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NFC to Enable 'Home on iPhone' Remote Computing?


Cult of Mac claims to have some details of how Apple will take advantage of NFC (Near Field Communications) technology in their future mobile devices. Unfortunately, their source can't specify when Apple will introduce the technology, but their source confirms that Apple is working with several iPhone prototypes with NFC built in. But beyond the expected financial payment system, Cult of Mac's source indicates that the NFC may also be used as a portable login system:

According to our source, who asked not to be named, when a NFC-equipped iPhone is paired with a guest machine, part of the users profile includes the apps theyve purchased through the Mac App Store. The icons for their apps appear on the remote Mac, but aren't downloaded, our source said.

Users will reportedly be able to launch apps which will be downloaded on demand. Documents can then be saved and synced back to MobileMe so you can access your documents where ever you are. Once the NFC connection is broken, the apps and files are deleted from the guest computer, leaving it untouched.

The system is somewhat reminiscent of the Home on iPod feature that was originally advertised for Mac OS X Panther, but pulled at the last minute. In that incarnation, your Home directory would be saved on your iPod and "When you find yourself near a Panther-equipped Mac, just plug in the iPod, log in, and you're "home," no matter where you happen to be."

Cult of Mac claims that these features will be rolled into Lion, though can't be certain it when it will be deployed, if ever.

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16 months ago
Sounds really good.
Rating: 0 Positives / 0 Negatives
16 months ago
...weird

How about Call of Duty 4? Remote download, quick multiplayer sesh, then.. deleted. lol
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16 months ago
Wow that sounds really cool! A feature I would likely never use in my life, but sounds really cool none the less and can easily see its uses for others.

Hopefully true, thereby giving more credence to MobileMe going free, which I would definitely use (and love).
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16 months ago
Lookin good, can't wait:)
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16 months ago
This is practically the same article they wrote last year:

http://www.cultofmac.com/iphone-5-will-enable-ambitious-remote-computing/66825

However this cloud based home feature isn't really dependant on NFC or the iPhone - you could just log in to using your Apple ID and password to any Mac.
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16 months ago
The 2012 MBP refresh will be a big one...
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16 months ago
Wouldn't this require that an NFC receiver be built into every Mac you wanted to use?

Kind of useless until a couple years from now (if even that soon) since most people aren't going to have NFC enable Macs, unless this is something that can be added with a USB dongle.
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16 months ago
This is also already being talked about in Windows 8, just not needing a phone or device to activate it, instead relying on Windows Live services through the "cloud."

I'm sure we will hear a lot more about these kinds of things over the next few years.
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16 months ago
Sounds... bad, actually.

Well, not to be a killjoy, but who would use this? And why? Where?

Kind of doubt it works as advertised, too.
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16 months ago

Sounds... bad, actually.

Well, not to be a killjoy, but who would use this? And why? Where?

Kind of doubt it works as advertised, too.


It's already moving towards my wife and I sharing a single iMac, with our own setup and individual iPads for our own use.

If I could tap my ipad to my parents Mac and have my full Mac desktop available then my need for a laptop decreases. Similarly if I walked into an office and could borrow a Mac, complete with all my setup, it's very attractive.
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