While we all wait to see if Apple’s HDTV will become a reality later this year, enterprising hackers have been hard at work over the holidays cooking up their latest magical feat: Running iOS apps full screen on the existing (jailbroken) second-generation Apple TV.

It’s likely to be a busy news week for Apple fans in the lead-up to Christmas this coming weekend. Apple is shutting down their iTunes Connect developer portal come Thursday which means no new apps or updates until next Friday, December 30 so these companies are scrambling like elves at the North Pole to get their latest work approved and out the door before then. In the meantime, kick your feet up and take a look at what’s making news for this fine Monday, December 19, 2011.

It’s been one of those busy days for tech enthusiasts: Rather than dreaming about the weekend ahead, we’ve had product launches all over the place in the mad pre-Christmas holiday rush before things start to shut down next week. If you’ve already played around with your Facebook Timeline update or nabbed that sweet new Roku iOS app and are waiting for your Apple TV to update, take a breather and see what’s new for this Thursday, December 15, 2011.