IronWil Blog » Media Center

Apple TV?!?

Iron Wil — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:52:48 +0000

I was listening to MacBreak Weekly 263 this week as the gang talked about the Apple TV Rumors that have been floating around. If you haven’t heard, the most current is that Apple is developing an TV. Yes, like Samsung, Philips, Sony, Vizio, and others. While this is not impossible, I am having a hard time seeing the vision.

What I do see, is possibilities.

An Apple TV that is a “TV” would have to be more than just a media box like the 1st and 2nd versions of the Apple TV. I think this device would have to be a media center or iTunes Server. We know that Apple can make beautiful displays and fantastic hardware. My vision is that this iTunes Server would need to have a few things to make it work. It would need to contain a very large hard drive, Seagate recently announced a 4Tb hard drive, and the ability to update the software and hard drive. The rest of the hardware might stand the test of time or need to be upgradeable over time. That is the problem, it doesn’t fit Apple’s model. Not only that but FaceTime Hd camera would have to be capable of upgrades also.

I understand where people want this to go and I have seen the videos’ of Alan Kay’s visionary tablet and Apple’s knowledge navigator. I also ‘see’ how AirPlay is making some of the sharing possible with a combination of Apple devices. My first thoughts and impressions are that they will be making a 3rd generation Apple TV that will allow and manage the ‘Cord Free’ connecting and syncing between iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. My vision is 2 devices, one that has a large hard drive and one that is like the 2nd generation Apple TV. My other feeling is that they are working with TV manufacturers to get AirPlay working on TVs. This could work as a widget or as an always on service running and ready to receive streams.

I really see a new Apple TV being an iTunes Server … I know I have said it a few times already. It is the only thing that make sense to me.

ironwil

Apple told the Future in the Past!

Iron Wil — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:54:26 +0000

UPDATE!!!

I was listening to a recent netcast, probably MacBreak Weekly #214 or Windows Weekly #176, and they were discussing the USB port on the back of the Apple TV. I really started to think about that port and and the iTunes software. I also felt that my iTunes Server could be met with Apple activating that port for external hard drives. This could make the Apple TV an iTunes Server IF they add the ability to manage Accounts, Purchase Content, and allow iTunes to act as the intermediary. Personal Profiles would allow one iTunes Account to manage multiple users (or device profiles) with Bonjour running Apple could enable Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Syncing. This would solve the iTunes Server issue mentioned below.

I have noticed that a few videos and articles have surfaced over the last [thinking] 3 years and they are all pointing to the future of where Apple said it was going in the 80′s. The Newton was their first attempt at a mobile product that would fill the space of the ‘hand-held communicator’ or Dynabook that was talked about by Alan Kay. In my recent post, the video shared by TUAW, talks about being able to stream media on the fly. To have total access to your books, music, movies, and documents no matter where an individual is located … they only need access to the internet.

Today we have 2 ubiquitous internet devices from Apple, the iPad and iPhone. These two devices deliver the majority of the internet to you on the go. We know that we can buy, rent, listen, and watch content as long as we are connected to the internet. Yeah for 3G and GSM!!! We now know that Apple is working on “The Orchard” a large data center in North Carolina. Apple has now released the updated Apple TV that delivers all of your iTunes content to your TV plus NetFlix and hopefully much more as they continue to work on this platform. I have heard some discussion for the Apple TV where we can push Hulu, MLB, or even games to our living room or bedroom TVs via AirPlay (or Apps).

With Apple rolling Apple TV and AirPlay out to their 160 million registered iTunes customers they have an instant [upon purchase] test bed. To play with and work through all the bugs and legal issues. They have a willing audience of “Fan Boys” that have already ordered their new Apple TV‘s. They have users like me that will be purchasing one after they start shipping.

Now, what is missing? One huge thing I think is missing is an iTunes server. Yeah, I know that HP’s MediaSmart running Windows Home Server with the plug-in will act in this fashion. What I am looking for is … think a Mac Mini Server form factor that we can add external hard drives to for increased capacity! [The one extra cool feature would be that we could add more iTunes Servers and they would span the network. I am thinking of a Drobo + AirPort Wireless Network Extender + SAN.] We could stream right from that instead of from the family iMac. It would function as the iTunes back-up for the whole family, accounts for each user. This would then be coupled with “The Orchard” so that we have 3 copies of our media and we can then stream anything we own to anywhere! Now hold on and don’t forget that Apple purchased Lala.com and they had a really good balance of being able to push music that you already own for 10¢ each track and the ability to buy new music.

So, if I have a DVD or digital copy of a movie, then I have to pay the 30¢ licensing fee and Apple drops a copy in my Orchard account. Then if something happens to our Mac we have a copy of everything in the “Cloud”. The way I see this service really being delivered is via MobileMe. I am not sure if it would be 99$ still or if it would be free. I think that free would ‘force’ people to move their content there because there is no barrier to entry. I know that I would start right away. I know that it would cost me; but if I could have the guarantee … I would be compelled to do it right away. We have 2 Macs and 2 iPhones and it would be a no brainer for my wife and I to jump on that right away.

It is very clear to my mind what this will look like and how it will work. Unfortunately, I don’t actually know and if I did, I wouldn’t be able to write this.

iron wil

Software Mouse Apps

Iron Wil — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:07:51 +0000

I recently downloaded Touch Mouse [Free] & Air Mouse Pro [1.99$] from the App Store trying to avoid buying the new Logitech Performance Mouse MX with the Darkfield Laser.

