Merry Christmas Eve! Hopefully by now you've got all your holiday shopping done, but if not, the new AppleTV is becoming a more appealing option with each passing day. Imagine a single, easy to use (sub $100) device that provides unrestricted access to all your current media along with new content from services like Netflix, Last.fm and the iTunes Store. Excited yet? We sure are.

Happy Friday! Today we have a lot of exciting news to share. First off, Beta2 of aTV Flash (black) is now available. Beta2 includes full support for the 4.1 AppleTV software, a handful of new features and many all-around improvements. Additionally, we have an early preview of a new feature you're sure to love.

Read on for more details on what's in Beta2 as well as a new teaser video.

At long last we're proud to announce the release of the first beta version of aTV Flash (black) for the new AppleTV. This version features a number of exciting features, with many more to come. It took a bit longer to complete than anticipated, but it's a great start to what we hope will be a powerful software suite for the new black AppleTV.

During the beta phase we will be working to improve current features and add new ones, so we would appreciate any feedback you may have. More info on how to submit feedback can be seen near the end of the post.

Read on for more details on what's included and how to get the beta.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US and happy Wednesday to everyone else. :-) We've got some exciting progress to share so instead of writing a long-winded intro I'll just get right to the good stuff.

New AppleTV 4.1 Software (iOS 4.2.1)

They say time flies when you're having fun, and it's been nothing but as we watch the first version of aTV Flash (black) take shape. The first beta version of isn't far off, but we still have a handful of issues to resolve before it's safe for public consumption.

Read on for more details regarding our current progress as well as a few demo videos showing some of the apps in action.

After two weeks it's time for another progress update - and sure enough there has been progress, progress, progress! We've been hard at work pushing aTV Flash (black) forward, moving closer and closer to release.

Read more below for a deeper look into details surrounding the current status of aTV Flash (black).

We're proud to announce the release of the all-new MiRow application for Mac. MiRow adds an exciting set of features to the Front Row application transforming it into a powerful media center application.

What exactly is MiRow?

It's been only two weeks since the last progress update, but a lot of exciting things have transpired during that time. There have been some big leaps forward in understanding how the new device works, and preparing new and existing aTV Flash apps to be compatible. Additionally we're kicking the door for 3rd party development wide open with a full SDK for the new, iOS based AppleTV. Without too many nitty gritty details, a snapshot of the current state of affairs is below.

We're excited to announce that development for the new (black) AppleTV is underway! Things were able to get going a bit earlier than expected as the software for the new AppleTVs was released before the devices actually shipped.  

Most who pre-ordered, including us, received they're AppleTV shipments yesterday.  The long and short is the new AppleTVs have an A4 processor, 8GB of storage, 256MB of RAM, and built-in Bluetooth. There's even been some encouraging discoveries that may allow for full 1080p playback on the new models. iFixit has a very comprehensive teardown article that outlines many hardware features, and includes many hi-res photos - the article can be seen here.