This is no IronMan, but he sure is trying hard.

Boxee, the social XBMC, is now easy to install on your Apple TV. We first covered Boxee in June when the alpha was released. It's great to see how much the project has advanced to this point. To install on the Apple TV, you first download a USB "patchstick" creator. The program puts a mac partition on the drive and copies over the necessary files. You reboot the Apple TV with the stick installed and it patches in both Boxee and XBMC. When you restart the the device it will have two new menu items and the rest of the system will be intact. [Dave Mathews] shows the entire process in the video above. He notes that they're currently not taking advantage of the GPU, so 1080p is a little too much for the system.

Lo que pretendía ser un inocente upgrade de mi Apple TV se convirtió en una afortunada renta de película en oferta. Diez pesos y unas horas más tarde me puse el traje de "papa de sillón" para conocer la historia del skateboarding contemporáneo.

En los 70´s y 80´s la NFL era referente en la producción documentales deportivos. En los 90´s ESPN se quedó con el cetro. Pero este nuevo milenio Stacy Peralta logró con esta cinta del 2001 superar la línea marcada.

Tenía que hacerlo. Esta cinta es, en parte, la historia de su vida.

La influencia del Surfing en la tabla de asfalto, la creación de las llantas de poliuretano, la sequía californiana. Todos estos elementos, encantadores y mágicos, son trozos de la excelente deconstrucción que realiza Peralta para contar la historia del Zephyr Skateboard Team. 

Las entrevistas con los protagonistas, fotógrafos y músicos infuenciados por el fenómeno (Henry Rollins y Jeff Ament de Pearl Jam entre otros)  y la narración de Sean Penn (el dejar una toma con error es un increíble acierto) logran un retrato redondo de la cultura de la calle.

El soundtrack es igual de atinado y sugerente (Stooges, Fugazi, Bowie, Devo, Sneaker Pimps).

En resumidas cuentas un festín.

De las pocas películas que después de rentar estoy dispuesto a comprar. De hecho después de verla no pude resistirme a comprar un par de rolas y el disco de Fugazi... y no me arrepiento.

Not only did Apple update iTunes overnight, but it also updated Apple TV.  In addition to the usual security and bug fixes (including one that sounds pretty ominous: “maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution”), there’s now a Genius playlist feature. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/03/apple-tv-updated-now-has-genius 10/3)

Google's YouTube, which is yet to figure out how to best monetize its audience, is adding post-roll advertisements. The post-rolls, like all ads on YouTube, only play on a portion of the 4% or so of the site's videos uploaded by official partners with revenue-sharing agreements. (Iwantmedia 10/3, http://newteevee.com/2008/10/01/youtube-rolls-out-post-roll-video-ads 10/1)

In honor of the impending election, Yahoo is making a few changes to its search engine to help streamline common queries and convince people to vote. Users that search for keywords like “Obama” and “McCain” will be presented with small biographies, poll summaries, and recent news articles related to the candidate. Searches for “presidential poll” will generate a list of poll results, and users can further refine searches by specifying a state as part of their query. Finally, the search results page will now feature a “Vote” button in the corner whenever you search for a term related to the election. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/03/yahoo-makes-election-news-only-a-keyword-away 10/3)

Google, which is maturing and looking to reinvigorate its slowing growth, is shaking-off of its reluctance to advertise itself. The search giant recently held discussions with several Madison Avenue agencies, including Wieden + Kennedy and the boutique firm Taxi New York. (Iwantmedia 10/3, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122299236642900625.html 10/3)

Fox Business launched a new YouTube channel this week offering news and opinion on the presidential race. "America's Election HQ" is the first of three YouTube channels that will be opened in the coming weeks featuring Fox News and Fox Business reporting. Mediaweek (10/2)

