After wating a couple of weeks I was finally approved by Boxee to become an alpha tester for Apple TV. I’ll be installing Boxee on my Apple TV later tonight. As a part of the Alpha test I’ll be testing Boxee on Apple TV AKA watching a whole lot of Hulu.
I’m really excited, but what a risky venture for Boxee. I would be very surprised if Apple lets this slide very long. I know they fought iPhone hacks tooth and nail, which seemed much more difficult to hack then the Boxee hack for Apple TV.
On the other hand this could be exactly what Apple TV needs to combat things like the Roku and Xbox 360 in the long term. I’d be very disappointed if Apple gave up on this venture.
Apple TV has had really only two main gripes. First, it needs a keyboard. One search on Apple TV and you’ll agree. The second gripe is that you’re not realizing the true potential of Apple TV since you can only view media on YouTube, or iTunes. The simple addition of Hulu to Apple TV would enhance the value to me 10 fold.
And along came Boxee….
What is Boxee?
Boxee is free software that allows you to play any type of video file and stream video including Comedy Central and Hulu among others. The software is easily installed via your Apple TV USB port and should make your Apple TV all that more addictive!
Information on how to install Boxee
Happy viewing!
The iPhone 2.0 software is incredible, but we knew it would be. With hundreds to thousands of applications, practical and just for fun, the new iPhone 2.0 sofware’s potential is limitless. Though, the iPhone 3G is more to attract new customers than existing customers.
Simply, the pricing is $199 for the 8gb iPhone 3G and $299 for the 16 gb iPhone 3G. At this price point it is extraordinarily attractive for most non-iPhone owners. For current iPhone owners there are not enough upgrades to justify the purchase of a 16gb iPhone. Since the upgrade to iPhone 2.0 software is free, all owners of the current 8gb iPhone receive the benefit of the 3G network, GPS and double the storage space (16gb). For me, this is not enough to justify spending $299.
The official release date for the The iPhone 2.0 software is incredible, but we knew it would be. With hundreds to thousands of applications, practical and just for fun, the new iPhone 2.0 sofware’s potential is limitless. Though, the iPhone 3G is more to attract new customers than existing customers.
The release date for the iPhone 3G and 3rd party applications is July 11th.
Thank you to CNN for publishing this article today!
I’m certainly a movie fanatic, to the point where I would go to the movies weekly. Ticket prices and even more snack prices have gone up an incredible amount at the movies. We all know this and we’re all tired of it.
For about $1000 I turned my home into a theater, which translates to 2 people at the movies per week with a popcorn and soda each for 25 weeks.
I bought an Infocus projector from Woot! for $400, which displays a 10ft by 6ft HD picture on my white wall that looks tremendous. I purchased a low-end Onkyo surround sound system from Circuit City for a little over $300 and the 160 GB Apple TV for $330.
Now Apple TV says I can’t go to the movies anymore…there’s no point. Why would I pay $20 for a movie ticket, popcorn and a soda when I can sit in my own home on my comfy couch and watch No Country for Old Men in HD. I don’t even need to go to Blockbuster to rent a movie. Within a minute or two my movie is downloaded to my Apple TV and I can play it.
The only downside is iTune’s selection is still limited, but growing. For all of you who still insist on sitting in those uncomfortable movie theater seats and have your legs go numb from having them up on the seat in front of you…good for you. I’ll take my home movie theater any day.