Now this is one exciting news. AppleInsider reported that it has found a series of Apple patent filings published just this week that might lead to a DVR-like functionality on the Apple TV.

The filings clearly show many user interface-related features that akin to those availalble on many cable DVR boxes and Tivo. Though one illustration shows a full screen program guide that is pretty much standard on DVRs, another illustration shows a Mac OS X dock-like overlay with controls like "search" and "record". There are also illustrations of an overlay interface that occupies the right side of the screen that lists pre-recorded shows or live channels depending on the context.

I can't wait to see what comes out of these filings.

Here's the movie that inspired the TV series "The Dead Zone" on the USA Network. The 1983 movie stars Christopher Walken as a teacher who wakes up from a coma to find himself with a psychic ability to see into the people's lives. With this new "gift", he not only sees into people's past but also their often apocalyptic future.

If you have to choose just one box, what would it be? Apple TV or Xbox 360? That's the question that Jonathan M. Gitlin attempted to answer when he wrote his article comparing the two.

After a lengthy 2-page comparison, whose cuisine reigned supreme?  Gitlin concluded that NEITHER could do what he wanted. He was put off by Apple TV's 24-hour viewing window and the nonportability of the HD content. On the other hand, he preferred Apple TV's build quality, price and its 802.11n support. As for the Xbox 360, he indicated that, in conjunction with Vista Windows Media Center, was "closer" to his idea of a digital hub.

Gitlin concluded that he would probably prefer an HTPC because of its ability to record TV shows. Maybe he should have a look at the Archos TV+ instead.

Apple's Steve Jobs told the shareholders at the annual meeting held on Tuesday that he is "not happy" with the shortfall of not delivering 1,000 rental movies by the end of February.  Mr. Jobs blamed the movie studios for not being able to deliver this.  He said that it is taking more time for the studios to obtain approval from various right holders.

On Wednesday, Tom Neumayr, an Apple spokesman, said that the company hopes to reach the 1000 mark "soon".  We sure hope so. 

You've heard about the Archos TV+ before; the product was announced many months back. It is Archos's answer to the Apple TV. And now it is finally available for sale.

If its features is any indication of what it can do, then Apple TV might have met its match (and more).  The Archos TV+'s feature list reads like a wish list for the Apple TV.  It can record TV shows, download movies and TV shows, stream content from PCs, surf the web, and even sync content with PCs.  Also impressive is its remote with a full keyboard built-in.

For downloadable content, Archos has partnered up with content providers like VODEO, CinemaNow, DailyMotion, musicMe and BurnLounge to give the users a variety of content for purchase.  However, there is no HD content available as of yet.

The Acrhos TV+ comes in two hard drive configurations:  80GB for $249.99 and 250GB for $349.99.

Do you want even more free TV Shows from iTunes? Now, iTunes has a total of 81 TV Shows that you can download for free.

While most of the shows are pretty old (some of them aired back in2006), a handful of new shows are also on the list. Shows like Unhitched, High School Reunion, Eli Stone and quarterlife are just some of these interesting new shows.

So if you're looking to kill some time on the couch without spending a dime, head on over to iTunes and download some of these shows. You will be surprised; you might even get hooked on them.

This week's 99¢ movie is Changing Lanes, a 2002 thriller starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. The movie revolves around a feud between a hot shot lawyer Gavin Banek (Affleck) and a desparate father Doyle Gibson (Jackson) which escalates into an all-out war between the two.

I have to say I'm a little bit confused. Apple started this 99¢ movie tradition on Friday two weeks ago but promised to offer this deal on Thursday of every week. However, this week's 99¢ movie was offered on Tuesday. It would be nice to just stick to one day of the week.

Yesterday, Gizmodo pitched Apple TV, Xbox 360 and VUDU against each other in their 3-way "Battledomo".

According to the author, the 3 systems are pretty comparable when looking at criteria such as prices, subscription, the number of movies, and number of HD movies.  They also posted images taken from the same HD movies from each of the system so that their readers can compare the image quality of each one.  Gizmodo then asked their readers to vote for their favorite system.

The results came in this morning and, unfortunately, Apple TV didn't take the crown.  That went to the Xbox 360, however.  The final results:  Xbox 360  (54.4%), Apple TV (37.1%) and VUDU (8.5%).

Of course, to us, Apple TV is always a winner. 

In an interview with Gizmodo in New York today, Stan Glasglow, CEO of Sony Electronics, revealed that the company is "working very hard" on a device that will compete directly with the Apple TV. The device will center around a Blu-ray player in some form. The company is also "working on many other avenues to deliver downloaded content."

Glasgow did not disclose when the device might be available. But it is very interesting nontheless to see Sony excited about competing with Apple in this arena.