"The new Apple TV media extender is supposed to ship this month, perhaps even by the time you read this column, and if you are like me you are wondering what that 40-gig hard drive is doing inside. I'm guessing we won't know for sure until later this year, though of course I also think I know the secret answer, too. It will be interesting to hear Apple's explanation for the hard drive. It would make good sense, for example, to keep storage close to the attached TV if Apple had some doubts about the speed of the network connection between the Apple TV box and the Mac or Windows machine running Front Row. If we squint hard and enter a state of suspended disbelief that might be plausible. Only that makes no sense." 
Cringely has some interesting ideas on what "could" be done with the Apple TV. The idea of Apple using a P2P network has been bandied about before, but previously the idea was to use iTunes. With Apple TV, Apple now has low-cost, closed, encrypted hardware with which they can use to securely distribute new content. I have to agree with Cringely here, if Apple can use Apple TV to deliver content instantly, or nearly instantly, with none of the infrastructure and distribution costs of a cable provider, they could become a serious competitor to the likes of Time Warner.
Cringely: What's that 40-gig hard drive doing inside my Apple TV?
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