Could Valve's Steam TV be the Apple TV's Console Solution?

Kotaku has an article about Valve bringing Steam to the TV that is due to be released in Beta today. The argument is that Consoles are great, but they are walled gardens and Valve wants to create an environment that can be used on any box, at any time.

The timing is interesting, and the more that I read about Valve's Steam TV, the more I realized this could be Apple's way into console gaming without having to court high end developers to try and develop for the Apple TV platform. Not that I think there would be a big fight to get into the Apple TV market, even though it is very small. But Steam already has a huge inventory of games that would work given the right interface.

I've long believed that Apple would find some way to get gaming to the TV through the Apple TV. The most commonly believed avenue would be bringing your iOS apps to the TV, with the controller being the iPad or iPhone. It seems reasonable, and very likely. It wouldn't be at the same level as most of your console games, but then it wouldn't need to be since the expectation would be that of your iPhone gamer. But console gamers would want more.

So now, enter in Valve's Steam TV. Here you have very common PC games that already run on the Mac (thanks to the Mac release of Steam). Making an iOS compatible version of Steam shouldn't be that different from the Mac (depending on the software development platform they used), and it could be released to a broader audience than just the Apple TV in the very near future (iPad Steam, perhaps?).

Another argument for the release of Steam TV Beta on the Apple TV would be the current saturation of the Apple TV: a few million boxes are out there, but it's not as widespread as many other devices. Add a restriction to perhaps the latest Apple TV with the A5 processor and 1080P resolution, and you have even less. It's a perfect testbed for Steam TV.

Of course this is all supposition, as I don't have any contacts with Apple (who wouldn't say anything anyway, even if I did), and I don't have any contacts with Valve. But the idea is so interesting, so exciting, and so possible, I think it could happen. Perhaps this could be the "one more thing" for the announcement on Wednesday. What do you think?

What I'm Looking For at the iPhone Announcement

Unless you don't follow the Apple brand very closely, or don't own a smartphone, you are probably aware that Apple is having their iPhone announcement event on Wednesday, the 12th. As with a lot of other pundits for Apple (and against), there is a lot of supposition going into this announcement. Let me outline what I would consider newsworthy:

• LTE: This should go without saying, as it's expected and has been for a long time. Apple will finally release an LTE phone. They have an LTE iPad, so the stretch shouldn't be that big a deal. I think it's safe to say that Apple will have LTE in their next gen iPhone. If they don't, then it will be a huge disappointment.
• Better VIdeo Recording Tech: The 4S had some incredible recording tech with their steady hand recording. I'm looking for much better recording in the new iPhone, and possibly a better camera.
• iPod Touch Refresh: The iPhone dominates the news, but I'm looking for a refresh on the iPod Touch. It's been a huge hit for a long time, but there hasn't been a lot of changes in the past couple of years. Perhaps this year the iPod Touch will get it's big remake... as the iPad Mini?
• Apple TV Grows Up: Wired had an article recently about the 8 apps that the Apple TV needs to win the set top box war. And I agree whole-heartedly on these. Sure, you have Netflix and now Hulu Plus, but given Amazon Instant Video, specific apps for all the big (and small) networks, and add iTunes U (and similar) to the mix, you have one killer device that doesn't have to be connected to your cable provider. I've mentioned before how I think the cable companies could get into the mix. But if they don't, what better way to get around them than work with the independent networks? I like the idea, at least.
• Apple TV Gaming: This is another thing that I've wanted to see for a long time. While I don't expect the Apple TV to take the place of your big workhorse consoles, I think light gaming as seen in the iOS store would be very doable on the Apple TV. It could be very social, using the Apple TV as a central screen for individuals on their iOS devices going head to head. That would be sweet!

So that, at least, is my list of things I would like to see. What am I not expecting to see?

• RFC Payments: Google has been championing RFC technology for a while now with Google Wallet, and trying to get more and more vendors to by into it. Personally, I don't trust it because it's so easy to capture and duplicate RFC signatures, making it less secure. I'm sure Google has ways around protecting your money, but it's still a concern. Apple has already got some great deals going with Square and other payment methods without using RFC, so I don't see them going to it in the near future. Still, I could be wrong, as this is all just supposition. ^_^
• Reasonable Data Rates: Not really a problem that Apple can solve, as this is completely up to the carrier, but I don't see reasonable data rates coming from the new iPhone, and I don't know how it would get fixed.. unless there was only one national carrier that had all the LTE spectrum currently available.. but we all know what happens when you have a monopoly.
• No Snide Comments from Haters: Maybe it's the presidential election, the years of whining from pundits on both sides of the Smartphone environment, or perhaps just hanging around people who are so sure of their opinions without any proof given, but I'm sick to death of haters attacking other haters. Heaven forbid I prefer an iPhone to a Galaxy, and vice versa! *sigh*

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So that's my list of what I don't think will happen. Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps not. We will see. But what about my list of unlikely features that I would really want?

• Waterproofing: Not that this has happened in my family, but some people do accidentally expose their iPhones (and other electronics) to water. There are lots of solutions to this problem, but apparently there is one that is a treatment to the internal surfaces of the components that can make the phone "waterproof". To what degree remains to be seen, but it would be nice to be able to take my iPhone to Sea World without worrying about where to sit, stand, or kneel. I'm sure it would make the iPhone the most valuable phone/camera at that point, and would be a feature very few other phones have.
• Built-in Projector: Forget having to cart around either an Apple TV or special adapters and cables.. why not just project straight from your iPhone or iPad? If this even was available it would most likely end up on the iPad, and would probably be so impractical to the majority of purchasers that it wouldn't make sense.. still, it would be awesome to just pull out your phone and run a full HD-quality presentation without anything else.
• Hand-held Scanner: Also not very practical, particularly since you can just take a photo of the object, but a high quality scan would be awesome. Not sure how it would be applied though...
• Laser Keyboard: It would be so awesome if, some how, a laser keyboard could be built into the iPhone, negating the need for an on-screen keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard. Practical? I think so. Difficult? Definitely. Cost effective? It would mean fewer keyboard sales..
• Teleportation: Perhaps I've watched Phineas and Ferb with the boys, but a teleportation app that could automatically take you anywhere in the world? Awesome! Vacations would be a breeze, and I'm certain we would be off foreign oil very quickly. Of course, there's the whole quantum physics, computer processing necessary to make such a thing possible, and the facilities necessary to make it happen just don't exist. But if it did, awesome!

Anyway, that's my list. What are you looking forward to come September 12th? What don't you see coming? What would you like to see?

The New iPad Announcements: Impressions

On Wednesday, March 7th, Apple held their iPad launch event, and announced their new iPad, as well as their new Apple TV.  The pundits have had a chance to have their voices heard, and I've had a chance to watch the Keynote by new CEO Tim Cook, so now I think I'll offer my view of the new device. 

What I Like

Apple came through with the new Retina display, which was my biggest hope, and last hold-out I needed to get an upgrade for my first generation iPad.  I wanted something that would make it easier on the eyes for reading, and the new resolution is exactly what I was looking for. 

4G LTE was a big draw for me as well, not to mention the hot-spot support that would be made available.  I'm still not sure which network I would like to use, but I've got some time to think about it before I get one.  The speed was clearly a plus for what we wanted while traveling, and we seem to travel a lot lately as a family.  And add in the hot-spot capability, and it will make it useful for everyone in the family while traveling. Now, granted, I could probably get a MiFi hotspot from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile, but I like having as few devices as possible to keep track of when I travel, and I like the "temporary" feel of the 4G account, just pay by the month (unlike my iPhone). 

