Q: I bought the iPod Hi-Fi speaker system from Apple, and I must say it was worth every penny – it sounds like heaven! The remote control, however, has a “menu” button which I can’t get to work. Should it correspond to the iPod’s menu button? If not, what is it for? I was wondering if you guys could help me with this.
– Sergio
A: The menu button is indeed labeled a bit awkwardly, and it’s largely since Apple has chosen to use precisely the same remote hardware across all of its products, each with different control needs.
When used with an iPod Hi-Fi, the menu button is used to switch the speaker input between the iPod source and the auxiliary input jack on the back of the device.
With an iPod Universal Dock, the menu button does nothing for controlling the iPod. Instead, it serves only to lock the remote to a specific dock, computer, or speaker system, should you have more than one Apple Remote-compatible device.
This feature is available for any Apple Remote you use with any Apple product.
Where the menu button’s functionality is truest to its label is when used with Apple’s Front Row software available on newer Mac models, where it behaves just like the iPod’s Menu button, taking the current menu system one level higher in the hierarchy.
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