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Anyone who has used Netflix knows how great it is. The simplicity of the interface, the syncing, and the speed of streaming makes it a joy to use. But if you’re in the UK, you’ll be limited to a much smaller selection of films and TV shows than people in the US.

Apple has released a new iOS 5.1 update to their Apple TV, out of the many updates in this release the one that stands out is the ability to use configuration profiles. These are usually reserved for corporate deployment and mass configuration, however with the Apple Configuration app lets anyone with a Mac to create their own. 

 Apple Configurator - VPN Settings

If you get a cheap VPN server hosted in the US, Netflix will now think you’re in the US and offer you their full US library. Before iOS 5.1 for the Apple TV, you had to set this at the router level, and you would’ve sent all your internet traffic through the VPN. With Configuration Profiles only the Apple TV’s internet would be routed through the VPN.

You would also get the American football and baseball channels I suppose, but who outside of the US cares about that.

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Weiran Zhang

Hi, I'm Weiran Zhang. I work as a Senior Engineering Manager at Capital One. I have a passion for technology and building thriving software teams. This blog is where I write about things I find interesting. You can follow me on Mastodon.