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Connect360 update enables Mac users to stream DivX and Xvid files photo

If you own a Mac, by now you've become used to the idea of watching on the sidelines while your PC pals have all the fun. They burned all those strictly legal backup games for their Dreamcasts with the slightest of ease, threw all those marvelous Psyvariar II and Ikaruga parties which you weren't invited to, while you tooled around in some dark closet trying to perfect your command line prompts, waiting for the coach to throw you in during the last inning out of pity. It's hard to be a lazy Mac user. If you want to take advantage of all the recent exploits you have to actually, ya know, work for it. 

Which is why I rejoiced when I discovered the fine folks over at Nullriver Software had already integrated the recent 360 dashboard update with their Mac compatible media-streaming software, Connect360. This means sane people have absolutely no reason to blow $299 on an Apple TV. How does it feel to no longer play second-string to all the loud, proud Vista users? Within a day or two, the cavalry had already arrived for the downtrodden game enthusiasts who happen to bat for the other team. I've tested the updates to Connect360 myself over the last few days and it's one of the rare times when I actually didn't pine for the sprawling, virus-ridden yesteryears of owning a PC. Upon downloading this nifty program, I promise you that I did not immediately torrent episodes of Battlestar Galactica to watch effortlessly on my large TV. That would have been morally wrong. I suggest that you refrain from such reprehensible activity yourself, for the sake of deceny. Because, really, DivX and Xvid are the perfect codecs for sharing footage of your daughter's softball practice with strangers over the internet. That's what you're using it for, right?

By the way, apart from functionality, what's sexier, a Mac or a PC? Wait, stop! But it was only a joke ...

[Pew, pew, pew, Kotaku. Much love.]








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37 comments | showing # 1 to 37
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Alasdair Duncan's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 02:12
Alasdair Duncan
"How does it feel to no longer play second-string to all the loud, proud Vista users?"

There are loud and proud Vista users. Wow, news to me!
Tristero's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 02:15
Tristero
@Ali:

They're the same people who are pretending the 360s don't have disc-scratching problems.
Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 02:33
Bob Muir
I really need to get this working now that I bought a 360. DivXbox 360 FTW!
Ritalin Twitch's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 02:53
Ritalin Twitch
If you own a mac, aren't you kicked out of ilife if you buy microsoft products? Id hate for Apples well-groomed metrosexual corporate strike force to eliminate destructoid readers because they didn't read the fine print about what comitting to the ilifestyle really entailed.

I dont know if mac is sexier, but the guy in the switchover ads apple runs reminds me of the sort of guy you meet at work, go to a hockey game with, then when you go back to his apartment you notice all the tasteful black and white male nude photography on his walls. By the time you realize whats going on, the roofies in the merlot kick in and you pass out, waking up several hours later in your bed sticky, sweaty and confused.
A Ton of Berries's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 02:59
A Ton of Berries
but... but... no!!!
Haven't seen BSG since a few episodes into season 3, don't give me spoilers just like that! Laura Roslin a cylon?! How can that be!!

Damn you, now I have no choise but to start watching this show again!

*trots off to watch BSG*
blu3steel's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 03:00
blu3steel
I love connect360. Now I don't need a girlfriend!
Ratcliff's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 03:00
Ratcliff
God, every mac user (like myself) is just chuckling inside when they hear people say a vista machine is better then a mac.

After being a windows guy for 20 years, just thinking about gaming on a Microsoft machine nows makes me frustrated
Fading Star's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 03:02
Fading Star
That's good news for Mac users. Good job Tristero. Thanks for the picture.
Alasdair Duncan's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 03:55
Alasdair Duncan
@ A Ton Of Berries

They're all Cylons!!! That'll be the big twist at the end, right?
Aaron Mxy Yost's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 04:03
Aaron Mxy Yost
HOLY SHIT BOOMER IS A CYLON!?!?
A Ton of Berries's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 04:11
A Ton of Berries
@ Ali D

Yay, total Cylon orgy with every actor in the series!