The new processor and RAM upgrade is killer, particularly since the battery life has been preserved.  That's always been a killer feature of the iPad, and one that I continue to tout as the best feature of all.  To keep that kind of battery life while increasing the processing power makes it OK that a quad-core processor (or at least a quad-core graphics processor) was added when I honestly didn't see an immediate need.  

iPhoto was unexpected, and is a great start: except it doesn't do everything I wanted.  I was hoping Apple would allow the creation of their printed Calendars with iPhoto and their printed photo albums.  Right now it's only available through iPhoto on OS X, which still requires a desktop or laptop to publish and have printed.  They released Cards with iOS 5, so perhaps I just need to wait until iOS 6 for them to release the other two apps.  

Garageband upgrade was killer with Jam Session, and something that I am thrilled to see!  I've loved playing with it (as have the kids, I might add), and the idea that we could play together and record a song (or an attempt at a song at any rate) is just killer.  Other than what was available, I would have to pull out my old mixing hardware that, quite frankly, seemed to be a little antequated in this digital age.  And, I might add, Jam Session is really easy to set up and use in my experience.  Great job!

iMovie was cool, and I like the way they set up the storyboard for iPad.  It looks just awesome enough that I'm now thinking of purchasing it (with the new iPad, it makes more sense to have it).  

Dictate is awesome, and something that has been long needed on iOS.  I've used Dragon Dictate, but it's limited in the amount of audio that it can convert at a time.  I'm not sure how long your dictate duration will be accepted, but I'm hoping it takes more than Dragon Dictate.  We shall see on that. 

It wasn't announced but I like the Apple Configurator app that was made available for mass-configuring up to 30 iOS devices for Education and Enterprise users.  It's a great complement to OS X Lion Server and it's Mobile Device Management services.

Apple TV upgrade!  The hardware isn't that critical to me, though I'm thrilled it supports 1080p now!  It's almost enough for me to purchase a new one, though we just got our current one a little less than a year ago.  I do like the new interface on the software upgrade, though my wife is a little dubious about it.  I think it bodes well for future third-party apps that may eventually come to the Apple TV, and make it easier to find them.  Perhaps, even, it will include a gaming section in future?  Time will tell!

Finally, I liked the fact that the rumored price increase was false.  I didn't think it would be increased, and it's nice to be relieved at the same price for the new iPad.  And for those that don't quite want to make the jump, the iPad 2 is now $100 less!  

What I Wanted To See

I've already mentioned it, but the lack of a print calendar project and a photo album project in iPhoto was something that disappointed me.  I'm hoping they pull that in later, or create independent apps for those features found in the desktop version of iPhoto. 

There is still a lack of a coding platform for Objective-C on the iPad, and that's something I would like.  The iPad is powerful enough to develop on, though I'm not sure it would be a good platform to test those apps in a simulator.  Not sure how that would work out, but it would be nice. 

I'm still waiting for Apple's Server management software to come to iOS.  Granted, Server is perhaps a small contingent of the Apple revenue stream, but for some of us it's a great package that we use quite often.  I'd like to see management happen easily from an iOS device, and creating server software for iOS would be a huge benefit for system administrators. 

I would like to see Apple Remote Desktop for iOS come out here soon.  I don't expect advanced services like the Task Server, but I would like to see ARD being used as a VNC/Command Line client for quick access to troubled computers and easy management.  A full ARD client would still be useful for the Task Server and reports, so I don't see it taking a lot of revenue, just making it easier for the administration team to help someone on the fly. 

Well, that's about it!  I'm looking forward to the purchase of my new iPad here in the coming months, and I'm thrilled to enjoy the benefits of the new Apple TV software now.  What were your impressions of the Apple Keynote on Wednesday?  What did you want to see, and didn't?  What did you see that took you by surprise? 

 

Growing Expectations for iPad 3 Launch: Killer Software and the Apple TV

There are a lot of people who cannot wait for the new iPad 3 to be released this coming Wednesday (March 7th).  There's a lot of hype and excitement that is buzzing about the hardware.  But should there be?  Granted, if the rumors are true, the retina display for the iPad will be awesome (and the reason why I haven't upgraded yet, I might add), but beyond that, the iPad has always just worked.  That's been it's beauty, and I don't see any significant changes to the hardware taking away from that experience. 

So that being said, what get's me excited about the iPad 3 launch?  Software.  That's right, I'm looking for some new killer software that will continue to relegate my laptop to "workhorse" status, while I use my iPad for everything else.  I'm looking to take all the fun design work out of the laptop and place it on my iPad.  What do I mean by design work?  I mean anything that doesn't require writing code, which is tedious at best with the built-in keyboard for the iPad.  Of course, that could change with a few minor keyboard changes (see Gusto for iPad, or iA Writer for iPad for ideas), but in general that is the useability point against using Xcode for iPad.  

So what software would I be looking for?

1. Photoshop:  Already released, Photoshop for the iPad is a killer idea.  I've used Photoshop Express for a while now, and fell in love with it. 
2. iPhoto Calendars:  I've mentioned this before, and I think it's really important for scrapbooking families to be able to create printable calendars (perhaps using dates and events from a Calendar in iCal?) from their iPad, and send them off to Apple for professional printing.  We use this in iPhoto every year for Christmas presents to relatives, and it would be very nice to be able to do this from an iPad. 
3. iOS 6:  I know we won't have it by Wednesday, but I would like to see the preview of iOS 6 as it is coming down the pipe.  In iOS 6, I would like to see some of the features that have been native to the Mac for years show up on the iPad, like maybe a Dashboard for widgets (a great way to get stocks, calculator, and weather on the iPad without blowing them up!).  Sometimes having a full blown app for something isn't really that necessary, but having a page with widgets would make sense.  
4. Siri:  Yes, I want Siri for the iPad.  I'd also like to see Siri taken out of Beta and released for the iPhone 4.  Perhaps with iOS 6?

So that's pretty much it for the iPad.  But I'm also hoping the rumors that an upgrade to the iOS-based Apple TV would be announced as well.  Why?  Because the Apple TV is a great device, and has been slowly replacing my need for Cable television.  With a few upgrades, it could also completely replace a number of other consoles that are hooked up to my TV.  

1. Streaming TV Show Subscriptions:  Right now you can stream any television episode you have purchased from iTunes to your Apple TV, and that's great.  And a pet peeve of mine about Cable has always been the need to purchase whole banks of channels I'll never watch, just to get the few shows that I do want.  Couple that with the restrictive nature of when what show is on, and I'm losing interest in watching television completely (perhaps that's not a bad thing).  But there are a few shows that I would like to keep up with, and allowing me to watch that streamed show when I want for a subscription fee would be just dandy!  After all, it's not that far from going to the network's website to watch the show, so why not provide it as a streaming channel?  
2. Games:  Since iOS has been used for the Apple TV, the populace has been waiting with baited breath to see if Apple would turn it into a gaming console.  With other gaming consoles turning into video streaming devices, it makes sense that Apple could go the other way.  And with the vast majority of iOS developers ready to jump in to this area, I see it as a foregone conlusion.  
3. Streaming Movie purchases:  TV Shows have it, why not movies?  With more of my movie purchases going to iTunes then ever before, I would like the peace of mind in knowing that I can get that movie again should my computer crash.  
4. 1080p:  720p video is great, and it looks great on the screen.  But when my TV can support up to 1080p, I'd like the Apple TV to support it as well. 
5. Cable Replacement:  Perhaps this is part of the show subscriptions, but I would like to have the option of using my Apple TV to watch television, and be my cable box (should I decide to keep it).  The less I have to hook up to my TV and plug into the wall, the better I feel.  

