Loader simplifies Apple TV plugin installation

Stephen Withers
Friday, 20 April 2007 05:58

Business IT - Technology

Installing extra software on an Apple TV to allow the use of a wider range of content or to deliver additional functions is becoming a popular pastime.

Well, that's 'popular' in the sense that a lot of people are doing it, as opposed to it being something they like to do. Frankly, it's a tedious job.

And that's where the AwkwardTV Loader comes in. Once you've installed it, the Loader takes care of downloading and installing other plugins. There's a video of it in action here.

But how to you get AwkwardTV Loader onto your Apple TV in the first place? The plan is to use Patchstick, another AwkwardTV project that creates a bootable USB thumbdrive capable of downloading and installing plugins on an Apple TV.

Otherwise, you'd need to remove the Apple TV's hard drive, connect it to a Mac (probably by temporarily fitting the drive into a USB or FireWire enclosure), installing the required software, and then refitting the drive to the Apple TV.

Engadget offers step-by-step instructions for that general process - take a look at them, and you'll see why AwkwardTV Loader is such a breakthrough.

AwkwardTV Loader is currently in private beta, but developer 'Quatermain' expects to release version 1.0 in the very near future.