Hulu Plus lovers, rejoice: Apple’s Apple TV 5.2.1 software update, released on Tuesday, brings a redesigned interface for the premium TV and movie streaming service. The update also patches a number of bugs involving the execution of unsigned code and security holes in the Apple TV’s kernel.

According to a blog post from Hulu senior product manager Dave Herman, the new app was redesigned, ground-up, by the company’s in-house engineering team. Its interface provides a list of content categories and links along the top of the screen, with several carousels below that offer new releases, shows you watch, and recently popular items.

Hulu’s also thrown in a bonus for its hearing-impaired customers: Hold down the Select button on your Apple TV remote while a show is playing, and you can activate closed-captioning for that video. (Netflix implemented the same functionality in its Apple TV offering late last year.)

You can download the update by turning on your Apple TV, then going to Settings > General > Update Software.

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We start off the week with an amuse-bouche of an iPhone rumor, followed by a few light helpings of iTunes in the Cloud. Finally, for dessert, half a dozen assorted flavors of Kindle Fire. Tuck in to the remainders for Monday, July 23, 2012.

What’s up dock? Apple to shrink connector for iPhone 5 (Reuters)

Our rumor du jour today is a delicious “smaller iPhone dock connector” bisque. It’s served with a half sandwich of sadness-that-you’ll-have-to-replace-all-your-accessories.

Tablets in the Workforce (AllThingsD)

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Stream TV Networks, which develops glasses-free 3D technology for TV sets, said iPad, iPhone and Apple TV users will be able to beam movie or application images to upcoming glasses-free 3D TV sets based on the company’s autostereoscopic technology.

Movies purchased from Apple’s iTunes store or applications such as Angry Birds can be beamed to glasses-free 3D TVs with Stream TV Networks’ Ultra-D technology, said Mathu Rajan, CEO of the company. The technology combines an optical lens on a panel and a software and hardware layer to convert high-definition images into a format suitable for glasses-free 3D TVs.

For example, users can stream Netflix movies through Apple TV, and the Ultra-D software layer does the 2D-to-3D conversion into a format suitable for the glasses-free 3D TV. The layer can also convert in real-time stereoscopic 3D images or high-definition images from the Xbox or PlayStation gaming consoles. In a demonstration, 3D content was easy viewable from different angles without glasses, and the image quality did not deteriorate.

Stream TV is also making the capability available for Android devices, which also includes Google TV.

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Televisions must evolve to become fully interactive and connected to online services in order to keep their position at the center of the home, a Panasonic executive said Tuesday.

Internet-backed apps and features, and the ability to interact with other wired devices like phones and tablets are now as important as picture quality and design, said Hirotoshi Uehara, a managing director in Panasonic’s TV division.

“Smart TVs will continue to evolve to become interactive communication devices within the home,” said Uehara, who spoke at the Computex exhibition currently underway in Taipei.

Panasonic’s most recent sets support a Web browser with HTML 5, the new version of the markup language that allows developers to more easily create interactive sites, as well as cloud-based apps and services. Its TVs also interact with its smartphones and tablets, allowing users to flip pictures and video between the devices and use their handsets as television remote controls.

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In the world of TV set top boxes, TiVo has managed to hang in there, despite heavy competition from TV service providers, Apple, Google, other third parties, and even the TVs themselves. TiVo on Monday announced a couple of new products that they hope will give them an edge over the competition—the key product being TiVo Stream, which will allow TiVo user to stream content to iOS devices.

While the ability to stream a DVR’s content to an iPad of iPhone can be found on other devices, TiVo says that TiVo Stream is unique in that it will let you watch a recorded show on multiple devices without affecting what’s being watched on the TV. Also, TiVo says that TiVo Stream will have support for transferring a recorded show to an iOS device “for viewing outside the home.”

However, to use TiVo Stream, you’ll need to have a TiVo Premiere box, which start at $150, plus a service plan that costs $15 per month (or you can pay a one-time $500 fee for the life of the box).

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A U.S. senator has urged the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to investigate whether Comcast is violating conditions imposed in its early 2011 merger with NBCUniversal.

Senator Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, questioned whether Comcast’s recent decision to exempt its own Xfinity on demand service for the Microsoft Xbox 360 from its broadband data cap violates the merger conditions set by the DOJ.

