I got a great question the other day from Josh Tilton who wanted to dump his Dish and go with internet only for TV and Movies. Josh I envy you sir. I have wanted to dump U-Verse for awhile now. It has nothing to do with the service. U-Verse is awesome, but I find myself ... Read more]]>

I got a great question the other day from Josh Tilton who wanted to dump his Dish and go with internet only for TV and Movies. Josh I envy you sir. I have wanted to dump U-Verse for awhile now. It has nothing to do with the service. U-Verse is awesome, but I find myself more and more getting my video content from the web. Not to mention the cost benefits you can gain buy dumping your service provider.

Josh’s question was if anyone had got Boxee running on a 360:

Hi!

Thanks for posting this article! It’s been helpful in my quest to get rid of Dish Network and only use internet tv. Are you going to cover the steps/software needed to get boxee to run from my mac to my xbox360? If I could get hulu on my TV… All would be perfect! I’m open to any suggestions!

Thanks!

Josh

Boxee Options

It looks like Josh will need a standalone unit to get Boxee to his TV. There are lots of ways to get Boxee up and running on many different systems. In my experience its easiest on the Mac however Boxee supports Windows and Ubuntu as well.

Boxee on the 360?

I know that it is technically possible through hacking, however not many people hack their 360 as MS bans most people who hack their system from using LIVE. Live is by far the best service for playing games with your friends, so it’s hard to give up. There have been discussion on the Boxee forums discussing this however I don’t think the Boxee developers are in a hurry to get hacks running on the 360. They are fully busy adding features to the supported system now. You never know, Xbox may just support Hulu in the future. They already have Netflix up and running so why not add Hulu (if the moneys right).

Get a PC

Wow, I typically never say those words. I usually say "get a Mac" however depending on your situation a PC might be just what the doctor ordered.

Old PC

If you have an old PC lying around you can put it to good use instead of putting it in a landfill. Install Ubuntu on it and then install Boxee. This is possibly the most cost effective solution depending on the condition of your old system and what it may take to get Boxee up and running. I have had good success with old Dell dimension systems. Note that just because you can get it up and running doesn’t mean you can get it up and running well. Your video card and processor will determine whether or not HD video will play well or not at all. If you system is too underpowered Boxee my not install or may crash. Check the Boxee forums for help with your setup. Connect your VGA or DVI to your TV and Rock It!

Buy a PC

You can go two different routes with this one. You can go for awesome specs and really turn it into a full fledged HTPC or gaming rig, or you can go with more cost effective route and get a system that will run HD with now problems while still begin affordable. I go for the cheaper option, but if you are a gamer, well nuf said. Pick up a powerful rig. For cheaper methods you can find desktop for cheap on TigerDirect and Newegg. I personally suggest at least a core 2 duo however a nice Pentium could work well. I wouldn’t spend over $400 as your starting to get into a different category. Want to go ever cheaper build one. If you have the knowledge, and a free weekend you can put together an awesome system on the cheap. With any of these routes you should be able to install Boxee no problem. I suggest running Ubuntu over Windows as the Boxee version is more robust and stable on Ubuntu. Or better yet make it a hackentosh!

Apple Options

Of course you can go the Apple way, which of course would be my first choice. Apple has several different routes and in my experience is the most straight forward. At the same time Apple products can be a bit more expensive at the lower end. Let’s take a look.

AppleTV

Yup Boxee can run on the AppleTV. All you need is a thumb-drive and atvusb-creator. It’s actually really easy to do however I do want to let you know that the AppleTV is not a powerful Mac. It’s actually perfectly specked for what it does and it does it well. Boxee runs much better on a more powerful system. With that begin said Boxee adds the extra functionality that makes this a dynamite combo. You can also run everything from the apple remote which is super simple and easy for anyone to understand. If you’re interested here’s a quick video on getting it installed.

Mac Mini

Ahh, my favorite solution. However this solution can be a little more expensive depending on what you want. Best option for a standalone unit is by far the Mac Mini. Also since this is a real computer you can do infinitely more. If you pick up a little app called RemoteBuddy it will let access and navigate ever application on your Mac by using only your remote. Talk about added functionality. If this interests you check out the HDTV Podcast over using a Mac Mini as a video server.

MacBook or MacBook Pro

This is an option that I use. If you are looking to switching to a Mac why not just get yourself a Laptop? When you want to run Boxee or FrontRow, just plug in your laptop to the TV and your set. You can do the same things with a laptop that you can do with your Mac Mini. Add an apple remote or program your harmony to control your laptop and your set.

Boxee Extras

If you have an iPhone you have to check out the Boxee remote app. It is a much better way to navigate than using a traditional remote. And since it uses Wi-Fi you don’t need line of sight. Change songs, podcasts, or movies all from the other room. It takes a bit to get used to but is really worth it once you get the hang out it.

