A recent breakthrough in electronics... no wait, that's a big fat lie. A certain Brandon Holland from the Great White North (that's better) has done it! At only 19 years of age, Mr. Holland was able to get Skype up and running on the AppleTV (or so we're led to believe). While few would consider using the AppleTV for this (leaving aside that they most likely own a PC too, besides Apple's digital media receiver and network device), it sure makes a great news topic - It can be done!

According to 9to5mac.com, "at the ripe age of 19, [Brandon]'s developing a Skype hack for the AppleTV," calling the feat "commendable". Although there's no confirmation that he was able to actually talk to his Skype friends using the hack, we're led to believe that he succeeded in doing so.

Either way, if it can be done, why not do it on a device worthy of the time and effort it takes to implement it? After all, what's the difference between having Skype on your AppleTV and having the service running on your iMac, MacBook, Windows PC, or whatever...? A handheld Skype hack on the other hand... Now, that's a different matter altogether.

Take Sony's PlayStation Portable. Less than a month ago, the company behind the portable gaming system has announced Skype for it. How much are you willing to bet that PSP is going to sell like crazy once the service is on for the handheld?

The iPhone and iPod touch seem such better choices for a hack like this, rather than the clunky AppleTV. Eh, well, I myself used to just connect speakers, electric motors and LEDs to all kinds of stuff, with no good reason whatsoever. It just felt good, so I guess it's almost the same thing, only more advanced... much more advanced!

Just so you know, the Skypephone is out as well. Using it you'll be able to sign into Skype and make free calls to anyone else on Skype, send free instant messages on Skype too, and check this... "No computer necessary." They actually tell you that.