So that's my wish list for the announcement on Wednesday, March 7th, 2012.  Anyone else want to chime in?  

Apple Predictions: My Wishlist

With the end of the year fast approaching, I can't help but think what the new year will bring, particularly for Apple.  With the latest OS release for iOS and OS X, the new field for Apple changes will most likely be hardware.  While I have no connections with anyone that could even remotely speculate as to what Apple is going to release, here is what I would like to see happen for 2012 for all things Apple: 

1. Apple TV for Gaming:  Right now, the Apple TV does video and audio streaming, with some screen sharing when using an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S.  That's nice and all, but I would really like to see the Apple TV do more.  It's got the guts with it's A4 processor, and with iOS, it could provide a nice gaming platform.  All it needs is some sort of controller, be it built into the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad or a new remote control that is WiFi enabled for controlling games.  It would require a whole new thought process in Apple gaming development without multi-touch, but it would bring the set top out of the video/audio only and bring it into the realm of gaming.  It may require a hardware upgrade, but it hasn't been refreshed in a long time. 
2. iPad with Retina Display:  This is what is keeping me from upgrading to the iPad 2.  If I'm going to invest in something that is an upgrade from what I have, it needs to be a serious upgrade.  Right now, my iPad does everything I want, with the exception of having that Retina display for reading ease.  This is probably a no-brainer, with reports coming in that the next iPad (iPad 3?) will have the Retina display I want.  Good, because it's on my list for this next year.  ^_^ 
   
   
3. Rack-mounted Mac Pros:  With the demise of the Xserve, which concerned a lot of my trainees, Apple no longer has an "enterprise" server for their Server app.  While the Mac Mini has pretty much taken the spot, a really beefy server can be handy from time to time.  Right now, that's the Mac Pro, but it's large, doesn't fit in a rack well, and doesn't look like a rack server.  Make it rack-mountable, and server farms using Apple will be happy.  
   
   
4. Apple Blade Servers:  This one is totally coming from my wish list, but with the miniaturization that has gone into the Mac Mini, is an Apple Blade Server so far-fetched?  It could be something as simple as a bunch of Mac Mini's tied together with Thunderbolt cables, all in the same chassis (so it would look nice).  The potential is definitely there, it just needs the market.  
   
   
5. Corporate Apple Cloud:  iCloud is great for providing access to your iTunes purchases and documents.  But many companies would like to keep that to themselves, and setting up a cloud within their network and plugging it into network desktops (virtual desktops?) would be awesome.  Cloud computing has a lot of different definitions, so this is not likely to happen by 2012.  Still, a corporate cloud that will allow access to any corporate licensed software, protected by login and LDAP/Mobile Management permissions and standardized across multiple servers?  I can see that as a huge bonus for corporations looking to move to Apple.  It would also justify an Apple Blade Server, by the way.  ^_^  
   
   
6. Siri for iPad:  I can understand Siri being removed as an app for all iOS devices and being released, integrated, exclusively for the iPhone 4S because it is in beta.  But it would be nice, perhaps with the next iOS update, to give all devices access to Siri.  It would depend on when the beta is over, I suppose, but that would be awesome, particularly for the iPad.
   
   
7. LTE Support:  While I will most likely not upgrade my iPhone 4 unless the iPhone 5 is a killer product (not sure how likely that will be), I would like to see an iPhone 5 with LTE support, as well as an iPad 3 with the same LTE support.  I would like fast, responsive data (preferably with a decent price tag for a lot of usage), and it looks like the best option out there is going to be LTE.  I know there are a lot of problems with offering some 4G technologies (like battery life, for one), so I'm not holding my breath.  But with carriers now rolling out their LTE networks, you would think it would be an easy thing to do.  
   
   
8. Cable-Cutter Apps for Apple TV: Netflix and YouTube/Vimeo are good starts, as are the various "channels" that come with NBA, MLB, NHL, etc. for the Apple TV, but I would like to see other offerings that will, if not exclusively then combined, let me cut my cable connection for TV.  Even it that means signing up with a cable company on a per channel basis for live streaming through my internet connection, so be it!  With the rise of Internet streaming, a cable company has become less critical beyond providing Internet service.  Perhaps with less cable TV, the Internet portion of my Cable experience will improve.  It also reduces the number of set top boxes for my TV to one:  the Apple TV.   That way I only pay for the channels I want, not channels I will never look at ever again.  Another way to accomplish this?  Subscription service per show.  I realize there are a lot of players in this, so it won't be easy, but it would be great for the end user.  

So that's my list for 2012, nothing huge or ground-breaking.  I'm not looking for an Apple HDTV, or an Apple car.  Just some changes that would make me happy professionally and personally.  So, that being said, it's time to hunker down, and look for what the future will bring from Apple. 

Siri: Why It's Great for Private Devices Only

Star Trek has colored all our technological expectations for years.  Before the cell phone, there was the communicator.  Before the iPad there was the PADD.  Now, with the release of Siri by Apple on the iPhone 4S, there is a plausible method of communicating with the computer/television/ship/car/toaster with natural voice control.  It's exciting, it's futuristic, and it seems to be all the rage with tech pundits across the Interwebs.  But there is one problem:  voice control in a public setting, without volume control or voice recognition, just doesn't work with our current technology.

Siri is an innovation in personal computing.  Ask "her" a question, and Siri will respond with an answer.  Ask "her" to adjust your schedule, and she will do so with verbal confirmation.  All this works within the realm of a personal question or personal request, much in the same way a personal question or request of your Personal Assistant would be handled.  But how well does voice commands work within a crowded room, without a way to block all the background noise?  This is the question technical pundits need to ask themselves before they start gushing on the possibility of a Siri-activated Apple TV.  

Case in point:  Our Chevy Traverse came with voice activated commands as part of it's OnStar service.  When the sales person was trying to demonstrate this for us, he couldn't get it to work without rolling up the windows.  To this date it is a feature we rarely use, because the children in the back cannot remain quiet long enough to accomplish anything.  So how is Siri going to work in a crowded family room or living room with chatter going on in the background?  I don't see it happening.  A car I see as being borderline, as you can commute alone occasionally.  But in front of a social experience like the old TV, I just don't see it happening.

You see, Television, since it's inception, had always been a "social" event, in that people would gather together and watch what was on.  Whether it was "Howdy Doody", "Uncle Milt", or "Ed Sullivan", the family always gathered together to share the experience.  Families do that now, to a certain extent, with various programs available now.  The background noise alone becomes problematic without using a microphone or voice recognition.  But, that would mean only one person is in control at a time (just like we are now with the remote), and adds in the initial frustration of imperfect voice recognition (it's getting better, but still not perfect out of the box).  

So when it comes to ideas about a Siri powered TV, I just don't see how anyone can do that.  The technology we have currently limits natural voice commands to a personal experience.  Now, is it possible Apple could have come up with a revolutionary way to get rid of background noise and make it work?  Sure, it's possible.  But is it probable?  I don't think so.  Not to doubt Apple, but I think it's not likely that the tech is ready for the regular consumer.  

What do you think?

Pontifications about an Apple Television Set

There have been quite a few predictions that have been drooled over in the technology media about a pending Apple branded HDTV, all stemming from a comment Steve Jobs' made about cracking the TV interface.  It has gone viral from mockups to declarations about Siri being the interface of the future TV.  The predictions are exciting, all sound great, but I often wonder just how much is actually just pie in the sky dreaming, and how much is practical.  