With credit tightening and consumer confidence shaky, you know this is going to be a tough year for holiday sales. A forecast that came out this morning from Lehman Brothers (now Barclays Capital), puts Internet sales over the upcoming holiday season growing at just 8 percent, compared to 19 percent growth last year (and 26 percent in 2006). That’s still better than the one percent growth in holiday ales expected at physical department stores, but the fourth quarter is make-or-break for many e-commerce sites and the slowdown in growth is not going to help. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/03/its-going-to-be-a-grinch-christmas-slowdown-forecast-for-online-holiday-sales 10/3)

ABC took the top spot this week among Hitwise's ad supported broadcast network website rankings, edging out NBC and easily besting CBS, which held the top spot most of the summer. Hitwise also factored in PBS Online in a separate ranking for the first time and the site drew a 36% share of the broadcast-related traffic for the week - nearly double that of its closest competitor ABC - as Americans turned to site for news on the political race and the financial crisis. Dancing with the Stars was the #1 ranked TV show site following its premiere while NBC's Heroes jumped up to the #3 spot from #10. On the cable side CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight was tops among the cable networks (adult only) moving up from #7 the previous week. (Cynopsis 10/3)

Top Visited US Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Sites (Week ending Sept. 27 2008)
Rank                Network Website    Market Share of Visits
1  ABC             www.abc.com 28.77%
2  NBC           www.nbc.com 28.62%
3  CBS            www.cbs.com 21.52%
4  FOX*           www.fox.com 13.13%
5 The CW      www.cwtv.com 6.85%
6 MNTV   www.mynetworktv.com 1.11%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise, *includes traffic aggregated from stand alone websites americanidol.com, amw.com, familyguy.com, thelot.com and thesimpsons.com.

Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Sites (Week ending Sept. 27, 2008)
Rank   Network       Website                      Market Share of Visits
1          ABC          Dancing With The Stars       15.01%
2          NBC          American's Got Talent           8.84%
3          NBC          Heroes                                 6.37%
4          NBC          The Biggest Loser                  4.26%
5          ABC          Grey's Anatomy                     3.32%
6          FOX          Terminator: Sarah Connor      3.30%
7          FOX          America's Most Wanted          3.25%
8          NBC          The Office                             3.15%
9          NBC          Deal or No Deal                     2.39%
10         CBS          NCIS                                     2.30%

Source: Custom report from Hitwise

Top Visited US Cable Network TV Show Sites - Excluding Children's Programming (Week ending Sept. 27, 2008)
Rank   Network                   Website                   Market Share of Visits
1    CNN                       Lou Dobbs Tonight             5.06%
2    Comedy Central       South Park                        4.97%
3    Fox News                O'Reilly Factor                   4.30%
4    Comedy Central       The Daily Show                 3.66%
5    BET                        106 & Park                        3.64%
6    MTV                        The Hills                           2.97%
7    Food Network          Paula's Home Cooking        2.36%
8    Fox News                Hannity & Colmes              2.21%
9    MSNBC                    Countdown w/Keith O.       2.07%
10   Bravo                      Project Runway                 1.96%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise

Mientras los blogs discuten la veracidad del ataque cardiaco de Steve Jobs (Apple lo negó desde la mañana) la empresa actualiza a su hijo pródigo Apple TV.

Su nombre no es el más atractivo pero pudo haber sido peor ( iTV). Parece adolescente (no se apaga nunca y se calienta mucho) y comercialmente no ha sido un éxito para la compañía. Pero es un excelente producto.

Me sorprende que con sólo iniciar iTunes en casa mi portátil detecte el Apple TV y sincronice contenidos automáticamente. También que el contenido en alta definición se vea realmente atractivo aunque no sea HD. ¿Su única limitante en México?. Que sea necesaria una tarjeta de crédito de USA para poder disfrutarlo a full. Vencida esa limitante es un equipo versátil y sobresaliente para administrar contenidos digitales.

Hoy Apple anuncia su actualización para descargar series en HD, comprar videos musicales y poder usar la nueva función Genius (auto DJ). La actualización es gratuita y disponible desde ya.

