Do you know that you can remotely control media player applications in your MAC OSX from an Android device? For example, you can pause a quicktime video playing in your MAC from your Android smartphone. You can turn off your mac from Android, increase or decrease brightness, open up iTunes, iPhoto, Preview and control other apps remotely from your Android device.

This does not require complicated installations and you can set it up within a minute. Mac Remote is a free Android app which lets you control running applications on mac from your Android phone, so you don’t have to run to your computer, every time you want to skip songs in iTunes, or fast forward a video that is being played in OSX. The best part is that you don’t need to install anything in your MAC.

Some Practical Use Cases of Remotely Controlling MAC Applications From Android

Before we move onto the configuration steps, here are some practical use cases of controlling media player and other applications on mac osx from your Android

• You want to control the currently playing playlist in iTunes from Android. You want to skip songs, increase or decrease the volume, pause and resume songs.
• You want to control the VLC playe application on mac from Android. You want to fast forward a video, skip a video, jump to another playlist and so on and so forth.
• You are a huge spotify fan and want to control spotify playlists from Android.
• You are browsing through photos stored in your OSX hard drive and want an easy way to change the order of photos from your Android smartphone. This is especially useful when you are viewing the photos in a big screen infront of an audience and want an easy way to change or flip through photos.
• You want to remotely turn off your mac from Android, control its volume, brightness and other system specific properties.

Mac Remote for Android is a simple Android app which lets you remotely control your osx computer, provided that both the Android device and your MAC computer is connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You can use it in office or home or anywehre, but be sure that both the devices are connected to the same network. (If you’re a Windows user, you might want to read our earlier tip – Remotely control an Android phone from WIndows desktop).

Setting Up Your MAC OSX Computer For Remote Connections

1. Pull down the “Apple” menu and select “System preferences”

2. Under “Internet and Wireless” select, “Sharing”

3. Turn on “Remote login” and note down your mac IP. You will need it for pairing your MAC and Android phone over the same Wi-FI network.

4. Install MAC Remote on your Android phone or tablet.

5. When you start the app for the first time, you can go through their tutorial and setup remote login for MAC from Android. When you’re done with the tutorial, hit the connect button and you should see a login screen like this:

• Username: the username you use to login to your mac.
• Password: the password you use to login to your mac.
• IP: The IP which you noted in step 3.

Once the remote connection is established, you are all set to roll. You can start keynote presentations from Android, control the VLC app, select photos in iPhoto, control iTunes and launch media apps directly from your Android device. Watch the following video which gives a complete walkthrough of how to use Mac Remote and control media apps with it:

The app is currently in its spartan form and is ad supported. However, the app does what it says and is extremely easy to use. Give it a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.