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.
Share
Categories
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...
Add a Comment
A good set of Torx bits is a necessary addition to any gadget hacker's toolbox anyhow.
April 13 2007 at 8:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply2. 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.
I think they just forget the biggest feature needed for all "tweakers" (to later add plugins...), unable SSHD.
I wonder how they plan to avoid being sued into the ground by Apple for distributing Apple software?
April 12 2007 at 6:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI 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.
April 12 2007 at 5:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
Deals of the Day
more deals- Altec Lansing Octiv Duo iDock for $48 + free shipping
- Used Apple iMac 17" Core 2 Duo 1.83GHz for $430 + $28 s&h
- Lounge Deluxe Stand for iPhone / iPod touch for $28 + $8 s&h
- Brookstone Surround-Sound Earbuds for $14 + $7 s&h
- Refurbished Skullcandy Tokidoki Smokin' Buds Mic'd Headset for $5 + $2 s&h
- Stitchway Backup Battery for iPod / iPhone for $5 + free shipping
Software Updates
more updates- EFI Firmware Update brings Lion Internet Recovery to 2010-model Macs
- OS X Lion 10.7.3 released with Safari 5.1.3, Wi-Fi bug fix
- Aperture updated to 3.2.2, addresses Photo Stream issue
- Apple updates Keynote to address Lion issues
- Google Search app gets new look on iPad
- Apple releases Apple TV Software Update 4.4.3



5 Comments