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Television Businesses Media Software

Boxee Sold To Samsung 128

New submitter TheRecklessWanderer writes "Boxee, manufacturer of The Boxee Box and Boxee DVR as well as developer of the Boxee software, has been sold to Samsung. Boxee has had a hard time adapting to the quickly changing environment where appliances have converged with televisions (morphing into Smart TVs), and I'm sure Samsung is looking to integrate the software in some form or another into their smart TVs."
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Boxee Sold To Samsung

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  • Oh, by the way... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by NoNonAlphaCharsHere ( 2201864 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @08:31AM (#44187123)

    However, the beta Cloud DVR functionality we provided to certain Boxee TV users will be discontinued on July 10th. You will not have access to your existing recordings after that date. We realize many of you loved the service, and we're sorry it won't be available moving forward.

    Cloud, shmoud. I wonder how many times we see variations of this over the next few years?

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Yeah it seems weird that people would want to give someone else control over their data but it's true they really do. From all my nontech friends I see that this is what people truly want, to not have to deal with it and have things be the simplest possible even if it means that they are at the mercy of a third party who could delete their recordings/email/pictures at any time, or disappear, or suddenly add new terms or conditions to access them, or even monetize them.

      They just don't care about any of that

      • by somersault ( 912633 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @08:48AM (#44187217) Homepage Journal

        You say that as if it's a bad thing. If you are stupid enough to put something highly monetisable into a cloud service without at least encrypting it, you deserve what you get.. otherwise, yeah, who gives a shit?

        Anyway, those types of services are for convenient synchronisation and data access - not for backup of essential data (unless you have a machine somewhere that you only activate every so often and synch as a backup).

        • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

          by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @11:31AM (#44188285)
          Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • Hmm. I was being quite serious though. Most people, especially the ignorant ones you allude to, wouldn't give a shit even if you point out the risks. I used to be quite idealistic too, but I no longer take it upon myself to try to save these people from themselves, unless they are posing a direct risk to my employer.

            • by ImdatS ( 958642 )

              Hmm, early in my life I learned that "if a pupil doesn't learn, it's not his fault. It's the teacher's job..."

              I can't agree with you out of my experience as most of the people I'm "supporting" (in terms of tech support within friends and family) DO understand the need for security, encryption and so on. Normally they wouldn't know much about it, but it took me some time to explain them, in plain english, why it is so important to encrypt data if it's either sensitive, private or a combination thereof, inclu

    • by stikves ( 127823 )

      Yes, that's one of the reasons I'm still keeping my Windows Media Center. My shows are mine, and I can keep/delete/watch them in any way I want. I can share them across PCs, or use MCEBuddy to gut commercials, and put them on XBMC (lately Plex).

      I'll be sad when they finally pull the plug (MS tried to do so during Win 8 development, but kept it for one more release).

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • I too prefer an x86 box as a media player. After I gave up on Tivo for being WAY overpriced for its functions, i built 3 x86 MCE boxes for my TVs. Still came out WAY cheaper then 3 Tivos, and no monthly fee. Antec ISK 90 case with a Asus P8H61 mobo and a Celeron 1610 (Ivy Bridge). Works AWESOME. I have an i5 in the 'main' box for video conversion.
      • by ImdatS ( 958642 )

        I throw all my movies, tv shows, and songs into directories on a NAS.

        Then I point plex mediaserver to the directory - running on a Mac (currently an iMac or MacMini) and use Plex client to access it.

        If Plex stops any support and kills the app, I can switch to XBMC or any other solution - heck I can even switch to iTunes (all my movies/TV shows are in mp4-format anyway) or just use something like VLC to watch them.

        I *do* have a copy of my music on Google Music Services (20k songs) and on iTunes Match, for th

    • by Darkroom ( 90294 )

      However, the beta Cloud DVR functionality we provided to certain Boxee TV users will be discontinued on July 10th. You will not have access to your existing recordings after that date. We realize many of you loved the service, and we're sorry it won't be available moving forward.

      Cloud, shmoud. I wonder how many times we see variations of this over the next few years?

      If Boxee would have only had local storage too, cloud storage wouldn't have worked for several people I know because their internet connection is to slow.

  • We've migrated to using Plex + Roku for video playback to the large non-touch tablet in the living room.

