Play Hulu.com and any DRM free media on your AppleTV with Boxee

Using this patch, you can enable your Apple TV to play practically any DRM-free multimedia file. The patch can be applied by inserting a USB thumb drive into the box that's been pre-loaded with some open-source software called Boxee.

Normally, Apple TV can only play video and music files that are compatible with iTunes or bought through the iTunes Store, but coder Scott Davilla's patch essentially "Jailbreaks" the TV set-top box from such restrictions by installing an open-source media center called Boxee.

Currently in limited, invite-only alpha testing, the patch automatically installs itself onto a thumb drive and adds a Boxee button to the main menu of Apple TV. Clicking on Boxee brings you to an interface allowing you to view about 30 types of DRM-free multimedia (e.g., DIVX, AVI, MKZ and BIN) from any computer connected to your network; you can even play multimedia through internet streams (e.g. Hulu and ABC.com videos).

What You'll Need

• An Apple TV
• Boxee software. It's currently invitation only, so you'll have to request an invite. Invited users can also share invites, so friends can all sign up in a group.
• A Mac. The current patch can only be downloaded and run by Mac users. Windows and Linux versions will be available soon.
• A bootable USB stick. The patch only works with bootable thumb drives.
• Windows XP users: If your USB drive isn't bootable by default, you can modify it with an HP utility.
• Mac users: Try the free app DasBoot. Instructions on how to use it with a USB drive can be found on ShinyThings.

If you have all of the above, and it sounds interesting, take a look at the video tutorial below:

Then go read the full Wiki here.

Is the Album Cover dead?

Looks like folks have started transititioning completely to digital music from CDs, tapes, and Vinyl. No surprise here, but it is changing our listening and storage habits, especially when it comes to physical media.

Andy Day at Gigwise.com interviewed Peter Saville, who is questioning if the result of the digital age is the demise of the album cover. Saville is an artist know for creating the iconic artwork of New Order and Joy Division. He has also designed album covers for Pulp, Suede and Roxy Music.

In the interview, Saville states:

“We have a social disaster on our hands,” he said, speaking from his studio this weekend, “The things that pop music was there to do for us have all been done... there's nothing to rail against now.

“When I was 15, in the North-west of England ... the record cover was like a picture window to another world. Seeing an Andy Warhol illustration on a Velvet Underground album was a revelation ... It was the art of our generation ... true pop art.”

I have to strongly disagree with the statement. I've been making sure that my digital music collection of over 10,000 legally obtained MP3s includes all of the original artwork for the past 5 years.
I love to see album artwork displayed on my iPhone or Apple TV, and I can't stand to see a track that is missing the cover. It helps me sort the music, and also helps set the tone for the whole album for me. Album covers are iconic, and help define a place in time that goes with the music.

If anything, I think in the long run services like HD Radio and Satellite radio will be streaming album covers right to your dashboard in the car, just as Pandora streams the album cover to your computer.

So I belive the album cover isn't dead, and it is only the beginning of a generation tuned into the entirely digital album cover. This new frontier will eventually offer more interactivity to album covers and provide a totally immersive experience. More of an album cover movie or game even.

Oh, but how I do miss those giant album covers from my old vinyl records. Those really were true works of art.

Well, except for some of the ones you find over at the CoverBrowser.com collection of worst album covers. Take a look at a few examples from the collection below.

Maybe some album covers deserve to die?