It’s been a long time since I switched to Mac but about a year ago my Mother-in-law switched back over to a Mac and so I inherited her used HP PC laptop. And until just recently it has sat lifeless on my shelf - so sad

I have been using my MacBook Pro as an iTunes server for my two Apple TV’s, I keep all my shows and movies on an AirDisk connected to an Airport Extreme all of which streams wireless throughout the house. The only downside to this is when I take my  MacBook Pro with me, so to goes the iTunes Server content which leaves my wife movie-less.

So I got an idea, PC’s can run iTunes, why not turn my aging PC laptop into an iTunes Server? And then I remembered the AirDisk my movie data was on, which on a Mac is very easy to connect to and share. An so the Googleing began… I needed to find out if/how a PC could connect to an Airport AirDisk. A few minutes later and the results where in, PC’s can connect to AirDisks too, maybe not as elegantly as a Mac does it but at least it was possible.

So this is what I did or should I say did twice because the first time I got the PC iTunes Server up and running she decided to go down about a week later virus ridden and ashamed, nothing a day and of my time and a format and reinstall couldn’t fix! No more casual surfing with PC iTunes Server for me And yes I had Virus software on it to boot! Read the rest of this entry »

Now that I have my Canadianized US iTunes account working like a charm, Apple gives us Canadians Movie Rentals! According to Apple’s Press release there are more than 1200 films available from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television International, Lionsgate and Maple Pictures.

Not a bad start, I wonder how this equivolates to the total available movies for other countries? I know TV show availability in Canada is very limited and so at least for now, sticking with the US iTunes model works for me. This is great news for the majority of Canadians who just want a simple and convenient way to watch movies from the comfort of their own home. It looks like pricing and other features are comparable to US iTunes accounts.

For all you Canadians out there, this iTunes Movie rental tip may just make your day.

While I was visiting the US last week purchasing my iPhone, I also picked up a couple US iTunes Gift Cards to be used here in Canada to fund my iTunes Store account.

Now if you have tried to trick iTunes into thinking you where from the US (to get all that great US content) you have probably found that you get shutout at the Credit Card info section. Unless you have a US based credit card that is and most of us don’t.

By entering a US based iTunes Gift Card you can bypass having to enter any credit card info, here’s what you need to do…

• Launch iTunes.
• Select the “iTunes Store” from the left side menu.
• Make sure you are at the home level of the iTunes Store.
• Scroll to the very bottom and change the “My Store” tab to “United States”.
• In the “Quick Links” section (near the top right area) select “Redeem”
• Enter your iTunes Gift Card Code (case sensitive).
• You will now have to create a US account, go through the steps but make sure to use a different email than your Canadian iTunes Store account (if you have one).
• In the address section just use a random US based address (look one up online).
• Also make sure to select “None” for your Credit Card information
• Thats about it, you should now have a US based iTunes Store account preloaded with your iTunes Gift Card funds.
• Enjoy your Movies and TV shows…

If you don’t live near the boarder or maybe you don’t want to make the trip across the boarder there are lots of people selling iTunes Gift Card Authentication Codes online, usually with a slight markup. Once you have payed for the iTunes Gift Card all that is needed is the Authentication code, which can be emailed right away.

So far I have already downloaded a couple of movies, one in HD and the download speed is very impressive, my HD movie was ready to view in under 5 minutes.

So being a Canadian just got even better, in less than a week I got a 16GB iPhone and I can now purchase and rent all of the US based iTunes Store content.

And yet another update form Apple, what do they do all day… Work?

This update is especially interesting to me because I have and Apple TV, so I will be running downstairs to grab it right after I post this… What do you need to know about this update? It’s free, it allows you to rent movies in regular and high Definition formats (Library - $2.99 and New releases - $3.99 +$1 for high Def respectively) Remember this is only in countries that support movie rentals!

Want to check out the new features, here is a link to a Guided Tour from Apple.

Is it a coincidence that the MacBook Air, Time Capsule and the Apple TV 2 software update all come out in about two weeks time? I have a theory about this. There are definitely some overlapping technologies going on and in order to pull it all off I believe leopard is going to need that 10.5 2 update that we have all been hearing about to pull it all off…

The MacBook Air doesn’t have an Optical drive so it requires you purchase an External USB SuperDrive or you share another computer’s optical drive on your network. Strangely enough this feature would sure come in handy with an Apple TV since it also doesn’t have an internal optical drive, maybe this handy little Apple external USB SuperDrive could also be used with an Apple TV 2? Maybe an Apple TV 2 will allow you both options?