Apple currently has the Apple TV, which gives you access to your iTunes media on your computer and in iCloud (for music and Television shows), as well as access to YouTube, Vimeo, and Netflix.  There are even some premimum channels for Sports fans, which each have their own subscription (though it's really nice to have the scores for free!).  The menu is easy to update with new features as they come, and there is a lot of potential with the Apple TV and it's iOS operating system.  But how would it work with traditional television sets?

One solution is to have Apple create an interface that is universal for all cable companies and their offerings, with only slight differences in what options are presented based on the cable company being used.  It's a great idea in principle, but becomes problematic in practice.  Apple doesn't have a strong history of being friendly to the dictates of other companies, but to provide their services with the same clean interface as the rest of their offerings they would find themselves in that spot.  They would need to work with every cable provider in the US and other countries they provide this "Apple HDTV" experience in order to get them to standardize their receiver interface, or create plugins that will allow Apple to set the interface while correctly accessing the cable companies content.  It's possible, but risky if jailbroken Apple HDTV's will allow free viewing of cable content.  That becomes a hurdle, and a big one for the cable companies. 

Another solution is to bypass the cable companies completely and work directly with content providers with a subscription based service for their offerings.  Instead of purchasing a "package", users would subscribe to the channels they want, and only the channels they want, and it would all be done much the same way as Netflix, MLB TV, NBA TV, etc.  It's a great concept in principle, because the consumer wins by only having the channels they want, and only paying for the channels they want.  But would it work?  It would mean increased pressure on bandwidth if it became widespread, as well as cutting cable companies profits from those "cutting the cord" on cable and satellite.  That means broadband internet prices could likely go up, and some companies not to fond of competition could, perhaps, start "filtering" specific content or sources.  There are a lot of legal issues that would come into play in this scenario, where the customer could ultimately lose.  

And then there is the issue of local network television access vs. access to the syndicated content they provide.  Will a local channel be able to provide their content on an Apple HDTV with the subscription model with the blessing of the studio?  How would it be provided?  And what about all the money they have just recently sunk into the new HD broadcast infrastructure?  Would they embrace an internet delivery method?  One huge issue I can see coming down the pipe is studios no longer sitting on a collection of shows to please everyone, but rather being merited by each show they do provide.  It's scary water to be navigating with some well established studios (like NBC and CBS) reaching the brink of bankruptcy.  They may be too afraid of breaking anything up for fear of losing valuable advertising. And that brings up another major issue:  advertising.  Who gets to advertise in this new internet delivery system?  Who gets the revenue?  How can it be monetized?  These questions would need to be answered. 

The fundamental question I ask is, how can current television viewing be made better?  Not just in what you see, but how you find what you want and how you access it at the right time.  That's the question we as consumers should be asking, because that is the same question Steve Jobs and the developers at Apple asked when they looked at a project.  It's what those currently working at Apple do every day.  They worry not about what features to add, but what features to remove in order to increase usability and fluid design.  That's what makes an Apple product, well, an Apple.  

Personally, I like the idea of subscribing to individual channels.  And I can see this as, well, Apps in the Apple TV App Store (which would need to be created, of course) that would allow you to browse for your favorite channel and subscribe.  Not sure you want the entire channel, but just a show?  Subscribe to the show instead, and have it stream through iCloud.  I see it as the most viable option for Apple, particularly if they can tie in a subscription based service for iTunes in the bargain.  But to do so would mean Networks placing their futures into the hands of Apple in a way that even Music didn't, which is scary for so many reasons.  

I would like to see someone work out a deal with Networks to provide their materials as a flat-rate subscription, and have users only pay for the channels they are going to watch, or even only the shows they would like to see.  Do that all with a simple interface, clean design, and a free update to existing Apple TV boxes, and in my mind Apple would have truly created something revolutionary and magical.  

Apple TV Take 2: A Review

The Apple TV update has been released within the last week, and I have finally had plenty of time to play with it, so here is my review.

Declaration of Bias
First off, I want to let you know my bias with regard to all things Apple. Yes, I love Apple products, but not because they are from Apple. It's because I like the functionality that they give, the simplicity in their setup, and the power of UNIX at the core. So, now that you know my bias, on with the review!

The Interface
I've heard a lot of complaints about the interface, some from a "design" aspect, some in regard to the blatant iTunes marketing. But to tell you the truth, it's just plain easy to use. It's not fluid, but because of the new features they offer in the upgrade it doesn't seem possible to make it fluid.

The only real difference from the UI in Take 2 from the original is the box that shows up. I actually prefer the two column box because menu options come up while your music plays, and doesn't stop it like before. So in that aspect, it's a better interface.

Is there anything that I don't like about the interface? Just entering text. It's awkward using the Apple remote to enter text, and as such takes too long to do any real searching. Would I want a bigger and more cumbersome remote with a built in keyboard? Absolutely not! It would then be too difficult to use, and too confusing for new users. And I know what you are thinking: if they don't want to learn how to do it, why should you cater to them? Because those people have money to buy the product. Simplicity is what makes the Apple TV a joy to use.

Movies
One thing that I don't think people understand about the potential of iTunes is the potential to cater to the cult classics that you can't get anywhere else. Want to watch "Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine"? It's there. It's all about the rare, and getting that rare to those that would buy it.

With that in mind, let's look at rental. It's a great idea, and I really like it. There are a lot of movies that we purchase and only watch once or twice... That's $30 down the drain, when instead we can rent it from iTunes and watch it to our hearts content (once or twice within a 24 hour period), and only pay $2.99 to $3.99. Do I care about HD? Not really, because I only have an Standard Definition TV. I've heard reviews and seen screen shots that compare the quality of the Apple TV to HD Cable shows, and it's been favorable with the Apple TV. But again, it's dependent on services and the TV you are using.

Browsing shared movies is similar to the original Apple TV, if only vaguely. It's actually easier, because you can browse to them from the Movies menu instead of having to go to Sources to find the source. In fact the navigation let's you get to other sources easier than before.

Renting is simple, though there isn't a lot out there to rent. But what is there is a fairly diverse genre spread that would make most people interested at least. If you download a movie, it will sync automatically with your main source machine. If you don't have a main source machine, it stays on your Apple TV. ^_^ That I really like. Once you are done renting (i.e., 1 month of not watching, or within 24 hours of when you started to watch the movie), it automatically deletes itself from your Apple TV/iTunes.

TV Shows
This was the only annoyance I had with the update. By default, it displays your TV shows by show, time stamp, and then alphabetically. There looked to be a way to organize the display, but no simple way to be seen to organize it. I was doomed to deal with my TV shows out of order, until I tried to just hit the right skip button on the remote. It then organized the TV shows by show, which was what I had before the upgrade.

One welcome addition to this view was the division by season, and then give the numbers of each episode. It makes it easier to see if you have all the episodes, and make sure they are in order. Needless to say, the one major complaint I had against the Take 2 upgrade was resolved.

Music
I don't listen to a lot of music, but my wife does. One thing that is a great improvement is the Air Tunes option, where someone can play their music from their mac on the Apple TV. I like it, because I can leave the TV off to get to the music, and it gives more space on the Apple TV for movies and TV shows (soon to no longer be an issue, if I can talk my wife into the hard drive upgrade for the Apple TV).

Other than that, it's pretty much like movies or TV shows, with sharing very easy to navigate, and a huge emphasis on iTunes.

