Jailbreaking your Apple TV 2 to watch Hulu

Below are the steps I took to get Hulu up and running on my Apple TV 2 (hereafter referred to as ATV) using the latest firmware 4.4.4.

Since it took some effort to get all the steps right, I figured I'd try to save someone else some time and post the instructions here.

(Credit where credit is due: This post has been largely based on an anonymous post at the Firecore blog comments section.  That original post is available here:

http://blog.firecore.com/5180

The anonymous post was left at Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:51 pm, but was based on the 4.3 Firmware. So thanks to that anonymous poster!)

What you will need:

-Apple TV2 (Black)
 with aluminum remote.

-Mac


-Latest version of iTunes


-Latest version of Seasonpass from Firecore, available for free download here: http://support.firecore.com/entries/387605 

-A micro USB cable to fit the back of ATV
(This did NOT come with your Apple TV, and is required to connect the ATV directly to your computer so you can perform the jailbreak. You can get this online cheap. Or perhaps you already have such a cable. . . they are often sold with Blackberry phones. Just make sure it’s a “micro” cable, NOT a “mini” cable.  Here’s an example of one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001K7I62Q?ie=UTF8&tag=atfl-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001K7I62Q  )

1. Download and install the untethered “Seasonpass” – Latest Version – from http://support.firecore.com/entries/387605.  This is the software that will “jailbreak” your ATV, so that you can install non-Apple software on it.  You can also read about this process to see what it does here: http://blog.firecore.com/6434

 

2. Run Seasonpass and follow instructions at this site: http://support.firecore.com/entries/387605 

This may take 20 minutes or so.  When you are done, read on below.

Your ATV is now jailbroken. (Don’t worry, if you decide you want to go back to the original factory settings, you can always go to “Restore” in the Settings section of your Apple TV.)

3. Hook your ATV back up to your TV and make sure it can successfully connect to the internet/your network. You should see a temporary Firecore emblem in the lower right corner of the menu, indicating the unit was successfully jailbroken.

Now you want to install some software on your jailbroken ATV. This will require the use of the Terminal app on your mac to SSH into your ATV.  For that you’ll need to know your ATV’s IP address.

4. On your Apple TV go to Settings à General à Network and note the IP address.  Should be something similar to 192.168.0.186

5. Open the Terminal application on your mac and type the following:

“ssh –l root 192.168.0.186” and hit return.

(Don’t actually type the quotes, just what’s inside them. And use the actual IP address of your particular ATV, which is likely different from the number I used above)

6. You will be asked for a password.  Unless you have changed it, the default password is “alpine”. You are free to change this later if you wish, using the command “passwd”.  But it’s not necessary.

7. Update apt sources - type “apt-get update”


8. Install NitoTV - type “apt-get install com.nito.nitoTV”


(NitoTV is a feature that allows you to easily install other programs on your ATV from the ATV’s menu system, so you won’t have to use the command line as much.)

9.  Type “killall AppleTV”.  This will restart the Apple TV menu system so you can see the new software (NitoTV) you just installed.

10. On your ATV, go to NitoTV and install XBMC, updatebegone, and openSSH.  XBMC is the Xbox Media Center software which will allow you to watch Hulu.  updatebegone stops the ATV from auto updating or nagging you about updating to the next Apple Firmware update, since you won’t want to update the firmware until the next jailbreak update comes out.  (Otherwise you’d lose your jailbreak when updating to the next Apple firmware.) OpenSSH just makes it easier to install the Hulu plugin for XBMC later.  (not completely sure that openSSH is necessary, but oh well)

XBMC has now been installed! But it’s not ready to stream Hulu just yet. . .

Now we need to install the bluecop repository, which is just a zip file containing “add-ons” that will augment XBMC and allow it to stream Hulu.  You can see a post about this plugin, with instructions on how to install it, here:

http://www.appletvhacks.net/2011/03/02/how-to-watch-hulu-on-apple-tv-2/

If you are savvy enough with SFTP and the command line to follow the instructions at the link above, go for it and you are done!  If you need a bit more explanation, see below.