Surprisingly, this was announced only days after Apple threatened to close it's iTunes Music Store

Enfin... L'upgrade est arrivé ! Avec le Genius en prime.

Dans la foulée une révision de iTunes et un nouveau firmware 2.2 pour l'Apple TV.

Tout remarche parfaitement et C'est de nouveau le grand amour au sein de l'écosystème Apple... Ca aura duré 3 semaines.

According to Apple.com, here is what was updated:

HD TV shows-Purchase the leading HD TV shows directly from the iTunes Store. (US only)

Movie browsing by actor and director-Browse movies on the iTunes store by actor and director. Select “More” on the movie page and browse the actor and director list on the left to see other movies for that individual.

Chapter selection, alternate audio and subtitles-While playing a movie, press and hold Play/Pause to access chapter selection, alternate audio and subtitle display. The display shows the options available for the current movie.

Movie description-Press Up when playing a movie to display a description of that movie.

Genius playlists-To create a Genius playlist based on the currently playing song, press and hold Play/Pause to bring up the contextual menu and select Start Genius. Note: The Genius feature must first be enabled in iTunes 8.0.1 and synced with Apple TV.

On-The-Go playlists-To add the currently playing song to the On-The-Go playlist, press and hold Play/Pause to bring up the contextual menu and select Add To On-The-Go.

Music videos in playlists-Make playlists in iTunes combining your favorite music videos and songs. Play them back on Apple TV and let them play continuously.

Apple TV standby mode-From the main menu, press Play/Pause for about three seconds (or go to Settings > Standby)

I can't wait to mess around with all the new goodies!

Últimamente hay un montón de rumores acerca de Apple TV, supuestamente Apple está pidiendo a las tiendas que retiren todas las demostraciones y publicidad y que sean destruidas ya que pronto se presentará el nuevo modelo cuyas principales características en principio serían:

• Disco duro de 500GB y 1TB
• Nuevo chip Intel orientado a aparatos de TV
• Full HD
• Blu-ray
• Safari integrado
• Función de Time Capsule
• Teclado

Sin embargo en la propia web de Apple se dice que próximamente en los mejores televisores panorámicos y después de una actualización de software gratuita —y con sólo unos pocos clics del mando del Apple TV— podrás comprar música y vídeos, así como descargar podcasts gratuitos del iTunes Store... ¡y sin moverte del sofá!

Lo que no es rumor es que con Boxee, Apple TV es capaz de reproducir contenidos en cualquier formato, ya sea de audio o vídeo asi como también acceder a cualquier medio streaming como BBC, CNET, CNN, etc., todo esto gracias a un centro de medios sociales y contenido streaming llamado Boxee. Lo único que habrá que hacer es instalar XBMC en tu AppleTV usando una llave USB, mas información en xbmc.org.

Enlace | Apple TV |

The new functionality doesn't come courtesy of Apple, or even Boxee itself. The hackaround was developed by independent programmer Scott Davilla. In an interview, Davilla said that he was always a big fan of the Apple TV, but was frustrated that you couldn't expand it and add more stuff to it. Then Davilla stumbled onto the XBMC (formerly XBox Media Center) project, upon which Boxee was based.

Boxee lets you control your movies, music, photos and more through your connected TV. On the Apple TV this means you could play content other than what you download directly from Apple. It will pull content from the hard drive on the Apple TV or from a local network.

But the instructions to do so aren't for the faint of heart. They involve a bootable USB drive, patch sticks, and on top of that, you have to be a member of the Boxee alpha, which is still invite-only. Once installed, the Apple TV menu adds a Boxee option which when selected lets you browse through Boxee just as you would on your computer.

Boxee is touting this move as proof of its concept. By being open source, the community is helping to innovate the product. Davilla is not part of the Boxee team, but is just someone who wanted to expand his Apple TV. Of course, Apple could squash the Boxee functionality with a software upgrade, but as the Boxee community grows, so too will its innovation in different and strange directions. Now they just need to dumb it down to make it more accessible.