Podcasts
I love podcasts. I listen to several, mostly from NPR. The search isn't the best (see complaint about entering text), but sharing is great and easy to navigate. One great thing is the video podcasts for movie trailers. Because our wireless broadband network is, well, rather unreliable at times (anytime UTOPIA becomes ready, I'm dumping it), downloading to the Apple TV to watch a preview can take quite a bit of time. So, I would rather download the podcasts for the movies at work, and then bring them home to watch.

Photos
Photos are not often used on our machine, other than as a screensaver, but the Apple TV does allow for connecting to Flickr and the .Mac repository that my wife would have had access to (but never used, thank goodness for trial accounts!). They are easy to set up, the settings are in the same menu (no more hunting), and you can also view shared photos from machines. WIll it be a good move? Well, only if I find a use for browsing through Flickr files on a regular basis. Until then, it's really a non-issue for me.

YouTube
I just recently got my wife interested in YouTube, and created an account for us to use on YouTube. Now I connect at work, find interesting movies, and I can bring them home and have my wife watch them on the main TV. The only drawback is the broadband network we are on, and the problems we seem to have with bandwidth. Ah, well, perhaps one day it will be a good tool to use. In any case, other than search, the Apple TV is a really good tool to watch YouTube on a big screen.

Settings
The settings were pretty much the same, though they had an added option to add your iTunes account to the Apple TV directly. It's time consuming, but keeps it on file and not in RAM. Good thing, because occasionally my son likes to play with the power strip into witch it is plugged. Other than that, it's pretty much the same.

Final Thoughts
The main drawback to the Apple TV is the hard drive size. The good news is that it's fairly easy to upgrade the hard drive (out of warranty, of course), and will cost just a little more to upgrade an Apple TV 40 GB to 250 GB than buying an Apple TV 160 GB.

Also, there are a number of hacks that can be loaded to the Apple TV, one of which is the Safari HD plugin, allowing someone to use Safari on the Apple TV without having to install a full version of OS X. They have a version for the new Take 2 update, so once I can talk my wife into letting me upgrade the hard drive, I'm going to look into it. You can also enable SSH, which makes upgrading the Apple TV that much easier.

So, is the Apple TV worth it? With the hacks, most definitely. Without the hacks, it is very usable, simple in it's navigation, and therefore a definite keeper. Can you build and configure a more expandable device? Sure, if you want to go through all the work, time, effort, etc. Frankly, I like the fact that the Apple TV is just so simple to use. I can rip my DVD's with Handbrake, add them to iTunes, and as such they are viewable on the Apple TV.

And finally, of course, it saves my DVD's from my son's fingers, and the fingers of his cousins.

MacWorld Keynote Reaction

Well, the speculation is over, the rumor and anticipation is done, Steve's Keynote has been delivered. There were a number of updates, and two new products, that were announced. Let me go over them one by one, and give you my reaction to each of them.

Time Capsule
Time Capsule is a new device that Apple has that combines the Airport Extreme with a backup drive already on board. So, instead of getting another drive and adding it to your Airport Extreme, you have just the one device. Very handy, very popular, very much in need when using Time Machine to back up your data. If you don't already have a server running at home that will let you back up your machine, this is a great idea.

At the time of the announcement, I was rather luke-warm about this device, since it is kind of a watered down home SAN, but it didn't really grab me. Now, I think it's something that I would like to have. It integrates with Time Machine well, so there isn't a lot of configuration and thought that needs to go into backing up your system. It just does it for you. Of course, you can save a lot of space if you only back up your Users folder, which backs up all the user folders and configuration files. ^_^

iPhone Updates
Great idea, adding a lot of functionality to the already popular phone. But I don't have a phone, and I'm not sure I will ever get a phone. Why wasn't there an option to tether a Bluetooth keyboard? That, in my mind, would have been a much needed/wanted ability for the iPhone. Perhaps in future, as new software becomes more popular and functional with the SDK.

iPod Touch Updates
This was very much needed. It's about time! The update will be welcome for everyone that want's to have the functionality of the iPhone without wanting an actual phone. For the first time, I am seriously thinking of getting an iPod Touch. Course, if you already have one, the extra $20.00 seems a bit steep. Why charge for the upgrade?

iTunes Movie Rentals
We all knew this was coming, particularly since a lot of studios have been rather loose-lipped about the whole thing. It's a good move, in my mind. There are a lot of movies I have ripped into MP4 format that sit on a DVD somewhere, never to be watched. All the DVD's that we have purchased and have only watched once... It's a good move. And the price is about what I expected. The HD rental idea was pretty cool, though I wonder what the download rate would be.

Do I think it will change the industry? Not really. I think it will be more popular, easier to manage, and more natural for people because of their current use of iTunes, but ultimately the industry is too young to say that it will be changed forever by this announcement. But it does make using the current industry more simple to use. ^_^

Apple TV Take 2
Yes! It stores it's own media! Yes! The upgrade is free! Yes! This was the real announcement for me. The Apple TV had so much potential, but it felt like those of us using it for so long had been pretty much left out of the loop. It was great for sharing media from my wife's Mac, and still will be. But now we can rent movies to it easily, watch them, and have the movie automatically delete once we've watched it. Also, video podcasts can be downloaded and watched without having to use another machine. This was a great idea, and I'm glad Apple went with it. ^_^

The price drop was also nice, though not significant enough to warrant another purchase of the 160 GB model (yet). Yet again, price begins to drag on my wants, reminding me of the needs that are more pressing. Oh well, perhaps soon.

Macbook Air
The rumor was pretty strong on this one, and I thought it would be something similar to the Eee PC by ASUS. The devil was in the details, depending on the type of drive, size, and features it carried. It turned out to be the same, much the same way a Honda Civic is the same thing as a Mercedes Benz. Here are the points:

1. Size: It's perfect for what I want. I need something small, easy to carry around in either a backpack, briefcase, or even a portfolio. That's why I wanted an iPod Slate to begin with. Something like that would have been perfect, and they have given me basically a Slate with the keyboard attached. It's nice and compact, if wider than I would have wanted (in comparison to my 12" Powerbook).

The thing is, I don't really need a 13" screen. I can deal with a 8" screen (I did with my NEC 120LT for a couple years, and it was great!). So the screen size isn't actually a benefit for me. It could be, if I needed to see something that big, and the resolution is right where I would want it to be. But a small screen I can live with.

2. Weight: Great weight. I like small laptops that are lightweight. My 120LT that I had for years was 2.2 pounds. That was perfect for running around. This gives me the ability to write documents, show presentations, carry my movies/TV shows with me, and having a full OS that will work with the classes I teach. And it's all in a small form device that is about the same size and width of a 30 page document (estimate only). That I like. It's perfect particularly for any instructor in Distance Education, who want's to have the power of a full-sized laptop, but save on space while traveling.

But how does it compare to the Eee PC? The Eee PC is lighter by a full pound. So even though the weight is great for the Macbook Air, it's still not the lightest option out there.

3. Drive: This is what concerned me the most. Solid State drives have a limited number of writes before it fails. Granted, pretty much everything could have the same, but a solid state drive is more limited. With a full OS writing to it constantly (log files, caching, deleting, etc.), it can fail rather quickly.

I had mentioned before in a previous post that if such a thing were to be developed, it would be nice to have an iPod Classic drive in the machine. And that's what they did. It's not really fast (4200 RPM), so don't expect to be gaming heavily on it, or producing video with Final Cut Pro. But it will do the job, and potentially last longer than a Solid State Drive.

