Visualize this: My MacBook Air rests on the coffee table in front of my couch, where I can easily check Twitter, my email, or, of course, Facebook, to monitor what my friends have rated me on Compare People (80% think I’m a “better catch,” hellz yeah). Behind that is my TV, on top of a stack of media gizmos, including an Apple TV. Now visualize me trying to use my Apple Remote to control the Apple TV, only to annoyingly control both that and the MacBook Air at the same time.
I could physically move the Air, but that would mean I’d have to get off the couch, obviously not an option; and I’d have to do it every time I wanted to use the Remote. The other option is to pair the MacBook with its own Apple Remote…but I, like many, have never used the Remote, and thus have no idea where it is, making pairing impossible.
So what to do? Eliminate the source of the problem: Disable the IR receiver entirely by turning on the “Disable remote control infrared receiver” checkbox in the Security pane of System Preferences. It’s a common sense solution that took me weeks to come up with, probably because I didn’t know that option existed; before simply looking for the damn checkbox, I spent a while figuring out how to disable the actual kernel extension that controls the receiver. Then I saw this Mac OS X Hints post, which made me feel like an idiot.
But if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s embarrassing myself so others will learn from my numbskullery and avoid their own Dan Pourhadi Moments. So the lesson here: sometimes, things really are as easy as they seem; don’t complicate a solution until you’re sure that problem-solving fix-all checkbox really doesn’t exist.
Oh, and it also explains why only four of my friends voted me as “smarter” on Compare People, and why I’m ranked 89th “more useful.” Whatever; they think I have pretty eyes and great hair, and that’s all that matters anyway.
Wouldn't pairing the remote be a good solution as well?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1555
You know you can pair a remote to a computer/Apple TV so that it only affects that computer, right?
Mac:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1619
Apple TV:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1555