Back in the day, before Apple TV, he was preparing himself to be the fisherman-bookreading-soccerplaying-outdoorconquering crimefighter that is the Red Ranger.

Speaking of Apple TV, head over to Fractured Toy for the OH SO COOL Apple TV giveaway (featuring yours truly). Thanks Mannequin and welcome to all Fractured Toy readers. You rock!

This is all by design of course, but that doesn't make it any less admirable. Apple want you to buy a Macbook to sync with your iPod Touch, or an Airport Extreme to turn your Hi-Fi into a remote set of speakers for your iTunes library. Each time I buy a new Apple product I can almost feel their blanket of cuddly fuzzines tucking me in a bit tighter.

You've probably guessed by now -- and if you haven't then I'm worried -- that I've recently augmented my collection of Apple toys, and you'd be right. The latest addition to the Neal gadget gaggle is my new Apple TV.

What an absolutely stonking idea: a little box that connects simultaneously to your widescreen HD TV, your home cinema system and your home network, allowing you to play your entire iTunes library through the best audio system in the house and browse your digital photo collection on the biggest screen. No more hoiking the Mac/PC down to the living room just so your dinner party can go with a swing. You can also watch trailers for the latest movies, buy albums and buy or rent TV shows and HD movies right from the iTunes Music Store, all while reclined, remote in hand, in your favourite couch potato position. Lovely.

Oh, and I almost forgot the COOLEST thing! If you have an iPhone (or iPod Touch) you can get a free Remote application that will let you browse the Apple TV's library and play/pause music on the system. It's great!

No debate. If you like music, photos and movies, and have a Mac or PC, you need Apple TV. Now: where's my cocoa?

We had to pick a point in time to evaluate set tops that were available, though we know a few new ones are coming out soon, including the SlingCatcher, expect to hear more from me on that as it gets released. 

The cool thing about this teleconference and report is that we built a new model for evaluating any new technology product where you add up the consumer benefits the box provides (content, convenience, community, etc.) and then subtract the barriers that stand in the way of its adoption (like price, complexity, lack of a brand, etc.). It gives you a way to score a product against other products in its category, as well as in adjacent categories.

The bottom line is this: these set top boxes are all competing to win a distant second prize behind DVRs which are now getting close to 30% of all US households. Meanwhile, the PC is rising as a way to do much of what these set tops do, but in a more flexible (albeit complex to install and manage) way. In other words, this market will have to work hard to prove that it even is a market.

- TV tuner and set-top PVR to take on TiVo, with streaming and synchronization to Apple’s mobile devices, the way Slingbox does, handled through a more reliable MobileMe

- Controllers with accelerometers and a set-top App Store to rival what’s on the iPhone and iPod Touch

Continue reading at GigaOM.

Apple (s APPL) dominates music and consumer mobility. The MacBook is selling in record numbers. But despite making consumer-friendly products for the whole family, Apple has failed in an increasingly important market that includes TV, movies, music and gaming, and will soon encompass videoconferencing, education and more: The living room.

If Apple wants to be the digital hearth, it will have to do better than AppleTV, and the impending announcement may launch just such a product. So what would the perfect Apple consumer device look like?

• TV tuner and set-top PVR to take on TiVo, with streaming and synchronization to Apple's mobile devices, the way Slingbox does, handled through a more reliable MobileMe
• Controllers with accelerometers and a set-top App Store to rival what's on the iPhone and iPod Touch
• Videoconferencing-capable features to connect a distributed family via iChat
• Computing features (mail, documents and so on) that make it a decent set-top computer terminal
• Broad support for emerging wireless standards, so it looks like a file server to other devices
• Better integration with stereo systems, tied into the whole family's iTunes accounts, on par with Roku or the audiophile-friendly Squeezebox
• Good cosmetics so it can mount cleanly to a wall or behind a flatscreen

Why should Apple get serious about the living room?

