Apple TV Take 2 - Get it?

So this year's Apple Keynote was today. The new MacBook Air looks pretty sweet at first glance, but not having a user-replaceable battery is a pretty big strike against it. With a computer this tiny however, I personally couldn't see myself doing anything on it which would have me missing it for a few days when the battery needs replacing 2 years from now. It's the total net-surfing, paper-writing-while-sitting-on-the-couch machine.

There was also an update to the iPhone, which was not all that earth-shattering. Also a "companion" to Time Machine called Time Capsule - which really is just an AirPort Extreme with a hard drive. In reality though, shouldn't I be able to use Time Machine with an external hard drive that I have hooked up to my AirPort Extreme? Lame.

What really stuck out for me was the new features / price for Apple TV & movie rentals. While it's awesome I can rent movies directly through Apple TV and watch them on my wide screen and/or HD Television (I still need to get both an Apple TV & HD set), I still wish the Apple TV worked more like a Tivo or other DVR. Record my favorite TV shows automatically, and let me watch them when I want. With the Apple TV in its current state though, there is nothing stopping me from acquiring said TV shows from the Internet and transferring them over my network to the Apple TV to watch them on our nice new couch on our future television. The Apple TV seems to be inching closer and closer to being a pretty awesome media hub for your home theater it's just not completely there yet....

To wrap it up, not a bad couple of new products/features, but nothing to write home about really. I'll have to check out a MacBook Air at a store to get a final opinion on it. If you can live without DVR capabilities AppleTV is worth the plunge.

Links:
Watch the Keynote : Apple.com
The Unofficial Apple Weblog's Coverage
Engadget