    It seems to work well enough for the purposes, and avoids the XBMC issue of needing a general purpose computing device in the living room.

    Remote connectivity to android devices comes as a convenient plus.

    Min

    • by DG ( 989 )

      The BoxeeBox is a neat little device, with a few flaws that could easily be remedied in software (like a better music player)

      I love that it can Samba in to my main server and play .isos

    • Re:Plex on Roku (Score:5, Insightful)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Thursday July 04, 2013 @09:25AM (#44187437) Homepage Journal

      It seems to work well enough for the purposes, and avoids the XBMC issue of needing a general purpose computing device in the living room.

      Unfortunately, it swaps it for having to run your desktop PC and your media player at the same time. That's fine for people whose storage is connected directly to their PC anyway, but for those with NAS it's wasteful.

      • Plex Media Server can run natively on many NAS boxes. I personally run it on UnRaid, but i know it works with Synology and a few others

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • Its not wasteful if you use the right tool for the job Drinkypoo and for those that want a ULV HTPC with the ability to do just about anything a standard desktop can do as well i recommend the AMD Bobcat builds which can be as flexible as you want while still pulling only 17w under full load and less than 8w most of the time.

          But then you might as well put that machine in your living room connected to your television (whether it's acting as NAS or not) and run XBMC on it directly.

          • Here is the thing. You dont want to record on the same device you WATCH on. I have learned this through 13 years of HTPC.
            • Here is the thing. You dont want to record on the same device you WATCH on. I have learned this through 13 years of HTPC.

              That's a valid point, but unimportant if you download instead :)

            • Why not? With hardware encoding an old A64 won't even be breaking a sweat recording two shows while watching something else. haven't tried HD since I don't own an HDhomerun yet.

              • Because you shouldnt have users doing things on what is essentially a server. Believe me, i tried it for YEARS. You dont want to have to reboot the machine because the UI hung while in the middle of a recording or conversion. My HTPC certainly has the hardware to do a ton of stuff, but running a user interface is not one of them.
        • by dj245 ( 732906 )

          AMD Bobcat builds.....

          I have one of these as an HTPC. It doesn't have quite enough power to do the job perfectly, but it has enough power that I can't yet justify replacing it with something else. Extremely frustrating when Youtube runs at a slightly choppy 20fps instead of 24.

      • by Darkroom ( 90294 )

        and that's why a Roku box is a not an options for me.

        I still waiting on a small player that combines the best of Boxee Box, the DVR functions of BoxeeTV with LOCAL storage, an integrated canistreamit feature, back-lit radio remote like the Boxee Box's and DOESN'T run Windows. All these media players are missing key things between them, just one box guys. The Boxee Box is as close as I've seen.

        • XBMC on the upcoming Mad Catz Mojo with an android phone or MID (but used GB phones are cheaper) running XBMC remote? Probably still missing some of your functionality, but getting closer with every plugin.

          • by adolf ( 21054 )

            Old Android phones are getting more scarce, at a time when they should be plentiful and cheap.

            There is even an automated, vending-machine style kiosk at the mall, here, which eats phones and pays money for them.

            Where do these devices go? One theory suggests that they're refurbished and resold. Another (which I personally favor) suggests that they're paid by carriers to get old phones off the market, thus (hopefully!) eliminating the used market for useful "old" phones, and that the devices themselves end

            • I don't know, I presume they're sold used in other, less fortunate countries. I also know that a lot of people are stashing them in their desks. People on G+ occasionally post about how they have collected a whole line of phones... every one still useful, but just sitting in a drawer and honestly, what percentage of them will ever care again?

              • by adolf ( 21054 )

                As an anecdote: One of my primary clients has a number of cell phone stores. I used to be able to raid their junk bin for old Android devices and I'd come up with at least a couple of "whole" phones during each raid. (Obviously broken screen on one handset + one that doesn't power up == one "whole" phone, plus or minus some wrenching.) Sometimes, I'd even be able to score a phone that actually worked, didn't need any wrenching, and actually had a useable battery...though I always wondered why it was tha

                • Even if they're CDMA phones, perhaps they have parts in common with real phones? Displays, case parts...

    • It seems to work well enough for the purposes, and avoids the XBMC issue of needing a general purpose computing device in the living room.

