After announcing Mac support in January of this year, and then consistently missing just about every deadline since "Q2 '06" was announced (and pulling a major no-no by including Mac OS and Universal Binary logos on the new models' packaging released a month ago), Sling Media finally released its SlingPlayer software for the Mac OS, available now in the form of a public beta. Sling Media, of course, is the company behind the popular Slingbox, a component that allows you to watch and control a cable box, satellite receiver, or DVR from anywhere — as long as you have an Internet connection. SlingPlayer is the app you use to do your watching.

To cut to the chase: Everything looks and works the same as the Windows SlingPlayer, for better or for worse. We've tried it out on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs with our SlingBox "classic," and so far so good. The only big gripes so far are: 1) It only works on OS X 10.4 and later, so anyone who's still kicking it Panther style is out of luck. Obviously that doesn't affect any Intel-based Mac owners. 2) Not surprisingly, there's no support for the infrared remote Apple ships with most of its current models. This app truly is a very straightforward port, as shown by the fair amount of Windows Setup Wizard-style interfaces present. 3) We also encountered a handful of little glitches in some of the setup screens (buttons not being clickable when they should be and so forth). But, remember, it's still in beta.

Don't let our complaints totally overshadow the fact that we're excited that we no longer have to fire up Windows XP via Boot Camp or Parallels on our MacBook every time we want to watch the shows stored on our TiVo while traveling. The Slingbox is a truly cool product, and Mac users can finally share in the place-shifting fun that the Windows crowd has been streaming for over a year now.