iPhoto - running from an external wireless drive via a TimeCapsule?

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Level 1

72 points

iPhoto - running from an external wireless drive via a TimeCapsule?

Hi

Trying to solve a problem for my neighbour. They have a MacBook Air with a very full hard drive. Much of that space is taken up by images. They are currently using iPhoto to view these. One obvious solution is to move the images to an external drive by moving the iPhoto Library. However, It would be great if they could always have access to the images even when in other parts of the house i.e. a wired hard drive is not really a solution. One suggestion I made to them was to try a TimeCapsule, then attach a USB hard drive to it, that would turn the USB hard drive into an external wireless drive. My concern is - that this connection will be to slow to be useable - and also possibly risks corruption if the network is flakey. Not good when working with a database.

Another solution would be to use Lightroom 5 with Smart Previews. As a photographer, this is the route I would use - but LR is not as friendly for normal folk as iPhoto is. They don't want advanced image editing, they want image viewing mainly - and need to be able to do that remotely via wireless ideally. -

Any ideas or comments - has anybody got this set up and can confirm whether it works well or not?

Posted on Oct 22, 2013 1:21 AM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Oct 22, 2013 1:56 AM in response to Paul Tansley

If it's only viewing then the wireless option is well worth a try. As to speed issues, it's hard to say, different networks in different buildings will perform differently.

However, if they are doing anything that involves actual management - adding to the library, organising, editing shots and so on, then defintiely not. A drop out on the network will cause issues.

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Answer 2

Paul Tansley Author

Level 1

72 points

Oct 22, 2013 2:09 AM in response to Yer_Man

Hi Terence

When you say - only viewing. I'm not 100% sure how iPhoto works with viewing images. Does it have any similiarity to LR in the sense that it shows previews of the images - therefore would work quickly, because it doesn't have to access the original over the wireless connection?

I imagine mostly they would be simply viewing. Normal people don't do that much editing per se - do they? But I can't guarantee that of course. They would be adding to the library - as new i mages come in. But perhaps I could teach them to simply plug the hard drive in direct to the MBAir when that is necessary. I wonder if that would work.

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Answer 3

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,308 points

Oct 22, 2013 4:01 AM in response to Paul Tansley

Over the wireless connection it will be viewing thumbnails first, then on demand Previews. But there is no control over the size or quality of the Previews - you'll need Aperture for that sort of control. As I say, speed will depend on many other factors and frankly, trial and error is the only way to know.

I've no idea who much editing "normal people" do, but the fact is any editing is not advised. End of. So, yes, they would need to have a wired connection for importing.

Another thought: How big is the Library? SD cards and Flash Drives come in very large sizes and can be reformatted to hold a Library.

Frankly, what they really need is a computer with a bigger hard drive. They've bought a 2 seater roadster when what they need is an SUV.

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