      And what's wrong with having a general-purpose computing device in the living room? I run XBMC on a little Atom-based PC dedicated to that purpose. It's about the size of a hard-back book, draws very little power, and is silent. It uses a little wireless keyboard that's about the size of a game controller, so it's not like I have keyboard and mouse cables stretching acro

      • by Minupla ( 62455 )

        Mostly resource starved - the resource being my time.

        I've done it with Mythtv and XBMC, and the fact of the matter is I have fewer issues with the Roku/Plex solution. Plex runs on the household ESX server along with the firewall and assorted lab boxes which require power anyways, and the Roku plugs into the TV and provides a frontend simple enough for my 4 yr old to use.

        Min

    • by MrPeach ( 43671 )

      I have my Rokus pretty well pimped out - Plex, PlayOn, tons of channels, and a wireless router configured to allow VPN access to virtually any country so I can watch region blocked vids when I want. Plus I'm learning how to write channels for Plex in Python, which is pretty cool. Maybe ActionScript is next, or maybe I'll improve my LUA skills for writing Playon channels (and World of Warcraft add-ons).

      Cord cutting and skills honing, a win-win situation for me!

    • XBMC runs on ARM too........ The official XBMC 'device' is a Pivos android box.
  • by erroneus ( 253617 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @08:43AM (#44187183) Homepage

    For a second there, my brain read "Boxxy" instead of Boxee. I thought "OMG! What a awesome spokesmodel?!"

    • Yes, that certainly would have made this story more interesting, but no one was really dumb enough to assume that.

      Especially not me. I didn't come here to make that exact same comment before seeing yours. Cough.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • I actually don't remember anything cool about the show besides the launch tubes and the WW2 like dogfights in their starfighters.
          Of course these days, I always mention the disco, but really it was the launch tubes.
          So yes, if they had decided to do anything interesting with any character other than ummm Faceman?, it would of been awesome.
    • You've obviously only seen the stills.

      Watch one of the videos. She would be a terrible spokes model, unless you could get her to shut the fuck up.

  • by jeffb (2.718) ( 1189693 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @09:02AM (#44187305)

    I'm in the market for a new TV. Since I'm very, very old, I'm upgrading from a 25-year-old CRT TV, and I don't think I care much about 4K. I'm prone to VR sickness, so I don't want 3D, either.

    I realize that I probably can't count on my next TV lasting 25 years. But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television, so that following the curve of technological advancement means pitching the entire huge TV into the waste stream? A media box has a single, well-defined interface to the TV -- one cord, a few if you want to get fancy -- and occupies not very many cubic inches of space. What's the advantage of integrating it into the TV, other than increasing the TV manufacturer's profit margin?

    Someone upthread issued flamebait about MS Media Center, and I'm surprised the flamebait for Apple TV didn't appear even sooner. To me, buying a "Smart TV" is buying into another ecosystem just like them, only with a much tinier R&D budget, probably a less-polished UI, and much dimmer prospects for long-term support.

    • by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Thursday July 04, 2013 @09:23AM (#44187423) Homepage Journal

      If I could get Google TV integrated into my TV for little money, I'd take it. It's relatively open, etc. I wouldn't pay a lot. But I would actively avoid a TV with a highly proprietary software stack, and I certainly wouldn't pay very much for any integrated system.

      It seems like they ought to be able to add in the functionality we're talking about for twenty or thirty bucks, though, given the price of a Raspberry Pi. I would certainly pay thirty dollars to get Google TV added to a decent-sized TV.

      It also seems to me that if we had a standard involving a power jack, an HDMI connection, and CEC, that we could have upgradable media player modules. It's not rocket surgery. But of course, it would require cooperation, which is why it won't happen.

    • I'm in the same camp. My XBox and Roku already serve my needs, so why spend more money to have that built into the TV? If you do your research, you'll find that most companies have a smart TV model that has all of the same features as a similar model of theirs, but the smart TV model costs more.

      I like what Roku has done recently with their streaming stick. It's a thumb drive-sized Roku that plugs into the MHL port of newer TVs. Your media box doesn't even have to have a footprint anymore!

