So Apple TV is finally out. Is it just us, or did it cause less of a stir than we thought it would? The general consensus is a qualified “Meh,” which we concur with. Does it suck? No. Does it rock? No. It just is, it’s a box that does what it does, and we suppose there’s nothing wrong with that.
But what if it’s cooler than Apple is letting on? The Apple TV is like an ex-girlfriend (or, indeed, boyfriend): The only way to know the real story is to tear it apart and see how it works. That’s exactly what the dirty punks at TechRestore have done. They got their hands on one of the first units to hit the streets and wasted no time in ripping it open to expose its guts to the world, and you’d better believe they made some nice, geargore porn with it.
So what’s so hot inside the Apple TV? Tape. Lots of it. It appears to be pretty much what we figured: A souped-up micro PC with media-out adapters. The good news is it’s put together fairly well, everything fitting neatly into the little box, and that hard drive is totally warranty-voidingly upgradable.
The bad news: If you were planning on wiping the firmware and making this thing some sort of lightweight Linux box, it’s not so hot. Everything’s on the board, including the RAM. You’re really better off re-purposing that eMachine from the free box in your laundry room.
If you like what you see here, hit the link for more innards. [Tech Restore]