Remote Disc: no movie playback, no HD support, and everything else you need to know
By Ryan Block 
posted January 24th 2008 2:45PM
posted January 24th 2008 2:45PM
- The Remote Disc installer is 42.3MB for Mac, and claims to take almost 86MB of space. (Apple let us know it shouldn't take anywhere near that, and the installer app overestimated the space required.) Also, expect a restart of the host Mac. (Windows, ironically, does not require a restart to begin sharing media.)
- Although you can disable the "ask before allowing others to use my drive" sharing option, if you have not done so users will be prompted to ask permission to use the drive at each connection. (Also, there's no client whitelist or anything like that, it's all or none for asking permission.) If you've already asked permission on that drive and disc and stop using it, you have to ask permission again the next time (unless the host turns off the whole permission asking thing).
- Every time you ask permission as a Remote Disc client, the host gets a popup asking if it's cool to share your drive. You can, of course, accept or decline (but the only way to stop getting prompts is to turn off disc sharing).
- Ejecting the disc on the client side does not eject it on the host side.
- Ejecting it on the host side, however, gives a host-side prompt about the disc being in use. You can override and eject, however.
- To reinstall or boot from CD using Remote Disc, the host must use the installed Remote Install Mac OS X application. It's a fairly simple process, but sharing an install CD over a wireless network is asking for trouble. It took an absurd amount of time (nearly 10 minutes) to boot over 802.11g. You need bandwidth, so be sure to get on 802.11n or, preferably, wired (with the dongle).
- To remote boot from a shared CD, hold the option key while starting up. You'll be presented with a BIOS-level WiFi / network selection that looks surprisingly unpolished for Apple (but works with WPA and advanced WiFi crypto all the same)
- You can browse the file contents of DVD discs, but you cannot actually play that media back over the network. Apple let us know that this only applies to commercial DVD media, and you should be able to play back home-burned iDVD movies via Remote Disc.
- You can't rip DVDs over the network using a tool like Handbrake.
- You can't browse a music CD or listen to tracks. Don't even think about burning a disc remotely.
- Remote Disc appears only to be able to share CD / DVD drives and CD / DVD discs, not high capacity / HD optical drives.
- We tested sharing a regular DVD over an HD DVD drive, no luck. Data CDs on DVD drives worked fine though.
"You have to ask permission to use the drive every single time, there's no client whitelist or anything like that. Even if you've already asked permission on that drive and disc, if you stop using it and come back to it, you have to ask permission again."
Remote disc: cancel or allow?
(sigh) Allow...
Wow, constant prompting of permissions? Now, what operating system does that sound like, that Mac users loooooove to bitch about all the time?
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha!
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha!
Don't mind me, I'm just singin' my Macbook Air song.
Classic.
Lol. I must say it is ironic that a Vista annoyance that Apple played up in a Mac commercial is now present in Apple's flagship product of MacWorld.
this post is epic, allow?
Hmmm, on Vista, if you try to access the data of somebody else (not your own), you get a security prompt. Apple makes a commercial about it mocking Vista because it is bad.
On a Mac, if you try to access your own data you get a security prompt. I wonder what the Apple fans will say about this? OK, I don't have to wonder, I know - it is the best design ever.
Maybe I'm missing something... but isn't there a little checkbox in the screen cap in the article that says "Ask me before allowing others to use my CD Drive"? I think unchecking that box would get rid of the prompt...
Just a guess though...
lol, and that one was a Mac OSx joke
And if it didn't ask for permission, Windows fanboys would be bitching that it wasn't secure enough. Because it's always gotta be something with you fanboys.
And you can also disable user account control in Vista with msconfig and one click ... no more allow/deny ... done.
You don't even have to mess with msconfig... just search for "user account control" in the start menu.
So can't burn a disk? I just don't think this is practical.
Uh, yeah. The MacBook Air (in general) isn't very practical.
It's more of a "I've got a lot of money and want something fun/light/way-too-trendy to carry around when I want to browse the internets"
I thought about that when I was looking to get an MBA. How would anyone burn a backup of the work folders? Judging from how Apple's been selling features, I'm almost certain that they'll release an upgrade package for $20 that will allow you to do some of the things that it won't let you do now.
LOL! What a piece of crap! :)
What about booting from a Windows disc?
I am interested in the MBA, but I don't like Mac OS, do I really have to buy the DVD drive in order to install Windows?
I would assume you could boot from a USB device
What a waste of time. The only things you would really want to do with a "remote drive" would be to play music and watch movies. Why does the MacBook Air have to suck, so so much - it would have been so much better if they could have of at least installed a very slim optical drive. An example would be on a plane and you wanted to watch a movie, "Just let me install the application on some suckers laptop so I can connect via Ad-Hoc and stream this movie... oh damn, no movie playback!"
Waste.of.time.
Oh, I just remembered.
You wouldn't actually be allowed to use it on the plane due to fear of explosion which is probably the best thing that could happen to it to be honest...
Stinks of first generation product..
DING DING DING DING! You win the prize! Classic first gen Apple. I'm pretty seriously annoyed with some of these limitations, but who am I kidding, I'm not buying one.
I'm sorry but Apple doesn't get a pass on this one. Had this been M$ releasing a product like this we'd have a new Justin Long commercial about how uncool PC is because he can't stream his new john mayer live dvd on his laptop while organizing his wardrobe of American Apparel. This is something I would expect to find in Sharper Image.
I could've sworn the point of a Mac was for media purposes such as music, video, and photoediting.
This "laptop" has none of the above! I'd take an iPhone over this thing 10 times out of 10.