Course, if you want speed, the 64 GB (compared to the Eee PC's max of 8 GB) will definitely give it to you...at a cost. That cost? $999. yep, the 4200 RPM PATA drive was a good choice. ^_^

One thing it can't do is boot from a USB drive, unlike the Eee PC. Of course, I could be wrong about that, but that is a huge bonus with the Eee PC. Sure the SSD drive may die on it after a few years, but you can still boot from either a USB drive, or an SD card. Therefore, you have a device that can outlast the SSD drive installed, as well as have multiple versions of the OS for the machine.

4. Peripherals: The Macbook Air was built to be wireless, and use wireless devices. Sure, you can have an external, USB powered Superdrive ($99 extra), or another USB device, but that's it. It doesn't even have a Firewire port, as you might expect. The Micro-DVI port looks interesting (almost like a 400 Firewire port??), but if you lose your adapter you are sunk. No one else will have one that will work with it, unless they have the same machine.

The wireless technology is what you would expect from Apple: 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1. There was a guess that it would include either UTMS or WiMAXX, but neither came about. I wouldn't mind WiMAXX... I like the idea and the technology. Perhaps in future incarnations of the Macbook Air as the technology begins to catch on. We will see.

The Eee PC has three USB ports, and an SD card slot. Great idea, but SD cards are easily lost (particularly if you are as disorganized as I am). But then, the USB ports could easily make up for that. Wireless is the standard 802.11g, which most people support.

5. Design: Quite frankly, the Macbook Air has a killer design. It's sleek, it's fancy, it's impressive. It will turn heads, and be the kind of tech status symbol that many people feel they need in their lives. Personally, it's not as important as a number of other features, but then I still like to have something that looks as good as it performs. The key there is as good as. I don't want something that looks fabulous, but totally bomb in performance. It still needs to do what I want it to do.

The Eee PC doesn't look as nice, but the ability to boot from any Linux distro at any time, while keeping your home folders on the main drive is pretty slick. The geek factor goes up pretty high at that point. Of course you can always tri-boot the Macbook Air, you just don't have the flexibility to move based on new storage.

6. Price: For those (two) of you who have followed my blog, you know that I pride myself on my Scottish heritage. It's in my Blog's name, I show it every April 6th (national Tartan Day!), and I try to show it in my purchasing of devices. I'm very wary of paying a load of money for a new thing just because it is "shiny". I want to have made an informed decision, and gone with the lowest bid.

Now, that doesn't mean that I automatically look at price! I look at quality, life expectancy, and multi-tasking my purchases. if it does one thing really well, but I can't do anything else with it, then I generally leave it be (unless it's under a dollar ^_^). So with high prices comes high expectations. If I can do the same thing with a lesser-priced device, I will go with the lesser priced device. It's simple rules of economics.

The Macbook Air is priced at $1,799.00, with an Education discount of $100. Good price? It hurt my wallet. I want the thing, but that's a bit much for me to muster. I need a new laptop, and I really would like it to be a Mac. It makes a $999.00 Macbook look a lot better. After all, it's just a little thicker, has more features, and weighs just two more pounds. I just can't put it in a Portfolio while on the go.

Course, the Eee PC is priced around $400.00, which makes it a much better purchase. I could purchase two and still have it be less than a Macbook.

Anyway, that's what I thought of today's MacWorld Keynote. All in all, they were all really neat. But I don't think I will be getting a Macbook Air today. Perhaps, if more is known on how it performs with Target Disk Mode, and other support features, I may change my mind and try to talk my wife into letting me get one. Perhaps...

The Holy Grail for Apple TV: External USB Storage

Like many people that have purchased the Apple TV around the globe, I have been limited to the 32 GB available for storage on the machine (unlike those that purchased Gen 2 with a 160 GB drive). As such, only a portion of my overall movie collection can be stored on the device. Even with the 160 GB hard drive device, I could only have about a third of my total collection stored on the device.

Since this concern has been quite vocal in the community, a bounty had been set through Apple TV Hacks to enable booting off of the core machine, but use a USB device for storage. Since that bounty had been set, it appears that a real fix has been developed and is expected to be made available this evening. if you would like more information, check out the post on Apple TV Hacks here.

Now, if they can just release a method of installing third party tools onto the iPhone, than I will be in Apple heaven. ^_^

Vacation post: Local Government, and iPhone Hype

THis week I am on vacation, working in the yard and spending some quality time with my son. But, being the geek that I am, I have kept busy with other things too. I've spent some time looking at video compression software, working with sharing images to my Apple TV, and looking for an acceptable way to activate an iPhone without having to worry about monthly charges (I don't like cell phones period, even if it's really cool). So, here's a quick review of what I've been doing, for those who are interested.

The Back Yard
Since I worked for an obscure ISP that stopped paying me, I have been letting my back yard go wild. THis isn't because of any particular choice, more because I haven't had the money to really fix it up. Well, as we are started to get a handle on things, I have started to work on the back yard. I had a lot of plans for it (as documented in my blog), but zoning laws have been keeping them from happening.

Well, I decided to shoot a bit lower with my plans, and just go for your basic back yard. I started by tilling under the weeds that have grown with a vigor that has daunted me for years. I then set some bricks down in a rough patio on the side of the house. All this in 100 degree weather (37.778 C for those metric fellows). I dismantled the foundation to the greenhouse I was going to build, and will settle for a quick and easy one over the current garden area. That will be easier to set up, and simpler to build. THe cob project is still under construction, and will be completed by the end of the month.

VIdeo Compression
I have a lot of video that I would like to convert to an Apple TV-Friendly format. These videos are in RealMedia format. I thought I could do it with VideoHub, but it doesn't support a lot of RealMedia formats. The video converted just fine, but it converted without any audio. Ah, well, back to the drawing board.

Streaming Video to Apple TV
With the latest version of iTunes, you can now stream your photo content to your Apple TV, and it displays in a slide show with music from your iTunes library playing along with it. Unfortunately, it plays all your iTunes library, so those tracks that I have of my "Teach Yourself Gaelic" are playing along. This is turned on within your Apple TV section within iTunes, in the Photos pane.

iPhone Hacking
Yes, I admit it, I really want an iPhone. Any surprise, considering that I have been talking about Apple products for quite a while? But I don't really want a cell phone. I hate them, because it's an additional expense that is hard to justify when I have phones everywhere I go. What I really want is a PDA that can do network SIP phone work, or have Skype installed. Something like that would be perfect.

Well, as such, the iPhone would be great (if you could install Skype on it, or any SIP phone client). I honestly believe that it's on the way, and will worry about that when I finally get the funding to purchase the phone. But for now, I would just like to know that it can be activated without having to sign up for an AT&T account.

Having partly answered that question, the folks at Hackint0sh have found a way to do it. In this post here, some one found out that you can activate one phone, and then activate the other without having more than one phone number. It was all by accident, and will probably be taken care of in future releases. THey are also working on a number of hacks to open up the phones to other services. I'll be happy if they can find a way to activate the phone without having to purchase a service. This was one step.

Local Government Blues
As many of you know, I have been actively petitioning the local governments here for various things. Now, I don't expect them to actually act on the things I petition for right away. After all, I'm not that important. But I would at least like the consideration of a response, even a form letter of some sort. As of yet, I have not heard from County Mayor Peter Corroon, or West Valley City Councilman Joel Coleman. Needless to say, I'm not going to even consider voting for these men without some sort of acknowledgment of my petitions. After all, one is for the betterment of the County, the other for West Valley City.

So, that's what I have been up to this week. I would like to send out a really Happy Birthday to my good childhood friend Marc Steffensen, who is turning the bid 3-1 today. I don't know if he is reading this, but perhaps he will. Happy Birthday Marc!

