The idea of Apple entering the fractious and shark-infested waters of the television set industry has always made us scratch our heads. We were almost convinced the fever had passed when Steve Jobs biography was released, quoting the Apple co-founder that he’d “finally cracked” the problem of integrating home computers with television. Now comes an analyst suggesting the whole idea is bonkers and why even bother?
Apple has updated the firmware for Apple TV to version 4.4.2 about a week after pulling and releasing for a second time the earlier 4.4.1 update. The earlier update provided a some bug fixes and if we were to guess this one probably does too.
It looks like Apple is also offering an Apple TV tip for updating which I hope isn’t the normal thing to expect going forward. I’ve had a lot of trouble getting my Apple TV to find and install new updates. I hope that 4.4.2 resolves that problem for good.
Apple’s first ad for Siri and the iPhone 4S that started airing on TV tonight. Makes it look very attractive and cool. It’s going to be a monster smash.
BTW: The ad hasn’t yet been added to Apple’s official YouTube account.
Apple pushed out another update to its Apple TV yesterday which was set to fix a number of bugs in the 4.4 firmware, however, version 4.4.1 comes with a major issue of its own, so we’re suggesting you ignore this update for the time being.
Bringing your own equipment with you while on the road often requires some planning ahead. If you plan to use an AppleTV while traveling you might want to bring some ethernet cables or a WiFi router along with you:
Since I travel a great deal, I have been wondering if there is a way I can use AppleTV and the hotel’s WiFi network to stream video from my laptop to their television. In looking at the Apple Support Discussions, it appears that a similar question has been raised by those in college dorms.
I realize that this requires a HDMI cord and port on the television. But is there a way that the Mac can then “talk” to the AppleTV?
Thanks, Bill
Well, that’s disappointing: Apple’s killed off TV show rentals, claiming that “iTunes customers have shown they overwhelmingly prefer buying TV shows.” That’s probably true, especially since Apple’s prices aren’t competitive to the likes of a la carte subscription services like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Could this be in preparation for their own streaming TV service, though?
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Apple intends to replace the whole cable TV industry with Internet-delivered subscription television. But the best predictor is the fact that replacing broken content consumption is just what Apple does.
Apple will kill cable TV. Here’s how.
Apple has removed the ability to rent TV shows from iTunes. You can no longer rent shows on the Apple TV, and all traces of TV show rentals have been erased.
It was only a year ago that Apple announced TV show rentals in iTunes, and the service has already been pulled. Now you can only download individual shows or purchase season passes.
Even as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs exits as CEO, talk of a TV from the tech giant is still thriving. A new report suggests the Cupertino, Calif. company is working on a new way to stream video (aka Netflix) to televisions and mulling a “subscription TV service.”
News that high-end TVs are nearing the sub $1,000 range may be the impetus for Apple to enter the market, a new report suggests. For some time, talk has swirled around the tech giant moving beyond the world of 10-inch screens. Might 32-inches and above be the next step for Cupertino?