11.  Download the .zip file for the bluecop repository from the above link to your mac.

12. In the terminal application on your mac, exit out of the SSH session you started earlier with your ATV by typing “exit”.  Then navigate to wherever the zip file you just downloaded is.  For example, if the zip file went into your Downloads directory, you would type: “cd” and hit return to change directory to your home directory, and then “cd Downloads” (and hit return) to go to your Downloads directory.  Make sure the zip file is in there by typing “ls repository*”.  This will display the file (full name is repository.bluecop.xbmc-plugins.zip) if it is there.  It will display nothing if you are in the wrong directory.

13. Type the following: “sftp root@192.168.0.186” (again, use the correct IP address) This sets up a SFTP: secure file transfer protocol session which will allow you to transfer the zip file from your mac to the ATV.

14. Type “cd /private/var/mobile/Media” (this will change directory to a Media folder on the ATV where XBMC will know to look for this zip file.)

15. Type “put repository.bluecop.xbmc-plugins.zip” (this will actually transfer the zip file from your mac to the ATV)

16. Type “quit” to exit SFTP.

17. On the ATV, go to XBMC.  Then go to System --> Add-ons --> “Install from zip file”


18. Browse to var/mobile/media (the folder where you put the zip file), find “repository.bluecop.xbmc-plugins.zip” and press OK (Bluecop is already enabled)


19. Go to System --> Add-ons --> get add-ons, find “bluecop Add-on Repository” click OK, choose video add-ons, find Hulu and install it. Note that after it is “enabled”, you can select the plugin again and select “configure” to enter your Hulu login information.  Whether you are a HuluPlus subscriber or just a user of free Hulu, the login can be handy because it allows you to configure your “subscriptions” (which shows you like) on Hulu.com via a computer and web browser, and then you can conveniently access just those subscriptions in XBMC on the ATV, instead of having to search or browse through thousands of shows using the remote.

20. Finally, back out to the front XBMC main menu and go to Videos -> Video add-ons. Find Hulu and enjoy (should work with both regular Hulu and Hulu Plus).

At this point you should be able to watch free Hulu on XBMC on your ATV! Life now has meaning.

P.S.: You may have noticed there are other video add-ons in the bluecop repository besides Hulu.  For example there is one that is supposed to let you watch Amazon OnDemand content, one for ESPN that claims to allow you to watch live streaming sporting events via ESPN.com on the ATV.  Feel free to install these and try them out for yourself.

Prop 23: "We're in a crisis at least 90% of the time!"

Prop 23 on the California ballot this year proposes to repeal the climate change restrictions in the law AB 32 until the state's unemployment rate drops below 5.5%, and stays there for 4 consecutive quarters.  It embodies the spirit of the "We're in a crisis!" mentality; that is, "We'd love to reduce our impact on the environment, but the economy is bad, so Now Is Not The Time!" 

One might wonder, though, just how often does our unemployment rate drop below 5.5%, anyway?

The answer, as the plot above shows, is not very often.  Out of the 416 months for which CA has kept unemployment rate monthly values (since 1976), only 81 of those months had unemployment rates below 5.5%.  That's 19.5% of the time.

But Prop 23 goes further with its requirements: If it passes, then we will only be able to enforce the restrictions in AB32 AFTER we've had 4 consecutive quarters of unemployment rates below 5.5%.  That means that you have to watch the unemployment rate for 12 months, and if it has been below 5.5% for all 12 of those months, then on the 13th month you can start enforcing the climate change restrictions, and continue to do so until the rate pops above 5.5% again, at which point you have to wait until it stabilizes below 5.5% for another 12 months before you can start enforcing the law again.

So, if we assume that prop 23 passes and that the next 34 years will be statistically similar to the last 34 years, how much of the time will AB32 be enforceable?

Answer: 4.8% of the time.

