Saturday, March 31,2007 @ 11:00pm
Apple TV hack boots full Mac OS X
It's now possible to boot a full version of Mac OS X, a dedicated hobbyist group revealed Saturday evening. A collaborative effort has installed and run the software on the device by sidestepping its processor restrictions in the operating system's kernel, which previously barred all but the custom version of the software from loading properly. The technique results in complete functionality for the USB port -- as accomplished in a separate hack -- and will run standard applications, including the standard version of Apple's Front Row media software.
The modification comes just ten days after Apple began shipping the media streaming hub and eight days following the first successful hack, which installed XviD and proved that the Apple TV could run unauthorized code after breaking its security restrictions. The company has yet to officially respond to these breaches despite allegations that it was overriding those changes on Internet-connected units.