Apple has released a fix for a long-standing critical security vulnerability in iOS and Apple TV, but Mac OS X remains vulnerable.

Since releasing his “Take Control of Apple TV” book, Josh Centers has frequently been asked for his thoughts on the future of Apple’s living room business. He shares his speculations here.

Silver Screen is a Web-driven Mac app that makes it easy to play video in any format on your Apple TV. “Take Control of Apple TV” author Josh Centers takes a look.

TidBITS managing editor Josh Centers, author of the just-released “Take Control of Apple TV,” joined host Chuck Joiner on the MacVoices podcast to talk about the book. Josh tells you all about what he covers in the book, and then he and Chuck discuss the Apple Remote, the addictive qualities of AirPlay, trying to teach family members how to work a home theater, and things Josh learned about the Apple TV while writing the book, before discovering that they’re “keyboard brothers.”

After several months of streaming its chapters to TidBITS members, we’re pleased to announce the general availability of “Take Control of Apple TV” by Josh Centers. With Josh’s help, you can go far beyond watching movies and TV shows to make the Apple TV into the hub of your stereo system, display gorgeous slideshows of your photos, play iPhone and iPad games on the big screen, and more.

For a limited time, Apple has added a channel to the Apple TV for The Beatles, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the band’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The channel features video of the original performance, and links to purchase Beatles albums.

Feeling mischievous? Just a little geeky? In this final chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers shows you how to take your Apple TV beyond what Apple intended, in three ways: playing video from otherwise unavailable sources via the Plex media management system, recording live TV to your Mac with an Elgato EyeTV HD and then showing it on the Apple TV, and getting around DNS-based region restrictions.

For the most part, what you can do with the Apple TV is what Apple intended to let you do. But what if you want more? What if you want to serve all your video from a Mac or NAS and view it on the Apple TV, without involving iTunes? What if you want to record live TV and watch it on your Apple TV? In this final chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers turns you on to the Plex media management system and how to use an Elgato EyeTV HD to send recorded TV to your Apple TV.

The Apple TV may not have been intended as a gaming device, but thanks to AirPlay Mirroring, the combination of an iOS device and an Apple TV can make for a surprisingly compelling gaming experience. In this chapter of the in-progress "Take Control of Apple TV," Josh Centers describes some iOS games that are optimized for the Apple TV and offers some tips on how to reduce AirPlay latency.

Apple may not have designed the Apple TV for gaming, but clever iOS developers have created games meant to be played on the big screen by levering AirPlay. In the latest chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers shines a light on those games, and offers tips for avoiding buzz-killing lags.

Thanks to its capability to connect to a variety of display devices, including projectors and SMART Boards, and its support for AirPlay, the Apple TV makes an excellent helper when it comes to giving presentations. In this chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers explains what hardware and software you’ll need to turn your Apple TV into a presentation machine for Keynote from an iPad, when demoing an iPhone app, or even bringing in a remote guest.

The Apple TV isn’t just for entertainment, as Josh Centers shows in the “Present with Apple TV” chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV.” It makes an AirPlay connection to a projector when you want to project from Keynote, demo an iOS app, or even put a virtual guest on the big screen.

In this chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers teaches you everything you need to know to turn your large-screen TV into a digital picture frame that can’t be beat, complete with access to photos stored in iPhoto or Aperture on your Mac, or in iCloud or Flickr online.

In the “View Photos & Home Movies” chapter of “Take Control of Apple TV,” Josh Centers teaches you everything you need to know to turn your large-screen TV into a digital picture frame that can’t be beat.

Having streaming problems on your Apple TV? As TUAW reports, there’s a hidden diagnostic tool in Netflix. Search for a video called “Example Short 23.976,” and play it. The test video displays the current bitrate, resolution, and aspect ratio. If you see a low bitrate, restarting your wireless gateway and cable/DSL modem could help, although the problem may simply be too much usage in your neighborhood.