“When the Obama administration signed off on Comcast's merger with NBCUniversal, it laid out a set of rules to prevent Comcast from squashing its competitors—including popular cable alternatives—and hurting consumers who have seen rapidly rising cable rates over the last several years,” Franken said in a statement. “If Comcast is violating the administration's orders, it should face significant penalties so consumers know they can count on the administration to protect it from anticompetitive conduct that could mean higher bills.”

Franken also raised concerns that Comcast's 250GB-per-month data cap will limit online video competition.

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When Dan Kerzner wants to show his colleagues at Microstrategy the latest numbers for the company, he calls them into a conference room that's equipped with a television and he fires up his iPad—and without further fuss the spreadsheet on his tablet is on the big screen for all to see.

Kerzner isn’t using a projection system. There aren’t a lot of cables snaking around the table and floor. Instead, he and his colleagues at MicroStrategy (which develops business-intelligence apps) are using a sometimes-mocked product—the the Apple TV ( )—for something it wasn’t specifically designed to do: Connect iOS devices to televisions in meeting rooms. Turns out that, by making it easy for workers with AirPlay-enabled iPhones and iPads to wirelessly project their presentations to the big screen, the Apple TV can in fact be a useful business tool.

“I can just pop into a conference room and share the data from the palm of my hand,” says Kerzner, senior vice president of MicroStrategy’s mobile division. “You don’t have to do the normal VGA-cable shuffle.”

MicroStrategy likes the Apple TV so much that the company is pushing clients to adopt the hardware in their businesses as well, saying it makes business presentations less expensive and more convenient.

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We’ve talked a lot about the iPad lately, but that’s not the only updated hardware Apple rolled out this month. The company also introduced a new version of the Apple TV, featuring 1080p support and an updated interface. And it’s this new Apple TV that’s the focus of this week’s Macworld Podcast.

I’m joined by two Apple TV experts—senior editors Christopher Breen and Dan Frakes. They share their experiences with the updated Apple TV software—which also works on the second-generation Apple TV—and the new hardware.

Download Episode #293

• AAC version (15.8 MB, 32 minutes)

• MP3 version (15.2 MB, 32 minutes)

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Some of those who obsessively track the delivery of their Apple products have noticed that while the third-generation iPad will, as promised, be delivered Friday (even when sitting in a delivery facility a stone’s throw from their intended recipients), the latest Apple TV models are slated for delivery today.

We’ve heard from a handful of readers that these delivery reports are no lie. The knock on my office door just a minute ago confirms it. The FedEx fairy is indeed delivering these 1080p units.

To track the progress of your delivery, visit Apple’s Online Order Status page.

The new iPad gets a legendary first unboxing, the rumored iTV is spotted overseas, and Microsoft has created a magical new touchscreen. The remainders for Tuesday, March 13, 2012 are the stuff that dreams are made of.

Tinhte.vn - Trên tay iPad 2012 (The new iPad) (YouTube)

Look, the first unboxing video of a new iPad! What do you mean it looks just like the iPad 2? I can totally tell the difference, can’t you? Also, perhaps you would be interested in a cover for it that only smart people can see?

Jefferies’ Peter Misek went to Asia and thought he saw iTV (Fortune)

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The iPad has some new capabilities—if not a new name—and that’s just one of the Apple products unveiled Wednesday. On this episode of the Macworld Podcast, we dive into each and every announcement coming out of Wednesday’s press event—from the iPad to iOS app updates to Apple TV—with three Macworld editors who were on hand at the Yerba Buena Theater in San Francisco.

I’m joined by editorial director Jason Snell, senior editor Christopher Breen, and senior associate editor Dan Moren. All three not only attended Apple’s press event, they also enjoyed a little hands-on time with the iPad. And they share their impressions and initial thoughts in this jumbo-sized podcast.

Download Episode #291

• AAC version (27 MB, 52 minutes)

• MP3 version (25 MB, 52 minutes)

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Look out: That app accessing your photos is coming from inside your pants. Elsewhere, there’s conflicting stories on audio quality in iTunes, a new Italian Apple Store shrouded in secrecy, and spine-tingling Apple event rumors. The remainders for Tuesday, February 28, 2012 are alone in the dark.

Apple Loophole Gives Developers Access to Photos (New York Times)

So, I hope you saved some outrage. Seems that not only can apps get access to your iPhone’s contacts, but once you allow them to know your location they can also copy all your photos. I’m just relieved that they don’t have access to most embarrassing data on my phone—my Hero Academy scores.

