Stuff I Use: Simplify Media

Having multiple computers can become a major issue with different versions of documents and files on each computer. Most people have at least two if not more computers between home and work. As a computer tech, my work computer changes more often than most. I like to have at least some of my multimedia collection with me so that I can listen to music or have a movie on in the background as I work, but transferring this data from one computer to another and keeping track of what media is where is a time consuming and annoying task that I'd rather just not deal with.

The solution I've found is a program called Simplify Media. It allows users to share all of my media on a computer at home, and allows users to access that media from any other internet connected computer. Most solutions this versatile require a decent amount of technical knowhow such as opening ports on your router or hosting the files online, but Simplify Media allows users to access any file in iTunes on a home computer as if it were shared on the local network at work, and does it simply and easily.

The program does not allow users to modify or create new playlists from the remote machine, but all of the normal abilities users have with shared libraries apply for libraries shared via simplify media. To get started, simply create an account with Simplify Media http://www.simplifymedia.com/, download the free application (Mac or Windows) on each computer you'd like to share media on, and sign in with iTunes open on each computer. Simplify media will automatically connect users with other computers that the user has approved to share media. This will allow access to any media in your iTunes library from any remote machine you approve.