How To Leave The Computer Weight at Home

Posted by Nicholas Patten on Nov 28, 2010 in Tutorials | No Comments

For the past few months I’ve been contemplating buying a new laptop, but at the same time I’d rather not have the hassle of carrying it around when traveling. I already have an iPhone, iPad, and Samsung Galaxy S (Android OS). All I need now is a way of connecting to all of my files and the computing power that the iPad can’t handle.

I will attempt to show you how you can have access to all of your files, even the cable TV that you’re already paying for, and complete access to your home computer anywhere that you have an internet connection. Below is a graph of what you would need to buy in order to access your home computer away from and at home from your mobile devices while not sacrificing computing power and hard
drive space.

Hardware
Cable TV/Modem
Wireless Router
SlingBox Pro HD
HDTV
Mac Mini Server
Pogoplug Pro
Data Robotics Drobo S
iPad
iPhone
Android Devices

iPhone/iPad Apps
iTeleport
SlingPlayer Mobile
Dropbox
Pogoplug
Netflix
Hulu Plus

Mac Mini Server Software
iTeleport Connect
Dropbox

Use examples:
You can..

use your HDTV as a desktop computer screen and connect a wireless mouse and wireless keyboard to your Mac Mini Server.
use your HDTV as a desktop computer screen while controlling it remotely with your iPad/iPhone through the iTeleport App.
watch your DVR on your iPad/iPhone from another room if someone else is watching the HDTV (at home or a far).
access all of your files through the Pogoplug, Dropbox, and/or iTeleport iPhone/iPad apps.
use the Mac Mini Server to sync up all of your devices to (iPhone, iPad, and Android device)
have multiple users on the Mac Mini Server, families can access the same server with different user credentials while using different devices in and out of the house.

Disclaimer
Obviously there may be different ways of doing this, and maybe I’ve left a few things out. So if you know of a better way of doing this please let me know. No companies paid me to include their products in this post.

You may also find this interesting: OWC launches Mac mini-based HTPC configuration at Macworld