The Walt Disney Company's network executive Sean Bratches said in an interview today that Disney would consider allowing the WatchESPN service application on the Apple TV set top device. Prior authentication of cable access would be required to view. No deal is imminent.
Apple and iOS device accessory maker Kanex launched a VGA output solution for the AppleTV and any other HDMI device today -- the Kanex ATV Pro. The device is tailored towards adapting the HDMI output of the AppleTV (or other HDMI device) to a more standard VGA plus audio prevalent in educational institutions' projectors.
The popular hack to the second-generation (black) AppleTV by Firecore known as aTV Flash (Black) has been updated to version 1.5. While the update is still tethered -- meaning every time power to the AppleTV is cycled, the device will need to be plugged back into a computer via USB -- many new features have been added.
Apple confirmed an issue with iTunes in the Cloud earlier this evening that was preventing some users from streaming or downloading content from their iCloud account for a short period, AppleInsider reports. The issue appears to have begun around 6:30 p.m. Eastern time but was apparently resolved around two and a half hours later, judging from reports in an Apple Support community thread.
[Updated with additional details] The second private beta of iOS 5 has been released by Apple on their iOS developer website along with a second beta of iTunes 10.5, needed to test the major new feature in the iOS beta: wireless syncing. The company also released a second beta of AppleTV 2.0 software, and a second developer preview of XCode 4.2, AppleInsider reports.
In response to Steve Jobs' disbelief that Google is seeing 200,000 Android device activations daily, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said in a response today that Android numbers do not include upgrades. He clarified further to Fortune, saying only devices that have Google services are counted. Only web-connected devices such as smartphones are accounted for where embedded and other basic devices aren't registered.