Jesus man, you like the Indian equivalent of some dude I know...if that's your real picture...
That's worth $1800 :)
WOW what an utter disappointment. So basically u need to literally carry the portable drive with u everywhere u go even if u just wanna watch a movie in ur bed or on a plane..
WOW APPLE HOW INNOVATIVE OF YOU.
Don't be silly, you just rebuy your entire DVD collection on iTunes of course.
Duh.
So, you can only install software or the OS from a disc, and the latter is horribly slow?
I think I'd splurge for a DVD drive just for the convenience.
MacWorld 2009:
Steve: "Well, we've learned our lesson with the MacBook Air. We've listened to our users, and come a long way. I think you're going to love what I'm going to show you now. BOOM!" (shows yet another pretty product that doesn't function very well)
Mac Fanboys: Wow! *thunderous applause, collective orgasms*
Mac Fangirl: *faint*
Made my day! "Collective orgasms" haha.
BOOM!
@ James-
Collective orgasms have a way of making people's days.
Introducing MacBook Fart?
And to think, you are actually paying more than a nice MacBook for all these wonderful things!
... in a $*#&ing recession!
Wow... so basically they tout how portable the air is, and then force you to carry around that usb drive just to watch movies? Remote disc sounds completely useless to me.
Waste of time and money.
I can share an optical drive on an XP machine with about four clicks and it's more handy than this piece of crap.
Doesn't OSX have peer to peer networking? Can't you just share an optical drive like you can in Windows?
Of course booting Windows setup from a network isn't that simple either, but I could easily live without a removable disk on my Vista lappy.
i really hope no one is that surprised. apple clamps down on everything "apple" - long gone are the days of the pirate flag flying steve jobs and company who stood up against "the man", now its all about being the man and having control. when are people finally going to send a message to apple that this kind of attitude doesn't fly by not purchasing they're products the minute they come out. wow, a thin notebook that can't do much of anything on its own. yeah, i gotta have that.
The whole point is its APPLE playing games again.. they will release something supposedly innovative and then hold back the real innovation, charge u a huge markup then release the true innovation and either charge you again or claim they've REINVENTED THE WHEEL and expect the whole world to bow in there greatness.
I don't understand the surprise here. Steve advertised remote disc as precisely something for installing software. Don't you think he would've mentioned that you could burn discs, watch DVD movies, etc remotely if it were a feature?
Granted, it'd be nice if it could do more, but even installing software remotely is pretty cool, I think.
I think this is all steps in the right direction. It's version 1 of this new software and feature. As time goes on, it will probably gain functionality.
I wish it did more too. I just don't understand where the surprise and disappointment are coming from. It's doing exactly what Steve said it would do, nothing more, nothing less.
they already have something for installing software without a disc, it's called the internet
watching movies on a dvd drive should not be considered an extra feature, that's mostly what they're used for in the first place
also, it's not hard to do it in windows, and you don't have to keep allowing it
Really, the Internet can install the optical disc of Office I just purchased?
Obviously lots of apps are available for download, but let's not pretend that it has 100% saturation.
I'm also not saying that the Remote Disc feature, nor the Macbook Air, are without their problems. They definitely are.
What I am saying is: If you don't like it, don't buy it. I'm a Mac user, but for me the MBA is too much money for too little machine. So I won't be buying one. Simple.
I guess I should know better than to expect rational thinking on the Internet nowadays though...
I'm missing the ironic part as to why Windows does NOT need a reboot. Windows in it's current several itterations doesn't require a reboot for most things save changing out a video driver and something so invasive as this.
Why have an eject on the client side, if the host side doesn't perform the action?
Have you never used Windows?
This is exactly what Alanis Morissette needed for her song, instead of singing about a string of mild annoyances.
But hey, it's thin. Isn't that worth all the impracticalities?
HA FIGURED IT OUT.. its all about ITUNES RENTALS.....
All this does is tie you into using the almighty ITUNES.. If you wanna play any media on this thing thats not on the hard drive you need to stream it with ITUNES.....
STEVE JOBS...."hey ladies and gents ive come up with another way to rape you wallet. ive created a laptop that only works with my CLOSED SYSTEM"
simply AMAZING...Please fanboys try and spin this for me...PLEASE.
Last I checked, I could rip whatever I damn well please into iTunes. Explain to me how that is a "closed system", or how it "rapes my wallet".
Im a fanboy & unfortunately, you're right. Its becoming quite clear that Apple is taking notes from the Sony "rape our customers" handbook, which is to lock their users into their proprietary world every single chance they get, squeezing every dollar you can from them.
Apple used to play nice with all this sorta stuff, that is until they started rebounding & making boatloads of cash. Corporate greed at its finest.
@zak Really? You can rip a dvd with iTunes? I didn't know it could do that.
@neeko was talking about the upcoming iTunes movie rentals. Not allowing you to run a dvd off a networked drive has nothing to do with technology and EVERYTHING to do with intentionally limiting access. I mean, if Windows AND linux can do it just fine, why not Apple? Because they chose not to.
@Zak, really, last time I checked the MBA did not have an optical drive to rip from and any DRM'ed media was off limits to remote disk, what's left to rip from? I Agree, it's Apples way of forcing you to download tracks from iTunes. When you get an MBA you should get a USB stick with the OS on it for re-installs and/or, as Sony and so many others did with their ultra slim machines, include an optical drive in the package like the old Sony VAIO Z505. If they could do it then, why cant they do it now, Apple like to re-invent the wheel, or is this going to be an "enhanced" feature?