If You Have an AppleTV, Check this Out.

A company called AppleTV&More has given AppleTV owners another option to bring more functionality to their AppleTV viewing. They’ve taken the open source project Patchstick and added a few plug-ins of their own. The whole idea behind the project is to have your Patchstick and plug-ins update themselves without the need to re-install each and every time the apps update.

Let me try to explain. First you install the Patchstick on your USB thumbdrive, then you update it and download and install the main plug-in, Launchmore. Launchmore has been designed and developed by AppleTV&More and is part of their free basic Patchstick as well as the full version of Patchstick. You then install it on your AppleTV via the USB port in the back and your viewing experience just got a whole lot better.

LaunchMore! provides the following functions:
RSS feeds – they can be configured using the AppleTV remote, iPhone or iPodTouch – there is no need to edit configuration files manually like in nitoTV
Applications – just put compatible OS X applications in the “Applications” subfolder of the frontrow folder and access them automatically using the remote control. These applications can be controlled e.g. by using a VNC client on the iPhone or iPod touch.
Scripts – this is a major part of the application that is used to install and de-install plugins and tweak the Apple TV

Settings – in this submenu, you are able to setup RSS feeds, include own scripts into the application, maintain the URL for future Patchstick updates, Maintain your Account information, Display the ATV console logfile and reboot the Finder.

As I mentioned earlier, you can use Launchmore in it’s free version or the paid version. Here’s a chart from AppleTV&More’s website that explains the difference between the free and paid version.

With the paid version you can see the increased options for updating plug-ins and overall functions of the Launchmore plug-in itself. The cost is quite fair, a yearly subscription for $29.99 USD or a lifetime account for $65.00.

Here is what AppleTV&More has to say about Launchmore:

“Because we want to be better than others, we decided to build our own plugin, specifically for our purposes and those of our customers. We stay away from renaming plugins to make people believe we have additional function. Instead, we build and improve our own plugins.

On-line updates for your ATV – The coolest feature of this plugin; there is no need anymore to re-create your Patchstick when you want to install or remove a plugin or otherwise adjust your AppleTV.

Scripts integration – We provide a whole bunch of scripts to tweak your ATV, to install and de-install plugins and additional applications. Of course, you can also include your own scripts with only a few clicks

Did you ever try to subscribe to an RSS feed with nitoTV? – We did, and we were very frustrated. Our plugin allows you to use your iPhone, iPodTouch and the standard remote control, not forcing you to use the Terminal!

Application launching – start any compatible Tiger application with the push of a button, no need to mess around with the clunky nitoTV plugin

Lean account maintenance on your ATV – maintain your account info directly on the ATV, no need to login to a webpage, sending emails or otherwise wasting time”

I like this option for hacking AppleTV’s functionality. It let’s you decide what you want to install, and how much you want to spend. I always hated the updates. Download, load it onto the USB thumbdrive, then re-install it on the AppleTV. This seems like a solid alternative. Check it out for yourself.