The Apple Remote
I don’t know if it’s common knowledge, but I thought I’d share anyway. Several years ago, as Apple was gaining steam in the industry, Steve Jobs presented a keynote speech and cycled through his presentation slides using a small iPod-like device. It sparked a great deal of interest, and if nothing else, the biggest buzz after that keynote was “Will Apple be selling those little iPod remotes?” Of course, the answer turned out to be “Yes.”
Now they’re standard-issue. Apple introduced FrontRow, a sort of full-screen media browser for your Mac. In addition, this program was designed to be operated entirely using the Apple Remote — no mouse, keyboard, or other interface device necessary. It was (and still is) really cool.
Recently, I ordered a brand, spanking new MacBook Pro. (I am incredibly pleased, incidentally, with my $3200 purchase that included the Design Premium edition of Adobe CS4.) When purchasing my MacBook Pro, among many customization options (you know me, going for top-of-the-line stuff, as usual) was the Apple Remote. I chose not to include an Apple Remote with my purchase. My reasoning for this was simply because I could not justify the $20 price tag. Additionally, I didn’t think it would be necessary, since I was purchasing a laptop, not a desktop for multimedia purposes. And it’s only a 15″ screen.
In any case, I am glad I chose not to purchase the Apple Remote. As the owner of a Mac Mini, I already owned an Apple Remote. I know you can pair the Apple Remote with your computer, but what I didn’t realize was that the Apple Remote can operate multiple Macs simultaneously. In other words, I can maintain the same volume ratio on both my laptop and Mac Mini by using one Apple Remote to adjust volume. It’s really convenient to have the Apple Remote functioning on both computers.
I would complain that the Apple Remote is unreasonably expensive, but it seems that under normal circumstances, it’s only a one-time purchase anyway. Thanks again, Apple.