2girls1toaster.com!!!


Also, blocks.
Tristero's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 04:16
Tristero
@Ritalin:

I think you just devised the perfect new ad campaign for Macs. We gotta get John Hodgman in on this.
DarthFredd's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 04:24
DarthFredd
BEARS!
Netrat33's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 06:47
Netrat33
Proud vista users? Sounds "hostile" Are you just talking about streaming to your xbox? Windows XP could do that. Mac users crackme up though with all their misinformation.

Ratcliff: as to gaming on a mac isn't frustrating? heh.
Maurice Tan's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 07:57
Maurice Tan
And if you use XP, use the latest TVersity to stream. Since Media Center Extender/Edition doesn't support the xvid/divx playback yet.. those idiots.
cryocide's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 08:04
cryocide
I find the pimpage of the mac on a gaming site to be very... ironic.

As for my personal preference for desktop computers, gaming aside, let's just say I don't want to pay $599 for a low-end system with a small hard drive, no keyboard, and no monitor.
biz's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 08:24
biz
"to all the loud, proud Vista users...."

Find me one.
Excel-2011's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 08:27
Excel-2011
There were Ikaruga parties I didn't know about?
naib's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 08:35
naib
That's great news. I'll concede that Connect360 was a lot easier to set up than TwonkyVision for the PS3.

I guess I'll have to dust it off. Most of my home movies are divx encoded.
ian_esq's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 09:02
ian_esq
Macs rock, so does this program
TheStripe's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 09:25
TheStripe
@Cryo - What sort of moron thinking about playing games on a mac mini? It is the easiest target, though, since it's the best competitor to the bulk of Dell sales. 95% of PC users want cheap shit, since they're convinced (by PC manufacturers and their horrible quality control and cheap peripherals) that computers only last a couple of years. Unfortunately for them, Apple doesn't make any cheap shit.

Oh, and so you know, Microsoft and Apple have in the last decade or so been playing nicely together. Microsoft has had office on the mac for a good long time, and is just about to release another update. Apple's iTunes has been playing on windows almost as long as it has on mac. Microsoft's flagship OS (and Vista, if you really want it) will run on all the new macs as well.

By all means, if you're a big fan of piece-parting together your machine every 18 months, for gods sake, don't get a mac. But you should probably be running linux, or hackintosh, because really, Windows, even the actually usable XP variety, sucks major ass as slowly as it can, before it bluescreens.
LKM's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 09:46
LKM
@TheStripe: Funnily enough, I do play games on my Mac mini. In fact, thanks to MAME and a two-player X-Arcade board with a trackball, it's probably my favourite console right now, and I own all current-gen consoles.
HarassmentPanda's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 10:47
HarassmentPanda
For those of you that have installed the new Connect360, keep checking for updates; there have been a lot lately. After installing 3.2 on 12/6, there was an update to 3.21 on the morning of 12/7 and an update to 3.22 in the afternoon of 12/7.

For those of you that have .mkv files that are unsupported by Xbox 360 and Connect360: download and install the Perian plug-in for Quicktime, open the .mkv in Quicktime, in the Quicktime menu chose "save as," and in a matter of moments you will have a .mov file suitable for play on your 360. There is one caveat; the Xbox 360 does not support the playback of h246 files with surround sound. So, you either have to hope your audio is in stereo or convert it later.
TheStripe's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 11:00
TheStripe
@LKM - Ok, got me there. :) I DOSBox a lot of old games on my MacBook as well, but it can't exactly kick the ass out of Supreme Commander, tho.
TheExit's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 11:00
TheExit
Had this program for almost a year now. Used it before for streaming music to my Xbox. It is a great program. Twenty bones isn't bad either. Now with Divx and Xvid support, its even better.
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 11:37
Sharpless
There's not a single woman in that picture that I don't, to some degree, lust over. That is all.
Bob Arctor's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 12:15
Bob Arctor
Mac wins, it can use Mac OS, Windows, and Linux all at the same time. You can run Windows from mac OS! how can mac not be sexier? And this program has been out for a couple of years now I just never got around to getting it. I did get PSPware from the same company works like a charm for mac/psp connectivity.
cryocide's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 12:43
cryocide
@TheStripe - "What sort of moron thinking about playing games on a mac mini?" Yeah, that would be why I said "gaming aside." If you want to include gaming, you should shorten it to "What sort of moron thinking[sic] about playing games on a mac?"

