Front Row

[Kevin Callahan]

I really liked the animation getting into Front Row 1.0.  It always  
made a great impression on non-Mac users and was a conversation  
point.  But, I am happy to see a more interesting Front Row (a la  
AppleTV , which I do not have) interface in Leopard.  Pretty impressive!

That said, I don't use Front Row much because I'm waiting for an  
iPhone Remote control that allows for easier text input and for  
searching (iTunes and iPhoto have search fields for a reason).

More important at this time, though, is being able to control  
VOLUME!   The Apple Remote does nada if your audio output goes out  
through a firewire device.   I have a very hi-end audio interface  
feeding numerous sets of speakers in our media room.  Of course, there  
are volume sliders for apps like iTunes, GarageBand and other non-pro  
apps that allow me to control the audio output to my device when I'm  
working within the respective app - ie: it's not a "pro" thing to have  
control over the volume coming out of your computer.  But, Front Row  
doesn't allow that.   Again, apps like GB, iTunes .. etc DO have  
volume sliders that manage output just fine.    Front Row gives me no  
audio control whatsoever.

Beyond the obvious inability to control iTunes volume and muting, I  
can't MUTE the lame audio that is on by default when showing an iPhoto  
album collection (not a slideshow that's been configured w/wo audio).

So, without being able to control audio for iTunes or audio for  
slideshows, FrontRow is useless.

I hope I'm doing something stupid here and am just not using the Apple  
Remote correctly and someone can straighten me out.

Kevin