Boxee, a freeware media browser that allows users to watch web video, streaming TV shows, and any other non-DRM content shared on their network through a user-friendly interface, now derives 25% of its total traffic from Apple TV devices that have been hacked to run the Boxee software. According to new statistics published by Fortune, Apple’s products account for 92% of all Boxee use when the Apple TV users are combined with the 67% of users who run the software on Macs. Boxee founder Avner Ronen explains that the software became publicly available on Mac-based systems first because members of the development team “were all switching to Macs as our personal computers, [a]nd we felt many of the early adopters were going there as well.” While 370,000 people have downloaded the software since it became available last June, only 4% of those are running the software on Windows PCs, mostly due to the current alpha build, private-release status of the PC software. Installation of Boxee on an Apple TV requires a download from Boxee, as well as some unauthorized hacking of the Apple TV system software that results in Boxee appearing first as a menu item, then as a separate application with its own interface.
Charles Starrett
Charles Starrett was a senior editor at iLounge. He's been covering the iPod, iPhone, and iPad since their inception. He has written numerous articles and reviews, and his work has been featured in multiple publications.