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How to turn Sky's £10 Now TV box into a networked media player with Plex
Update 16/3/17: Sky has begun rolling out an update to all Now TV boxes that disables developer mode and purges any sideloaded apps. At just £10, Sky's Now TV box is pretty good value for money as is. The idea, of course, is that cash continues to flow in Sky's direction by means of the film, TV and sport subscription packages, but there's nothing to stop you from forking out the hardware fee and using it simply as a window to BBC iPlayer, 4OD and other free services. Understandably, the selection of channels is limited -- Sky would prefer you use the box for its paid content -- but with only a few minutes of tinkering, you can easily turn your Now TV into a robust network media player capable of pulling video and audio from your personal network and several internet sources. You see, Sky's hardware is basically a re-branded Roku LT player with a heavily curated app store, but as long as you have the correct file, you can push apps to a Now TV box that otherwise shouldn't be there. Being able to run software like Plex immediately makes the cheap set-top box an even more compelling proposition, and better yet, side-loading apps couldn't be much easier.
Mac 101: The Open File dialog's media browser
Updated to clarify that the media browser option is in the Open dialog, not in Finder windows. More Mac 101, our series of tips for new and novice Mac OS X users. Here's a tip that I was recently reminded of while choosing photos from a web browser for upload. Mac OS X Leopard's Finder has a handy media browser built into the open dialog box, not entirely unlike that found in the iLife suite. Let's say you're looking for a photo to upload to Flickr or similar service. With your browser open, select Open from the File menu to invoke the Open Dialog Box. On the left hand side, select Media. Now you can browse your iPhoto library and even scrub through Events if you have iLife '09 installed. From there, select the photo you want, click Open and you've got it.There are also a couple of tricks available that aren't immediately obvious. First, control-click (or right-click on your mouse) any neutral space in the dialog box to bring up a contextual menu with the option to switch between icon view and list view. Once in list view, the contextual menu adds options to open a file in its parent app, reveal its location in the Finder and display information columns (name, size, kind, etc.).Additionally, hitting the space bar with an item selected highlights it, similar to Quick Look. A photo is brought to the forefront and music and movie previews are played.It's handy, often overlooked and a great way to ensure that you've got exactly the file you want.
Analyst: Wii-styled remotes are key to connecting consumers
We've seen all manner of remote control, from numberless to sliders to the hand-waving variety, but Strategy Analytics believes its latest survey indicates the ideal TV media browsing device is something like the Nintendo Wii controller. Topping PC-style keyboards, traditional remotes and voice control in that order the motion-sensitive point and click nature of the Wiimote gives it a leg up on the competition in the ten-foot interface battle. Ready to switch from tennis to Boxee without changing controllers, or are you still looking for the nearest touchscreen input laced Harmony product?
