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How to access iTunes library remotely?

WorldIRC

WorldIRC

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 25, 2005
473
45
Hey Guys,
I have about 80GB at home, on my Windows machine. I use an Airport Extreme router.

Is there anyway for me to access this library remotely on my MBA so that I don't have to have all the music cluttering up this poor little SSD hard drive?
 
1. Get an external HD. I just bought 500GB 2.5" HD for my MBA, very small.

2. Turn the PC into an FTP server. Don't know how to do it but I'm sure others can help you. May not be idea for music though.

3. Use Spotify

4. Encode the music to smaller bitrate = fit more music per GB

5. Get iPod Classic for music

EDIT: I was thinking about long distance access, not in the same network if that makes a difference. You could just enable file sharing and use that
 
Last edited:
I would recommend a few programs:

Slink - allows you to access your home Mac-based network and its resources anywhere across the internet.

Bonjour Mounter - a nice add-on to OS X that automatically mounts Bonjour shares whenever they are available to do so.

Update (sorry, didn't notice) But, since you have a Windows box, I would suggest moving the iTunes library to an external USB drive that you can hook up directly to the Airport Extreme.

If you set it up properly in the Airport Utility, you can access the drive remotely and therefore have access to all your files as needed. And you can point your Windows' iTunes to point to the library on the router.
 
Yup, just to clarify, I will be accessing the music outside my network. Hooking up an external HD to my Airport Extreme seems like it would work!
 
BeyondtheTech said:
It's not necessary. You can enable File Sharing on the Airport Extreme and set up credentials for read-only or read/write.

I was doing this so my relatives could access files on the same share.
Click to expand...

What's the difference between your idea and using MobileMe, besides $99 / year.
 
BeyondtheTech said:
I would recommend a few programs:

Slink - allows you to access your home Mac-based network and its resources anywhere across the internet.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for posting this,........ this little piece of software is a true gem!!!!

I do run a Mac mini Server at home solely as a media file server (itunes, photos and movies) and Slink let me access ALL my files when away from home. Especial when on the go with my 64GB MBA,.... makes me think of also selling the 17" MBP which is collecting dust since the arrival of the MacBook Air ;)

Having always been a "full-spec" person and truely spoken never ever maxed out the possibilities of my equipment this time decided to went the other road: Reduce to the Max!

Really digging into simplifying my computer life and Slink did a great job on this so far. I sold my Mac Pro which i used at the office and also the 27" iMac from at home. Even the bare modell of the MBA feels so powerfull for my needs that it would make the 17er obsolete,.... will have to make up my mind the next few days,.....

I do have a subscription to MobileMe, but accessing my home network through Slink feels a lot more faster,......

Again thanks for posting!
 
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slinkware said:
Many thanks for the kind feedback on Slink. It means a lot!

I have added a references to your post in the Buzz section of the Slinkware web site. Hope that is OK. If not, let me know and I will take it down.

All the best,

--Olof, Slink Developer
Click to expand...

No, by all means, keep those references. Your app well-deserves it. It works great!
 
I use Subsonic. Just point it at your itunes Folder, and it serves up a nice web view for your music. You can also create other users and have it transcode your music to certian bitrates. They also have some iphone/Android clients. In the preferences you can also set it to open up your router ports using upnp.

And its free.
 
slinkware said:
Many thanks for the kind feedback on Slink. It means a lot!

I have added a references to your post in the Buzz section of the Slinkware web site. Hope that is OK. If not, let me know and I will take it down.

All the best,

--Olof, Slink Developer
Click to expand...

Olof,

it is absolutely fine to use my post as a reference!
Your application is awesome. Only wish that there will come a iPhone/iPad version one day ;)

Also i am glad to let you know that so far i could get a couple of my co-workers inspired to give Slink a try. Count on me to spread the word,.....
 
shootingstar64 said:
Thank you so much for posting this,........ this little piece of software is a true gem!!!!

I do run a Mac mini Server at home solely as a media file server (itunes, photos and movies) and Slink let me access ALL my files when away from home. Especial when on the go with my 64GB MBA,.... makes me think of also selling the 17" MBP which is collecting dust since the arrival of the MacBook Air ;)

Having always been a "full-spec" person and truely spoken never ever maxed out the possibilities of my equipment this time decided to went the other road: Reduce to the Max!

Really digging into simplifying my computer life and Slink did a great job on this so far. I sold my Mac Pro which i used at the office and also the 27" iMac from at home. Even the bare modell of the MBA feels so powerfull for my needs that it would make the 17er obsolete,.... will have to make up my mind the next few days,.....

I do have a subscription to MobileMe, but accessing my home network through Slink feels a lot more faster,......

Again thanks for posting!
Click to expand...

Wow, this app has changed your whole computing life as far as I can tell, eh?

Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like you're promoting the app there.
 
///M5 said:
Wow, this app has changed your whole computing life as far as I can tell, eh?

Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like you're promoting the app there.
Click to expand...

I'll just chime in and say 'don't knock it till you try it.'

I'm your typical local tech for family and friends, and I can't begin to tell you how easy it is to get into their home setups to fix problems without having to go through a lot of hassle.

Also, I gain access to everything as if I'm inside their home - their shared printers, iTunes and iPhoto libraries, file access and remote desktop, etc. Not just the one Mac who has the agent install, but everything that Mac is connected to as well.

But, what got me sold was the licensing - I only had to pay for one copy that remotes in, and I can install the agent on as many Macs as I want. When I tweeted that, I got an email from the makers of ShareTool, a competing product, trying to sway my vote.

I'm not affiliated with the dev or the app and I surely don't get any commission or additional licenses for talking about it, and I don't think that guy is either. But if that guy wants to praise the product, I think it's justified. I'll even offer you or anyone my 40% discount code that I didn't use for the family license (as I bought the single). PM me if interested.
 
///M5 said:
Wow, this app has changed your whole computing life as far as I can tell, eh?

Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like you're promoting the app there.
Click to expand...

LOL,.... i am in no way associated with Slinkware! As a matter of fact i just pay tribute to a well done piece of software i have not been aware of before!

Since the arrival of my new MacBook Air with only 64GB of SSD i was looking into a way of having access to ALL my value data (around 1TB) and did not want to carry an external HD. Lurking through these posts here, i learned about "slink" and gave it a try. I was very impressed,.....

Whats wrong with saying good words about a product you really like?

I am not helping out "cash-hogs" like Adobe, $soft or other big players to even make more money on their product which are far away from perfect, huh?

Slinkware is, to my understanding a small developer who came up with a great idea and a flawless working product which even let me access data and other cpu's from within our companys well protected firewall at a fraction of the costs of other similar products,... get the hint here? ;)

I am working within the IT business and using macs since the 90's and have gotten sick of all these "been there - done that" type of geeks who think they OWN the industry,...... when i state i like to simplify MY personal computer life, i stated to MY personal computer life. Period.

Please feel free to compute like YOU want. To each their own.

Post like the one from "BeyondtheTech" and even mine might help others who find themselves in a similar situation. I am down to my MBA and Mac mini Server and these two with the help of a couple of applications serve my needs pretty well.

Just my 2cents
 
shootingstar64 said:
Slinkware is, to my understanding a small developer who came up with a great idea and a flawless working product which even let me access data and other cpu's from within our companys well protected firewall at a fraction of the costs of other similar products,... get the hint here? ;)
Click to expand...

We are really small. :) I am a one-man indie developer who do it for the love and joy of development! See: http://slinkware.com/about/

--Olof
 
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