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Apple Remote

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The Apple Remote is a remote control made for use with Apple products with infrared capabilities released after October 2005. The remote is largely based on the interface of the iPod shuffle and has only six buttons. The six buttons on the remote are for Menu, Play/Pause, Volume Up, Volume Down, Previous/Rewind, and Next/Fast-forward. The remote was originally designed to interact with Front Row in the iMac ("Rev. C" or newer). On January 10, 2006, the MacBook Pro with support for the Apple Remote was announced. The Mac mini with Apple Remote support was announced on February 26, 2006.

The Front Row application allows users to browse and play music, view videos (DVDs and downloaded files) and browse photos. The Apple Remote is also compatible with the iPod Hi-Fi and the Universal Dock. The functions for the iPod Universal Dock allow for music and media control, though the remote is not able to control the menus within the iPod. Steve Jobs announced it on October 12, 2005. The battery is accessed by pushing a small, blunt object, such as a paper clip or a 3.5mm headphone plug, into a tiny indent at the bottom right edge of the remote, revealing the compartment which houses the CR2032 lithium 3.0v button cell.

Currently, the Apple Remote's volume buttons are not compatible with the AirTunes system, however the remote can control the new Apple TV.

Contents

[edit] Shortcuts

[edit] Pair With Device

A device can be configured to only respond to a certain remote. This can be achieved by holding the Apple Remote close enough to the device with which it is to be paired, and then pressing and holding the "Menu" and "Next" buttons for five seconds. Pairing can be removed by deactivating it under the OS X "Security" System Preference pane. Note: Only users with administrative privileges are allowed to pair their remote; in a non-administrator account, pressing the buttons will have no effect and nothing will be displayed.

[edit] Sleep

Users can put iMacs, MacBooks, MacBook Pros, Intel Mac Minis or docked iPods into sleep mode by holding down the Play/Pause button on the Apple Remote. Devices can also be awakened by pressing any button on the remote.

[edit] Boot Options

Holding down the Menu button on the remote while starting up an Intel Macintosh enters the System Picker (Same as holding the Option/Alt key at startup). The remote can then be used to cycle through all bootable partitions and can then confirm them by pressing the Play/Pause button. This can be especially useful for Boot Camp users who might frequently use this feature to boot into Windows partitions on the Intel Macs. The remote can also eject CDs or DVDs in this menu by selecting the disc and then pressing the + (Volume Up) button on the remote.

[edit] Application Compatibility

The remote can be used to control presentations in Apple Keynote (only on Intel Macs, not PPC Macs), picture slide shows in iPhoto, QuickTime, DVD Player, and audio in iTunes. You can use "iRed Lite" for controlling OpenOffice.org Impress presentations.

[edit] VLC Compatibility

In response to the new Intel processors, a small piece of software called the Apple Remote Helper has surfaced to allow remote use in the popular VLC media player. Play, pause, volume, and skip buttons all work normally. It should be noted, however, that the volume buttons change VLC's volume, and not the system volume. Starting with release 0.8.6-test1 VLC itself supports the Apple Remote.

[edit] Compatibility with more applications

Recently a number of tools have been released allowing custom configuration of the Apple Remote buttons. Programs such as Remote Buddy, Sofa Control, iRed Lite and mira allow control over any application by providing users with the ability to assign simulated keystrokes and applescripts to each individual button. Another application that has come to light is a program known as iAlertU, a program aimed at preventing theft of a personal macbook.

[edit] Compatibility with other Macs

Using the third-party remote software mira (from Twisted Melon) or Remote Buddy (from IOSPIRIT GmbH) users of older Macs can use the Apple Remote with a USB-based IR receiver. Most new Mac models come equipped with a built-in infrared receiver, but previous generation products lack any such IR device. Even the Mac Pro desktops released in the summer of 2006 lack built-in IR. Using Remote Buddy or mira, it is possible to connect an external USB receiver such as the Windows Media Center Edition eHome receiver, and use the Apple remote just as on the newer machines with full support for sleep, pairing, low battery detection and Front Row.

[edit] iPod compatibility

The remote only works with the iPods with Dock connectors and only when the iPods are docked. The remote cannot control an undocked iPod. It is also important to note that the remote's menu functionality does not work on the iPod, docked or not.

[edit] iMac resting place

The remote can be 'rested' on a magnetic pad located beneath the iMac's SuperDrive when not in use. It can also be rested on the magnetic frame on the MacBook's screen when not in use. The three places on the MacBook that will hold the remote are the top left and the top right of the frame, as well as the middle left of the frame.

[edit] Bootcamp compatibility

As of Bootcamp 1.2, the remote has been given some compatibility when a user is running Windows. If the user has iTunes installed on the Windows partition, pressing the Menu button on the remote will load the program. As well as this, the remote has the ability to control both Windows Media Player and iTunes, as well as system Volume Control. Additionally, the remote also has the ability to control the freeware audio program, foobar, and the freeware media program Media Player Classic. Both programs must have focus for the remote to function (as in, not in a minimised state). Skipping tracks and pausing/playing functionality are avaliable under the programs.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

This article was started using a Wikipedia Remote article
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