Plex

There are lots of things you can do with an old Mac. No one will fault you for upgrading to Apple’s latest and greatest, but your old Mac can still find a job to do, too.

It used to be that when your old iMac kicked the can, you hollowed it out and made an aquarium or a desk lamp. These days, Macs have a much longer shelf life. The right model can give you years upon years of loyal service. (Not to mention, modern Macs are too thin to house a fish.)

Here are the six best things you can do with an old Mac. Watch our latest video or keep reading below.

Another week has passed, and even more of you have come through with your app recommendations and suggestions! This week, a bit of a grab bag of new apps, new features, and new discoveries. From a shopping app to simplify your life to an excellent replacement to Apple’s infuriating TV app, we’ve got some awesome apps for you. And as always, if you have an awesome app to share, email your suggestion or tweet them to me!

Plex began offering 80+ free channels of live TV on Thursday. The service is available on many types of Apple devices, and offers children’s programming, news, lifestyle shows and even sports.

There’s a catch, of course. There always is. In this case, it’s commercials. Plex Live TV is supported by advertising.

Running out of things to watch during lockdown? Streaming service Crackle is bringing “thousands” of free movies and TV shows to Plex, the digital media and organizational app that launched its ad-supported streaming service in December.

Having initially rolled out movies by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate and Legendary, it’s now introducing a plethora of free titles from Crackle. These include the likes of hit movies Captain Phillips, Patriot Games and The Illusionist, alongside TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Roseanne.

This week we rock out with Queens’ Brian May, unsend email with Fastmail, read the news later with Feedbin, and way more.

Purchased digital content has been around since before the launch of the iTunes Store back in 2003, but things were much different then. Devices weren’t constantly connected, and streaming wasn’t the primary way to access your “purchased” (or subscription) content, and most things came in the form of physical media (VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs, or 8-Tracks). Now that things are streamed, stored in the cloud, and available across all our devices, digital content ownership is much more complicated than simply buying a movie, book, or album and having it indefinitely.

If you’re worried for some reason that the new Apple TV might not have strong enough video chops with all those apps and games, good news: Plex and VLC, two of the best video apps around, are coming to Apple’s new set-top box.

If I had to list the apps I couldn’t live without, Plex would be high up on the list. Think of it like a Netflix for your local video. A multimedia server client for Mac with a slick iOS app, Plex allows you to stream your local television shows and movies on demand to any device on your local WiFi network, or even away from home. It even works on the Apple TV.

Now, Plex for iOS version 3.5 is here, and it brings some cool new features to the already feature-packed app, including the ability to play movie trailers before your movie!

Personal media organizer Plex has just received a major iOS update.

The biggest new feature offered by the update is the automatic upload of camera roll photos to your media server, provided that you have a Plex Pass subscription (available at $3.99 per month, $29.99 per year, or $74.99 for life).

Google has today announced that an additional ten applications for Android and iOS now support Chromecast streaming. VEVO, Red Bull.TV, Songza, and more have been updated to allow users to enjoy news, sports, and music on their $35 dongle.

Essential media player application Plex is now out in a new version for iOS users — adding support for the latest firmware along with a refreshed media component.

You know what everyone should do if they have an Apple TV? Install Plex, the incredible media server that can stream any digital media file on your Mac to your Apple TV, no jailbreak required.

I’m dead serious: Plex is awesome, and installing it on my Mac has been a total game changer in regards to the way I watch media in my own house. From my Apple TV, my MacBook Air, my iPad or my iPhone, I can stream my entire video library anywhere with no hassle.

The popular Plex media player that allows users to stream content from their computer to another device is now available on the Apple TV. The new app called PlexConnect is compatible with second- and third-generation devices, and it does not require a jailbreak for installation.

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Well, what do you know: the guys over at Plex, who make one of my favorite media center apps for the Mac, have jailbroken their second-gen AppleTV and managed to get the Plex client up and running on the little $99 box.

The proof of concept’s a little rough around the edges, but once this is polished up, it could be a huge boon for AppleTV owners hoping to expand their box’s capabilities. Sure, you still need to stream your media from a paired Mac, but Plex supports a lot more codecs than AirPlay. I can’t wait to see this project progress.