I personally have a couple of different Macs and often find myself exchanging data between them (especially before and after going on the road) as well as sharing data with other family members on their Mac. Luckily, there are several ways to share data with other Macs.
Via a Network
If you have a wireless connection, you can easily share data with other computers on the network. An icon for the other computers is always available in the Finder Window so it makes sharing data easy.
Via CD or DVD
You can of course, always burn your data to a CD or DVD if you have a large amount of data or the computers with which you want to share data are on a different network.
Via Firewire or USB Drive
The price of external drives has really come down, making this an attractive option. If you are using Leopard and Time Machine, you can use the external drive to copy all of your data, applications, settings and accounts from one computer to another. I actually just did this after a purchase of a new Mac and the process was seamless.
Via an iPod
Most people think of their iPod has just a music playing device but it can also serve as a portable external hard drive for data files as well. Before you can use your iPod for data transfer, however, you need to first enable it for disk use. This is done from the Summary tab of the iPod preferences pane in iTunes. Click the iPod device in the left pane of iTunes under Devices and then check the “Enable Disk Use” check box.
Via a Flash Drive
Flash drives are the most portable of drive-like devices – they are so small that they can fit into your pocket. When a flash drive is inserted into your Mac’s USB port, a disk icon shows up on your desktop and you can then copy files to or from the drive. Just because they’re small doesn’t mean they cannot store a lot of data – as of this writing, I have seen flash drives as large as 32 gig. What I like best about them is that there is no installation or setup and they work instantly on both PCs and Macs.
Via Bluetooth
Bluetooth comes built in into all Mac laptops. Bluetooth enables you to use wireless devices such as a keyboard or mouse and also allows you to sync with other Bluetooth enabled devices such as cell phones and PDA’s. What many people don’t know is that you can also send files from one Mac to another via Bluetooth. While this is not the fastest method of data exchange, it can come in handy if you do not have a local network available. You can also use Bluetooth to send files to a Windows PC although this may require a bit more configuration.
Via MobileMe
Apple’s MobileMe online service allows you to sync data between two or more Macs. I use MobileMe to sync my Contacts, Address Book, Mail Accounts, Keychains and Library Preferences between my Macs. What is nice, is that you can set this to be done automatically in the background so your computers are up to date without any thought at all on your part. You can also share data files with other computers and users as well.
Similar Posts:
- CyperPower USB 7-Port Hub
- Sync Gmail, Outlook, Macs, and Mobile Phones
- Backing Up Files with Amazon and Jungle Disk
- Splitting an Access Database
- Securely Emptying the Trash in Mac OS X
- Simple and Affordable Offsite Backups
- Share an Outlook calendar via E-mail
Comments on this entry are closed.