1. Get iTunes into the home. Apple has the industry's most successful entertainment delivery infrastructure, and Jobs has strong ties to the industry through Disney. But the company has failed to connect that infrastructure to consumers beyond iTunes and the iPhone. AppleTV is little more than an iTunes connector for televisions: Not enough TV to tackle Tivo, not enough mobile streaming to supplant Slingbox. Apple CEO Steve Jobs called it a "hobby."

2. Push back at the consoles. Gaming has given Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony a shelf slot next to the TV. Nintendo's Wii has especially broad appeal and is encroaching on learning and teaching with almost Apple-like individuality. But with the exception of casual iPhone games and some Mac software, Apple is shut out of the lucrative gaming industry.

3. Casual gaming. The success of Apple's App Store (with 100 million downloads in the first 60 days) has given Apple a glimpse of how lucrative gaming can be. Casual gaming, which the industry estimates is a $2.25 billion industry, has a much broader market appeal than hardcore gaming -- think boomers and kids weaned on Webkins. With an Intel-based chipset and plenty of casual games, the company could make iPhone games run on a set-top box and ink a deal with Disney to target the younger set.

Apple's strong notebook and phone sales mean the company has a chance at mainstream households. If it's going to win that war, it needs to leverage its mobile and entertainment strengths and take the fight to the heart of the household with a strong set-top offering.

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• I ain't dead, yet...
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I purchased an Apple TV on September 6th. To be honest I’ve really liked it so far. I saw an article on Digg today that suggested Apple TV was being dropped.

If I had known the product was going to be dropped from Apple’s product line 24 days after purchasing it I wouldn’t have bought it.

So I went to Apple’s support area, to the discussion for the Apple TV. I made a post asking if anybody knew what was going on with Apple TV. My post was immediately (minutes) removed by Apple!!!!! Talk about censorship.

What is the Brick? The question was first posed the day after Steve Jobs' "Let's Rock" keynote address by Cleve Nettles on the Apple blog 9 to 5 Mac. He wrote that a tipster with "a solid track record" told him that the mid-October introduction of a new line of MacBooks (see here) is "all about the Brick."

"What does 'The Brick' mean?" Nettles asked his readers. "Can anyone out there help us out?" (link)

Readers were happy to oblige. Hundreds of messages, dozens of blog postings, and at least two reader polls later, no definitive answers have emerged. Speculation reached a fever pitch this weekend after The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) reported that Apple had e-mailed resellers with instructions to remove and destroy all Apple TV displays and literature by 5 p.m. Sept. 30, when a webcast "kick off" was supposedly scheduled. Could the Brick be the long-awaited arrival of Apple TV, Take 3?

The Sept. 30 deadline, it turns out, is the anniversary of the debut of those Apple TV store displays, which suggests that the company may simply be destroying some outdated print material containing screen shots whose permissions have run out. (link)

But that hasn't slowed the flood of ideas about what Steve Jobs might have up his sleeve next. As is often the case with Apple watchers, the speculation says more about their needs and fantasies than Apple's (AAPL) product plans.

So what's on their wish list? A sampling of what some have suggested the Brick might be:

• An Apple TV with a built-in Blu-Ray disk, TV receiver, digital TV recorder and its own App store (link)
• A new Apple-branded gaming system (link)
• A Time Capsule with "smarts" that functions as an iTunes server (link)
• A redesigned and much more powerful Mac Mini (link)
• The announcement that Apple has aquired TiVo (TIVO) and is discontinuing the Apple TV (link)
• A tablet-sized Mac with a touch-screen keyboard (link)
• A low-cost MacBook to compete in the sub-notebook market (link)
• A wireless USB hub that that links keyboards, mice, DVD drives, networking, hard drives, new displays (link)
• Nothing brick-shaped, but rather a product or group of products sexy enough to "smash" Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows once and for all (link)

My favorite reader comment, posted by "cardiomac" on TUAW in response to a suggestion that the Apple TV was "not meant to be a computer," borrows from the "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock":

No! I am not a computer, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool. (link)

UPDATED:

A reputable insider from the TUAW blog is stating that existing Apple TV's are to be pulled from shelves by September 30th, when a "webcast" will be taking place to kick off new products.

