And by that, I mean I hate people like my friend Ben, who sneakily slide their gorgeous iPhones out of their pockets when I’m not looking. Then, before I know it, I’m staring at this gleaming piece of hardware laid out on some bar table somewhere, and my technolust washes over me like a sepsis-induced fever. But now I have this iTouch, and it simply wouldn’t be like me to take the high road and pretend like I’m not smitten with this thing. (WARNING: Technobabble ahead)
So I updated my AppleTV yesterday. Only Greg knows what a big deal this is for me (and any owner of a hacked ATV has an inkling). I went from a hacked unit, back to factory settings, then to the latest firmware (2.1). The last couple times I messed with the ATV, there was plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth at our house, all from me. So why would I upgrade now? Well, two reasons. 1) The iTunes Remote app, which is now available for FREE may someday be available on the iPod Touch. If it’s not immediately apparent to you why this is a big deal, you’ll either have an epiphany after clicking the link above, or you’ll never get it. Don’t feel bad.
Reason 2) Flickr integration. To appropriate an antiquated streetism from the now-legit Ice T, this is DOPE. You simply have to come by the house and see my “Plants” photo set streaming over the 37″ LCD with Bill Evans playing along in the background. And in the unlikely event I ever get sick of looking at my own pictures, I can point the ATV at any of my contacts and view their public shots as well. It’s a lot of fun. The one gripe I have is that I can’t authenticate and view my private shots; all of my pictures of Ava are private, so this is an issue. Maybe someday.
So things are going well, so far. Last time I tried this, the ATV just sat there, forever, trying to connect to the iTunes library on my Mini. This time, though, there was only a short delay before everything showed right up. I’m busy adding and renaming movies and TV shows. I also have a couple dozen .avi files that I need to change the file type on so they’ll play on the ATV. Otherwise, all systems go. Now if the iTunes store will just come online so I can upgrade the iTouch….