I’m enjoying my AppleTV right out of the box (although I had to delay hooking it up by a day due to not having the cables necessary to connect it). Apparently, I’m not having as much fun as I could if I were to (in some cases) void the warranty and start hacking on it. I’ll pass now and let the geeks have all the fun. However, I will say this: Even without the hacks and despite all that evil DRM stuff I usually unleash during discussions of iTunes/iPod, the AppleTV can blow one away. If you have a Mac mini hook to an HDTV, you may not be so impressed — but if you are a part of the rest of the 99.9% of the world, an AppleTV makes the light go off that your big-screen TV can display video from anywhere. Steve Rubel has an essay on the topic that I agree with. It’s one thing to see a video podcast on your video iPod or computer screen. When you see it stream just as seamlessly to an HDTV, a whole new set of possibilities start rushing into your mind.

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