The California based company states their showroom and website are a go for an early June launch. “It’s exciting. We are trying to stay as close to Apple as we can with our products,” Rashantha De Silva, Quo founder, told CNET News. “We are trying to mimic things as much as we can. I’m hoping that Apple sees the value in what we are doing.”

Something tells me they won’t and Quo will be another in a long line of litigants with a looming court date with Apple. But… on the other hand, this constant barrage of would be OS X original equipment manufacturers might eventually wear Apple down, or more specifically wear down Apple’s board of directors. Never mind the Hackintosh community for a moment, the legitimate (or would be legitimate) companies already lined up and all but begging Apple to license OS X to them would certainly boost the company’s bottom line by a considerable amount.

Or is Steve Job’s so powerful (I know redundant question) that he can convince the shareholders that companies like Dell, Gateway and alike really don’t want OS X on their machines, keep in mind those companies alone could theoretically double OS X installations almost overnight. But before the “what about the millions of drivers they’d have to write” cadre blows a gasket, there’s really a simple solution to that.

Apple could pick a few specific, high-profile partners to work with and they could in turn release OSx86 variants in a staggered, orderly manner. Apple wouldn’t have to try and launch day one with driver support for every PC variant ever made, that would be suicide. Over time however,  a few years perhaps they could have thousands (no not millions) of OSx86 options on the market versus the handful of hardware platforms available today. Think about it, instead of that Dell netbook running Vista commercial that runs during prime time it could just as easily be for a netbook running Apple OS X.

I actually think the benefits would be twofold for Apple, not only would they increase their OEM installations they’d increase their developer network as well, those new developers could benefit Apple’s existing hardware with a broader range of OS X compatible applications. Lastly, never say never, there was a time Apple was and I quote” Never, ever going to use Intel chips”. Times change, how much is the question.

London-based integrator Steve Moore has created AirRemote, “the greatest little TV remote you’ve every used,” he says, “and way cheaper than most of the things in [CE Pro's] Remote Control round-up.”

Along with the AirRemote application for iPhone, the heart of the system is a low-cost communications box from Global Cache, which takes IP commands from the iPhone and converts them to infrared, serial or contact-closure for controlling everything from a home theater system to lighting controls to motorized blinds.

Air Remote works with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Here’s an example of the compatible IP to IR interface: Global Cache Home Network Adapter-8114

B.Greenway

HBO and Apple® today announced that programming from HBO is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com). New HBO programs on iTunes include the Emmy Award-winning programs “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Deadwood” and “Rome,” as well as the critically acclaimed hits “Flight of the Conchords” and “The Wire.” The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online TV store with over 150 million episodes sold and features the world’s largest catalog with over 800 shows (over 20,000 episodes).

Shows are priced at $1.99 or $2.99 per episode (apparently depending on how bad HBO thinks you want to watch a particular program.)

A quick peek at the iTunes Music Store revealed a dedicated link for HBO Programming. Is this the next step in replacing cable with ala carte programming? Stay tuned… News at 11.

Matt Brinkhoff

Quicktime 7.4.5

QuickTime 7.4.5 includes fixes that enhance reliability, improve compatibility with third-party applications, and address security issues. This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.
For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

iTunes 7.6.2

iTunes 7.6.2 provides bug fixes to improve stability and performance.

Front Row 2.1.3

This Front Row update provides for bug fixes and improved iTunes compatibility.

The new versions are available immediately via software update or if you would prefer you can download them direct from Apple here:

Quicktime 7.4.5 for Leopard
Quicktime 7.4.5 for Tiger
Quicktime 7.4.5 for Panther

iTunes 7.6.2

Front Row 2.1.3

The most interesting update for MacHTPC readers is likely to be also the most disappointing. Unfortunately it appears that the Front Row update does not add any features or fix any of the outstanding bugs. The version bump seems to be aimed at maintaining compatibility with the new Quicktime and iTunes packages.

Matt Brinkhoff

If and I do stress if Apple decides the put the mini out to pasture; that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I firmly believe the mini fills rung on Apple’s product ladder that isn’t likely to disappear even if the mini proper does. Perhaps the mini could be combined with the A/V centric AppleTV transforming it into a TV Plus or maybe even a completely different, slightly more powerful SKU altogether. Who knows, but I would be surprised if Apple abandoned the $599 to $799 market altogether, we’ll see.

