like to keep you updated. I got my new MBP, and I solved the problem. It should be faster, and work on all Apple computers now. Also, the annoying "Less precise mode" will be taken off too (or "Type B" for you who remember it that way). Next release should be out this week.
(Version 0.95)

ZAZZLE would be great if this would also pause VLC and MPlayer
(Version 0.95)

Replies:

May 2 2007

BALTHAMOS I really can't do anything slick with VLC; it does not give it's player state in any external format that I know of. I could implement a really rough version, that just plays on plug, stops on pull. It would not be able to detect what VLC is doing, just do what it's told to do. That being said, it would not be able to use some of the same advanced functions that have been implemented into the iTunes portion.

As for MPlayer, I have never used it before.There also seems to be two versions? I am confused on which one is the "right one" to be using. Even then, it may be just like VLC: not providing the needed information to function properly.
(Version 0.95)

EKUZCO Cool app, but.....

could you please make it so that breakaway is only active when iTunes is open? Meaning, iTunes is not the only app that I use with my headphones. Sometimes I just want to plug in my headphones and hear the audio from a game, movie, video, etc.

What I don't like about Breakaway is that EVERY time I unplug or plug in my headphones, iTunes launches and plays.
(Version 0.7)

Replies:

Nov 30 2006

BALTHAMOS It should only interface with iTunes if the application is running. If iTunes is not running and Breakaway still activates it, make sure you don't have the "Force-open iTunes" option on. Finally, you could manually disable Breakaway from the menu extra if you like.
(Version 0.7)

DOM21 Perhaps it's me, but... why not just pause iTunes?
(Version 0.6)

Replies:

Nov 26 2006

BALTHAMOS If iTunes is not frontmost, or you have to leave quickly, it is easier just to pull out your headphones than to bring up iTunes and hit pause or to use a keystroke to pause it. For instance, I use Quicksilver mostly for pausing iTunes, but when I need to get something from across the room, then I just pull it, go get it, then come back; a lot faster and more efficient than hitting the pause/play button twice.
(Version 0.6)

IAMASWISSGUY This software is excellent. I really am mainly going to use it for the mute function, though.

I request that on unmute, I have the option to resume playing.

Thanks!
(Version 0.6)

Replies:

Nov 26 2006

BALTHAMOS My resources tell me that specific problem is limited to the G5/Intel iMac. Could you please confirm this finding? I want to make sure that I am not leaving out other systems. (confirmed to work with G5 PowerMac)
(Version 0.6)

Nov 27 2006

IAMASWISSGUY Yeah, iMac Intel Core 2 Duo.
(Version 0.6)

Nov 29 2006

IAMASWISSGUY Unmute and play still doesn't work in 0.7.
(Version 0.7)

Nov 30 2006

BALTHAMOS Have you tried turning off headphones mode? I have another tester who has the same computer specs as you and it runs fine on his computer. If you would like me to aid in getting the program to work on your computer, feel free to drop me a line at balthamos89 at gmail dot com
(Version 0.7)

Nov 30 2006

IAMASWISSGUY Well, I turned off Headphone mode and it still didn't work, but I kept working at it and retrying and it started working :).

If you want to run anything through me to test, I'd be happy to help.

iamaswissguy[at]gmail[dot]com
(Version 0.7)