Apple TV

Apple already has a Hulu Plus app up and running on Apple TV but may be delaying its launch due to concerns it will compete with iTunes TV Show sales, according to 9to5Mac. Their sources claim the Hulu Plus for Apple TV is now feature complete and ready for release, and has supposedly been ready for release for over a month. The reason for the hold is thought to be political and not related to any technical issues.

While Apple TV 2 has had Netflix since launch, their content is mainly older, catalog shows, not the new releases that are more profitable for iTunes.

FireCore has updated its aTV Flash (Black) software to RC1, which adds a number of new features including a new grid view browsing mode, subtitle related improvements and most importantly, a huge list of performance and playback related improvements.

Seas0nPass has been updated and it now supports a tethered jailbreak of the latest Apple TV iOS 5 software versions 4.4, 4.41 and 4.42. Unfortunately the jailbreak is a tethered solution which means if you have to reboot your Apple TV it will need to be connected to iTunes before you can use it again. Not that much of a deal for the Apple TV as reboots should be few and far between.

Apple has released another update for the Apple TV, this one is numbered 4.4.2.  It appears that Apple has been having some strange problems with recent Apple TV updates with widespread reports of devices having to be restored using iTunes after the 4.4 and 4.4.1 updates. If you are already running version 4.4 or 4.4.1, Apple wants you to perform a system reset before updating to this latest version.

Now that we have the iPhone and iPad, the next great unicorn to chase seems to be an Apple television. Not the Apple TV set top box, mind you, but a full on elegant glass and aluminium object de panel art from Jony Ive and co. Something to hang on our wall and banish cables and crummy cable boxes from our living rooms once and for all.

When last we got analyst-fueled Apple television rumors, it turned out to be the 27-inch iMac. This time, however, we have a nebulous passage from the just-released Steve Jobs biography to properly set the chase in motion:

Apple has released another update for the Apple TV which takes it from version 4.4 to version 4.4.1. The update claims to fix issues with a small number of Apple TV units that needed to be connected a computer running iTunes after last week’siOS 5 update.

Addresses an issue that required a small number of Apple TV units to be connected to iTunes in order to complete the update.

A word of warning before you update, there are widespread reports that this update is causing more connect to iTunes issues than the original update. It may be wise to hold off updating until more information is available.

Wondering how to turn use AirPlay Mirroring on your new iPhone 4S or iPad 2? Air Play Mirroring is one of the great features of  iOS 5 and enables you to mirror your screen on your second generation Apple TV. Here's how to get it started.

First off we need to make sure AirPlay is enabled on the Apple TV

• Go into Settings
• AirPlay
• Turn on AirPlay

Now we have done that, grab your iPhone 4S or iPad 2

Want to use your Apple TV 2 with fancy new iOS 5 features like Photo Stream and AirPlay Mirroring? Well go navigate over to Software Update and start your download because it's available now.

Other new features include (ayt :

• NHL Hockey
• Wall Street Journal

To find out more about these features, and to get help:

• Complete iOS 5 feature walkthrough
• iOS 5 help forum
• Apple TV help forum

Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac has spotted something interesting deep inside the iOS 5 file system -- code references to a next generation Apple TV 3,1. Given Apple's internal naming conventions, a move the current Apple TV 2,1 to an Apple TV 3,1 should signify a major upgrade, which could lend credence to rumors of a Apple A5 on the horizon, and perhaps even the 1080p video muscle that comes with it.

Another A5-powered, iPhone 4S feature that would be great to see? Siri, Apple's artificially intelligent voice control system.

Reed Hastings, the co-founder and CEO of Netflix has put up a video and blog post this morning apologizing to customers for the way their recent plan changes and increases were handled, and announcing that while streaming services will retain the Netflix name, the DVD (and now video game) mailer service will be spun off as Qwickster. Phew. This only really matters to US customers, and to those who in addition to streaming on iPhone, Apple TV, iPad, and iPod touch also have DVD mailer plans, but it's an interesting case study in corporate communications none-the-less.