“We’ve heard secondhand (a few months ago) that Steve Jobs won’t invest more in Apple TV hardware until its software is improved. That explains why Apple hasn’t done much with Apple TV hardware since early 2008. But it doesn’t explain why the company hasn’t done much with the software since then,” Dan Frommer reports for The Business Insider.

“We’ve long hoped that the company might open up Apple TV and Front Row to other entertainment companies or developers, potentially including Netflix, video aggregators, MLB.TV, etc. Apple has as good a chance as anyone — Roku, Samsung, LG, Comcast, etc. — to be the company that connects your TV to the Internet. But so far it’s taken a back seat, limiting itself by staying exclusive with iTunes and YouTube as the video sources for Apple TV,” Frommer writes.

“That’s what you expect from Apple — self-isolation, even to its own detriment. But it’s silly. While iTunes is a nice revenue generator for Apple, it is basically a breakeven business. Apple’s real, profitable business is to sell more Apple TVs, Macs, iPods, etc. Opening Apple TV would be a helpful step,” Frommer writes.

Frommer writes, “Apple admits its home entertainment business is a ‘hobby.’ But right now, maybe ‘joke’ is a better word.”

Full article, “Microsoft Kicking Apple’s Butt In The Living Room,” here.

MacDailyNews Take: The actual joke lies somewhere between content providers (Hollywood) not offering enough reasonably-priced content to Apple TV and Apple treating the device like a red-headed stepchild. When your cable company-issued DVR inevitably screws up, Apple TV is invaluable. When you want to catch a movie without any hassle, Apple TV is great (rentals more so than purchases, which are priced too high). For sharing music, home movies, YouTube content, podcasts, and photos, it’s excellent, too. Why Apple ignores the device and fails to promote it as is right now, today, is beyond us.

We have Apple TVs. We use Apple TVs. Apple TVs are not a joke. They are great devices that do many things well. It sells itself to people who see us run it through its paces. Why Apple hates their own product remains a maddening mystery to us.

Here’s a plan, Apple (and this goes for everyone from Steve Jobs on down):
1. Stop referring to your product as a “hobby.” It denigrates the product for no reason. Why don’t you just come out and say “don’t buy it?” Idiocy happens at Apple, too; thankfully, it’s rare.
2. Start – gasp – actually promoting Apple TV and maybe you’ll even surprise yourselves by actually selling units beyond the relative trickle to those who are extremely-in-the-know and who sell your product for you via word-of-mouth alone.

If you make an ad, Apple, you’re supposed to run it:

Direct link via YouTube here.

And, by the way, Microsoft is not kicking Apple’s butt, Dan. As you report in your full article, Microsoft has “attracted more than 1 million streaming subscribers to Xbox 360,” which sounds great until you’re told that Apple has sold at least double that many Apple TV units, probably more than 3 times as many by now — without any meaningful promotion whatsoever.