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Roxio to announce Apple TV product; Joost goes live; Silverlight

The software developers behind the popular Toast disc authoring software have something in store for Apple TV owners. Meanwhile, Joost has officially launched its self-titled Internet TV service. And Microsoft demos its Flash rival on Macs.

Not getting enough out of your Apple TV? Is it sitting there collecting dust while you wait for Apple to begin offering some real HD content? Roxio, makers of the ever-poplar Toast disc authoring software, plans to sooth the yearning.

AppleInsider has learned that on Monday, the Novato, Calif.-based software developer will formally introduce a new product that will allow more content to be viewed via Apple TV.

At this time, it's believed that the company plans to introduce a distinct software title focused on driving additional content to the $299 streaming media device instead of just adding export features to the existing version of Toast.

Details of the new application should start to crop up on Apple related websites ahead of Monday's announcement — possibly as early as this evening.

Alongside the Apple TV-related announcement, Roxio will also be introducing several other media products that will make it easier to upload videos to today’s popular web services, like YouTube and GoFirsh.

 

Joost now live

Meanwhile, Electronista notes that Joost has now officially launched its self-titled Internet TV service.

While the client-side software is still in late beta for Mac OS X and Windows XP, the peer-to-peer TV network sports over 150 channels ranging from cartoons to documentaries and sports.

As part of the official launch, Joost has issued a new beta and granted have unlimited invites to existing testers, ensuring that almost anyone can try the service through a friend.

Joost requires a broadband Internet connection.

Microsoft demos Flash rival on Macs

Trying to shed the image that it's only interested in Windows-native technology for the web, Microsoft on Tuesday took great care to showcase its upcoming Silverlight technology on Macs.

Numerous presenters at the Redmond firm's Mix07 event in Las Vegas made it a point to show that the embedded animation and video technology could easily run on alternate operating systems, and especially alternate web browsers. The company plans to ship the finished version of Silverlight for Firefox on both Mac and Windows platforms and will also have a Safari version available from the outset. The Expression Studio tool used to create Silverlight imagery is currently Windows-only.

Nevertheless, in at least a few cases the attempt to counter notions of anti-competitiveness was used to a deliberately comedic effect: Microsoft development general manager Scott Guthrie was said to have used Macs so heavily to prove the cross-platform nature of Silverlight that Windows and Internet Explorer support was almost secondary.

"And it also runs on Windows!" he joked.