I (sort of) want my (hacked) Apple TV

When Apple first announced the Apple TV a few months ago, I seriously thought about ordering one. I’ve tried other media streamers, and none of them really did it for me, so I was hoping Apple’s offering would provide the ideal combination of ease-of-use and useful features. Unfortunately, as most reviewers have pointed out, it’s hobbled by poor video quality, a limited content selection and a small hard drive. However, now that hackers have stepped in, it may be just a matter of time until the machine is refitted to live up to its full potential. And that makes it a lot more attractive. But, tempted as I am to pick one up and explore its innards, I’m even more tempted by other alternatives. After all, for about the same price as an Apple TV, you can pick up a Dell refurb running Media Center 2005, with a more powerful processor and much more memory than the Apple’s measly 1GHz and 256MB. So, as much as I want Apple TV to become a hacktastic platform, I’ll probably be putting in my order for that Dell, rather than ripping the case off of Apple’s box.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 6:40 am