Apple published the 2.2 update for Apple TV users last night and the biggest news may be that users will now be able to turn the device off from within the control panel.
A major complaint about Apple TV has been that the thing runs extremely hot, in addition to the fact that even when not in use, it sits there burning kilowatts of energy, very much at odds with the company’s aspirations to environmental friendliness.
Now, finally, users may put the device into “Standby” mode by pressing the “Play/Pause” button for about 3 seconds from the Main menu. There is also a “Standby” option accessible from an interior menu that I can’t mention here because WordPress doesn’t like the word. But it rhymes with vettings.
As expected, US Apple TV users can now buy HD TV shows directly from iTunes. The latest update also lets users make music video playlists from their favorite songs and Genius can be used with Apple TV, as long as users activate Genius in iTunes and sync with their device.
See all the update features here.
Lonnie Lazar is a writer-musician-web designer-attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie’s photos on Flickr.
