Connect 2 Macs together via Firewire and Quartz Composer

Always a fan of Quartz Composer, I have been looking for ways to connect two computers together for quite some while now. I have centered around the usage of OSC (Open Sound Control) for all transmitting purposes in Quartz; and there are a few ways to do it. Most recently, I have found that you can achieve instant Mac-to-Mac communication through OSC when you connect them via a firewire cable.

To recap on some other ways to transmit information between computers on a Mac:

1. 1024 Network Plugin
         This allows you to transmit all data-types with some small image streams (according to site) over a network. A downside is that you have to type all of your parameters and address'. Plus, there is inherent lag. Still great to learn on.

2. OSC over the Interent
         Get two machines, run the stock "OSC Send" composition on one and the "OSC Receive" on the other. Set the send patch's I.P. address to the listing on receiving machine and you are good to go. Unfortunately, there is a bit of lag, especially when things really get going, and you have to have an interent connection.

3. OSC over Bluetooth
         Identical to the approach above except that you get both machines on "computer-to-computer" or "ad-hoc" network - seemingly the same thing. You do this by selecting "create network" from airport's drop menu. Any channel will do. After a minute you'll be able to join this network on the other machine. This works great until you have a very large amount of data or a multitude of address' to handle - then the lag starts. However, this works the best and fastest in most cases. Also, make sure to have "Bluetooth Sharing" check marked under "Sharing" in System Preferences.


For the most recent approach, I utilized a firewire (male/male) cable and OSC. Once respective sides of OSC Send/Receive were running on the two machines I connected the cable (I tried first with USB (male/male) cable but no luck). After a few seconds look under "Networks" in System Preferences and you'll see your new firewire I.P. address. Plug that into the OSC Send patch and you are good to go! I noticed zero lag while testing. I'll have to put it through some more tests, like lots of data, before I can definitively say this is the best approach - but it is another option!