Apple Lifestyle: MBP 17" + iPhone + MacMini + tv

[ipedro]

Lately, I've been putting together a great eco-system of Apple products to work for my life, both personal and at work.

Apple distinguishes that really well: iLife + iWork. Commercial computers versus Pro computers.

The experience has been amazing: tv has saved me hundreds of $$$ in cable subscription fees and I only watch what I want. In addition, the iPhone has made the Mac experience truly mobile.

I recently purchased a 17" MacBookPro for work (I'm a photographer and graphic designer). That has allowed me to move my office to a local coffee house without sacrificing the power of a real workstation.

One more component is needed to fulfill the role in the personal life element. I decided to pick up a MacMini which will hold all my personal photos (in iPhoto; my pro photos will reside in Aperture on the 17"MBP) personal data, music, TV shows and Movies, etc.

Now comes the conundrum:

Music is both personal and professional.

It makes sense to me to have music on the MacMini which will act as the media hub that syncs to tv. There is also an EyeTV which will record TV shows and put them on the tv.

So my problem here is: if I keep iTunes on the MBP, I'll maintain all my iPhone functionality (as an iPod, and a photo viewer to show my clients my work). The issue in that case is that the MacMini couldn't work as the media hub because music wouldn't be on it. If I put the music library on the MacMini and sync my iPhone with the MacMini, I won't get Aperture photos on it to show clients.

The problem could be resolved if it were possible to sync iTunes libraries between both Mac's. Is that possible? Are there tools for that?

Suggestions? Tell us about your own setup...

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* Hey wait a second! No... You're not seeing double. I originally posted this in the MacMini forum before realizing in retrospect that this is an tv question. So here it is now on the correct forum.
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[Shuttleworth]

I decided to pick up a MacMini which will hold all my personal photos (in iPhoto; my pro photos will reside in Aperture on the 17"MBP)

If I recall correctly the Aperture license will allow you to run it on a Mac and a Macbook, as long as you only have one open at a time. You wouldn't really need to use iPhoto.

EDIT: So re-reading your question, the Mac Mini could run Aperture and use the library you have on the Macbook, assuming the 2 were networked or the Aperture Library was on an external or networked drive. You could then still use iTunes on the Mini to select the Aperture Photo's to sync to your iPhone (from the MacBook Library) and music and video from the Mini. You can have more than one Aperture Library, so you could still keep personal photo's separate on the mini if you wanted.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

...The problem could be resolved if it were possible to sync iTunes libraries between both Mac's. Is that possible? Are there tools for that?...

Here's what to do:

1. Open iTunes on the MBP and go to Preferences.

2. Click on the Sharing tab.

3. Check off "Share on my Local Network."

On the Mac mini do this:

1. Open iTunes and go to Preferences.

2. Click on the Sharing tab.

3. Check off "Look for shared libraries"

This doesn't exactly sync it, you can still play all the songs from the mini as long as the MBP is on, with iTunes open.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Or make an alias from your MBP to the Mini, and keep everything on the MBP. As long as the MBP is on, the mini'll think it has everything, too.

 

[waw74]

I have all my music on a network share (external drive plugged into a linux box, that i can pull and take with me if i need to)

my iPhone syncs to my MBpro which i use to maintain my music library.

on my Mini which is hooked up to the tv i keep a copy of my library (just the library files, music files are on the network)

when i add stuff to the library (all done from the MBpro) i just make sure that iTunes on the mini is closed, and copy the folder from the laptop to the mini.

to keep itunes happy when i change the disk from network to local...
I just delted the default "iTunes Music" folder and made an alias that points to the correct place. when i pull the drive off the network, and plug in locally, i just fix the alias (not something i do a lot of)

if you want to keep your library on the MBpro and mini hard drives, so you can use one without the other, you can just copy the whole ~/Music/iTunes folder from the laptop to the mini which would also copy the music.
If you want to do it this way, I would look at a unix command called rsync (run from terminal, click for instruction page). this would allow you to make changes to the library on the laptop and then it would only copy the files that are changed/added instead of the whole library

 

[JonHimself]

This disappointing part is that Apple could solve the problem for so many people trying to sync LARGE iTunes libraries between a server-type computer and their laptop with their iPods/iPhones by releasing a home server of their own.

 

[ipedro]

EDIT: So re-reading your question, the Mac Mini could run Aperture and use the library you have on the Macbook, assuming the 2 were networked or the Aperture Library was on an external or networked drive. You could then still use iTunes on the Mini to select the Aperture Photo's to sync to your iPhone (from the MacBook Library) and music and video from the Mini. You can have more than one Aperture Library, so you could still keep personal photo's separate on the mini if you wanted.

That's brilliant. I didn't think of it in those terms.

I want to use iPhoto for personal photos though, because of the Faces and Places features. It's quite amazing.

Your idea grew into a similar one though: I can automatically schedule an export of my work portfolio to a folder on the Mini every week or so. In the iPhone sync screen, photos tab, I noticed that I can sync a folder of photos instead of iPhoto or Aperture.

 

[ipedro]

I should mention that I've had to make an important adjustment to my setup. No more Mini...

Earlier this month, I upgraded to the MacBookPro 17" from an original MBP 15". I was going to give that one to my brother who needs a laptop but he's hard to please: it's 3 years old, however even though it just got a new display, DVD drive and keyboard under AppleCare and even though I upgraded the HDD to 320GB... the case is showing some wear. He's gone all OCD about it and won't take it.

...soooo instead of buying a MacMini, I'm going to use the MBP15" as my personal laptop and use the 17" as my Pro workstation. I'll have the 15" sit on a shelf under the TV like if it were a (really expensive) DVD player.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how to run the MBP15" with the lid closed, without a keyboard or mouse.

 

[Shuttleworth]

I should mention that I've had to make an important adjustment to my setup. No more Mini...

Earlier this month, I upgraded to the MacBookPro 17" from an original MBP 15". I was going to give that one to my brother who needs a laptop but he's hard to please: it's 3 years old, however even though it just got a new display, DVD drive and keyboard under AppleCare and even though I upgraded the HDD to 320GB... the case is showing some wear. He's gone all OCD about it and won't take it.

...soooo instead of buying a MacMini, I'm going to use the MBP15" as my personal laptop and use the 17" as my Pro workstation. I'll have the 15" sit on a shelf under the TV like if it were a (really expensive) DVD player.

Now I'm just trying to figure out how to run the MBP15" with the lid closed, without a keyboard or mouse.

I think the best answer here is to get a new brother, I'll volunteer if you like, I'll PM you my address and you can send me the 15"MBP

Dunno about running with the lid closed, but screen sharing works really well in my experience, so no worries about having no keyboard or mouse on the 15". (I can't get my Hackbook to shut down when the lid closes, so it'd be less of a problem for me!)

The other Alternative would be to sell the old MBP, must be worth as much as a new or perhaps recon Mini?