Kind of an obscure situation here, but I’ll pass it along in case it’s useful for someone else. So I got around to checking out Front Row on the Mac Mini with the included Apple remote (I now see how useful the Mini can be hooked up to an entertainment center). Anyhow, as I was browsing songs on the Mac Mini, I realized it was also activating Front Row on my MacBook.

Although it’s kinda cool to be controlling two computers simultaneously, the novelty quickly wore off and I soon searched and found the solution. It turns out you can “pair” a particular remote with a desired Mac by holding the remote’s menu and next track buttons at the same time for about five seconds. Front Row appears and you’re presented with an icon of the remote with two chain links.

You can control this setting by going to the “security” system preferences pane. There’s a check box for “Disable remote control infrared receiver” and another setting for having the computer work with any available remote or only its paired remote. So you can easily “unpair” a remote or set a computer to ignore remotes entirely.

I disabled the infrared on my MacBook since I never use it, and paired the remote with the Mac Mini, which should take care of the dual computer control situation.

Disclosure: I own a tiny amount of Apple stock.

Categories: Apple, Technology :: Tags: Apple Remote, Mac Mini, MacBook :: Trackback URL
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