However the MovieLink service leave out a key group of users.

"In order to enjoy the Movielink service, you must use Windows 2000 or XP, which support certain technologies we utilize for downloading movies."

Who the f**k is that??? Like Im gonna go out and spend a dime on some generic no name company offering a service I can't benefit from as a Mac user while having no guarantee that this company (or whatever it is) will be around tomorrow. No thank you.

But what good to point out is that lately ALL (and I mean ALL) tech companies are confirming that Apple is the UNDISPUTED king of everything tech by issuing press releases clearly pointing out that their goal to is to try and unseat Apple with anything. In other words, all these companies definately have Apple set as the gold standard and they all pathetically try to beat it but obviously they all fail with Microsoft leading the pack of losers.

I fail to see how this device compares to the forthcoming iTV. iTV will receive movies streamed from your Mac wirelessly. There's no mention of wireless with this Akimbo thingy, and from what's mentioned here I have to presume it's simply a device that plugs into your TV that has a hrd drive in it. Then you subcribe to their service and download movies. That's fine if that's what you want, but this is nothing like the iTM/iPod/iTV combination that Apple will be releasing.

Seems these days any company can claim they're going up against Apple just to get some headlines, even if it's not remotely the same thing.

OK, somehow I missed the optional wifi connection when I read it the first time. I still don't think this poses much of a threat to iTV, since, as pointed out, it's not Mac compatible at this time, and will not play movies from iTS in all likelyhood.

So a system and service that is of no use to OSX users is on MacNN because.....????

itunes isn't just for Mac users.

Though I do take issue with the headline, as usual. Akimbo isn't taking on anything as the iTV hasn't even been released yet.

Akimbo does not give you ownership of the movies you buy. Akimbo does not allow you to play other forms of media such as music, photo albums, home made movies. Akimbo does not feature playing of movies on portable devices. In short, Akimbo is not a platform.

That said, if it works as advertised, it may be fine for many users.

First, the box appears to work without the need for a separate computer (you can record content from the tv onto the hard drive).

Second, the way it reads, this box will play movies downloaded from Movielink. Ergo, it doesn't matter if you have a mac, because this does the playing, not that computer.

Third, I cannot find any place saying you even need a computer, which means that this box might be the thing that navigates through to the movielink store. So to say "Its no use to MacOS X users" appears wrong, since you don't need windows to run the thing (if I'm wrong, show me the link, I can't find any type of "Requirements" for this thing).

Fourth, it already exists (this is an upgrade), and this is a new player that's available by the end of the month. Kind of hard to start talking about 'copying' apple if they beat apple to it (this isn't the kind of thing you just slap together in a month since apple unveiled the iTV).

Fifth, it uses a subscription service for the older catalog (maybe the whole catalog?), which means you can watch as much as you want. For the price of one movie from Apple, you can watch all you want for the month.

Sixth, with the built-in hard drive, you aren't tethered to your mac. Which means your not stuck having to keep your mac on in order to watch stuff (and what happens if someone dares try to use the mac when iTV is connected, will stuff start to stutter?) Take your Akimbo to your friends house. A lot easier then hauling a iMac and iTV box.

Who the f**k is that??? Like Im gonna go out and spend a dime on some generic no name company offering a service I can't benefit from as a Mac user while having no guarantee that this company (or whatever it is) will be around tomorrow. No thank you.

So, if you haven't heard of a company, you won't buy from them. Well, if everyone followed that stupid philosophy, we'd be left with buying software from either MS or Adobe. Or cars from just GM or Ford. And if MS offered this device/service, a name company, would you buy it then? No, probably not. I think what you meant was "Akimbo? They aren't apple, so forget them!".

But what good to point out is that lately ALL (and I mean ALL) tech companies are confirming that Apple is the UNDISPUTED king of everything tech by issuing press releases clearly pointing out that their goal to is to try and unseat Apple with anything.

Interesting, I didn't know Apple was the king of all things tech. Even in all the areas they don't even have any products in. That is amazing. So should we all be waiting with bated breath for our Apple branded TVs, VCRs, DVD players, Tivo devices, stereos, broadband service, mobile phone service, gaming consoles, printers, scanners, fax machines, automobile computer systems, etc, etc, etc.

And I can't find the press release, but so far the only people I see touting this as a supposed iTV/iTunes killer is Macnn and you all (in the sense of "It blows! Its no comparison, how dare they!").

Subscription. Akimbo does not give you ownership of the movies you buy. Akimbo does not allow you to play other forms of media such as music, photo albums, home made movies. Akimbo does not feature playing of movies on portable devices. In short, Akimbo is not a platform.

Um, you're not BUYING movies, you're renting them. Do you get ownership when you rent a movie from Netflix or blockbuster? Nah, didn't think so. But when in doubt, its always good to throw that "You don't own the stuff!" line. It makes it sound like you're losing something. Then again, if you want to spend $10-$15 on a crappy version of an equally priced DVD, feel free as well.

Oh, and iTV isn't a platform. iTunes is the platform, the iTV is just an expensive add-on so you can push data to it from your computer. But, then, you'll need to spend $1000 if you want to get an iTV to work ($600 for computer, $300+ for iTV to talk to computer).

Akimbo is one h*** of a dumb name. They've been floundering around for quite a while with a bogus set top box that nobody wanted with a pay service that delivered worthless stuff you could get for free on the net. Only lately have they gained some traction by adding more desirable content. They're still far from being out of the woods, without much of a coherent story for why you might want to give them money, but they're slowly improving.

It's more than likely that Apple's earlier-than-usual iTV announcement was a pre-emptive strike against them and other similar services.