Well, it had to happen eventually: someone cracked open their Apple TV and transplanted the 2.5-inch drive with a 32GB SSD by Transcend. That's pretty much it -- just a bit of hacking, partitioning, re-imaging, and off you go. Do you really even have to ask if putting an SSD in something was worth it?

Ah, bugger. Just days after Apple Core began offering its aTV Flash on a foolproof USB stick, the outfit has officially pulled the software. Apparently there have been a few "questions arising regarding the fair use of a particular file present on the aTV Flash, and conflicting opinions as to whether or not it falls under the fair use category." In order to keep itself off of the hot seat, it has "proactively" (and voluntarily) discontinued offering the product "until further notice." Not all hope is lost, however, as Apple Core is currently working with the party in question to resolve the dilemma, and it should be keeping us all in the loop as discussions progress. Oh, and in case you're curious -- all current orders were canceled and refunded.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Engineering souls have been hacking up the Apple TV for a good while now, but those too scared of completely ruining their box have had to sit patiently on the sidelines waiting for someone else to do their dirty work. Enter aTV Flash, a USB flash drive which enables your Apple TV (Take 2 included) to do all sorts of fancy new tricks without any fuss. Those with the drive simply plug it in and watch as new file formats become supported, UPnP media streaming opens up and Safari-based web browsing becomes a reality (among other things). Granted, the convenience will cost you $59.95, but that's the price you pay for making your life easier (and your Apple TV a little more useful).

[Via TUAW]

For every Apple and Nintendo fanboy out there, there is another equally zealous person entertaining a hope against hope that if only these two companies could somehow join forces, the world would be free from war, disease and famine. Apple apparently saw it fit to entertain those fantasies, and has a patent from November 2006 with some interesting Wiimote-esque functionality for what we presume to be the Apple TV. In fact, the patented controller seems to be suspiciously similar to the Wii controller in function, with a similar accelerometer and positioning setup, and Apple clearly states the proposed controller's relation to gaming, in addition to other functions like zooming in on images. Unfortunately for the dreamers out there, Apple patents out-there stuff all the time that never sees the light of day, and we're sure Nintendo wouldn't be all friendly about Apple turning the Apple TV into a Wii-killer. But hey, let's not let facts get in the way of unadulterated magnificence.

[Thanks, Mark]

We can't say we're too terribly fond of purchasing movies on a proprietary set-top-box (à la VUDU), but for those with no real attachment to physical media, Apple's looking to hook you up. Aside from announcing that day-and-date DVD releases were coming to iTunes, Cupertino has also enabled its Apple TV to purchase full-length films; prior to today, users could only rent them for a window of time. Details are pretty scant at the moment, and we're not even sure if HD films can be purchased (or if a premium is added on), but feel free to fire up your box and let us know how it goes in comments below.

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

A recently unearthed patent filing shows Apple is thinking beyond its current living room video vending machine, the Apple TV. Among a number of new features, the design specifies how DVR information could be sent to a portable remote control similar to Apple's existing iPod and iPhone, taking integration among its products to a new level.

And it's not just working together for the sake of some superficial "better together" marketing angle. How many times have you heard friends discussing some great new show that you missed? With the capabilities Apple illustrates, one could perhaps call up the TV listings right from their iPhone and schedule to record the next episode. What's unknown is how Apple would transfer recorded DVR shows to an iPod or iPhone -- would recordings by synced through iTunes? And, if so, would they be tied to an authorized account to discourage internet redistribution?

In fact, while the addition of DVR features might raise questions about Apple retreating from selling TV shows, it would really reflect the reality of these show purchases being opportunistic (as well as perhaps serving as a tactic to bring NBC back to the bargaining table). Besides, DVR integration with the iTunes store could lead to more revenue opportunities. In the aforementioned scenario, the DVR could offer the opportunity to buy the episodes missed so far.

We'd say 2007 was a pretty big year for Steve Wozniak, what with Kathy Griffin, an Epcot animatronic, some widely covered Apple sentiments, and (honor of honors) an Engadget interview to top it all off. Turns out he's not backing down in 2008, and spoke out at a Sydney press conference with some fairly constructive criticism for some of Apple's brightest stars. He expressed concern over the 24 hour limit for iTunes movie rentals, and doesn't see the Apple TV taking off just yet, though he sees it as a "good indication of the future." Woz was less kind to the iPhone, saying he was "really disappointed" at the iPhone's introduction, due to the lack of 3G. He's still a fan of the phone interface, particularly the browser, but he's miffed about those speed constraints. Finally, he likes his MacBook Air, and he's currently attempting to see if he can make it his single laptop, but the shortage of ports and lack of disc drive and removable battery are making it difficult. We really couldn't have said any of it any better, Woz.

