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Feeling lazy? Have a couple of Macs around the house? This one’s for you!

Being able to remote control a computer is nothing new, and the Mac OS has supported it for a long while. But with 10.5 it’s never been easier. But before we set up a remote controlled Mac, let’s talk about some of the ways this work.

VNC

VNC - this is a standard that can be found on Linux machines as well as Mac OS. Essentially one computer acts as a VNC server an a VNC client connects to observe or control the server. The Mac OS can run as a VNC server out of the box. In 10.5 this feature can be found in the sharing control panel. One Mac VNC client I’ve used in the past is “Chicken of the VNC” a quick google should turn up a download for this app, if you’re interested

A BETTER WAY

Apple Remote Desktop is a swell way to remote control Macs on your Network, however it’s not free. It is an application designed for a system administrator to monitor or control a bunch of machines. The lite version that comes with 10.5 can be found in iChat - the screen sharing feature! The cool thing, and the hack I’m getting to, is using this screen sharing service to remote control your Macs with the same elegance the full version of Remote Desktop gives you. It’s all there - just disabled!

1) Look in your hard drive in /System/Library/CoreServices - you should find “Screen Sharing” - the application which will allow you to remote control the machines. I put mine in my dock.

2) If you load it, it asks where to connect. You can use the IP as provided by the sharing control panel, but there’s an easier way. Hop into terminal and type this: defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing ShowBonjourBrowser_Debug 1

3) Now when you load Screen Sharing, you’ll see a more detailed window with a list of computers on the network using bonjour and remote management in the sharing control panel.

WHY?

This is useful if you have a desktop Mac in the house - you can connect to and control it from a laptop. It’s also fun for pranks The ScreenSharing solution is also nice because it will scale the higher resolution desktop to fit on your laptop’s screen - Chicken of the VNC doesn’t do this. Most Linux distributions have a VNC client as well so you can get at your desktop Mac from pretty much anything or anywhere. That’s right - if you’re confident with exposing your machine to the world, you can share out this service to the internet and get at your home computer anywhere in the world.

Speck case from back

Remember the original iBook when it was available in a variety of different colors? I kind of miss that, I mean personalization’s big, but Apple isn’t really into it now. Well, at least there are tons of aftermarket personalization options - such as skins and cases. Here’s a quick rundown on my Speck MacBook case.

HEAT

A big concern of mine was if putting my computer in a case would cause more heat to be held in. I’m sure most people wouldn’t even consider this - but I really push the machine, so it’s pretty important. I haven’t done an official temperature before/after type test but I can say I haven’t heard the fan come on any more than usual - so installing this case doesn’t seem to affect cooling.

WHERE TO GET IT

They have the Speck case at the Apple store and some BestBuys… however I found it brand new on Amazon for less than half the price. (19.99 instead of 49.99 at Apple) Plus ordering online allowed me to pick the color I wanted.

THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY

Well, if you like the way it looks then I’d say go for it. It snaps on perfectly (be sure though to get the case designed for your model. I doubt the new unibody MacBooks and mine are the exact same dimensions.) You may notice it bumps a little opening it all the way. This is probably the single biggest downside, that it won’t open all the way. But again, it’s probably fine for most people, and as picky as I am - I can deal with it. Otherwise the ports line up fine, everything plugs in ok, it fits in the bag still, not much thicker, and even the power light and Apple logo still shine through.

OVERALL

So I’d give this a 4/5. If you like customizating your gear, then this is probably one of the nicer ways to do it. It adds a splash of color and should protect the case fairly well. It’s attractive and functional. The only reason I don’t give it a 5 is it prevents the computer from opening all the way. Granted, my machine may be a little bent up from dropping it down the stairs

Speck case - open