The Apple TV has been out for less than a week and already the thing has been ripped, hacked and tweaked to do the things existing computers already do. Yes, the $300 price tag looks nice but if you’re like me and prefer convenience over confusion, then the Mac Mini might be perfect for you.
For the past couple weeks I’ve been building my own entertainment center using only a handful of tools and the outcome thus far has been more than pleasant. I wanted a set up that could download TV shows, rip movies and output at a crisp resolution … you know, like an AppleTV.
Now I would like to share the steps, equipment and software I went with to complete construction on my first media center and if it’s worth putting together over buying the AppleTV.
China’s an interesting place with all it’s fascinating culture, love of pirates and sweet-tooth for dog meat. But did you know that you can also get really cool looking knock off hardware there too? Well the guys over at MacMiniColo got their grubby little hands on one such device, the AOpen PC, a mini knock-off that should make every Mac owner feel just a bit less special. The system currently only runs Windows and Linux but knowing those crafty Chinese and their fortune cookie ways, they’ll find a way.
In this Japanese blockbuster for the small screen (well, it depends on how big your monitor is), Sony shows off many features of their UMPC, the VAIO type U. The Movie is actually a large collection of videos organized to show potential buyers the functionality of type U, and although the site is Japanese, there is little in the way of gaijin protection, so you should be fine. Be sure to hit the “Angle Select” and “Scene Select” views at the bottom of the page for even more videos.
I’ve had a chance to play with this year’s models and have been impressed, although typing is still difficult. One of the best importers I know of, Dynamism.com, has the UX91 available for preorder at prices that will make you sweat, but before your glands get going, know that you can land last year’s models for about $1000 less.
Found wandering around the Microsoft area of CES were representatives showing off the OQO, the world’s smallest Windows Vista capable PC. This little machine has a full QWERTY keyboard, wifi/bluetooth and runs Windows beauifully. The model that Summa and I toyed with has a 1.5ghz CPU, 60gb harddisk and 1gb of RAM. We also saw the desktop dock and external optical drives, which would make this a full computing solution. I was truly impressed and didn’t expect to be, as was Summa, though he mentioned that the device was very warm to the touch.
It’s a good thing that the rep let Summa hold it, as I was seriously considering ganking it. Dibs.