Apple TV: The Review

This weekend my tax return came in, and because of an extreme want by both my wife and I, we purchased an Apple TV. The purchase is something that I have been looking forward to, and it is the first version. That means that should Apple decide to lock down the Apple TV, I will still be able to hack this one in future (which I fully intend to do ^_^).

Now, before I start the review, I want you to understand the direction I am coming from. I needed a device that was simple to operate (for my wife's sake), easy navigation through the content, and allow me to provide all my DVD content without having to use DVD's. Why? Because my son, being a 2 year old, has become very adept at getting fingerprints on the DVD's, and has already broken two. So, I need a media solution that allows me to lock up the original media from his little fingers, and be convenient to access.

The Purchase
I purchased the Apple TV from the University Bookstore, and it was literally the last one they had in stock. When I pulled it out, I was excited. It didn't have any cables, but it did have the remote and various other documents for review.

Reality Struck...Hard
I eventually got to take it home (after waiting several hours after purchasing it), and realized that I made a huge mistake. In my excitement, I didn't realize that all this time it said component video instead of composite. Until now, as a matter of fact, I didn't know there was anything like component video. As I have had very little need for anything more than a DVD player that I purchased almost 8 years ago, I didn't worry about additional hookup items.

So, here I was with a content player, and no way to hook it up, as my TV only has composite and not component video inputs. So, I started looking around for some cables that make the conversion. You would think it would be simple, but it's not.

The closest I got to was using a component video to S-video converter, that will convert to 7-pin s-video. Then, I found an obscure 7-pin to component, composite RCA and 4-pin s-video converter. But it would take at least 2 weeks to get the cables, and the expense was pretty high. I also didn't know how much of a loss I would get with the setup, so I was a little reluctant.

By this time my wife realized what I had been trying to convince her of: It would be easier and almost as expensive to just by a new TV. So, we headed down to Sears and bought a nice SDTV 27" Sharp with component video inputs for $164.00 (originally marked $269.99). The price was reasonable, and I could get the Apple TV working, finally.

The Setup
Once I got the Apple TV hooked up and plugged in, the display was terrible, and didn't show anything. It was because the Apple TV resolution was set too high for the TV by default. I panicked for a second, but then I read the manual under "troubleshooting". It turns out that if you have a standard definition TV, you need to reset the display to handle the 480i resolution. And you do that by holding down the Menu button and the + button for at least 6 seconds. Then you start to navigate through the resolution menu.

Finally, as I got to 480i, the display was beautiful. I started by trying to sync the material, but it takes a long time (more on syncing later). So I played with streaming material.

Streaming Video
I don't have the new Airport Extreme, so my wireless network is just 802.11g. Even with the slower network, the streaming was brilliant. It didn't take very long to recognize the video, cache the video, or start playing the video. The video was also really clear and crisp, even with TV episodes that I ripped originally for the iPod (320x240).

There are times when the video gets a little grainy, but at the moment I can live with it. It just means re-ripping the library, but that can wait when I have enough storage space (i.e., airport extreme and 500+ GB external hard drive attached). For now, I'm just collecting the video I will most likely see a lot, and using it.

Syncing Content
The whole point of syncing content, it seems, is not to provide additional storage space for your files, but to provide video when the computer is turned off. This being the case, you always have duplicate video stored on the Apple TV and on your computer. That's kind of a pain, as I would prefer to store different video in each location, and stream the video I don't have on the Apple TV.

You can change the synced computer, but that wipes the Apple TV completely, rendering it nice and clean for the next sync. When you turn syncing off, it wipes it completely anyway. Big problem for anyone wanting to add a lot of content without having to store it all on their laptop.

Syncing also goes on in the back ground, whenever the computer is on, and the Apple TV is sitting idle (or you are playing with the menus). Once you start watching video or streaming video, the syncing stops and restarts from the beginning once the Apple TV is idle again. So if you are going to sync your content, you would want to leave your computer on all night and have it run then.

The Good News
So, with all these problems, you may ask why I didn't go for another media player that exists out there for less money. The answer all comes down to the hacks. It's possible to install a full version of Mac OS X on the Apple TV, and then turn it into a DVR. As far as I know, you can't do the same with other media solutions out there (if I am wrong, please let me know). I also have ripped all my content through Handbrake, which places it in a nigh quality media format for Quicktime. So, I need an Apple solution to play it.

But, as the hacks allow for multiple media support, playing directly from the hard drive, and DVR support, I'm looking at a beautiful relationship with this little box that is no bigger than a hot pad, and no taller than two DVD cases stacked. Footprint is everything, and will be even more so as I move to an LCD projector for my content.

Friday Round Up: Leopard Delay, Apple TV, Building with Cob

Today I want to focus on the readers. Yes, all 3 of you. ^_^ I've been checking my hits from Google Analytics, and I've noticed an increase in page views and hits from all over the world. Most of the hits come from those searching on Google, but I have some regular hits as well. For those that keep coming back, I thank you!

There are two major subjects that represent the interest in my page: Apple, and building with cob. Well, today I'm going to cover both in my Friday Round Up.

Leopard Delay
As many of you have heard, Leopard has been delayed in its release. Much to my disappointment, and to the disappointment of others, the new operating system and server services that it offers are not going to be out on the Market until October, 2007.

How does this impact me personally? Well, I will be unable to set up a Team Server until October, which is a little disappointing, but I can handle it. It also sets back my training series offering considerably, so it looks like I will not be offering any additional classes until Summer or Fall of 2008. That is a problem, as many of my clients are looking forward to more Directory Service training, as well as future Xsan training. Ah, well, more time to read up on the Tiger services, I suppose, and get Kerberos working correctly.

Apple TV
I recently finished going through my taxes, and much to my relief, we will be getting a nice return. This means we can get an Apple TV, as well as take care of some other household maintenance (part of which will be covered in the next section). So, I finally get to start some hacks of my own (hopefully without having to remove the hard drive).

For those of you who have heard of the Apple TV, but were wondering why I would be interested in such a narrowly limited device, there are a number of reasons:

1. All my content is ripped through Handbrake, Which is an open source tool for ripping content into an MP4 format from a DVD. Why rip your content from a DVD? Because if you have a young child in your household, you realize how delicate your DVD's are, and how hard it is to keep them out of their hands.

2. It gets its content from iTunes, which is where I keep all my content anyway. It will also stream its content from up to 5 computers, be they Apple or Windows machines. Right now I'm searching for a replacement for the TV, as most shows have become to vulgar, crass, and mind-numbing for my taste. This way I can watch TV on my own terms without having to pay for On Demand material from Comcast. I am also looking for a solution for my parents, and the simplicity of this device makes it perfect for them.

3. I don't want to stop at just watching current shows. I would like to eventually provide plugins for additional formats, and even plug in a USB TV device to turn the little device into a DVR. While this is not currently native to the Apple TV platform, it is possible as outlined at Apple TV Hacks. There are several hacks here that I would be happy to try, given the opportunity.

4. It's nice because it also has audio control, therefore removing the need for a media center to control the audio. This is significant, because I have a beautiful floor stereo that once belonged to my grandfather, and it has the most magnificent sound! I had used it in the past as the audio output for my DVD's, and now I want to use it again as the audio output for everything.