I was recently reading Chris Pirillo’s 50 Reasons to Switch to a Mac blog post. It really seems like everyone is moving to a mac these days. Avid Mac hater John C. Dvorak is now a happy Mac owner and user. Mac market share is higher that it has ever been. So what is causing ... Read more]]>

I was recently reading Chris Pirillo’s 50 Reasons to Switch to a Mac blog post. It really seems like everyone is moving to a mac these days. Avid Mac hater John C. Dvorak is now a happy Mac owner and user. Mac market share is higher that it has ever been. So what is causing people make the switch?

I pondered this question as I read Chris’s post. My Wife, a lifetime Windows user, just got Her first Macbook. I kept Her old PC on her desk in case she needed it, but to my surprise She has been using the Mac 100% ever since She got it. Now I just need to add Parallels to Her Macbook for those 1 or 2 Windows applications She needs. She won’t admit it to me, because I was right, but She secretly loves it.

So again, what is causing people make the switch? Here are some of my personal favorite reasons Chris gave for making the switch.

• Excellent power management in OS X. When I close the lid to my MacBook Pro, it falls asleep. When I open the lid to my MacBook Pro, it wakes up. Imagine that! Seems to be the case 99% of the time, and it happens quickly.
• I’m ready to experience different frustrations. OS X isn’t perfect, certainly – but I already see its noticeably more stable than Windows Vista has been. Kernel Panics at least look prettier than BSODs. Seriously, I just find OS X’s update schedule to be more to my liking – instead of waiting for gigantic service packs, I get minor point releases along the way to major revisions to the OS. Bugs are going to happen, but knowing that showstopping / security bugs are likely to be squished quicker gives me amazing peace of mind.
• There’s more interesting, useful, beautiful, and affordable software being developed for OS X. If you still believe that there’s no software for "the Mac," you’re simply a fool who hasn’t done his or her research.
• I love the fact that most programs and their associated libraries are self-contained (apps). There’s no stress in installing / uninstalling most programs, and for true cleanup jobs there’s always AppZapper.
• I’m not a huge fan of the Dock for task management, but Quicksilver has virtually no Windows equivalent (in terms of elegance and scriptability, although it’s still completely overwhelming to me right now). The dock isn’t a shining example of where OS X is "better," but I do appreciate the context menu options for each of the Dock’s icons for "Open at Login" management.
• The spyware / malware / virus threat is diminished by an extreme degree. Not to say that one should avoid running protective layers of software or hardware, but… I’m just not as nervous when I try a new app on OS X.
• Time Machine. Wow. Can it really be this simple? "Simply select your AirPort Disk as the backup disk for each computer and the whole family can enjoy the benefits of Time Machine." Do you understand what that means? And no, Windows Volume Shadow Copy is not the SAME thing.
• You never need to defrag a Mac’s hard disk.
• Joining wireless networks in OS X is easier and more refined, easily accessible. The tools for networking don’t seem overly complex, either.
• Erasing deleted files placed in your trash (also known as a Recycle Bin in Windows) can be securely erased in OS X. No need to mess with third-party software.
• Microsoft doesn’t have an iLife. Not even close. It has a set of multimedia applications, but they don’t seem to be cohesive in the slightest. Maybe things will get better as Live continues to evolve?
• The Preview tool ain’t no joke – with annotations, basic image editing, Core Animation zooming and scrolling, GPS Metadata support, batch operations, etc. It’s all at your fingertips.
• Expose works. ‘Nuff said. The only thing that surpasses OS X’s open window management is Compiz Fusion. None of this Flip3D nonsense.

I love the Universal Access zoom feature – and have used it so many times for countless reasons. Really comes in handy when you’re trying to show something to someone from across the room. Never found anything close to its simplicity anywhere else.

Chris put together a great list. I agree with everything that Chris said and I think you can grasp an overall theme apparent in everything he said. The Mac just works. For example I did not purchase Microsoft Office for my Wife’s Macbook. I instead told my Wife to give iWork a try and if you don’t like it I will set you up with Office. After a week of using it She hasn’t looked back. The Mac also comes with so many applications just like iWork, and they all just work. Programs like the ones included in ilife that allow users to easily design, edit, create anything they want without becoming an expert. It puts the power in the hands normal people, not avid experts.

Everything about the system just works. We had printer sharing issues back when my Wife was on XP. Also, sharing files was a chore. It seemed to be easy to share files one way but harder to share them both ways. Now that we are a 100% Mac home everything works perfectly. We can print from any computer, perform backups easily, stream, and share files like a breeze.

Speaking of applications, OSX has more than just the applications that come with your system. There is a slew of excellent Mac developers out there making smart, clean, and easy to use applications. Quicksilver alone could be a reason to switch. All of Adobe’s applications run smoothly on the Mac. There are some great open source applications on the mac that are more than excellent. More than likely you can find your Windows comparable application running on a Mac. However, if you can’t find your program, there is Parallels, VMWare, and Boot Camp to assist you.

I’m not saying that Apple is the perfect solution for everybody, however it does seem to be causing quite the switch-a-rama lately, especially since Vista. My last advise to those of you who still think that Windows is better (which it may be in your case), just take a look at a Mac. Go into an Apple Store, or borrow a friends. Once you really sit down and play with it, you too may be switchin’ too.