Sprint committed to $15.5B iPhone contract in 2011, expects to buy more (AppleInsider)

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As reported by TUAW, the app works by encoding your display’s image as H.264 video, then transmitting that to an Apple TV on the same wireless network. It’s essentially a real-time screen capture, which is a clever way of mirroring the display, but it sacrifices image quality due to the data compression required. It will be interesting to see how AirPlay Mirroring compares in this regard.

There are a few other caveats with the current version of AirParrot to be aware of. For one, it only supports video—no audio is broadcasted via AirPlay. However, AirParrot’s developers say this will be added in a future update. Also, DRM-wrapped videos from iTunes won’t play through AirParrot. To work around this, you have to display the video through the iTunes implementation of AirPlay instead.

Although Apple is incorporating a similar feature in its newest operating system, this doesn’t render AirParrot obsolete. AirParrot still has a few advantages that make it worthwhile—compatibility with Snow Leopard and Lion, and support for a wider range of computers. Apple says that AirPlay Mirroring in Mountain Lion will require Macs with a second-generation Intel Core processor, while AirParrot simply recommends Nvidia or Intel HD graphics chipsets for optimal results. Plus, you can start using AirParrot today—there’s no need to wait for Mountain Lion.

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[On Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, where he was interviewed on stage by Bill Shope, Goldman Sachs’s IT hardware analyst. Here’s an edited transcript of what Cook had to say on a variety of topics, ranging from working conditions at Apple’s Chinese suppliers to Apple’s culture and ethos.]

On working conditions in China

The first thing that I would want everyone to know is that Apple takes working conditions very, very seriously, and we have for a very long time. Whether workers are in Europe or in Asia or in the United States, we care about every worker. I spent a lot of time in factories, personally, and not just as an executive. I worked in a paper mill in Alabama and an aluminum plant in Virginia. Many of our top managers and executives visit factories on a regular basis and we have hundreds of employees that are based there full-time. So we are very closely connected to the production process and we understand worker conditions at a very granular level.

Now, I realize that the supply chain is complex and I’m sure that you realize this. And the issues surrounding it can be complex, but our commitment is very, very simple: We believe that every worker has the right to a fair and safe work environment, free of discrimination, where they can earn competitive wages and they can voice their concerns freely. And Apple suppliers must live up to this to do business with Apple.

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Google is planning to enter the home entertainment market with a Google-branded wireless device that streams music within a house, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to music, the device may also stream other media, the Journal reported on Thursday, quoting anonymous sources familiar with the company’s plans.

The Google home entertainment system, which could make its debut later this year, would let users download digital content and stream it to other home devices like speakers also made by Google or by other vendors. The product is the brainchild of Google’s Android team, the Journal reported.

Google has a cloud-based online music service called Google Music, which includes song and album sales and is integrated with the company’s Google+ social network. Google Music also lets users store and play back music.

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Apple maneuvers Mac sales straight down a trench, Target is bringing expanded Apple displays (no more than two meters wide) to its stores, and Samsung says Apple’s TV plans are a one-in-a-million shot, kid. May the remainders for Thursday, January 12, 2012 be with you.

Gartner Says Worldwide PC Shipments in Fourth Quarter of 2011 Declined 1.4 Percent; Year-End Shipments Increased 0.5 Percent (Gartner)

Not only does Gartner say that Apple maintained its position as the third largest shipper of PCs in the U.S last quarter, but it was the only one of the top five vendors that actually experienced growth year over year, with a 20 percent increase. You know, there’s a reason that Apple’s quarterly financial results are audio-only, and that’s because the company doesn’t want you seeing Tim Cook and Peter Oppenheimer repeatedly high-fiving.

Target Plans Apple Mini-Stores (New York Times)

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Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told an audience at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that the future of technology will be getting all the electronics in our lives to friend each other.

Schmidt, speaking before a standing-room-only crowd at the show in Las Vegas Tuesday afternoon, said devices aren’t living up to their full potential unless they’re connected. That ecosystem includes devices, operating systems, applications and content.

“Computing devices without a network are lonely,” he said. “You really want to be able to walk into your house and, through your Android device, have all the devices in your house adjust because you’ve walked in. The TV should know that you’ve come in and turn on to your favorite show.”

And the growth of that digital ecosystem is the future that Schmidt envisions.

