Unpleasant Experience with Apple TV

I am glad my previous company uses Mac... so I get to know what Macs can do, otherwise I live under a carpet. So there is the Apple TV product. No it is NOT an actual TV but a little box that you connect to your TV show you can theoretically show stuff on your mac devices onto your TV. It can even hook up to the store where you can buy movies and songs online (pretty expensive if you ask me).

Setting up is a breeze. 2 wires. 1 for power and 1 for HDMI cable. Can't get easier than that. Good.

Now, how do you show things there. Ok, set up your Wifi password so you are on same network as your device. Ok, the remote control is a bit hard to select the letters but still barely usable (thanks to the idiot design of the enter button in middle, so close to the direction buttons). I hope I don't lose this small thing. So far so good.

Now how do I make things show? On the mac, System Properties -> Displays. Where the heck is the AirPlay monitoring option that I am supposed to have. Oh ok, perhaps my mac is too old.. Ok, what about the IPad 2? It isn't that old. It is running on IOS6 but so what. It is supposed to work.

Google search for answer of course. EVERY google search end up in this unhelpful doc. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5209.

The ridiculous option is inside ITunes, where you would expect it to be somewhere in System Properties. And it is already idiotic to double tap on the home button to switch task thanks to the idiotic one-button-simply-is-not-enough design.

Dude I DO NOT see that Mirroring On Off switch there.

LOOK! I can send ITunes music onto the TV (so I can use the TV's speaker to listen, that's good). LOOK! there is even an icon on youtube that let me send video into Apple TV. (however, not all site's videos can be sent to Apple TV)

But where is my Mirroring option on the Ipad?

I want to HOLLER to Apple

I just don't think I'll ever find out in my life. What, you want me to bring the Ipad to a "genius" bar at an Apple Store? What if it can connect to Apple TV there but not my house? I need to invite these blue shirt people to my house? Toss it, let's see if there is anything else I can do on the mac. The goal is use the TV to watch things and use its speaker, ok? This is not a demanding request now that I paid $100.

Somewhere I read a help doc that says use Air Parrot for older macs. This is not free... but it worked INSTANTLY. The Mac without the AirPlay option can use Air Parrot! Mission achieved. Waita minute is it because the Mac is old that it doesn't have such technical capability? Simply a lie. Then how come Air Parrot can?

It asked for just $9.99. for a working product I don't hesitate to pay the money it deserved.

It is extremely unfriendly to put that option on ITunes and only if you are lucky you get to see the icon. If not? then you are just out of luck. No explanation. It freaking SHOULD be in System Properties, and let me see an error message or two if something don't work.

I really am not an apple fan.