This Week's Sponsor:

Kolide

Ensure that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta.


My New (Old) Favorite Service: Back to My Mac

Back to My Mac is often ignored by Mac users as just another feature of the equally ignored MobileMe set of online webapps, sync tools and desktop settings. Back to My Mac allows you to display a remote Mac on your local machine’s Finder as if it was within reach, just a few clicks away. Select the remote Mac in the Finder’s sidebar, browse its contents through the Finder itself or just connect to its screen using OS X built-in Screen Sharing features. Back to My Mac, ultimately, enables you to virtually sit in front of your Mac even if the computer is actually miles away from you. All of this happens over the Internet, routed through MobileMe.

Back to My Mac has been around for years, but I’ve rediscovered it recently thanks to a much improved home internet connection that allows me to really enjoy web streaming / screen sharing services (read: I have a faster connection now, finally) and the need of accessing my MacBook Pro remotely when I’m working from my iMac. These computers are in two different locations, and sometimes I need access to files stored locally on one of them. I have been using Back to My Mac on a daily basis for a month now, and having rediscovered the service I can say Apple’s improvements are notable (I heard several complaints from previous MobileMe customers who told me the service was slow, unreliable, unresponsive at best) and easily integrated into the Finder.

Perhaps I’m late to the party, but I like how Back to My Mac is baked into the Finder. I don’t have to install an additional app to use it; as long as I’m logged into MobileMe through System Preferences (which I also use to sync bookmarks, widgets, calendars) my computers will show up under the “Shared” tab in the Mac’s Finder. It’s intuitive. Most of the times I access a remote Mac visually through Screen Sharing, but Back to My Mac also lets me browse its filesystem directly into the Finder through my beloved column view. Connecting is as easy as putting username + password in a dialogue box; even on my better-but-not-so-crazy-fast Internet connection response times are acceptable and, occasionally, even really, really fast.

The best part though, and the reason why I think I’ve reconsidered Back to My Mac so heavily, is about Dropbox. With MobileMe’s access to a remote computer I can take a file from the Desktop or the Downloads folder, put it in Dropbox and wait a few seconds for it to show up on the other machine, the one I’m using. I’ve also found myself starting Backblaze backup sessions remotely, or closing iTunes to prevent Dropbox library sync from generating error files. I know I can do this with an iPad VNC client like Screens: the fact that I can switch from screen sharing to Finder-mode, though, makes file management and remote uploading / sharing through Dropbox easier.

So, I’ve been using Back to My Mac a lot lately and I’m really happy with it. Steve Jobs says MobileMe will get a lot better in 2011; hopefully Back to My Mac will gain new features, too. For instance, an iPad app would be perfect.

Unlock More with Club MacStories

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for over six years.

In that time, members have enjoyed nearly 400 weekly and monthly newsletters packed with more of your favorite MacStories writing as well as Club-only podcasts, eBooks, discounts on apps, icons, and services. Join today, and you’ll get everything new that we publish every week, plus access to our entire archive of back issues and downloadable perks.

The Club expanded in 2021 with Club MacStories+ and Club Premier. Club MacStories+ members enjoy even more exclusive stories, a vibrant Discord community, a rotating roster of app discounts, and more. And, with Club Premier, you get everything we offer at every Club level plus an extended, ad-free version of our podcast AppStories that is delivered early each week in high-bitrate audio.

Choose the Club plan that’s right for you:

  • Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with app collections, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, a Club-only podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;
  • Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus exclusive content like Federico’s Automation Academy and John’s Macintosh Desktop Experience, a powerful web app for searching and exploring over 6 years of content and creating custom RSS feeds of Club content, an active Discord community, and a rotating collection of discounts, and more;
  • Club Premier: Everything in from our other plans and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.