    • by Anonymous Coward

      I ended up with a smart tv because it was last year's model and a really nice, brand new samsung tv at a great price. I didn't care about the smart part but now that I have it, I have to admit it's really nice. Think of it like this, right now I can enjoy amazon prime, netflix and hulu plus straight from my tv with one remote that will navigate them all. Sure, it's a pain to have to type with a remote if you are browsing netflix but i'm really enjoying the clutter-free look and not having yet another de

    • None
      Smart tv's are smart about reaching into your wallet after the purchase

      All they

    • by MightyYar ( 622222 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @10:01AM (#44187727)

      But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television, so that following the curve of technological advancement means pitching the entire huge TV into the waste stream?

      You don't pitch it - you use the built-in media box until it becomes obsolete, and then you hook up an external box and use it like a dumb TV. At the end of the day, you've spent money on one less media box.

      • At the end of the day, you've spent money on one less media box.

        That's a bit naive, R&D, hardware and manufacturing costs are still there even if it is integrated into your TV and why would manufacturers not want to recoup those costs?

        • by Shados ( 741919 )

          smart tvs tend to have ads if they're hooked up. In many, many cases, that makes them -cheaper- than normal TVs with similar specs. And if you don't use the smart TV features, you don't get the ads....but you still get the cheaper price point.

        • It's still going to be lower priced than a stand-alone box.

          They may be willing to swallow the development costs to have a competitive advantage against a wall full of identical-looking TVs at Walmart.

      • by SeaFox ( 739806 )

        You don't pitch it - you use the built-in media box until it becomes obsolete, and then you hook up an external box and use it like a dumb TV. At the end of the day, you've spent money on one less media box.

        If you take a look at TV set feature/pricing levels, you'll notice that the smart-TV features add an excess to the TV set price that is far higher than the separate media boxes run for. Also, if you buy the first media box built into your TV you can't eBay it when you get the successor.

        It's really smarter to just buy dumb HDTV/Monitors and then purchase the media box separately to start with.

    • by laffer1 ( 701823 ) <luke@@@foolishgames...com> on Thursday July 04, 2013 @10:02AM (#44187737) Homepage Journal

      As someone who owns a smart tv, an apple tv and a ps3, you're not confused. Smart TV features suck in TVs. They do update them periodically regardless if you want them to or not and the menus are awful to navigate. A few times, I've had to reboot my TV due to a flaky update. Buying a new $100 set top box is no big deal... I upgraded the original apple tv to a v2 some years back painlessly. I get a few years out of one and buy a new one when they actually add features I care about. With the TV, I don't want it to do much.. in reality i just want a monitor with a remote to turn it on and off. I don't use the tuner. I don't change the input source. It's all through my receiver and cable box. If anything, I want a dumb tv.

      • by ArcadeMan ( 2766669 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @10:59AM (#44188087)

        You want a computer monitor.

        • by tepples ( 727027 )
          With a "computer monitor", how does one receive OTA TV (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS) or route the audio in an HDMI signal to speakers?
          • by adolf ( 21054 )

            Answer: One doesn't.

            in reality i just want a monitor with a remote to turn it on and off. I don't use the tuner. I don't change the input source. It's all through my receiver and cable box. If anything, I want a dumb tv.

            (Also: Context. Sometimes it even lets you answer your own questions.)

          • by mjwx ( 966435 )

            With a "computer monitor", how does one receive OTA TV (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS) or route the audio in an HDMI signal to speakers?

            TV capture card and sound card.

            I've had a Mythbuntu based PC that has been doing that since I built it in 2008. The entire thing cost me A$350 including the case and capture card. I can output the sound on HDMI, line out or both.

            In retrospect, I should have saved $42 on the capture card as I never use it. Nothing worth watching on TV.

    • I spent extra money for a 47" "smart" TV. Picture is fine. The smart part of it SUCKS compared to my roku box. Get the dumb TV you want and then pick the streaming box you want.

      What did my smart TV get me? Well, it randomly locks up while streaming. Note, by "locks up" I mean you have to unplug the TV to get it restarted. Looked online and a lot of people have the same problem. You know, restarting a buggy app is fine. Stuff happens. Having to unplug your TV to reboot it...that should *never* happen. I paid

      • Is there any manufacturer out there (3rd party or not) that JUST makes big screens? I know in the world of desktop monitors you can get one of those generic Korean 2560x1440 monitors for relatively cheap.

