Download the control panel RCDefaultApp - that will let you set defaults for true filetypes, file-extensions, URL types, etc... Very handy program.

Bruno

Looks like you'll have a fun new app to play with on that mini


Front Row -- A new way to experience media. Music, photos, and video from Sofa. Remote control. Apple style. Looks like an iPod shuffle. Music interface from iTunes but with great full screen display.

Hey Tony, it looks like Apple just announced a remote control with a whopping six buttons . It sounds like it's context-sensitive, but given that it's Apple, it'll probably work pretty well.

Definitely interesting. The real question is whether Apple has come up with an easy way to share iTunes files between apps. Right now, I've got a big G4 tower in the office. If I could buy a Mac Mini to use as a DVD player and everything else, that would be attractive, but I'd want them to be able to share my music files (most likely, mounted from my file server). Let's hope some kind of multi-machine-sharing is part of the story.

EDIT: Apple has now updated their web site, with some screenshots of FrontRow and the cute remote control, which seems to be all about being a part of the new iMac G5. It's entirely unclear if there's a Mac Mini variant on this.

Yeah, it looks like a shuffle

So it's MCE but by Apple?

Dan: Since the multi machine library sharing has been built into iTunes for a long time, i'm pretty sure it'd work the way you are saying... unless I'm missing something? I have all of my music shared out via iTunes on my main PC, which is picked up as a shared library on my powerbook so I can listen to it all from there.

You can share it from machines that don't have iTunes by using mt-daapd. It'll only let you stream though, if you want to transfer the actual files over then you'll have to mount a network share etc...

Sorry, Loren. I didn't see your post about Front Row before I made mine...

What I'd *like* to do is keep all my content on my file server and mount it from multiple Macs. This would also make things simpler for syncing data to my laptop for DJing. If I have to run everything through iTunes, then I loose some of the functionality that I'd otherwise want.

What's keeping you from doing just that? Mounting it on different macs?

It doesn't seem that you can order Front Row and the remote seperatly. Seems short sided seeing as the mac mini is the obvious candidate for the remote.

Matthew

Ah. If you want to be able to modify stuff from various computers then no, it won't let you do that. The best you can do is serve it out via DAAP and be content with just listening and selecting tracks.

Yup, my Top 'O The Line POWERbook that they're still selling can't do HD. You can't even get the thing with a decent high resolution/definition screen.

It can still play video and music just fine. A remote for the mac mini seems like a no brainer. A USB IR sensor wouldn't cost much, even if they did have to paint it white.

Ah well. If you want OSX, you run it on what Steve wants you to run it on.

Matthew

Okay, next Mac question.

I have enabled Windows File Sharing on the mac mini. I have told it that all the accounts on it can use windows file sharing.

But unless I'm logged in to one of those accounts, I can't connect to the share. I can only connect to the share when I'm actually logged in.

Can that be fixed somehow? So that someone could connect to a share when it's just sitting at the login screen. You know, like Windows NT does.

Is the machine actually network accessible at all during those times?

Interesting. Okay, it doesn't respond to a ping when I'm logged out.

Is there a setting that turns off the AirPort when I log out?

Yeah, that was it.

Super. Tell me what you changed so I can fix it on my Mini.

Network properties, airport, there's an "options" button at the bottom, and then in that dialog there's an option to disconnect from wireless networks when you log out.

Hunh. When I click that Options button, nothing happens. Well, the button turns blue for an instant, but nothing beyond that.

Ideas?

Only the obvious question. Is the user you are logged in as, an admin?
That panel won't give you the time of day if not.

Yup. It's greyed out otherwise. I'm clearly clicking the button, it just doesn't make anything happen. It's really academic at this point anyway, though, as it's not disconnecting the network when I log out.