And then there’s Time Capsule! What gives here? What is so different about a drive being internal or externally connected to an AirPort Extreme’s USB port? I know people are talking about network drop outs and how they can affect transfers in mid process potentially corrupting or erasing data, but this is Apple we’re talking about, I’m sure they have this all figured out??

Basically what I’m saying is I think Apple has a few more ticks up their sleeve and it makes a lot of sense that the Leopard OS X 10.5.2 update will also play a big role in all of this. Stay tuned…

I have always felt the Mac mini would make the perfect Mac based Home Media Center, it’s small and unobtrusive, it has digital video and audio out, it can be used as an extra OS X computer when your not using it as a media center and now with the new Front Row built into Leopard with it’s Apple TV interface it can work almost exactly like an Apple TV for sharing all of your Mac media.

Ya, I know a Mac mini makes a good transitional Mac but I really envision it as the ultimate media box. I stumbled on a post from Mike Radomski that covers the steps involved to make a Mac mini just that - The Ultimate Mac mini Home Media Center.

Quote from Mike Radomski:
“Apple has really put a nice combination together with the Mac Mini, Leopard and Front Row. I have a media center with all of my music, photos and movies along with a video conference unit, web browser, etc. I am really happy with the results and happy that I do not have to load up any DVDs.”

So what’s going on with the Apple TV these days?? Doesn’t seem like to much, Apple seems to have allot on their plate and it almost seems like they have forgotten about the Apple TV! Or have they? I have an Apple TV and I love it, truth is I use it almost as much as my MacBook Pro and that’s saying allot. Sure I needed to figure out a few work-arounds to get it to play my DivX programs but in the end no modding was needed, just a really great conversion program called VisualHub. It seems I am not alone in my thinking and I really hope Apple still has a few people working on some new features for the Apple TV.

Here’s a nice post from AppleGazette that talks about just this…

I didn’t want an Apple TV but I did it anyways, I went and bought an Apple TV fighting myself all the way to the store and back. You have probably all heard about all the reasons why not to buy an Apple TV.

Here are the two biggies that I was struggling with.

• The Apple TV only works with a select few file formats not including WMA, AVI, DivX, Xvid to name a few.
• Why get an Apple TV when you can get a Mac mini for just a bit more and have a full fledged OS X machine with an optical drive and easier to upgrade the components…

So why did I go against my better judgment?
My XBMC (Xbox Media Center) up and died on me and this was my only real means of streaming all my time delayed (Downloaded Internet Video) TV programing for viewing on my TV. I figured this was my opportunity to give the Apple TV a fair try and see what I could do with it.

Here was my original plan.
Buy the base 40GB Apple TV and install a hacked OS X on an external USB hard drive so I could run OS X from the USB hard drive to play all my Apple TV non-supported media and or use the OS X USB hard drive to patch the actual Apple TV with plugins to support the missing media codecs. few!
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Seems like everyone has an opinion about what Apple is going to do these days so I might as well have one too!

What better topic to start my Speculation Series off with then the much talked about and most notoriously hacked Apple product, the Apple TV.

My big question is, why is the Apple TV getting so much attention? There are other “Stream your stuff to your TV” devices out there and many of them even support way more files and formats then the Apple TV. After all the Apple TV really only plays what iTunes supports or in other words, what an iPod supports. I think where the other non-Apple TV devices fail is where Apple succeeds… Apple seems to have created a name for themselves (with the help of the iPod) as the company that offers your Digital Content where you want it. So what if your content is on your computer, who wants to sit in front a computer all day listening and watching their multimedia content? People love the way their iPods free them from all of this, that’s why people are looking to Apple to make the killer device to take what is on their Computer and watch it from the comfort of a couch on their TV.
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WoW Insider is reporting today that hackers have gotten World of Warcraft installed on the Apple TV. While it doesn’t sound like it’s actually playable in it’s current form (no keyboard or mouse support yet via the USB port on the Apple TV) and will probably get broken when Apple updates the Apple TV software, it brings up some interesting things you can do with a Mac….not to mention the gaming potential of the Apple TV if it gets supported directly by Apple.

The Nintendo Wii has shown that a simple white box can be very compelling when connected to your TV with the right software support. I’m sure it won’t be long before someone hacks the Apple TV to work with the Wiimote from the Wii.

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