Stymied by oddities when outputting video from an iPad to an HDTV, the folks at Panic took a hacksaw to Apple’s Lightning Digital AV Adapter to investigate. To their surprise, they found what appears to be a miniature computer, complete with a processor and 2 gigabits of RAM (for reference, that equals 256 MB of RAM, the same amount shipped in the original iPad). Panic’s initial speculation was that the processor was outputting an AirPlay signal (which would partially explain some compression artifacts that appear on screen). However, an anonymous but apparently knowledgeable commenter, who sounds like he or she works at Apple, explained that the adapter’s approach “essentially allows us to output to any device on the planet, irregardless of the endpoint bus (HDMI, DisplayPort, and any future inventions) by simply producing the relevant adapter that plugs into the Lightning port.” See for yourself!

In this episode of Tech Night Owl Live with Gene Steinberg, Adam and Gene talk about the Apple TV set rumors, along with the fact that iTunes Match accounts can download for 90 days after expiration, and the quality of the data underlying Apple’s Maps app in iOS 6.

Journalists and analysts in the United States often forget the impact that Apple’s worldwide presence has on the company’s success, but it’s significant. Graham Spencer at MacStories has put together an impressive overview of where Apple sells its media properties: music, movies, TV shows, ebooks, and apps. He also includes the same figures for Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.com as comparison, demonstrating that Apple maintains a sizeable head start on the rest.

When it comes to saving on the cost of textbooks, college students might be well advised to invest in an iPad: Buster Heine provides cost comparisons between ebooks and print books for some typical students. (Appalling: an etextbook that costs $139.01. More appalling: the print version of the same book that costs $239.75!)

Erica Sadun of TUAW interviews our own Michael E. Cohen about his lengthy history in the world of ebooks and his opinions about iBooks Author, based on his recently released title about the program, “Take Control of iBooks Author.” Michael has fabulous stories, and several make it into this interview.

The Apple TV’s selection of video content just improved, thanks to the addition of the Hulu Plus subscription service. For $7.99 per month, you can now stream “current and classic TV programming on demand from hundreds of content partners.” Apple TV competitors like Roku and smart TVs have supported Hulu for some time, so Apple TV is late to the game, perhaps due to Apple not wanting competition for iTunes Store sales, or because of Hulu not wanting to give Apple a cut of its subscription fees. Apparently, Apple and Hulu have now come to some mutually beneficial understanding.