Running Programs on Time Capsule

[odisseius]

First of all I'm sorry if this has been asked before but my quick internet and forum search yielded no results.

I have a Mid-2012 Macbook Air and actually running low on space and thinking of getting a Time Capsule and have some questions.

1) Can I somehow partition it for a bootcamp and run windows ?

2) Can I install and run programs/applications on it ? (even games maybe ??)

3) Can I remotely access files stored in it from my iPhone (5) or iPad (2) ?

Bonus: Even though 2 or 3 TB time capsule has much more space and much more convenient is it faster to use a usb 3 drive to install software and run them ?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

First of all I'm sorry if this has been asked before but my quick internet and forum search yielded no results.

I have a Mid-2012 Macbook Air and actually running low on space and thinking of getting a Time Capsule and have some questions.

How big is your SSD?
To find out, where you storage capacity is being used, you can use the following free applications:

• DiskInventory X
• OmniDiskSweeper
• JDisk Report
• GrandPerspective

Maybe try a combination of several, if you still can't find the "missing" capacity.

1) Can I somehow partition it for a bootcamp and run windows ?

No, not via USB 2.0, nor Wireless LAN or via Gigabit Ethernet.

2) Can I install and run programs/applications on it ? (even games maybe ??)

Some applications can be copied to and run from there, but probably not all (the ones using an installer with a bunch of extra files and folders), but the speed will be horrible. W-LAN is slow, USB 2.0 is slow and Gigabit Ethernet would be the fastest.

3) Can I remotely access files stored in it from my iPhone (5) or iPad (2) ?

Probably, but I am not well versed with that.

Bonus: Even though 2 or 3 TB time capsule has much more space and much more convenient is it faster to use a usb 3 drive to install software and run them ?

An external USB 3.0 drive would be much better for what you want to do, and even cheaper, which allows you to get another USB 3.0 HDD to back your data up.

 

[MCAsan]

Having data and your backups on the same drive is not a good idea. The drive crashes, all drives will eventual, and you lose everything.

Get an external USB drive for your data and the either a second driver or a Time Capsule for Time Machine backups. You can get Seagate or WD drives in the 3-4TB range for around $100 each at Costco or Sams.

 

[odisseius]

Actually I was thinking of using time capsule as shared external storage and for remote access but a usb hard drive seems to be the better option...

 

[Altemose]

Actually I was thinking of using time capsule as shared external storage and for remote access but a usb hard drive seems to be the better option...

Shared external storage is a great use. The AirPort Time Capsule supports accounts allowing each user to connect to the disk under their own respective ID and privileges (read only, write only, read & write).

 

[chrfr]

Actually I was thinking of using time capsule as shared external storage and for remote access but a usb hard drive seems to be the better option...

A USB hard drive is the better option. Time Capsule disk access is very slow, and Time Machine is designed to fill the disk with your backups, so you have a steadily decreasing amount of space available for other purposes. When the disk fills, Time Machine will delete older backups so this means your backup contains fewer revisions of older files.
You don't want to run applications from the Time Capsule (many will not work over networks anyway) because there will be a significant speed penalty.
No, your iPhone or iPad can't access the files on there.

 

[odisseius]

Using it as an external drive also frees up space on my ssd so its still useful. Can i at least transfer my itunes library in it and make it read them from there ?

Edit: actually I've looked into the nifty minidrives and a 128 GB one looks fine and it is upgradable which is nice.

 

[MCAsan]

My external library drive is a LaCie 2Big 6TB. My TM drive is a LaCie d2 6TB. Bother are now over 50% full with hundreds of music CDs, ripped movies, over 100,000 photos, and all kinds of documents.

Drives are cheap these days. Get twice what you think you need.

 

[Boyd01]

You can use the Time Capsule as a disk, but it is rather slow. This what I get using gigabit ethernet.

And this is what I get using 802.11ac wifi on my 2013 MBA. I don't believe your 2012 MBA has ac wifi, so it will likely be slower.

For comparison, I have some cheap USB 2.0 bus powered external drives (WD Passport) that clock around 35 MB/s. I also have a USB 3.0 bus powered drive (passport ultra) that clocks around 100 MB/s. I have several larger USB 3.0 drives that clock around 180 MB/s.

 

[h9826790]

This speed limit is coming form the HDD inside the TC. No matter how fast your connection, it won't remove this bottleneck.

 

[Donoban]

Sorry. Nothing to add.