But so far, failure.

I have used both of these Apps on my iPhone and they are nice on the couch and I will probably set them up with the iMac and use that when we are watching TV shows or movies from the couch. It is not a great tool for sitting and working with my MacBook like I would a mouse.

I have to say that for a standard mouse replacement this blows … big time!!!

I think that it will only fit that remote use like the Mac Mini I keep thinking about for my media center.

iron wil

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.09.12

Iron Wil — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:20:42 +0000

TWiT 212: Leave The Gun, Take The Calacanis

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jason Calacanis, Ryan Block, and Loren Feldman

TechCrunch50, Dr. Horrible’s Emmy, gadget theft, iPod Nano, Facebook, Skype, and more.

Show Notes

MacBreak Weekly 157: The New iPods Are Here

Hosts: Leo Laporte, John Siracusa, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, and Dane Golden

Live Apple coverage: Steve Jobs returns, iTunes 9, iPhone/iPod OS 3.1, Nano video, and more.

Special Contributors: Ryan Block and Brad Stone

Show Notes

Security Now 213: Cracking GSM

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

The inherent insecurities of GSM, the pseudo-random bitstream cipher protecting data for billions of phones.

Show Notes

Windows Weekly 122: Blowhard

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Paul’s book on Kindle, Media Center, Best Buy, Ford SYNC, new iPods, and more.

Show Notes

This Week In Google 7: This Week In Goats

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Adam Pash

Search bar expands, Answers.com, Google book settlement, real-time search, Twitter’s TOS, and more.

Show Notes

iron wil

New TWiT NetCasts – 2009.05.23

Iron Wil — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:00:48 +0000

TWiT 195: A Series Of Tube Tops

Hosts: Leo Laporte, John C. Dvorak, Becky Worley, Molly Wood, and Stephen Wolfram

Wolfram Alpha, Pirate Bay DDo$, Crackho.com, Craigslist massages, Facebook boobies, and your car warranty has expired.

Show Notes

MacBreak Weekly 141: Wi-Fi Bubble Boy

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Craig Syverson, Scott Bourne, and Andy Ihnatko

Palm Pre, iPhone 3 rumors such as LG OLEDs, Microsoft laptop hunters, new Mac ads, and more.

Show Notes

Security Now 197: Windows 7 Security

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

Security changes, additions and enhancements to Microsoft Windows 7.

Show Notes

Windows Weekly 108: Achievement Unlocked

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

Office 2010 Tech Preview leak, Netflix comes to Windows Media Center, My Phone Beta, the Palm Pre, and more.

Show Notes

iron wil

Windows Weekly [#73] NetCast

Iron Wil — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:07:16 +0000

Chrome vs. IE8

Google Chrome, set-top box wars, Xbox 360 price cuts, PicasaWeb, and more.

Chrome: Google’s full frontal assault on Microsoft
Xbox 360 price cuts
Office Live Workspace users reach one million mark; software and services vs. cloud computing
Battle of the set-top boxes: Apple TV, Media Center Extenders, Roku (Netflix), Popcorn Hour, and New Xbox 360 (60 GB)
Amazon Video On Demand

Tips of the week:

Using Chrome for Web applications
Standalone gMail and Google Calendar (also, PicasaWeb, etc.)

Software of the week:

Google Picasa 3 Beta (and Picasa Web Albums update)
Roboform
Microsoft AutoCollage 2008

Audible pick of the week: All the President’s Men, Unabridged, By Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Narrated by Richard Poe. For a free audiobook, visit Audible.com/windows.

Check out Paul’s blog at http://www.internet-nexus.com and the SuperSite for Windows http://winsupersite.com for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil

Windows Weekly [#67] NetCast

Iron Wil — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:31:06 +0000

Everything Must Go

Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte

The iPhone 3G, 2.0 and App Store, Media Center update, Microsoft cloud, and more.

Topics:

Everything Must Go has landed
It’s iWeek: Upcoming iPhone 3G launch
Paul has the iPhone 2.0 software and iTunes 7.7 Mac/7.6.3 PC
App Store has launched: This is the big deal, discuss
.Mac is being transitioning to MobileMe
iPhone 2.0 software is a bigger deal than 3G
Fiji gets less exciting
Windows Vista Media Center update leaked
Microsoft Online Services coming: Microsoft gets cloud computing
Exchange as a Microsoft hosted service

News:

Windows XP SP3 heads to automatic updates
Beta Vista compatibility site not up
Related: MobileMe is not up either

Vista tips of the week:

Use Gmail or Yahoo Mail as the default mail application
Using keyboard shortcuts in Windows

Software of the Week: iTunes 7.7 is out

Audibile.com of the week: The First Billion, by Christopher Reich narrated by James Daniels

Check out Paul’s blog at http://www.internet-nexus.com and the SuperSite for Windows http://winsupersite.com for more information.

get yours here.

iron wil

A Dreammy Media System . . .

Iron Wil — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:30:15 +0000

Mollerade posted his trouble and frustration over setting up a Mac Mini with a Flat Panel TV.

In his case this will be his primary system, I am looking forward to hearing more about his experiences. Because he is doing what I hope to do by the end of this year for my family. My wife is on board and that is the most important part.

read his Blog Post.

iron wil