Channel [H] - Hamish's Bitz & Pieces

Seas0nPass, a new Apple TV jailbreak, makes the process easier than ever. And what can a jailbroken Apple TV actually do? Not a whole lot! You can install the media streamer Plex, though, which is a start.

For now, the potential of a jailbroken Apple TV is more exciting than the reality of a jailbroken Apple TV. Eventually, one hopes, it’ll become an iPhone and iPad-friendly, internet and local-video playing swiss army knife. As of now, it’s pretty much a $US99 Netflix set-top box.

But an easy jailbreak is a nice step down the path to the Super Apple TV, and that’s just what Seas0nPass is. Developed by fireCore, the fellows behind the web browser-enabling and Last.FM-enabling aTV Flash suite, Seas0nPass will currently let you SSH into your Apple TV, run a buggy version of Plex, a slick piece of media streaming software, and and not a whole lot else. Yeah. But the jailbreak is open source and hopefully will bring about even more ATV tinkering.

If you know what you’re doing, you can find instructions for the jailbreak here. [Seas0nPass via TUAW via CrunchGear]

We’ve looked at removing DRM from iTunes movies and TV shows on Windows, but what about Mac OS X? Here’s how to rip out the DRM and turn that copy-protected M4V file into a regular old MP4 on your Mac.

Wired’s How-To Wiki points to a piece of software called NoteBurner M4V Converter Plus (direct download), which will let you convert your iTunes video rentals and purchases to another DRM-free format. By default, NoteBurner simply creates an MP4, but it’s also capable of conforming the file to new specifications so you can play it back on a non-Apple device (like a Blackberry, PSP, and several other options). Here’s how it works:

• To make the magic happen, all you need to do is launch NoteBurner with iTunes closed (you’ll be prompted to relaunch iTunes if you don’t). Once NoteBurner is open, you can launch iTunes and add a DRM-laden purchase by clicking the Add File icon in the top left corner of the application. This will bring up a list of movies in iTunes and you can choose anything you like.
• Next, select the output profile for the type of video you want to create (unless you want it to be identical to the iTunes file, in which case you don’t have to do anything).
• Click the Convert icon up top.
• Wait for the conversion to finish, during which you will not be able to use iTunes.

This process works very well and is really easy, but the downside is that it will cost you money ($US40 to $US50, depending on the version). If you want a slower, crappier, but free-er alternative, you can instead play the DRM movie on your computer and use QuickTime X (or other screencasting software) to record the screen and your Mac’s audio. This conversion will take the length of the movie, but it’s something you can set your computer to do while you’re away. If it records too much, you can always trim it off later.

How to Rip DRM from Rental iTunes m4v TV show to mp4 | Wired How-To Wiki

Republished from Lifehacker

The New York Times has a fascinating obituary on Kim Peek, the autistic man who was Dustin Hoffman’s inspiration for Rain Man’s character Raymond Babbitt. Some of his powers were absolutely uncanny:

• He could read two facing pages simultaneously, one with each eye.
• With that ability, he read 12,000 books and remembered every one of the pages.
• He knew so many plays and music pieces with absolute precision that he would be able to tell if an instrument was a note off in a philharmonic orchestra.
• He could remember every day in the calendar, area codes, ZIP codes, maps, countless classical compositions, a zillion trivia bits across dozens of fields in human knowledge and the arts, and give GPS-like directions for any city of the US.

And yet, with all these powers, Peek – who died a few days ago – wasn’t able to understand poetry or conceptualise ideas. It was all about the memory and his extraordinary processing abilities.

However, the most important thing is that this man, who was born with these superpowers but also with grave problems, was able to go through life, cultivate his skills, work on his disabilities, partially solving his problems to interact socially, and finally emerged as someone passionate about what he liked, and loved by many.

Head to the NYT to read the complete obituary. [NYT]

Some of his many talents are nothing short of incredible! Check 'em out...

One way to get women naked I suppose...

When your stuff gets stolen, FILL OUT A POLICE REPORT. Consumerist reader Alisa is figuring this out the hard way after Apple received her stolen phone for repair. Even though it’s clearly hers, they refuse to return it.

I got robbed on the subway in Brooklyn about 2 weeks ago, my iPhone (and some other crap)was taken. I called the police who were very helpful , they searched the area for a little bit, follow protocol and all that fun stuff.

Anyways, fast forward to yesterday when I get a email from Apple that someone had filed a request for a replacement phone due to a software malfunction from Apple CareService. I suspected that since I made an appointment with an Apple genius before, the Serial number on the phone was associated with my email. I called Apple to confirm this, after Apple and AT&T transferred me back and forth a few times I had the confirmation from the two companies the phone was mine , I had the address the service request was coming from (in the email) and a phone number (from an Apple rep).

I’m so excited that I can get my phone back! Until the cops arrive at my house, they tell me that since I didn’t file a police report they can’t do anything. I didn’t file it because in order to file one, I would have had to go to a precinct downtown (like an hour away) look through books of pictures to try to ID the thief, whose face I only saw from the side for a millisecond. And really, what would a police report do for an iPhone that was stolen on a NYC subway a week before Christmas?(plus i had a final that night) The two officers also told me that even if I had a police report it would still be up to Apple and AT&T to decide how to proceed with the situation.

So I call AT&T… and over the course of 12 hours I speak to a bunch of people who are all very sorry that this is the situation I’m in, but their hands are tied — they have to honour the warranty and it does not matter that it’s clear the phone is mine. They would need the authorities to tell them to do otherwise.

So I head to the police precinct where an officer calls the rep I spoke to last (aka the authorities speaking to Apple). The officer spends about an hour on the phone with Apple telling them that once the current holder of the phone ships the phone back to Apple, they should ship me the replacement. He gets the same answer I got—they will not do anything, they do not care that the person who has the phone currently is using a stolen phone and is not using it with AT&T (AT&T confirmed the phone # I got from the Apple rep is NOT an AT&T number).

It’s not even about the phone anymore (I bought a blackberry—$600 is a TAD ridiculous for a new iPhone) its the principle of the situation, basically Apple is siding with someone who will most likely jailbreak the phone as opposed to helping a loyal customer (I’ve been using Apple products forever—iPods, Macs and iPhones (since the first gen)) who legally bought the phone from Apple and is using it with AT&T.

The whole situation is just illogical to me.

Yeah, illogical is a good word. Absurd is another. Does anyone out there know if this is purely about not filing a police report, or is there some other reason why Apple is being such a dick about this? [Consumerist]

Say what??? There has to be more to this story surely!