Apple TV 2nd Generation Teardown: iFixit once again rocks the house down, this time tearing into the new Apple TV. It's surprising that it has 8GB of flash, that is way more than I was expecting. I think that the new Apple TV is clearly setup to get apps, at some point. In the meantime, iFixit's conclusion is pretty interesting:

"The ease of repairing this device, integrated high-efficiency power supply, low 6-watt power consumption, and efficient stand-by mode lead us to believe this may be the most eco-friendly set-top box of all time!"

An Open Letter From Internet Engineers to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Jeff Bewkes: Beware of Apple, Amazon deals: I'm having trouble parsing this sentence:

"How can you justify renting your first-run TV shows individually for 99 cents an episode and thereby jeopardize the sale of the same shows as a series to branded networks that pay hundreds of millions of dollars and make those shows available to loyal viewers for free?"

(via Electronista)

Engadget's Founder on TechCrunch Under AOL: Working for the current incarnation of AOL actually sounds pretty reasonable.

Unix’s Revenge: Horace Dediu:

"Now we’ve entered a new decade of devices where Unix(-like) operating systems will, on a CPU basis, probably out-install Windows."

Oh hell yes.

Apple TV review (2010): Engadget dives in on the biggest problem with the new Apple TV:

"...studios (and not Apple) will have discretion about what is and isn't made available for rental. That goes for TV too. Even though Modern Family was present in the demo that Jobs did at the fall event, it's not here for rental. If you want to catch up on season 1 of the show, it'll run you $40 to purchase. Season 2? That'll be $52.99. It seems that despite what it sounded like at the launch event, Apple doesn't have a complete handle on its partners, and for the most desirable (or lucrative) content, the studios are most definitely still pulling the strings."

It seems like Apple's tepid alliance with the big media companies is what's keeping the Apple TV in "hobby" status.

The Flying iPad: Chris Ainsworth on what not to do with your iPad.