This date just happens to be a Tuesday, which is Apple's favorite day to release new products to us. As devoted fanboys, followers, and lovers of all things Apple, I'm sure we'll all be glued to our computers on Tuesday if this report does gain any more traction before then. Fingers are crossed...

Note: Some are speculating that as this is the one-year anniversary since the latest AppleTV upgrade and Apple's advertising photos for the device need to be renewed. This could be why all brochures and advertising for the device needs to be removed by Tuesday so they can be replaced with new marketing materials.

What do you think is going to happen on Tuesday, September 30th?

Bigtime.  I haven't even scratched the surface and here I am gloating about it already.  It just sucks terribly in what it is suppose to hype for.  I find that a bigtime disappointment.  Period.

For starters, I couldn't even purchase one single TV or Movie content, SD or HD, on it.  I can browse, surf and view content with abandon, but hey, I can't do shit about downloading any of my carted purchases.  It just sucks because that is what Apple TV is suppose to be, an online store for content that you can fleece to your heart's content for a minimal sum and without having to wait for a long, long time for it to appear on HBO.

So far, I have had the grace to download two episodes of Fringe (remember that post?) and one episode of House (season 5 opener) and that's it.  A couple of podcasts and no music, no movie rental, and no other TV show even on the free category.  Why? Damn ATV just won't let me.  It's all been that "Accessing iTunes Store" whirligig all the time.

I hate it when things like these happen.  It just takes the spark out of a good thing.  And Apple should've known that these are happening.  Well, all the discussion threads have been saying the same thing, and so I'm saying it to you now: "Get it fixed.  Please."

Capiche.

The living room or family room or lets say generically the room in the house often in close proximity to the kitchen is the hub of activity in the house. Here the kids play, parents talk, friends come over and eat, or chat as well.

My friends, the Living Room is the Land of Milk and Honey, that flows in abundance through the many channels, of media, advertising, and the general Brand power that is leveraged in this golden arena.  This room is the Mother of all revenue streams.  The battle over it's control will wage on until the right consumer device is made that is so compelling that it is irresistible.  So much so that it will dominate this family hub.

And why is this important?

Because, this is the nidus of activity for the rest of the control of the house. It is the Midway Island of WWII.  Upon control of that most valuable space, that nidus, will crystalize the rest of the home. the networking, distribution, parental control, gaming, smart home activities, computing, education, and so much more will emenate from here.

Oh yeah. And TV also. I mean a lot of TV. I mean also, purchasing of media, TV, movies, music, ambience.  Revenue will stream into this area like tidal waters from the gravitational pull of the Family's desire to absorb media.  When priced well, and we know that can be done. And the repository and library to draw upon is great, the battle will be won.

OK, it is not that simple. But lets fix that Apple TV, and get it into the family hub.  Like Newtons gravitational law, the attraction of massive bodies to the family hub will be an inverse function of the utility of said device. And this attraction is a power law attraction, it is an exponent. I have not seen peir reviewed data on this, however it is obvious that the economies of scale once residing in said hub will be such that, the fixed cost of getting it there will be counterbalanced be years of CLV and CRV.  Customer Lifetime Value, and Customer Referrer Value.

We do not know what that value is as this future has not a appeared yet. I would be willing to bet it is such a high multiple of getting that device insinuated, and ensconced, graciously, is one of the most important things a company should focus on.

Apple is the master of this.  OK, the first Apple TV was not that hot.  The conception was there, and they had to start somewhere.  Now it's time to brainstorm.  Let's fix whatever ails, and impedes this devices entry to the family hub. Sprinkle in some good old fashioned Apple sleek design, and beautiful graphical user interface, with the compelling overriding reason to have, and we move from the stone age to the future in one giant step.  I know one guy that would agree. And so would his friends.