B.Greenway

One of the bigger stories surrounding AppleTV is the record time hack made on its operating system so it can now run a full version of OS X. The guys over at AppleTVHacks have posted a step by step on how-to on turning the media hub into a cheaper Mac mini, but with only 256MB of RAM you probably will only use the modified AppleTV as it was intended, only with a few more apps than before. The TV hacks don’t stop there, you can also boot from that USB “service port only” as well. Apple disabled the port in the software but that didn’t stop others from enabling it.

There have been some accusations that Apple has removed these new hacks through the internet connection to make sure your AppleTV is being used “correctly”. These accusations and rumors are just that, since hacks are not 100% fool proof anyway and who really thinks Apple (anti-DRM) would be big brother all of a sudden.

Some other questions regarding these hacks have been on different ends of the spectrum. For example, why should the consumer spend $300 for a machine that needs to be hacked to do anything useful? If you really wanted to run OS X applications with a keyboard and mouse in your home theater, wouldn’t it be more sensible to buy a Mac mini? Is Apple killing off high-end audio and home theater?

All of these are good questions but the last one I had to ponder on for a bit. The low resolutions available for download on iTunes and the audio quality are generally not what home theater enthusiasts are about. They prefer the 1080i/p and lossless sound options available with the latest advancement in HD technology, but is Apple going to eventually kill off the higher end market because of the way they market the iPod and now the AppleTV?

Maybe Apple is just getting started, it could be that they are going to expand on what they have created or let us do the “hacking” for them so we, the consumer, can decide what we want and how we want it. That could be why Apple has been so successful with the iPod, even though there are better technologies available it doesn’t mean the consumer is ready to buy into them just yet. I’m sure if we give it a few more years, we could be raving about the HD AppleTV next.

B.Greenway

Here are some of the specs:

Intel processor
40GB hard drive for storing content locally
Up to 50 hours of videos3, 9000 songs4, 25,000 pictures5, or a combination of each
HDMI (video and audio)
Component video
TOSLINK optical audio
Analog RCA stereo audio
10/100 BASE-T Ethernet
USB 2.0 (for service and diagnostics)
802.11n wireless networking*(compatible with 802.11a/b/g)
Built-in IR receiver (works with included Apple Remote)

Video formats supported: H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): 640 by 480, 30 fps, LC version of Baseline Profile; 320 by 240, 30 fps, Baseline profile up to Level 1.3; 1280 by 720, 24 fps, Progressive Main Profile. MPEG-4: 640 by 480, 30 fps, Simple Profile. Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps); protected AAC (from iTunes store); MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps); MP3 VBR; Apple Lossless; AIFF; WAV.

But what good are specs without user reviews! Oh Apple what would I have to do to receive an Apple TV for evaluation purposes? I draw the line at washing cars.

B.Greenway

As utterly cool as the iPhone is I’m actually more impressed at the breadth of products announced today, the iPhone extends Apple’s reach from the desktop to everyday devices like cell phones, while AppleTV may very well bridge the gap between traditional home theater PC’s and stand-alone consumer electronic devices.

Kudos to Apple for continuing to innovate and refine existing products or should I say redefine existing products. The one thing I didn’t catch from the keynote is whether Apple plans to up the resolution of their video files to match AppleTV’s 720p maximum resolution, either way the hardware is in place, let’s just hope the media catches up.

B.Greenway

No I cant say as 640×480 has me ready to box up all my physical media just yet but the big announcement of the show (as far as I’m concerned) could have much bigger implications. Apple’s iTV set-top box with 802.11(?) wireless networking, USB2, ethernet, HDMI connector, component video and digital audio outputs could signal even higher resolutions for movies from iTunes, or perhaps something even more compelling.

The iTV set-top box would seem to indicate Apple is taking a wiser, dare I say safer path to the digital living room forgoing the very un-consumer-friendly, HTPC route. While I would have preferred a max-mini I can definitely see the logic with a move like this.

B.Greenway

Obviously the invitation doesn’t spell out any specifics on what will be presented but the header image of the flyer might be telling as to the presentations subject matter.

The invitation displays a white Apple logo with the words “It’s Showtime” underneath. A dark gradient background descends from black to navy, with crisscrossing white rays evocative of the spotlights often used to draw attention to Hollywood movie premieres.

Interesting stuff, while I can’t say as I’m totally disinterested in full-length movies from Apple (especially if they look as good as the 480p movie trailers) I cant help but wonder if something along the lines of a beefed up mini to go along with this announcement isn’t in the works as well. You know my line, time will tell.

B.Greenway