Filed under: Apple TV
Do-it-yourself Apple TV upgrade Kit
WeaKnees is now shipping a do-it-yourself Apple TV upgrade kit. If you're not afraid of cracking open your new Apple TV and doing a little work on your own, this is a great way to save some time and perform the upgrade in a safe fashion. WeaKnees provides a pre-formatted Apple TV-compatible 160GB 2.5" Seagate drive, a couple of Torx screwdrivers, installation and a hefty amount of support (via phone, e-mail and forums). You remove the rubber backing from your Apple TV, unscrew a few screws, replace the hard drive and put it all back together. Plug it back in and you're upgraded. You don't have to spend hours copying disks, expanding partitions or any of the difficult or tedious steps involved in upgrading. Best of all, WeaKness says it provides a six month warranty.
Let's do the math here. If you were to walk into a CompUSA to buy a 160 GB Seagate, it would set you back $140. A couple of Torx screwdrivers? About $5-$10 at Lowes. So for that extra $50 or so, you save yourself some gas and a day of work (and, trust me, I've *been* there doing that disk copying and restoring--and it's overrated and boring and can fail if you don't have the proper external enclosures). And you get that warranty as well.
So if you've hesitated about doing the upgrade but you're not afraid of opening a computer, this may be the opportunity you've been waiting for. I'm thinking about doing this myself.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sabon said 5:32PM on 4-12-2007
I just used them for an upgrade for my series 2 DirecTV/Tivo unit and it was easy and perfect and took about ten minutes. I could do it in five minutes now.
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Bratling said 6:41PM on 4-12-2007
I wonder how they plan to avoid being sued into the ground by Apple for distributing Apple software?
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Tostinni said 7:56PM on 4-12-2007
I think they just forget the biggest feature needed for all "tweakers" (to later add plugins...), unable SSHD.
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Sabon said 10:44AM on 4-13-2007
2. I wonder how they plan to avoid being sued into the ground by Apple for distributing Apple software?
Posted at 6:41PM on Apr 12th 2007 by Bratling
I believe the way it works is that since they aren't giving you something you don't already have, they aren't giving you a free additional license.
Meaning that since you have to already have Apple TV and you aren't creating a new additional unit using their upgrade, then there is no issue. I think that's why TiVo and DirecTV don't have problems with them either.
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Eleventeen said 8:33PM on 4-13-2007
A good set of Torx bits is a necessary addition to any gadget hacker's toolbox anyhow.
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