(Actually it depends on how you count the unemployment rates.  If you are using monthly rates, and interpreting the "4 consecutive quarters" as 12 consecutive months, then only 20 out of the 416 months of the past 34 years would meet Prop 23's requirements, hence 4.8%.  If you are using quarterly unemployment rates (3-month averages of the monthly unemployment rate), then 13 out of the 136 quarters in the past 34 years would meet Prop 23's requirements, which is 9.6% of the time.)

Thus, according to those who would vote for Prop 23, we shouldn't worry about the environment when we are in an unemployment crisis. . . 

. . . and (oh yeah) we are in an unemployment crisis over 90% of the time.

Gee, it's almost as if the backers of Prop 23 (oil companies) chose 5.5% so that AB32, which was passed by a Democratic legislature and signed by a Republican governor, could never be effectively enacted.  And all they had to do was get enough signatures to get Prop 23 on the ballot.

Vote no on prop 23.

(Data for the plot was obtained here: http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/?pageid=164)

(More on prop 23 here: http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20100703_3065.php)

Some thoughts on the LOST season premiere. . .

1.) That Juliet is such a great practical joker! When I die, I am going to wait until the last minute, then pull my family members close to me and tell them "I have to tell you something! It's REALLY REALLY REALLY important. . ." and then die right then. Man I'll be chuckling all the way to oblivion!  


2.) I know that guy is a U.S. Marshall and all so he's rough and tough. . . but still. . . don't pick stuff up off the floor of the airport bathroom. That's just gross. Even Kate knew not to do that!  


3.) So, let me get this straight. The leader of the temple Others can speak English just fine, but chooses not to and instead has his version of Mr. Smithers on hand to repeat every dang thing he says. What kind of a total jerk of a leader has the ability to speak English, and yet, during an emergency (like oh, say, a murderous smoke monster on its way to kill everybody) STILL shouts out his defense orders in another language while his English-speaking subordinates have to wait for Smithers to repeat it? No wonder the Others lost that war in Yugoslavia.  


4.) Can anyone explain to me why a hydrogen bomb would have enough energy to disintegrate an entire island, and all the land beneath the island down 100+ feet below the ocean surface. . . and still not be able to damage that foot statue? What is that thing made of, anyway? (Also, was that the Dharma shark down there?)  


5.) Apparently, the most secure way to send someone a message is to write it down on a paper note, roll it up, then build a giant wooden egyptian ankh around it. Slap that puppy in a guitar case, and it's good to go! Jacob clearly never went to junior high school. Can you imagine him trying to pass a secret note in class? Teacher: "Jacob! are you passing a note?!" Jacob: (holding a giant wooden ankh behind his back) "No. . .".  


6.) It's nice to know that the enigmatic rules of time-travel and parallel-universe-hopping at least take convenience into account. Jack et al. time-jumped when the H-bomb went off because it would have changed their histories. But what a pain it would have been if that Volkswagon bus hadn't time-jumped with them!  


7.) Oh, Charlie. How dumb are you? I've never taken heroin in my life, but even I know you're not supposed to try to inhale it until AFTER you take it out of the plastic baggie. I thought the way you died in the underwater station was dumb (with the door you could have opened OUT into the non-water-filled moon pool room), but this death would have been even dumber. Headline: "ex-Rockstar dies in airplane lavatory somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Choked on plastic baggie full of heroin." . . . come to think of it, that's actually kind of awesome.

The latest new Vision for Space Exploration

The Obama administration released its plan for NASA's budget in the coming year today, and with it comes an attempt to largely change the goals for NASA's manned spaceflight program. I like the most of the plans for increasing funding for Earth and Planetary sciences, as well as Heliophysics and extending the operational life of the International Space Station. But I am highly skeptical that the plans for giving up on the Constellation program in favor of giving some seed money to small start-up space companies are a good thing.