        I want a big 50-60" screen with a few HDMI in ports and nothing else. Nothing. If I want OTA I'll have another box decode that.

        • US law requires anything being sold as a "television" to have a built-in digital tuner". This was intended to prevent potential fraud situations where a customer thought they were buying a television (that can receive OTA) but were actually being sold a monitor (that can't).

          But, if someone is selling a big screen as a monitor, it's 1024 x 768 resolution makes it sound horrible, even if that's fine for HDTV viewing. So I don't think there are many of these on the market.

          I'm not bothered by any of this. Th

        • Samsung among many others manufacture "dumb" screens for purposes such as digital signage so start loff by ooking for resellers of that. Something which doesn't quite fit your specs but that I have been considering to get is one of these: http://www.elotouch.com/Products/IDS/5500L/default.asp [elotouch.com].
    • But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television

      Convenience. We have Netflix built into our TV. If my wife wants to watch something she just pushes the red button on the remote and starts browsing. Means we don't need yet another box next to the television.

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      What's the advantage of integrating it into the TV, other than increasing the TV manufacturer's profit margin?

      Exactly. TVs are a commodity - there's very little that differentiates one TV from another, and most consumers will go for the cheapest. There's very little money to be made in TVs (which is why Apple's rumored TV is most peculiar).

      It comes about because the processors used in TVs are getting very powerful for what they're used for - these days you're talking about single or dual core ARM processors

    • by Darkroom ( 90294 )

      and a lot of people don't even plug their Smart TV into the internet. I plan for my next TV to just be a big dumb LCD panel and plug one of my Boxee Boxes into that. I'll just give my BoxeeTV, I was just testing with anyways, to someone and they can use it as an enhanced digital TV converter box.

    • I realize that I probably can't count on my next TV lasting 25 years. But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television, so that following the curve of technological advancement means pitching the entire huge TV into the waste stream?

      Your digital tv is a media box ---

      The essential codecs and hardware are baked in, licensed, and ready to go. Ethernet and Wi-Fi adds next to nothing to the price of your set.

      Walmart.com has about eighty "Smart TVs" in stock, starting at $300.

    • by maccodemonkey ( 1438585 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @04:59PM (#44190395)

      I'm in the market for a new TV. Since I'm very, very old, I'm upgrading from a 25-year-old CRT TV, and I don't think I care much about 4K. I'm prone to VR sickness, so I don't want 3D, either.

      I realize that I probably can't count on my next TV lasting 25 years. But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television, so that following the curve of technological advancement means pitching the entire huge TV into the waste stream?

      Samsung TV's have upgradable motherboards so you can upgrade the hardware that drives the smart tv functions independently of the rest of the box.
      http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/accessories/SEK-1000/XY?subsubtype=accessories [samsung.com]

      I'm not a big Samsung fan, but that's your answer.

      • Now, that's interesting. Not enough to convince me completely -- I have my doubts about how long, or how cost-effectively, Samsung will support this upgrade path -- but it's certainly a point in their favor. Samsung was already high on my TV-brand list for other reasons, and this only makes their case stronger.

        Thanks for the link!

  • by RobinH ( 124750 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @09:14AM (#44187359) Homepage
    I know this reflects more on DLink, but I got a Boxee Box when they first came out, and while the idea is really great, the implementation sucked. The Boxee Box frequently freezes or crashes and it's underpowered. The remote control is great that it has a keyboard on the back, but the cursor control for the mouse leaves a lot to be desired. A new version did help a bit, but it's still annoying. Add to that the fact that lots of apps just seem to stop working after a while (not updating their feeds, etc.). Some content just stops working (like CityTV?) apparently because Boxee won't update their version of flash player. Overall, neat idea but sucky experience. Next time I'd just build my own media PC, not buy an appliance.
    • If the first one was so bad, why did you buy a second?

      By the way, I've been pretty happy with my Roku XD. It's significantly smaller than any media PC I could have bought and serves all of my needs, and hasn't in my experience had the problems you've had with Boxee.

      • by RobinH ( 124750 )
        I only bought one. Not sure where I gave you the impression I bought 2.
        • A new version did help a bit, but it's still annoying.

          Probably thought you meant hardware instead of software.

