This tutorial could also be called “how to use your iPhone or iPod Touch to control your Mac” - because the featured (open source) software actually allows you to do both. Continue reading to be taken step by step through installing, setting up and accessing iPhone Remote on your Mac.
- Download iPhone Remote - just unzip the file and drag it to your Applications folder to install it. Launch it from there.
- The first time you run iPhone Remote, it will prompt you to create a user name and password. As noted in the Choose your Login window, make sure to choose a password carefully, because the account you’re creating will have access to all of the files on your Mac that you do. Click Save to create the account.
- Safari will launch (if it isn’t open already) and load a secure web page. This page is actually on your Mac - Safari is connecting to the iPod Remote, which is accessed as a web server. Click Continue if a certificate window appears.
- Enter the user name and password you created in step 2. Place a check in the box labeled Remember this password in my keychain if you don’t want to enter the info each time you access iPhone Remote via your local computer (which probably won’t be that often).
- And Safari will display the iPhone Remote interface.
- Now for the fun part. On your iPhone or iPod Touch open Safari. Enter the IP address of your Mac running iPhone Remote, followed by :5010 (because iPhone Remote runs on port 5010 by default). Enter your user name and password (again, the one created in step 2).
- And the iPhone Remote screen will be displayed. From here you can launch applications on your Mac, take and view snapshots with your Macs iSight, control iTunes, search using Spotlight etc.
- Below is a screenshot of the Documents folder on my Mac, accessed via my iPod Touch. Clicking the Open button will open the file on your Mac.
- Use the Screen section of iPhone Remote and you’ll be able to view whatever is on the screen on your Mac.
- Clicking (tapping?) a file itself (rather than the Open button) will display that file, when possible, on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
- If you want to be able to stream media - movies, songs/audio - select Preferences… from the iPhone Remote drop-down list on your Mac.
- After you’ve read the caveats of media streaming and fully understand the important security implications - place a check in the box labeled Share media insecurely. Click the Restart Server button. Back on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you may need to reload Safari before streaming audio or video works.
- Once you’ve reconnected to the iPhone Remote server, when you click on a supported audio or video format, it will stream to your iPhone/iPod Touch.
- And on top of all of that, there are more apps for telekinesis (iPhone Remote).
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Is there application like this for windows.?
@penn
I wrote an article about the same application about a month ago and from what I could tell it was barely a fully fledged mac app so I doubt there will be a windows one anytime soon.
@ross
Nice work, you’ve gone into a little more detail than I did on my article.
Simon
I’m having trouble getting videos to play on my ipod touch. I can launch the videos through telekinesis but they open and play on my mac and not on the ipod….I have the share media insecurely option checked.
I am wondering what I am doing wrong?
your videos prob need to be converted to MP4 or something that iPod touch and iPhone can understand… a good mac program prob PC too is ffmpegX
Will this allow me to listen to “any” streaming audio on the internet with my Touch? There is only limited stations available via special sites for radio on the Touch.
Thanks, Shark
Wow this is a great feature! I never knew that I could do this. I am going to look it up right away and test it! Thanks
I use dyndns instead of a static IP, will I be able to get it to work?
I store a lot of movies on an external hard drive that is always on and hooked to my computer and I can not access this hard drive with this app. any suggestions ?
Thanks
I am a windows guy, doing php and LAMP and DRUPAL. I was asked about doing streaming audio, as in a live radio station, that would play on an iPod. But here is the rub: we have our own radio content. So, I am looking for a streaming server ( just for audio) and perhaps writing a custom app that plays the stream ont he iphone. I am also thinking of doing this on a gPhone as well. so, perhaps someone can suggest the servers that I would need to use.
Couldn’t you just put the files you want to stream (or Symbolic links to the files) in the Web Server Documents folder and then just surf to the file via Safari?
i have my main computer downstaires with all my music on it. i have my laptop upstaies connected to my sterio. i was wondering how would i use my iphone remote app to control the laptop upstaires with the music downstaires? if you could e-mail me the answer to dan_petko@hotmail.com that would be great
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