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As a member of a one-TV/Comcast household—and the only member of that household who much prefers to watch televised sporting events over, say, a formulaic crime drama or anything Kardashian-related—I’m often outvoted when it comes to deciding what to watch. But now, with Comcast’s new AnyPlay, I’ll soon be able to use the iPad as a second TV to watch Comcast’s live TV service.

AnyPlay is a device that works through the Xfinity TV app on the iPad. The app already allows for on-demand video, but the new AnyPlay allows you to “watch the channels that are included in your linear channel subscription,” according to a Comcast Voices blog entry written by Mark Hess, senior vice president of video product development at Comcast.

To use AnyPlay, you must have Comcast’s Xfinity Triple Play service and be enrolled in the Xfinity Insider program. Comcast says you may also have to pay $10 for an AnyPlay self-installation kit, which includes the AnyPlay device that plugs into an Ethernet port of your wireless router. According to the Comcast blog post, the AnyPlay device uses your home router to deliver a secure video signal to your iPad. Comcast says you can watch most of the channels included in the Xfinity TV service, but not channels that launch On Demand.

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Samsung Electronics announced a host of new gadgets at CES on Monday, including smart TVs with face recognition plus voice and gesture control.

The Korean manufacturer made a strong statement with its smart TV lineup, where it is competing to find a compelling recipe for Internet-connected sets. Samsung said all its devices would easily interconnect in the future, showing videos of cameras easily streaming photos to PCs and televisions, and a washing-machine smartphone app that tracks when your laundry is finished.

"The heart of this ecosystem is the TV," said Boo-Keun Yoon, president of the company's display business.

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Lenovo on Sunday announced its first smart TV that will recognize voice commands and run Android 4.0 applications, getting a jump over Apple’s rumored pursuit of TVs with advanced features.

The K91 Smart TV will provide classic TV functionality, but also include voice control and console-quality gaming capabilities, said Nick Reynolds, director at Lenovo. Users will be able to operate TVs through voice commands instead of the traditional way of using buttons on remote controls.

“This allows the user to tell the remote control what they want to do, such as accessing thousands of TV apps available running on Android 4.0, or accessing LenovoCloud service to download new upgrades, and also access personal multimedia content or interact on social networks,” Reynolds said.

This could give Lenovo an edge over Apple, which is rumored to be pursuing the TV market with a television set. Speculation of Apple’s introduction of a TV gained ground after rumors emerged from the biography of former CEO Steve Jobs that Apple was tinkering with the idea of creating an easy-to-use integrated TV set that could sync with other devices and Apple’s iCloud service. Analysts have mostly backed the idea of Apple’s imminent launch of a TV set, but some analysts have doubts. Apple already offers the Apple TV set-top box to stream movies and other content.

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The iPhone 4S lives to fight another day in Italy, iAd may gain new life thanks to a fresh face, and the lifelike Steve Jobs figure may never see the light of day. The remainders for Thursday, January 5, 2012 are alive! Aliiiiiiiiive!

Italian court denies Samsung motion for preliminary injunction against iPhone 4S (FOSS Patents)

The Italian courts have denied a request from Samsung to block sales of the iPhone 4S in Italy. This follows a similar failure in France last month. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Apple uses that in its marketing material.

Apple Is Said to Hire Adobe Executive Todd Teresi to Run IAd (Bloomberg)

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Set-top boxes? Built-in software on your TV? That’s so 2011. For 2012, media center manufacturer Roku is taking a different approach: The company on Wednesday announced that it would be compressing its traditional set-top software into a thumbdrive-sized Streaming Stick, to be available in the second half of 2012.

Designed for televisions with the new MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) port, the Streaming Stick offers Roku’s full complement of software without the need for a bulky set-top box. Roku has partnered with TV manufacturer Insignia to bundle the Streaming Stick with the company’s new HDTV line, though the device will also be available as a standalone purchase. As the MHL port is still quite new, and not available on most televisions, the Streaming Stick won’t be shipping until later this year.

Sounds intriguing, to be sure, but why go this route over built-in software or a set-top box? According to Roku, it’s all about space and upgradeability. Since the Streaming Stick connects directly to a television’s MHL port, it keeps you from having to add cables and boxes to your entertainment setup; additionally, if you purchase a MHL-compatible television with built-in software, and next year that software is rendered obsolete, you can still take advantage of all the technology the Streaming Stick has to offer, without having to upgrade your entire television.

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