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An Offer Tivo Owners Can't Refuse
An anonymous reader pointed us to this little tidbit. The BBC paid Tivo (company slogan: "TV Your Way") to force owners' boxes to record some new program they wanted to push, which looks incredibly exciting. UK Tivo owners seem a little upset.
One: I stopped watching TV because the ads enraged me.
Two: I've been keeping an eye on the Tivo on the off chance television ever becomes economical (eg- I can get sci fi without having to get 37 other channels I never watch)
Does anybody else see the irony, here? For somebody who seems to want his entertainment for free or very little cost, you sure do bitch a lot about commercials. You can't have it both ways, man.
"I have a non-Tivo PVR that does not have a monthly fee and does not spy on my TV viewing habits. "
I have a TiVo that does not have a monthly fee and does not spy on my TV viewing habits. So that's a strange coincidence. Maybe you could have gotten a TiVo if only you did some homework first.
"Now what would people say if Microsoft pulled a similar trick? "
The Windows 95 cd came with a Weezer video. I don't remember anyone complaining that their CD space was being used for things they didn't care to watch.
" If there was a genuinely free market in DVRs the features would be determined by the capability of the technology rather than the business model of the vendor... Fortunately there are Tivo competitors, "
uh, so you're saying IF there X exists then Y wouldn't happen. But then you say X does exist, but somehow Y is happening. Wow! that's logic for you.
You really have to understand how the TiVo works to understand this is part of what you paid for. I never once heard anyone complain about TiVo Takes (A weekly TV magazine that spotlighted next weeks cool shows) when it was airing. But suddenly TiVo records something you don't like and you're up in arms asking for the very feature people love to be stipped away because they don't understand it.
If you haven't used a TiVo it's likely you simply don't understand that this is a cool feature and not an outrage.
Joseph Elwell.