    • Yeah, I got a DLink Boxee Box early on, and it's a shame how they botched the software updates. I can't complain about the hardware, it plays just about anything over wireless with no issues, video looks great, the remote is quite well designed, and the audio over S/PDIF is just incredible. But they pushed out frequent buggy updates for a while, breaking things left and right, and then pretty much stopped all updates once they hit a build that wasn't *too* broken. The software's audio player has been a st
  • by gstoddart ( 321705 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @09:15AM (#44187373) Homepage

    I'm of the opinion that a smart TV is a really stupid idea.

    Starting with the fact that I don't trust the vendors (not to spy on me, not to be incompetent at security, not to be douchebags), moving on to the fact that my expected lifespan for the display is longer than the software is going to be useful, and moving on to the fact that they'll eventually try to dictate how I can watch TV and feed that information back to someone else ... I just don't see this as being a good thing for me, the consumer.

    My current TV (a nice 55" LCD) is used as a monitor only -- my amplifier feeds it a video signal, which it gets from one of several devices. It doesn't participate in channel selection, volume, or anything other than knowing which video signal it needs.

    The way manufacturers are going, any device which isn't a full-on computer is never going to be connected to a network, and won't be bought if it requires that. Not my DVD player, not my video game, not my TV. At least not without a firewall rule which prevents it from getting to the internet.

    Because they keep demonstrating they're not trustworthy.

    I'm not prepared to have some asshole corporation sneak updates onto my TV, or randomly update the EULA saying they're allowed to do whatever bullshit they've come up with this week, or generally act like they own the device when I paid for it.

    These smart devices mostly just seem to give the corporations more control over stuff we paid for. Which I'm sure they think is awesome, but I'll pass.

    • My current TV (a nice 55" LCD) is used as a monitor only -- my amplifier feeds it a video signal, which it gets from one of several devices. It doesn't participate in channel selection, volume, or anything other than knowing which video signal it needs

      Is it wife and grandparent-babysitter user friendly?

      • Is it wife and grandparent-babysitter user friendly?

        The wife can operate it just fine -- turn on the amp, select one of 4 input sources, turn on the input source. It aint rocket science. The amp does the video switching, it'a a pretty common setup for a home theatre.

        No kids, no babysitters ... NMFP.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Is it wife and grandparent-babysitter user friendly?

        Logitech Harmony (and similar) remotes make everything but the most horribly configured A/V setups wife/kid/grandparent/babysitter friendly

  • No (Score:5, Informative)

    by yoink! ( 196362 ) on Thursday July 04, 2013 @10:41AM (#44187983) Homepage Journal

    FTA: "Boxee has had a hard time adapting to the quickly changing environment where appliances have converged with televisions (morphing into Smart TVs), and I'm sure Samsung is looking to integrate the software in some form or another into their smart TVs."

    No. Boxee shunned the very people who championed their product, locking down their previously open software, based on already-open software, and mating it to poor hardware. Boxee abandoned all that made them Boxee to begin with. [wikipedia.org] (I can't seem to find the multi-page comment thread from Boxee's blog when they announced EOL for the still-buggy Boxee-box - maybe someone can get it [FIXED].)

    For those who aren't in the loop, a simple (and not yet fully exploited) "hack" was found: http://boxeeplus.com/ [boxeeplus.com]

    • by Flammon ( 4726 )

      I couldn't believe the Boxee guys had the audacity and stupidity to turn on the people who supported them. I sold my Boxee Box about 1 month after I bought it and got 2 ATV2's for about the same price! The ATV2 was $99 and the Boxee Box was $180 IIRC. I prefer XMBC over Firecore but at least I have the freedom to chose on my jailbroken ATV2.

    • I was one of those early supporters of the BoxeeBox. I still have one, it is functional, but there's a few annoying bugs and the flash player hasn't been updated in ages, making one of its primary function unusable. Never again will I support the Boxee brand. It's Roku for me, or something similar.

  • TV is overdue for an "Apple-ization".

    If Samsung integrates this before it addresses the EDID negotiation on "inactive" input channels problem that most of their televisions suffer from, then they are just adding widgets to a poorly performing product. I shouldn't have to have an input be the active input before it is willing to negotiate EDID, and the reason Samsung TVs often make poor computer monitors for Samsung computers/laptops is that they won't dod an EDID negotiation on an electrictically active ch

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