I'm all for stimulating spaceflight innovation in the private sector, but not at the expense of the existing NASA plans for continued human spaceflight. I would much rather they continue the Constellation program and tack on some additional money to NASA's budget to be used for this X-prize-like private stimulus. Obama's current proposal means we just stop putting people into space using the tried-and-true methods we've been using for the past 49 years, and say "Here's some seed money, private sector. Reinvent the wheel for us while we sit on the sidelines and wait." I'd love to see the private sector come up with a cheaper method of getting people into space. . . but let them do it in parallel and demonstrate that it outclasses what NASA is already using. Yes, this would come down to increasing NASA's budget, but as we both know that ought to happen anyway.  


Also, since we are extending the life of the ISS (a good thing), shouldn't we consider extending the life of the Shuttle program as well? The whole idea back in the '60's and '70's was to have a space station and a "shuttle" to ferry people and cargo to/from it. Now that we actually have both in operation, how does it make sense for the U.S. to announce a continued commitment to the ISS, but WITHOUT the ability to ferry either cargo or crew to/from the station at all? Bush's reasoning for cancelling the shuttle program was that we could free up money to use on human spaceflight outside of LEO, and it wouldn't be that big a deal because the ISS would only be around a few more years after the shuttle was retired. Obama is basically proposing we extend the life of the ISS without having the most useful tool for servicing it.  


I predict this will only serve to lengthen the amount of time that the U.S. is without the ability to put people into space. Then, at some point, as India, China, and Russia are all able to launch humans into space, the American people will get restless and start to wonder why again did we just give up doing that? Congress will get spurred into action, and the next President will have his or her own new vision for space exploration that essentially returns to the idea of NASA creating and operating (through a big company like Boeing or Lockheed) its own manned spacecraft.  


At JSC, in the ISS flight control room, they have several models of Space Station Freedom hanging from the ceiling. Each model looks a little different, and the joke we'd make when giving tours was that "this is the 100th Congress's plan for space station freedom, this is the 101st Congress' plan for space station freedom, this is the 102nd. . .". Just as Bush tried to overhaul the Vision for space exploration 6 years ago, and Obama is doing this now, so it will be overhauled again by the next politician. Sigh.

Tikit Rear Rack Affects Folded Stability

I love my Bike Friday Tikit, but I had noticed that it wasn't very stable when folded. It would tend to lean to the side the front wheel was on, and the only thing keeping it from falling over was the handle bars acting like a tripod leg. This of course wore on the handlebar. It was fine sitting on flat ground, but if it was on a train or a bus, a turn would cause the bike to fall over.

I was a tad dissapointed at this, especially since everything I'd seen online had said that the rear rack made the tikit extremely stable when folded. I chalked it up to the fact that I also had a double-front-rack, which perhaps was making the front wheel side heavier, causing it to lean.

Luckily, the good people at Bike Friday called recently, out of the blue, just to see how I was liking my bike. Yes, seriously. I had heard tales of the great customer support at this smallish Oregon company, but I still wasn't expecting such attention. I mentioned the problem, and the customer service rep called the guy who oversees Tikit production (Tim) over from the other room. I described the problem to him, and took some photos and e-mailed them to him. He told me what he expected was the problem, and later confirmed it when he received my photos: My rear rack had posts that were too tall. This meant that, when folded, the rear wheel was being held too high off the ground, causing the bike to lean to the other side. This is evident in the photos I sent him (also in this post) by looking at how high the rear fender is held by the too-tall rear rack. Tim put another rack with shorter posts in the mail.

I swapped out the rear rack, and now the Tikit is rock-solid-stable when folded!  I sent them back the too-tall rear rack in the same box, as they said they could modify it for future use.

See the comparison photos below:

Before. . .                                                                       . . . and After!

Before. . . . (Note how high the rear rack is over the wheel)

. . . and After!

Note the difference between the two racks (shorter one is the good one;  taller one makes the Tikit less stable when folded).

It's so nice to have a company that provides this kind of support.  I had been willing to live with the annoyance of the leaning rack, but the company called to check on me just because, and now my bike works even better.  So glad I went with this bike, and this company!