5. Once I have safely installed one for content, I want to try installing various versions of OS X on it, to see if I can get a decent client system out of it, or even a decent server. A $300.00 server running my Directory Services would be nice, particularly since I don't need a lot of power to run a home Directory system running 802.11n speeds. ^_^

So, once I purchase the Apple TV, look for some updates. ^_^

Building With Cob Update
The weather is starting to dry out now, as we get closer to Summer, and with the tax return coming, I will be able to lay the foundation for the cob greenhouse, and possibly even build the entire structure within a couple weeks! That's exciting, because not only do I get to work with cob, but I also get to work on the hydroponic system that I want to build. Finally, everything is starting to come together in that area. Of course, that means I will need to make some special trips to get a citrus tree, but I can handle that. ^_^

I will be laying the foundation initially with gravel, which will also be the floor of the greenhouse (to allow for easy drainage). It will also be built up for the patio surrounding the greenhouse, which will be a perfect place for the grill and two benches. I'll see if I can't get a shot from the roof so that you can see how I am going to be placing everything. Yay! I get to show off my lack of Photoshop Skills!

So, that's the news from the week. I should have some pictures up by Monday evening, if you are interested in the cob building project, and I hope to have made some test adobe bricks to show off as well.

Apple TV: The Potential Disked Thin Client

As is inevitible with all training classes, one starts talking about new products and their potentials. In our Server Essentials class, we started talking about potential Mac OS X Server installs that are relatively inexpensive. Most people may be aware that the Mac Mini can support a Server install, though we are unaware of whether or not recent updates will break it. It seems that this happens with Laptop installs which are not technically supported by Apple anyway.

But then the question came up about thin clients. I have been interested in thin clients since I worked for the Salt Lake Community College, and saw it as a potential cost-savings for a lab deployment. My arguments didn't go anywhere at that point, but with my recent focus on Apple and their deployment options, the idea has sprung up again. The Mac Mini had seemed like the perfect option, until recently.

Enter the Apple TV/Mac Micro
Since the Apple TV has been shipped (i.e., within 8 days), the machine has been hacked. This is because it is basically a stripped down computer with really good graphics and a 1 Ghz Intel processor. It only has 256 MB RAM that is soldered onto the motherboard, so it's not like it's going to be a killer device, but it is a lot better than the Windows machine I gave up in order to get my G4 Powerbook.

Since that shipping day, the kind people at Appletvhacks.net has managed to work out a Mac OS X 10.4.8 install for the Apple TV. Yes, that's right. They managed to install a full fledged Apple OS onto that small device that was only meant to display iTunes material on your TV. This was achieved by removing the Apple TV's hard drive, connecting it to a Mac, installing the OS, and then using a processor emulation written by semthex from Hackint0sh.org. The end result was a smaller Mac Mini with only one drive (no optical drives or media), one USB port for a keyboard and mouse (if the mouse is plugged into the keyboard), and multiple video out options.

Now, I want this understood.. I wouldn't be deathmatching on this machine, or expect any high end applications to work on it. But if you were working in a lab environment, and you needed to deploy several workstations to use Office software, email, and browse the web, then it's perfect! And that, basically, is pretty much all a thin client would need to do.

The One Mortal Drawback
Well, as I was reading these hacks, I started to wonder: What if you could boot off of a NetBoot image?! That would make the Apple TV act as a diskless client, and save a lot of hassle in getting the machine set up.

Well, unfortunately, it's not possible with the current version of Apple TV. As published by Macintouch.com in their Review of the Apple TV, the standard Network boot key combinations were not successful. So, in order to get the Apple TV to work as a thin client, you would need to open the Apple TV, remove the Hard Drive, set it up, then put it back. Bugger, just when I thought it would be the perfect solution for a low-powered, barely funded lab deployment, I got shot down.

But, the fact that it is possible, and that there are additional potentials for this type of market makes the future of the Apple TV both exciting and terrifying. What if Apple shuts down the hack by restricting access to the drive, or the inside of the device? What if they shut down any potential access to the device through hardware chips blocking any USB access, even when outside of the Apple TV interface? Hopefully they will not, and allow hackers to modify the device to suit their own needs.

Airport Extreme: Maximize The Potential for Apple TV

It's been a while since I have posted on something other than an ancient technology, but today I was browsing around the web trying to find out how I can maximize my use of the Apple TV setup without having to get a new computer. As I did my research, I focused on two Apple devices: The Airport Extreme, and the Apple TV.

The Problem
As it sits right now, the Apple TV can stream video from up to 5 connected computers with iTunes installed, along with having 40 GB of caching space internally. If I were to cache it full of commonly watched videos, it would give me roughly 40 DVDs worth of viewable content. Not bad, but I currently have almost 300 DVDs worth in my collection, and all of which I intend to add to iTunes. That way, they are out of my little son's hands, and more likely to survive. ^_^

So, I need to find a way to store all those videos in such a way as to maximize my viewable content, without spending myself into bankruptcy. I also want to make all that material available across the network, and have it update from multiple sources, if possible.

The Solution
Ultimately I can either have all 5 computers on at once in order to access all the content (which would cost too much in power alone), or I can somehow integrate a Storage Area Network into the home and link all my computers to it. Either one sounds expensive, so let's look at the key pieces of knowledge that is needed in order to accomplish this task:

1. iTunes needs to be able to use another volume other than the install drive.
2. The Storage Area Network would need to have a fast enough connection to be useful.
3. The SAN would need to be accessible by all, yet still provide some security.
4. The Network would need to be secured.

Moving the Location of Your iTunes Library
Because Apple TV doesn't allow an external drive to be hooked up to it's USB port, I needed to find a way to increase the volume of my iTunes library. Yes, my wife has a 250 GB hard drive in her iMac, and I have a 80 GB hard drive in my Power Book, but together we are looking at maxing out the drives without installing any other media. Luckily, I found an answer.

Christopher Breen at PlaylistMag.com came up with this tutorial on how to shift your iTunes play list to an external volume. The examples are very simple, and utilize a setting that I failed to look at in the Preferences. So the quick answer is, Yes, you can move your iTunes play list to another volume to allow for more space on your computer. This would also include a networked volume. Of course, to be useful, it would need to be an auto-mounted volume, but I digress.

So now I know I can move my iTunes off my computer and on to an external volume. That also means that I can move it to a networked volume, providing that the connection to the media is fast enough to perform. So SAN is very possible for using iTunes. This means that my iTunes Library can now be accessed from multiple computers, as long as they all have the most recent iTunes installed. It also means that I only need to have one computer running at a time in order to view that content. But what good is it if I can't afford a SAN?

The SAN Solution: The New Airport Extreme
For those of you who have been following the new Airport Extreme, you may have read that the USB port, while also supporting a printer, can now support an external hard drive. The drive is mountable automatically for Macs (and maybe Windows with the Bonjour Drivers), and it can also support multiple drives through a USB hub. Suddenly, you have a SAN that costs $179.00 plus the cost of the external drives.

I found a 500GB USB drive for $189.99 at Office Depot, and a 1 TB drive for $449.95. Of course, because you can mount multiple drives, you could just mount more than one 500 GB and get your 1 TB capability that way. Either way, it's a really inexpensive SAN that can use 802.11n speeds in a wireless network environment. Now, possibilities have become 1. Cost effective, 2. Secure, and 3. Available to all computers with iTunes.

All totaled, with my Education discount, I can get a 500 GB SAN working for iTunes and Apple TV for $647.99 (plus tax). And the best part about it is the ability to keep the media out of the hands of children.

I hope to have this setup built within a few months depending on funding, so I will report on the project's progress at that point. Currently I know that network media storage is possible for iTunes based on testing I have already conducted. Wish me luck on the rest!