apple TV

Apple TV was released into the wild a couple of days ago. I thought I wanted one, but now, having learned more about it, I NEED one. I have been following the clever exploits of the hackers, and it turns out this little machine is wide open, almost, to change. The hard drive has been already upgraded. It can now play Xvid, and a bunch of people are working on trying to get the finder.app working, although Apple have taken it out by design. It appears, to people much cleverer and skillful than me, that this is a proper little Mac computer with half-decent specs. I can't do any of this stuff myself but I can certainly follow in their footsteps. I want a sliver of a machine that is networked, plays HD movies, and allows me to browse the internet and send emails from my TV. That's all I am asking for. All that for £199. Now that seems like a bargain. I am trying to persuade Mrs McMuffin that I need to buy one today. I'll let you know how I get on.

When I first read about this little machine, it looked good, but a little underpowered. I now realise that this must be part of Apple's strategy. Produce something that the less techie people can use straight out of the box, and the more techie people can customise to their hearts content. Apple could easily have locked a lot of the features, but for some reason have decided not to. This appears to be one of the most hackable devices that has appeared in ages. It is clear from the forums that this little box is really going to hit Microsoft hard. All those people out their who have hacked their XBox will want to get one. What would you prefer: a 7"x7"x1" sliver of Apple goodness or a monolithic monster bit of plastic under your TV.