[Via The Inquirer]

Ruh ruh, Macworld ran one last test as the month of February expired yesterday and found that contrary to Apple's claim that there would be over 1,000 movies for download by March, iTunes and the Apple TV have hundreds fewer flicks available than anticipated. The 91 (of 100 promised) HD movies and 399 total rental titles make up a fair chunk of the 770 some-odd rental and sale titles, which comparatively isn't all that bad a number when you look at the other download services, but Cupertino clearly has a ways to go before we all trade in our Netflix and Blockbuster memberships.

[Thanks, Jimi]

There isn't (yet) a way to hack Apple TV v2 (aka take 2), but if you were patient enough to wait for the "safe" PatchStick upgrade on your hacked unit, Safari HD is ready to go. Good luck, and take care, after those weeks of waiting for the new update it sure would suck to brick that device.
Read - Safe update for Apple TV v2
Read - Safari HD available

Yeah, the Apple TV (take 2) update took a bit longer than promised to actually arrive on the scene, but now that it's available for existing ATV owners to chew on, we're interested in hearing from its toughest critics. Rumors of Apple finally enabling some sort of HD movie / television show download service had been making the rounds for what seemed like ages, and after months of waiting for a move to be made, take 2 made its debut under the shadow of the MacBook Air.

Aside from finally offering up 1080p support and giving users the ability to rent HD flicks (though only some with Dolby Digital 5.1), the v2.0 upgrade changed up the look and added in Flickr integration. Granted, the innards here have remained the same, but we're not just interested in finding out what you adore / detest about the newest update. Oh no -- we're also curious to know how you think the existing hardware is handling its new duties. Has anything slowed down? Are you still (or were you ever) satisfied with the port assortment? Have you found yourself itching to downgrade? We know, software updates as substantial as this one hardly ever never leave everyone happy, and while we've done some sizing up of our own in regard to HD quality, how would you like to see things tweaked for take 3?

Apple isn't one to let a new product out the door without a video guided tour lately, and today's release of the Apple TV take 2 update is no exception. Nothing too shocking in the walkthrough of iTunes rentals and the new Flickr features -- when will Apple learn that all we really want is some hardcore settings menu action? -- but fans of The Anonymous iPhone Guy and John, The Classy Leopard Dude will be disappointed to see that they've been replaced by Hannah, The Pleasantly Boho Apple TV Lady. Check it out at the read link -- and if you're hungry for some real deets, you know we've got you covered.

We got some good time in with Apple's take 2 (i.e. v2.0) software update at Macworld this year, but now that it's out we had to put the spurs to it. We'll be updating with more as we go, but for right now here's what you need to know:

• The update itself is under 200MB and took us under five minutes to download, but over ten minutes to install. Our first try failed out. Also, get used to seeing that loading bar screen, it cycled through about five times for us.
  
• Yep, that's a slick new video that it opens with.
• Did someone say 1080p output? Oh yes, it's finally enabled!
• Yep, it's officially software version 2.0.
• Although manually inputting your Apple ID with the remote is a pain, renting movies is absolutely a snap.
• Our HD movie was ready for playback within a minute of starting the download. Very nice.
• Picture quality is pretty good. Not amazing, but pretty good.
• Flickr integration works well (unlike on stage at Macworld), but there's no way to aggregate your contact lists's photos to your ATV. It's on a single contact basis only, meaning you can only look at your own or any one other user's photos at a time. Kind of a bummer in that regard.
• Plenty more details to be found here and here, as well as an informative chart of how downloads works here.

A couple of tipsters have reported that the delayed Apple TV "take 2" update is finally available, right on schedule. It's reportedly a 5 minute download, but that's all the info we've got until Apple gets official about it. Let us know if it works for you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Looks like plenty of people are having luck with the update, so good on them. No word on how this will affect your hacked Apple TV yet, so you might want to hold off until braver souls sort it all out.

No stranger to the odd patent filing, Apple has once again delved into the dark waters of the unknown with an application for an Apple TV-like device with iChat-esque functionality, amongst others. In the patent, the company suggests a number of uses for widget overlays during video, including those triggered by content and timing, as well as widgets used for menus and navigation. The patent demonstrates how real-time widget updates may coincide with live broadcast television -- such as a scorecard overlay for a sporting event -- and also showcases a video chat function which can be used simultaneously during the playback or broadcast of content. Additionally, the filing shows a new remote which would have hot buttons for quick access to widgets, navigation, and the automatic milkshake mode (we might have wishfully made up that last one). Sure it looks good, but we'd happily take the latest Apple TV update until this comes along.

Remember that Skype plugin being written to run natively on the Apple TV? It's out today, and get it while the gettin's good because we aren't expecting any of these hacks to continue working after the take 2 update gets pushed out in the near future. Let us know how it is, would you?