A freshly filed patent application from Apple could offer clues on future plans for Apple TV.
The application describes a "multi-media center for computing systems" that relies on a single hardware device that can cull and control content from any number of "modules," ranging from iPods to computers to DVD players. The hub would "instantiate and keep track of media-modules, route events associated with user input, and control what is displayed."
("Instantiate" is a real word--we checked. Although it's hard to tell here whether it's meant in the Platonic philosphy, object-oriented programming or World of Warcraft sense.)
The hub could be controlled through a variety of methods, including keyboard and mouse, a networked computer or remote control.
Speculation ensues about how this kind of functionality could make Apple TV a compelling living room shrine instead of the gimpy iTunes adjunct delivered as Ver. 1.0
New patent hints at Apple TV 2.0 [Ars Technica]
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