I was reading a little article this morning in USA Today about the Apple TV and how its already been hacked to perform much more than originally advertised. As most of us know, the Apple TV is supposed to provide a link between all your digital media stored on your PC/Mac to your fancy High-Def TV, including pictures, movies, and audio. As with all new fancy products, hackers have already ripped it apart and found some nifty new features.
1 - First off, people complained about the lack of storage space. The Apple TV comes with 40GB of space by default. However, just like the original Tivo, people want more. Apparently all you need is a bigger hard-drive (unknown whether it is SATA or IDE) and the proper software update to the drive and you're ready to go.
2 - The Apple TV at its core still has all the components of a typical fully functioning computer but it runs a stripped down version of Apple's OSX. Essentially the same hardware as a laptop (all very integrated components), hackers figured they could get a fully functioning computer for the measly price of $299 (considering Apple's cheapest Mac Mini is $599, this is a good deal). Of course, they were successful. So now it appears that with a little know-how and some time, you can buy you're very own Mac computer for $299 :)
Other features people have worked on is creating a Tivo like box simply by adding a software add-on or two to the Apple TV.
Wondering how you can get all the info on how to do these mods? Well I'd check out the following sites for the necessary info:
Appletvhacks.net
Twenty 08 Blog
Please remember that this will obviously VOID any warranty that Apple provides. However, based upon the low risk of some of the modifications, I'd guess even the most basic techy person would be able to do it.
With that, have fun modding!
[Source]
2 comments:
Thanks for the links to the Apple TV hacks. I'm looking to get one, and love all this new functionality that users have added.
Shelly Palmer posted a good analysis of the box over on Media 3.0. (He didn't seem into it at first, but once he saw his kids playing with it, he realized that this is a "Big Thing.")
Shelly writes a lot about this stuff, and after reading a few essays, I'm realizing how much trouble this box could cause for cable companies. Imagine if we all got APple TV's, and stopped paying for cable TV?
That's a big shift in fortunes.
- Becca
Hey Becca,
Appreciate the response :) I read the article and he had some great insights!
In regards to overrunning the cable industry, I think that would be incredibly difficult, no matter how amazing the product is. To me the Apple TV is pretty cool but it doesn't DO anything that I cant already do with my Tivo and PC. At its core the Apple TV is simply a "media extender" which is nothing special IMO.
At the end of the day, to be truly competative outside the super techy world (who will benefit from the hacks made available) and the Mac fan-boys/girls (who will buy just because its the latest and greatest from the almighty Jobs) they will have to add features that make it unique and worth the $299 price tag.
Thanks again for reading Becca ;)
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