If I'm looking to play games, I'm simply NOT going to look at a Mac. That's why I didn't mention any of their non-budget systems. If you're not playing games on it, you probably don't need a screaming-fast system.

What I don't understand is that if the hardware is so great, why is it that every time I ask any Mac owners that I know what's so great about the system, they only talk about how easy it is to use and have almost nothing good to say about how well the hardware performs. The only good thing I've heard is that it also runs Windows (now that Macs have become overpriced PC platforms), which defeats the whole purpose of getting a Mac.

Face it: You're paying a buttload of cash just to say you have something that's not a PC, or as the TV ads show, not Windows.
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 12:58
BluDesign
@cryocide

Anyone wanting to play games on a $599 computer deserves the pile of shit they call a PC.

What is there to talk about on ease of use with hardware when you don't have to think about it because it works?

For my end of things, I get really fast render times on video, invisible render times on complex 2D vector art, why would I even think about hardware when it's not an issue?

Everything runs smooth as silk. Gee, should I find some problem with that?

You think you have to bitch about Windows being a superior platform, well, we'll just wait till you have to get out into the real world and balance gaming and work on one computer and we'll see how much money you'll wanna bleed before macs start looking like an attractive option.

I game on my mac, on occasion, don't have any issues with it.

Do I run Crysis? Fuck no, but I have my Xbox and PS3 for that.

I don't know why your pee-hole started burning when this story got posted that you had to come in and make asinine remarks about a whole platform when it's just been posted that the Mac has been updated to work with a console. A console. Not gaming on the mac. A console.

Keep your own damn small minded opinions to yourself. If you don't like macs, fine, fuck off about it. I don't come into your PC game related posts and dick over you with long tirades about how nice it is to not have viruses or spyware on my computer.
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 12:59
BluDesign
@cryocide

I paid a buttload of cash to have a computer that I don't want to have to run Vista on. That's it really. Vista is garbage, and I wanted a newer OS. I don't want leopard, not yet.
SlavedHeart's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 13:40
SlavedHeart
Yippee! Blood Orgy! Whoops, I mean PC / Mac argument!

Meeh... same thing....
Twicky's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 14:22
Twicky
Mac user's arrogance never ceases to frustrate me. Like connect360 now makes Macs superior. Stop bringing up these stupid Mac/PC arguments so I can actually use my PC for worthwhile things instead of having to defend it.
Guagloves's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 14:33
Guagloves
Sweet. They should let me stream my music to my 360 as well.
naib's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 14:42
naib
I wouldn't recommend a Mac to anyone that wants to use it for gaming. I don't really play games on my G5 but it is frickin' fast.

We're discussing the Mac's capacity as a 360 media server. I don't see anyone claiming gaming superiority.

Oh, and this arrogant Mac user [s]works[/s] wrestles with PCs all day.
HarassmentPanda's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 15:54
HarassmentPanda
@ naib

Nice KisMAC icon... you don't happen to work in network security, do you? :-)
Ichigo Style's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/08/2007 23:26
Ichigo Style
I have another fix!
Buy a PC, you'll save a shitload of money.
TheStripe's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/09/2007 18:17
TheStripe
Most mac users are not hardwarephiles. They don't care how fast their processors are or how fast the RAM is. They only care that it works. They never talk about hardware because, like DVD said, they don't have to worry about it. The rest of the software world should start learning to play nice with Steve Jobs' shiny boxes, because more and more folks are going to start moving in the Mac direction. What exactly is M$'s post-XP plan now? They certainly can't think people will ever have their faith restored in vista . . .
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