since Apple stupidly did away with CAT5 Ethernet ports on their laptops, I can't connect the Time Machine directly to my laptop via Ethernet.
Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter is absolutely essential purchase for anyone in this predicament.
1. Since Mac OS automatically mounts and unmounts the Time Capsule hard drive when needed, how would I go about mounting it manually when Mac OS isn't using it, so I can try hdutil compact then?
You can of course mount it through terminal.. but heck your terminal knowledge is a lot better than mine.
I use finder.. Go /Connect to server.
Type in SMB://TCname.local or SMB://TCIPaddress
Where TCname is the actual network name of the TC (not the apple mash up you probably use from airport utility, unless as a smart network guru you used all names that are short, no spaces and pure alphanumerics).
You can also substitute AFP for SMB.. but SMB is standard since Mavericks and faster .. or so apple says.
Do use the domain.. it helps.. or even better use direct IPv4 address.. eg SMB://10.0.1.1
That is not so easy when the TC is bridged of course because it will pickup random IP from the main router.. unless you set dhcp reservations further upstream.
When the network resource is discovered you will have a password request.. this is usually the device password unless you specifically set disk password in airport utility. Don't forget to store it in the keychain.
2. If I attach a second external drive to the Time Capsule, I can have one laptop use the internal drive and a second laptop use the external one, right?
Yes,, although USB is not super fast.. wireless is even less super fast.. so the overall difference will be small.
Do not use self powered drives or if you do... get a powered hub.. the TC is lacking in power supply watts..
