Google I/O: Here's What Went Down

Google I/O was last week and with it came a ton of great great news. Everything from Google's entry in to the living room, to codes, launches, Android, and more. There's so much, in fact, that I'm lumping it all into this one post. Details on Google TV, Froyo, Places API, WebM, and more are all after the jump.

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Boxee Beta Back On Apple TV

Those of you with an Apple TV may remember a little thing called Boxee, an add-on to your Apple TV that let you do all kind of cool stuff.  For those of you that do remember, and those that don't, in October, when Apple released the 3.0 Apple TV firmware update, all that fun stopped.  The update blocked Boxee from being used on Apple's hardware.

However, last week, in a post on boxee.tv, the Boxee team confirmed that the new Beta version of their software can now be installed on Apple TVs.  You can find a set of what Boxee is calling, "super simple instructions" on the Boxee website.  Truthfully though, the instructions look like they may be a little time consuming.  For what the add-on offers in functionality though, it will be time well spent for a lot of Apple TV owners.

For those of you willing to take a hack at your Apple TV and install the add-on, you may want to be cautious the next time Apple rolls out an Apple TV firmware update. Everyone else, don't fret, Boxee is in the process of creating its own piece of hardware, called the Boxee Box, which is expected out later this year.

Disney Keychest Might Make Us Ok WIth DRM

At CES, Disney announced a potentially game-changing form of pseudo-DRM. Rather than restricting the user's ability to play the content on a specific device, Disney has devised a studio-agnistic platform through which devices and services can communicate with one another.

Engadget had the best explanation for it:

Both companies offer video on demand and use their own DRM to prevent copying. If both participated in KeyChest -- this isn't studio based -- and we bought a movie on iTunes, the next time we hit up Comcast VOD we'd be able to watch the same movie without paying again. The genius of the idea is how simple it is, basically the participants report your purchases to the KeyChest and query it to see what else you bought.

This way, users can view the content whenever, wherever they want, regardless of platform. Specifics on the platform are still sparse, as it's so young, but it looks promising.

Panasonic's 3D Triple Threat

This week at CES, Panasonic announced the world's first consumer full 3D camcorder. This sucker shoots in full 1080P onto SDHC and (presumably) SDXC memory cards. It comes in pretty high on the pricing scale at $21,000. That's a pretty penny for a new professional camera, but it pales in comparison to the current industry standard 3D rigs that are in the range of 3 to 4 times as much.

This comes coupled with the news that Panasonic is partnering with DirectTV to bring 3 HD 3D channels to the premium service. Not to mention that they're working with CBS, Fox Sports, HDNet, MTV, NBC Universal and TBS to develop even more 3D programming which is expected between now and 2011. How are you going to watch this stuff though? Well relax, Panasonic is also putting out a line of 3D capable televisions that you should be able to have in your home (same televisions that have Netflix, Skype and more built in).

I'm still not sold on the merits of 3D media in the home, primarily because most sets require the viewer to wear those silly glasses, but based on what we've been seeing coming out of CES this year, I give it only another year or so before we've really figured out the NG3D(no-glasses-3D) technology.