Apple TV

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.

It seems like September 1 not only saw Netflix's new, controversial price plans go into effect, but it also saw them begin to enforce their "one movie stream at a time" policy, which means you can no longer have one video going on your iPhone and another on your iPad or Apple TV. Stop the Cap! breaks down your choices moving forward.

FireCore has announced a major update to its aTV Flash (black) software that runs on jailbroken second generation Apple TV’s. The update (beta 7) now includes music playback, cloud backup and even Last.fm powered artist slideshows.

Netflix couldn't come to a deal to keep Starz content on their service, so they'll be losing it next February, but it turns out Starz wanted more than just Netflix's money to stay -- they wanted more of our money too:

Apple has just released iOS 5 beta 6 for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV to developers, along with iTunes 10.5 beta 6, and Xcode 4.2 Developer Preview 6.

As with the previous 2 iOS 5 betas, this one is available over the air (OTA) via Software Update in Settings.

No word yet on changes, so let us know if you see anything interesting and jump on over to our iOS 5 Forum for more!

CNET drops a big bottle of killjoy juice on recent rumors that Apple might just be ready to rollout their fabled iTunes Replay service -- the ability to re-download and stream content to iOS and iTunes from the iCloud -- or a Netflix-like subscription service.

While Apple has music and now TV available for re-download, at least in the US, apparently they've only got agreements with 4 of the 6 big studios needed to add movies to the mix.

Apple had finally released iOS 4.3 for Apple TV 2, adding the ability to stream purchased shows via iCloud (I'm betting this is US only?) and watch Vimeo video. As noted by Apple:

• iTunes TV Shows: Purchase your favorite TV shows directly from the iTunes Store, and watch the shows you already own, commercial-free in HD.
• Vimeo: Browse and play videos from Vimeo, access your video inbox, and mark videos you want to watch later.

If you've gotten the update, let me know if you notice any other changes and/or improvements.

(Developing...)

Apple has once again pulled a Friday trigger on an iOS beta, this time iOS beta 4 for iPod touch, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV, as well as iTunes 10.5 beta 5 for Mac and Xcode 4.2 DP 4.

If you're a registered, paid developer head on over and grab it all now. If you spot anything new and noteworthy, let us know in comments, and discuss away in our iOS 5 forum.